If you are watching your vet “glove up” before seeing your pet, I can bet two things are true:
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- You are feeding a raw diet.
- Your vet doesn’t understand true risks with salmonella nor does she/he understand all of the body’s natural defenses against bacteria nor does she/he understand our bodies are all covered with normally occurring bacteria and yeast and any could make a problem
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If this is your situation, my first response would be to suggest that this might not be the right veterinarian for you. Sadly, that kind of excludes most conventional veterinarians because most of them have been misinformed and don’t really remember what we learned second year of veterinary school in microbiology class.
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But it’s always an option to try to educate your vet. Here are some thought provoking questions (sadly, they might just amplify the adversarial position your vet has put you into, but they are worth asking.):
- Is there any documented evidence that dogs carry salmonella bacteria on their external body or in their mouth that has caused human illness?
- How often do you, the veterinarian, allow a dog to lick the inside of your mouth? (The answer of course, is never… but worth asking to demonstrate the absurdity of the situation.)
- Which kind of pet food has been documented to transmit salmonella to humans and create illness? (Correct answers:Kibble! There are no documented cases of human illness from raw pet food!)
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We are in agreement that one should wear gloves when handling any type of feces, of course! But other than that, these questions might just help get you and your vet on the same page. I’ve had a few clients have good luck telling their vet: “I’m not here to discuss _____ << insert food choices or vaccine choices or anything else>>___ or be criticized. I’m here for __<<insert what brought you to the vet’s office that day>>____. Please respect my choices or I can go elsewhere.”
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Still seeing patients in Tampa, Clearwater, and virtually.