Real-Life Communication
Animal health technologists, in addition to taking care of pets,
also must deal with the pets' owners. These technologists greet patients,
set up appointments, help clients with financing plans and assist the veterinarian
and other clinic staff.
It's also up to the animal health technologist
to make an initial assessment about an animal's condition. An owner might
call with a concern about an animal, but often it's not totally clear what's
wrong with the pet. Since the pet can't explain its problem, animal health
technologists must be able to listen carefully to the animal's owner.
"It's
difficult talking with a client and trying to understand exactly what is going
on with their pet," says Lydia Beswick, an animal health technologist.
"You
have to bring out the truth and let them know that what they're seeing is
really important. They can say that their cat is sick, but what does that
really mean? You have to try to get them to tell you exactly what's going
on. You have to obtain proper information from your clients to determine whether
the patient should be seen right now or wait a day or two and see how things
are going."
You're an animal health technologist. One of the clinic's
clients, Suzie Wilson, has just charged in with this "wonderful new diet plan"
for dogs. Suzie's dog, Fifi, is a very picky eater and often refuses her food.
Suzie is certain that if she doesn't change Fifi's diet, Fifi will starve
to death.
She got a copy of the diet plan from her neighbor, who has
been using it in her kennel for years, with apparently good results. This
diet has a long list of benefits: it's supposed to add years to a pet's life,
reduce fat, prevent allergies, promote bone growth and induce a better personality.
Suzie
has been doing a lot of reading lately on the amount of preservatives in dog
food, and she wants to feed Fifi a more healthy diet, which she interprets
to mean the same kind of food that she herself eats.
She hands you
a copy of the diet. This is what you read:
Home Diet for
Dogs!
If you won't eat it, don't feed it to your dog!
Wagon
Train Meat Loaf
4 pounds of ground beef
2 cups grated carrots
2
onions, chopped fine
1 cup sliced celery
2 cups rolled oats
5
slices of bread, broken into pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated potatoes
1
tsp. parsley
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Mix all ingredients.
Form into two large loafs and place in large roasting pan or individual loaf
pans.
Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees until done.
Cool, slice
and serve with a slice of wheat bread.
For dessert, give your dog a
special treat -- two pieces of your favorite chocolate candy. You'll have
a friend for life!
You take one look at this diet and know
it's not good for dogs. It's up to you to be diplomatic and to clarify the
false ideas claimed by this article.
By researching in your library
or on the Internet, or by obtaining brochures from a veterinary
clinic, see if you can find information that explains why feeding your dog
"people food" isn't a good idea.
See if you can find information on
why onions are toxic to pets and why giving dogs chocolate is harmful to them.
Remember
that you have to provide this information in such a way that the client won't
feel ignorant for not knowing it before, or silly for thinking it was such
a wonderful idea.