Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Pet Therapy

This is my dog Max. He was in the clinic today due to family travel plans. One of my staff volunteered to take care of him and our other dog Josie over the weekend. My wife was coming in to pick him up at lunch time, so Max got to make patient rounds with me this morning. He's a pretty docile 13 year old dog who is very familiar with the clinic, unlike my younger lab/retreiver mix, who is a bit of a loose cannon. He kind of just follows me around and lays down in each room I visit. I always ask if patients are ok with a dog in the room before entering and if they prefer no dog, I park him outside the door. He likes to hit the pharmaceutical reps up for pats on the head and the occassional snack if they have any edibles. On vacation, I often miss bringing the dogs, since they are so much a part of our morning and evening routines. I think pets help kids learn how to care about other things besides themselves and to be responsible. I think being a dog owner has made me a better doctor in some ways. It is hard to watch him get old.
As Max says: drink plenty of water, walk a lot and get plenty of rest.

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