Unusual questions from clients

[rachroo]

This thread is just for fun. What's an unusual question someone (a client, family member, etc) has asked you that has to do with animals and how did you reply?


Yesterday at work, a man brought his border collie in for his annual check-up. The owner asked me after I set the dog down, "Why do you have so much hair?" while pointing to my scrubs top.
My reply: "Because dogs shed."

I mean really!?

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[DVMorBust]

Not sure why this is, but the most common questions people ask when I tell them I ride horses are:

"Don't you have to file their teeth down or something?" (Teeth floating=strange fact in all of those 'did you know' books? Maybe...)

"Don't horses eat people?" (Possibly correlated to the above tidbit?)

So the first one is not a dumb question, but it never ceases to surprise me when someone who knows NOTHING ELSE about horses pulls that one out.

 

[VAgirl]

"Don't horses eat people?" (Possibly correlated to the above tidbit?)

What kind of scary horses have these people heard of??

 

[Orthonut]

"Can I get pregnant from my dog?" (I've had it MORE THAN ONCE!)

 

[nyanko]

"Can I get pregnant from my dog?" (I've had it MORE THAN ONCE!)

Along the same lines once I had a client call the clinic where I worked and ask if they could get any diseases from ingesting dog semen.

The male vet with a really good sense of humor was on that day, and he got on the phone and told them in all seriousness that they could get pregnant. I admit, I laughed.

 

[david594]

"Can I get my dog un-neutered?"

 

[mdnghtdnc]

I have had the question "can I get pregnant from my dog"...the under lying story was that she was pregnant... I cut her off and said she needs to talk to HER doctor. The next is not really a question but a comment..."My spayed dog just had puppies"...I was like oh boy this is going to be a long day!

 

[LVT2DVM]

This thread is just for fun. What's an unusual question someone (a client, family member, etc) has asked you that has to do with animals and how did you reply?
Yesterday at work, a man brought his border collie in for his annual check-up. The owner asked me after I set the dog down, "Why do you have so much hair?" while pointing to my scrubs top.
My reply: "Because dogs shed."

I mean really!?

Hey rachroo, I like this thread, as I get strange questions all the time. But I wanted to mention for the benefit of OP with not as much experience, sometimes clients will point out hair on your scrubs (floor, seats, ect..) because they see it as "dirty". They realize all animals shed, but since they perceive it as a sign of uncleanliness, they're politely attempting to tell you they are uncomfortable with you handling their pet with "dirty" clothes. We have mirrors and hair-rollers stations near all exam rooms to help with this issue. Irritating I know, but some clients are querky that way.

 

[rachroo]

Thanks! Yeah, I usually try and use the lint rollers we have but we were sooo busy!! My name was being called in like 10 different directions! I'm sure you know what that's like!

 

[LVT2DVM]

Thanks! Yeah, I usually try and use the lint rollers we have but we were sooo busy!! My name was being called in like 10 different directions! I'm sure you know what that's like!

O I can totally relate! Only 10 different directions...thats a good day. LOL And of course those days seem to coincide with the high maintanence clients with the bizarre questions. hehe

 

[lailanni]

Mostly I get weird comments about getting a rectal temp. Some owners are quite uncomfortable, some laugh the whole time, and some are just SO surprised we have to do it rectally!

"What? There? WHY? You're serious?!" No. I'm not serious. Your dog is actually going to sit still while I put the thermometer in his mouth.

The funniest part is when clients bring their kid(s) along, they find the rectal temp quite hillarious usually.

Creepiest: Getting a rectal temp on a cat, the cat starts purring. Owner says (very creepy like) "Oooh yeah, you like that don't you?" Ewww....

 

[LVT2DVM]

Mostly I get weird comments about getting a rectal temp. Some owners are quite uncomfortable, some laugh the whole time, and some are just SO surprised we have to do it rectally!

"What? There? WHY? You're serious?!" No. I'm not serious. Your dog is actually going to sit still while I put the thermometer in his mouth.

The funniest part is when clients bring their kid(s) along, they find the rectal temp quite hillarious usually.

Creepiest: Getting a rectal temp on a cat, the cat starts purring. Owner says (very creepy like) "Oooh yeah, you like that don't you?" Ewww....

Ewwww....[Hair standing up on the back of my neck] creepy. What about the clients who start telling you personal health stories they feel are relevant to what is going on with their pet. Like the lady who starting tell me about her hemorrhoids when her dog came in with anal gland abcessation. Ah..yeah...thanks for sharing.

 

[mistifical]

Creepiest: Getting a rectal temp on a cat, the cat starts purring. Owner says (very creepy like) "Oooh yeah, you like that don't you?" Ewww....

I've had a few instances where a client brings in their new male puppy or kitten for a new pet exam. When the animal wags his tail or purrs during the rectal thermometer part they say... "aww I think our little guy might be gay!"

 

[CalpardNY]

Ewwww....[Hair standing up on the back of my neck] creepy. What about the clients who start telling you personal health stories they feel are relevant to what is going on with their pet. Like the lady who starting tell me about her hemorrhoids when her dog came in with anal gland abcessation. Ah..yeah...thanks for sharing.

One of the interns I work with was talking to a client about his blocked cat. He explained he understood how the cat must be feeling because he has his own issues - and proceeded to show her his personal closed collection system. Thankfully, she said he just showed her the collection end ! She was traumatized for the rest of the day!

 

[athenaparthenos]

I had a woman ask me about cat birth control pills once. Apparently in Europe such things exist, but I've never, ever heard of anyone using them here. I asked her why she wouldn't want to just get the cat spayed and she said "Oh, I can never catch her to get her here!"

If you can't catch her at all because she's wild, I'd like to see you shove a pill down her throat every day/week/month/whatever on schedule...

 

[lazyjayn]

This was actually to my mother-

So.. the dog lives in the back yard on a chain during the day, and in the garage at night (pretty common in SC)... One night recently the lady forgets to close the door all the way, and the dog gets out... hangs around for a couple days, under the porch, in front of the car. Then one day last week, it just disappears. The husband asked my mom if it's true that old/ sick dogs sometimes just go away to die.

Mom gave him the whole descended from wolves, people think blah blah blah stuff...

The man replied "Well, I guess the heart worms were gettin' pretty bad."

She thinks she kept her jaw from dropping.

 

[zpinkpanther]

"Do you perform liposuction on cats?" No, but it would help if you'd stop overfeeding your cat so much!

Also, one of the docs I work with gives the same answer to this question every time it is asked:
"What do you do with the testicles when you take them out?"
"We throw them out back for the squirrels to eat."

And he says it with a straight face, too.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

I worked at an emergency clinic and got a bunch of querky people calling in all the time. Here are two of my faves:

1. (this was actually relayed to me by the dvm since it was before I started working) A lady came in with her dog that had a tick problem and then when the doctor closed the door to the exam room, she dropped her drawers, because she had her own tick problem...

2. A lady called in after a hard rain and sounded embarassed from the get-go which is always a good sign. She apologized profusely, but then said "well I found this earthworm and it looks pretty dehydrated, is there anything I can do?" And the doctor told her to either put it on a hook and go fishing with it, or just put it in some damp soil. She called back 2 hours later thanking him for his suggestion as "it looked much better."

 

[TrocarKarin]

I had a woman ask me about cat birth control pills once. Apparently in Europe such things exist, but I've never, ever heard of anyone using them here. I asked her why she wouldn't want to just get the cat spayed and she said "Oh, I can never catch her to get her here!"

If you can't catch her at all because she's wild, I'd like to see you shove a pill down her throat every day/week/month/whatever on schedule...

You might find it funny, but I asked my vet about hormonal birth control for my dobie. Granted, I was trying to explore my options before putting my vWD affected girl through surgery, but my vet looked at me like I was crazy.