Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Supervets amongst us - superheroes are out there!

Who doesn't love watching the show called Supervets, all about the amazing work done at Fitzpatrick Referrals in the Uk.

It is an amazing show, not just because of the veterinary work where the boundaries have been pushed beyond what was thought possible, but also from the genuine compassion and love for our animal friends that flows from the TV screen out to envelope you.

To see and feel such love is addictive.

At a recent family function, to celebrate my brothers birthday, one of his good friends spent alot of time telling me how wonderful Supervets was.  He went on to even say that they are so wonderful that they do all of that for free.

Ah well! I didn't want to ruin the evening by saying that someone paid for those procedures, even if it was not the owners, as nothing is ever done for free.  No one works for free, everyone who works is paid something, which is generated by something else being paid.

There is a good reason why money or costs are never discussed in these shows, as those of us in the industry, usually have  a good idea how many times that turns out.  But in fairness to the specialists, they, by their very nature, get clients who are willing and able to spend that money in the first place.

Do you know what the definition of a hero is?

I never really thought about that until my eldest son received a Hero award when he was in primary school many years ago.  One of the other mothers came to me and told me that it was wrong that he received that, as no one in the school knew that award existed until that year. My son (now an adult), got that award because he defended a student being bullied badly by his fellow students.

That is the definition of a hero.

A hero stands for what is true, courageous and valiant. With no one watching, with no expectation of someone giving them a pat on the shoulder, an award or any recognition of what they did. They did it because it was the right thing to do.

What about a Supervet?  Do they have hero properties also?

Stupid question, Dr Liz!  Of course.

Are there Supervets amongst us?

What a day of stupid questions, Dr Liz. Of course!

There are so many vets out there doing amazing things, not always doing experimental fracture repairs that seem to be always successful, but still making an amazing difference in the life of our animal friends and the family that loves them.

The hero vets are there, with  you and your pets working every day. From the most dreaded expressing anal glands, to the holding of your pet's paw as they take their last breath. 

The hero vets often have to work with limited resources to try to figure out why your pet is sick.

The hero vet is one that is there at the end of the phone to answer those questions that are bothering you about your pet's health.

There are so many vets out there who suffer from 'imposter syndrome", who are intimidated by the assumed perfection of colleagues around them.  I have days of feeling like an imposter also, I suspect many of you have felt like that some days at work too.

To all of you superheroes, thank you.

I am Dr Liz, the original mad vet from Bellambi.

Any questions or comments, please share.