Remember the days of cat and dog shaming? Really cute pictures on the Internet with signs where the pet was admitting to silly things like destroying the trash? The ante has been upped!

Now, when pet owners go to a veterinarian, if the veterinarian doesn’t agree with how the animal is being cared for, the pet owner will be shamed.

Let me give you an example. Recently, a former client and friend who I have known for more than 10 years went to her local veterinarian. She suspected her cat had a bladder infection. Before she could even be seen by the veterinarian, she had already been classified and shamed. You see, the problem is is that my friend feeds raw food to her cats.

I know. Many people have already made a judgment after reading that sentence.

Some of you have said “good for her!“ some of you have said “that’s disgusting!“ Others have said to yourself “I would never feed raw!“ Some of you say to yourselves “raw? my pets haven’t been healthier since I started to feed real food!“

I’m not going to change anybody’s opinion with this post. You are all going to continue to feed what you feed. In fact, that isn’t even my purpose today.

What I want to bring up is the point of how we treat each other. Can you imagine taking your child to your pediatrician and your pediatrician wearing gloves and a mask because you feed raw organic pistachios? It’s really the same thing! It’s a point of view. That’s all I’m trying to say. Perspective.

So if the veterinarian can afford to make the client feel ostracized because of how she feeds her pets, then the veterinarian obviously doesn’t need the business. I think this is fantastic! A lot of changes are going to come in this world due to this kind of behavior. Mountains of marketing with minimal amounts of science behind it to tell the consumer what is “best“ for the pet. Ultimately, it comes down to personal choice and individual variation what to feed one’s pet. Just like what I feed my daughter is my choice.

So veterinarians are able to afford to shame their clients. Wonderful! This opens up a whole new marketplace! Clients who believe in natural and healthy will be leaving conventional veterinarians in droves! They will be driven to natural healers of all kinds. New pet-related business will be popping up on every corner.

If the veterinarian in this situation had seen the bigger picture, she would’ve bitten her tongue, seen the cat, treated the issue, and moved on. Instead, the veterinarian put on gloves, told the owner that she was killing her cat and did not even address the bladder infection. (The veterinarian did find dirty ears and treat the “infection“ there. By the way, dirty ears does not always equal infection. Dirty ears are sometimes just dirty.)

So if you’ve been shamed and you’re looking for a different perspective, find a holistic veterinarian who can appreciate your perspective. With monthly membership, you can have a second opinion while at your local veterinarian’s office. Shaming is unnecessary.

Oh. And a side note. Pretty funny, really. The veterinarian who did this shaming, treats horses as well. Horses are documented carriers of salmonella. The least little bit of stress, like when they’re sick, which is when the veterinarian would come visit, boom! Salmonella in the feces. Not sure about dogs. Especially not cats. It’s not well characterized. But prejudice lead to inappropriate shaming.

My rant is done. Shaming completed.