This is our Rose. Photo by Jessica Mahady.
Have you ever taken your companion animal to a vet, only to discover that, ironically, the animal doctor is clearly unenlightened to some of the fundamental issues of animal welfare? Perhaps she is insensitive to the fact that Fluffy is a rescue. Or maybe she’s ignorant about the unfair malignment of pit bulls. Possibly he’s even made a snarky and stupid comment about farmed animals being there for our use. My advice? Find another vet.
Or, maybe your vet is sensitive to your and your beloved Tootsie’s needs, but is nevertheless lacking awareness about animal care issues that you may never see, but which limits her effectiveness in helping animals. For example, chances are that your vet, no matter how well-intentioned, is less than an expert at handling animal cruelty investigations, because he was was never trained for it, and doesn’t know what to look for.
I was therefore delighted to learn of a new program that is a collaboration between the Houston SPCA and the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences which, according to their press release, “exposes veterinary students to animal cruelty, neglect and trauma cases involving dogs, cats and other companion animals, horses and donkeys, farm animals, exotic animals and native wildlife.” The vet students take this required course in their fourth year, where they will work alongside experts in animal abuse cases. The program’s goal is to ensure that these future vets will be “knowledgeable about the full spectrum of shelter medicine and animal welfare including rescue and forensics investigations for all species.” The Texas SPCA sees over 26,000 animals annually, and is the only SPCA in the U.S. that serves all species on the same campus. This new initiative will also encourage the vets in training to sterilize dogs and cats prior to adoption, as well as provide education about animal abuse.
Most people become vets for a simple reason: they love animals and want to help them. For some, this altruistic, goodhearted impetus goes awry somewhere along the way. It gives me hope to see a program like this one (which is being funded by PetSmart Charities) proactively connecting the dots. Who better to confront animal abuse than the professionals who care for them day in and day out? If vets don’t get it, who will? And on the flip side, if vets are trained to look deeper, to spot cruelty cases and handle them carefully and attentively (and immediately), and to ensure that those around them are properly educated about the horrors of animal abuse so that it eventually becomes a nightmare from the past, then our society will be so much further along when it comes to changing the world for animals.
