Farm vetting is incredibly multifaceted.
Outside perception of our work can be a little skewed by unhelpful stereotypes of gruff farmers with tight purse strings and no emotional investment in their animals. This is not generally my experience, yet the stereotype prevails, which is possibly why it may come as a shock to some that we do deal with many clients who are emotional about their stock, who have favourites, and appreciate their various quirks and personality traits.
Of course, economics plays a part in treatment decisions no matter how large or small this emotional connection is, but we must be mindful of its existence.
Friend not food
This matter becomes increasingly complex in the case of pet farm animals. That is, traditionally food-producing animals treated in a way we would usually associate with cats, dogs and small furries. While delightful, these can present myriad issues that aren’t all clinical in origin.
I work with a lot of pet farm animals, ranging from those that live in client’s houses, to those that live in a more traditional smallholding setting, but are considered family members nonetheless. These cases generally require slightly different management from the get go.
For a start, many of them have names and, on a few occasions, owners have been pleasantly surprised when I ask what that name is so I can refer to it correctly in my notes. I have also been met with a hard “are you mad?” stare too, so it doesn’t work every time. All I’m saying is, recognising the connection is there is often very important to these clients, who don’t always care what you know, more that you care.
Geriatric medicine
Clinically speaking, you’re bound to encounter more issues pertaining to old age in the case of pets, and will likely have to get very familiar with the cascade-accompanying consent forms when the owners of a creaky, geriatric goat wish for him to see “one more Christmas”, but require him to be pain free in its advent.
It’s in cases like this you need to make sure you’re explaining the implications of medicine use in these animals, as they often cannot comprehend that Benjy is technically a food-producing animal (who cannot have his pony friend’s ‘bute) because they do not intend to eat him.
If I had a pound for every time I’d heard that I’d probably be able to single-handedly bankroll the licencing process for goat-specific medication.
Box ticking exercises
Some paperwork-based issues also warrant mentioning to less well-researched pet farm animal owners, that being the specific licences and registrations, identification (tagging) requirements, and movement paperwork they are often unaware of.
Naturally, these are all species-specific and some depend on number of animals on the holding – and that might mean a bit of extra research for you, if information on pig walking licences isn’t stored neatly in the front of your brain.
There’s also the sticky subject of discussing why they can’t bury their dearly departed ovine friend in the garden, next to the family cat. This often makes you feel like quite the bearer of bad news, especially if you also delivered the news that the sheep needed euthanising in the first place.
There for all to see
Another factor to consider on this subset of clients who consider their animals more pet than livestock is they are often members of very tight-knit and active communities. This means that they can be quite vocal on social media or in online groups.
For example, I once finished a call on one farm only to receive a text from another client, miles away, congratulating me on the outcome. That was very nice, but potentially daunting, because if the outcome had not been favourable, they would have been on the drums all the same.
Different priorities
These small communities can provide reassurance to members, but can also stir up storms in teacups very quickly, so we must be mindful of our pitch – it’s the one thing we can control in the face of a sick animal whose treatment may or not be successful.
This is something our small animal and equine colleagues are probably quite used to, but it can be quite strange for those whose clients haven’t traditionally interacted on the digital plane. Alas, it is our future.
This is not intended to instil fear if you’re not sure what’s wrong with an animal, or if the case doesn’t have a positive outcome, but should serve as a reminder that the priorities for care aren’t always the same across our clients, and it’s important to try to ascertain these from the outset to make sure our care is as holistic as possible.
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