The veterinary world is in the midst of extraordinary change, complex gender, ethical, financial issues that few people bringing their dogs and cats in for treatment are aware of. I talked to many vets researching “Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die,” and have close friends who are vets. And I got to talk to some in Orlando.

One change sweeping the veterinary world is gender. Most new graduates – nearly 90 per cent in most vet schools – are women. This is a complete reversal of the statistics a generation ago. In general, these women are sharing or taking over the practices of older men – many of them call themselves the “curmudgeons.” These older man were trained and practiced in a radically different culture. Dogs were not medicated, expensive procedures were rare and companion animals were not seen as children or family members. Dogs were not seen as children, and there was relatively little in the way of emotions to contend. Generally, dogs that were seriously ill were euthanized because there were few alternatives and few people willing to spend lots of money on animals. That has changed. The rescue movement – also new – was not yet in existence. Dogs were not “rescued”, they were bought or adopted, and few people claimed that their dogs were abused, or thought much about their emotional histories.

The Internet has altered the context in which vets operate. People go online and into chat rooms and feel they are knowledgeable about issues like health, nutrition, vaccinations, as much or more as their vets. The vets know that much of this information is unfiltered, or completely inaccurate. But as has happened with politics, it has fostered a deepening suspicion among animal lovers that vets are just out to make money. There is growing distrust for them, and for corporate companies like dog food makers.  In addition, corporate medicine is entering the veterinary world in force. New surgical procedures, health insurance programs, diagnostic machines, medications are flooding the veterinary world, along with advertising and marketing campaigns to make people feel their pets need these new things.

Vets often tell me they went into this practice because they love animals. They did not imagine how much time they would spend dealing with the complex emotional issues of humans, especially as they relate to animals. The guilt, grief, anthropomorphisizing of their pets. Most vets tell me it drives them crazy when people tell them their dogs were abused or explain what their dogs are thinking – how they are anxious, jealous, angry, resentful, rebellious, lonely or depressed. “We know that dog’s don’t think the way people do, but most people don’t want to hear that, so after awhile, you just nod your head and smile,” one told me.

Like human doctors, vets increasingly deal with lawyers, and increasingly, they are being told to say little, make no promises, qualify diagnoses. Practices vary. A New York City practice is different than a country practice in many ways. In rural areas, where people grow up around animals, there is little enthusiasm for the “no-kill” idea and the idea of confining dogs and cats in crates for years is generally not considered humane but cruel. This idea is almost epidemic in cities as are expensive diagnostic and surgeries.

Vets are uncertain how to deal with the rising emotions and politics of the animal world. Some are holding workshops, creating pamphlets, sitting down with new clients to talk about philosophy, the finances of pet health care. Some of the “curmudgeons” believe that some of new and mostly female vets are enabling the emotionalizing of animals, and many of the new women practitioners – quite proud of their professionalism – are wary of male models of communicating, and are more comfortable talking to clients about the emotional issues surrounding animals and their care.

It struck me that the middle ground is a healthy ground. Vets do need to talk more to people about the real nature of the animals they love, and offer them realistic and grounded options. They do need to be cautious about enabling the growing idea that most animals are piteous and abused creatures in need of rescue. That is one prism, but not the only, or even the most prevalent one. And it makes perspective difficult.  People do need boundaries – emotional, financial and medical – around the health care of their animals. Who else but vets are in a position to provide this?

One vet in Orlando complained to me that people didn’t appreciate how much he suffered when he had to euthanize their animals. Would I point this out,? he asked. I told him I did mention it in my book, but I was not especially sympathetic to his story. People do not go to doctors – MD’s, shrinks, therapists, vets – to hear how much they suffer, too. If you are the doctor, or the healer, and people are paying you, your job is to listen to stories and offer perspective and concrete opinion, not to expect sympathy in return. People look up to doctor’s as experts and authorities, not as fellow sufferers. More later.