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London Dog Forum > London Dog Forum News > Open Dog Forum > Response to 'Shaming of Vets' article, Daily Mail Dec.1st 2009
Response to 'Shaming of Vets' article, Daily Mail Dec.1st 2009
With reference to the headline and article in the Daily Mail today ‘The Shaming of Vets –an expose of the painful treatments imposed on pets to rip off owners.’For Matthew Wilkinson, a qualified vet of eight years, to write a book exposing his profession and accusing vets of being money grabbing monsters I find beyond belief. Undeniably there are some charlatans in that profession, as there are in many others including human medicine, but to imply that most vets have no thought of welfare and are in the job purely to make money is a nonsense. In my personal experience of working with vets and seeing many in their professional capacity over a vast experience of dog ownership, I do not know of one that would actively encourage putting an elderly dog , of which there was little chance of improving its quality of life, through torture for monetary gain. I am referring to the case that the author quotes of a 12 year old greyhound with bone cancer where the lecturer implied that there were other courses of action that could be taken other than euthanasia. Does Mr Wilkinson doubt the intelligence and integrity of the owner? It is, after all, the owner’s decision that is final whatever the vet might feel and the majority of dog owners will put their pet’s welfare first, however painful that might be. The vet’s job is to give the owner of the various options that can be taken and in my personal experience a vet will err on the side of welfare when asked by the owner for his opinion even though it is beyond his brief. In the case of Mr Wilkinson’s 12 year old greyhound, we do not know what the owner’s decision was, but we are told that the dog was obviously well cared for, which suggests that the owner had its welfare at heart.
There have been tremendous advances in veterinary medicine and the equipment needed to maintain such high standards is not cheap. Pet insurance has undoubtedly facilitated certain treatments to be carried out by vets that would not have been considered in the past but how many dog owners could afford to have expensive diagnostic tests or surgery on offer if they did not have insurance? And, as an example, who would deny a young Labrador or German shepherd dog a hip replacement knowing that it would greatly improve its quality of life?
One wonders what is the real reason for Mr Wilkinson wanting to give up his profession after only eight years of being a vet and a minimum of five years spent training? Surely his time would be better spent setting an example in his profession rather than libelling his former colleagues.
London Dog Forum
Posted 1st December, 2009
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