Cranky vet?

[Otterdog]

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I was hoping that some of you could give me some insight as to what happened to me today. I volunteer at my local (very small) animal shelter, which doubles as the animal control facilities for the county. Unfortunately, due to lack of space and funds, the shelter does euthanize some animals who are not adopted after a certain time (and for various other reasons).

We have a very small shelter, and the treatment area the vet uses is also the laundry room, break room, and storage area. I had a load of laundry to take back into the room. I was going to grab my bag and keys while I was in there and head out for the day. Thinking nothing of it (I did not know anyone was in the room), I opened the door to the room and was practically screamed out of it by the vet who had just finished euthanizing some animals and was chatting with the director of the shelter. I got out and one of the shelter employees kindly got my stuff for me out of the room.

Was it because I am a volunteer and there is some sort of law about this that I didn't know? Or did the vet assume I was just some crazy lady wandering around with poopy blankets?

Whatever the reason, I wasn't really offended by it. What does worry me though is that we live in a really small town with only a few veterinarians and I don't want this episode to hurt my chances of maybe shadowing or even working for her someday. If I ever see the vet at the shelter again, I am going to apologize to her, but I suppose I'm just curious why she yelled at me. I just don't see what I did wrong. What do you all think?

 

[BlacKAT33]

This is strange. I would assume she was just having a bad day and it was a bad time to be interrupted. Doesn't seem like it was your fault since it wasn't her personal office. I can't believe one room is shared for so many duties!

I have also been yelled at before for no real reason. Sometimes just standing in the way if the vet wants to move back and forth around the table in different positions. Sometimes the vet will ask a paid tech to restrain the animal instead of me (intern). It really just depends on the vet. Once I figured out the personalities of the diff vets I worked with I tended to try to stay around the one with the best personality match for me. I also got some "inside" info on the ones that have random mood swings and I realized i shouldnt take it personally. At first I thought they hated me, but after volunteering there for a months I realized they get stressed and they handle it in different ways, sometimes taking it out on the techs/interns. Try not to let it bother you 🙂 I'm sure the next time you see the vet she won't even remember what happened

 

[Otterdog]

BlacKAT: That does make me feel better, thank you. I can see the vet's side; having somebody barge in while doing such an unpleasant job would be pretty frustrating. From what I've heard, she's a pretty great vet so I have to believe she was just having an "off" day.

Our shelter is so small, it's amazing. Everything and every room there seems to do double or triple duty. It's in a small, mostly rural town, with very little funding from the county. Today the director told me that I'm the only volunteer they've had in about a year. Crazy.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Today the director told me that I'm the only volunteer they've had in about a year. Crazy.

This can be good for you. You'll be noticed/appreciated more, you can get more hands on experience, and more time to spend with the vet for an eLOR when you're ready to apply! Take advantage!

 

[NStarz]

That sounds rough, I'm sorry 🙁 Frankly, I'm shocked that you have a vet on staff for being such a small shelter. The shelter I work at just had a huge renovation (~$3 million), including a beautiful treatment area, 3 dog iso rooms, 2 cat iso rooms, a maternity ward, and a wildlife room. And we have no vets on staff, (we have a consulting vet that does spays/neuters for us, but she's not there 24/7) only CVTs.

Anyway, I wouldn't take it too personally. If the vet in question was just forced to do a lot of euths that day, she may have been having a rough time dealing with it. Especially at a shelter where euths are done for space and not for health or severe temperament issues, the emotional cost can be very difficult. She probably wasn't aiming her frustration at you, but just the inexplorableness of the situation.

 

[sumstorm]

It may also have been a private conversation with the director that she was concerned was/would be overheard, particularly by a non-staff member.

I wouldn't even bring it up again, unless you encounter her in the next day or so. sometimes the best way to gracefully handle conflict is to let it be water under the bridge.

 

[Otterdog]

NStarz: The vet in question is not actually employed by the shelter; we don't have a vet on staff. A vet comes in (I believe it's once or maybe twice a week) to treat or euth animals. For spays and neuters, the shelter works with several different vets. The shelter does get some discounts and donations of services from the vets, but there is some cost involved, and one of the employees must transport the animal to the vet's clinic. This shelter is a bare-bones, last hope, overflowing type of shelter. It's distressing for everyone there to see the high volume of animals flow through the front door and out the back for no other reason than lack of space. I'm still fairly new to the operation and learning how it works, but this pretty much sums it up.

Thanks for your reply, I also am thinking that the vet was a little stressed out and didn't really mean to shout at me. It didn't bother me much, but it was definitely confusing.

@sumstorm: That's true. I did not even think about that. I most likely won't see the vet very soon, as she doesn't seem to come in on the days I'm there. That's some good advice, thank you.

 

[HopefulAg]

Yah just let it slide unless they bring it up. I've been yelled at by a couple of vets before, sometimes about the smallest of stuff, but it's just relieving stress. I don't think they should be taking it out on their techs but don't take it personal all the same.

 

[Whyevernot55]

Yah just let it slide unless they bring it up. I've been yelled at by a couple of vets before, sometimes about the smallest of stuff, but it's just relieving stress. I don't think they should be taking it out on their techs but don't take it personal all the same.

This. My boss once REAMED me and one of our other techs for no reason other than that she was having a really, really bad day and we were in her way. Shouldn't have happened, and she apologized the next day. It was nothing personal, just poor timing on our part and poor anger management on hers.

 

[Minnerbelle]

we had a vet at the humane society i worked at who was the crankiest thing in the world! for the longest time, i thought he loathed me, but it turns out he just didn't notice me at all until i worked directly under him at which point we became BFFs. he was so jaded and cranky that he just couldn't work with people anymore, and that's why he became a full time spay/neuter vet at the shelter (or that's what he told me anyway).

 

[twelvetigers]

I would far prefer sudden outbursts of anger every now and again to a forever sense of not-quite-rightness between yourself and the vet you work for. *sigh*

 

[breenie]

I would far prefer sudden outbursts of anger every now and again to a forever sense of not-quite-rightness between yourself and the vet you work for. *sigh*

I hear you. While I understand the reasons the admissions process is the way it is, I think some of us stay in less than optimal employment/volunteer situations because of the requirements. It's hard to walk away from an uncomfortable and unhealthy work environment when it feels like the only way you're going to get your foot in the door. Not like I'm speaking from experience or anything... 🙄