Defending Google and Bashing Vets
Things NOT to say to a vet tech…
I have written I think three open letters to pet parents from a vet tech on different topics.
The first one is by far the most read. The comments I’ve received on it have been positive and much appreciated… until today.
I don’t engage with negative comments. I’m very fond of the block feature and will use it faster than you can defend Dr. Google.
This is one of the biggest problems in my profession. No matter what, people think they know everything because they have the internet and we know nothing despite the fact that we have an education.
Telling me that you adopted an animal who was given up due to the cost of health care and several vets misdiagnosed the pet but GOOGLE got it right and you managed to diagnose it yourself and the animal lived for two whole years with a manageable disease tells me two things:
- You were probably wrong in your diagnosis.
- If you were right, you didn’t manage it properly.
Which is EXACTLY the problem with Dr. Google.
The disease in question shows up on a simple blood test and the symptoms are quite obvious. If you tell me that a plethora of veterinarians never did blood work on a sick animal, I will never believe that for even half a second.
Why? I WORK WITH THEM. I know how it works. So more likely than not, number one is accurate. You decided that you knew what the problem was, you treated it yourself for a couple of years, pet died anyway because you treated the wrong problem, and now you consider yourself an advocate for animals that knows MORE than veterinarians.
Good luck with that.
Listen, I’m ALL for advocating for your pets. I WANT my clients to do it. I LOVE when my clients come in and they are well aware of their animals’ symptoms, when they happen, when they worsen, how long they’ve been going on, etc. Playing catch-up with guesswork based on tests alone on a creature that can’t speak for themself… not fun! BE their voice. TELL us the WHOLE STORY. But if you think GOOGLE knows more than we do, you should seriously keep that little nugget to yourself.
ESPECIALLY when talking to someone IN THE FIELD. I went to school for my license. You went on the internet and searched symptoms. NOT THE SAME. Even as a tech in the field, I will NOT treat my own animals nor diagnose them via internet research. It’s dangerous. It’s risky. It’s just plain ignorant. I’m not pulling punches here for a reason.
Animals are sentient beings and their LIVES are at stake. If they’re really sick and we can’t find the cause right away, it WILL get expensive. But if it leads to a CURE is it not worth it??
The entire comment was so blatantly offensive to not just me, but every person in my field that I refused to comment back, I simply blocked the person from being able to read my articles because if they’re against the veterinary field, they’re against me and need not read what I have to say.
CAN Googling your pet’s symptoms lead to a correct diagnosis?
Maybe.
Is it likely?
No. Not even a little bit.
What you’re going to get is multiple possibilities that MIGHT be CLOSE to something resembling correct, but it will NEVER take the place of actual licensed professionals and TESTS.
If you want to trust Dr. Google, that’s your business and your decision. I can’t stop you. The only thing I can do is tell you what I KNOW from working in the field. And try my best to advocate for YOUR pets.
If you think I’m doing anything else, you’re dead wrong. I got into this field BECAUSE I care so much about animals. I spend my time away from work writing about it BECAUSE I care so much about animals. Mine, yours, all of them.
But PLEASE do not come to me and tell me vets were wrong and Google figured out what was wrong with your animal and kept them alive for two whole years with a manageable illness that were it the correct diagnosis would have resulted in MUCH more than two years.
Tell that little fairy tale to someone who doesn’t actually know better.
Or don’t because you will make them think it’s a good thing to do as well. And it’s really, really not.
You want to know why I’m SO against Google… outside of the fact that it’s nearly always wrong? I will give you a perfect example.
If you follow me, you know that I have a chinchilla. Not exactly a common pet but I rescued twin chinchillas who were bred by a furrier to be part of a coat. One of them died of a genetic disease just over a year ago but the other is thriving.
When I first got the boys, I knew nearly nothing about chinchillas and the proper way to care for them. So I Googled it. And it’s a miracle the one I have is still alive because so much of what Google said was not only wrong… it was potentially fatal. Pet stores are equally as bad at not knowing a damn thing about the animals they’re selling to people. I was given a LOT of bad information and luckily the boys survived.
How I really learned about proper chinchilla care was through Facebook groups run by chinchilla breeders who actually knew what they were talking about… to a point. A breeder is NOT a good substitute for a vet but they put me on the correct path. When I brought them for their first vet visit I learned even more and now everything in Ash’s cage is totally safe for him.
The things that I did initially, the things that Google said were safe and were completely wrong, were not the cause nor even contributing factors to the death of Ash’s twin brother, Smokey. But the fact that nothing bad happened with all of the things that I got wrong is only because of a time factor. I got the CORRECT information fast enough and changed what I was doing IMMEDIATELY to protect them from the inaccuracy of Google.
Chinchillas are extremely high-maintenance pets that have more rules than I can begin to list. But when cared for properly, they can live upwards of 20 years or more. Had I continued on the path I was on, they’d both be gone by now and it would have cost me a fortune to learn that lesson.
Google, pet stores, and even breeders are not good substitutes for proper vet care. And they should NEVER be considered replacements or believed over actual licensed professionals.
Veterinarians are among the best doctors in the world. Because there are fewer veterinary medical schools than there are human medical schools, they only accept the best of the best. They’re at the top of their class or they’re not accepted. They treat more than one species and their patients can’t speak to them. I would trust my OWN healthcare to a vet over a human doctor if that were an option.
Google, pet stores, and breeders do not hold the same kind of clout. Vets are still human and yes, sometimes they get things wrong. But you seriously trust internet research over a VET? Over TESTS?
If that’s your thing… sucks to be your pet, but do you, I guess. Just don’t tell a veterinary professional about it. Seriously.
