Seeing an animal in its home enhances bond between vet, pet and owner
By Sue Manning
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two kids, two pets, two jobs, too much.
That’s how it felt to Erin McCarthy when it came time to drag her cat and puppy to the veterinarian. So she jumped on a growing trend among veterinarians and called the vet to her.
House calls are a growing trend among the country’s 85,000 veterinarians, said Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.
The trend is a return to tradition, Beaver said: “We used to call them farm calls.” While the vet was taking care of cows and horses and other livestock, he would take care of the family dogs and cats too, she said.
“House calls used to be the bread and butter part of our business,” agreed Dr. Margarita Abalos, a relief and concierge vet in Los Angeles.
Then clinics and hospitals, where X-rays could be taken and surgeries performed, became the norm.
Now house calls are making a bit of a comeback, at least in bigger cities and higher income areas, said Abalos, who handles several ranch pigs, goats and sheep in addition to smaller animals.
Seeing an animal at its home enhances the bond between vet, pet and owner, the veterinarians say.
It starts with less stress, said Lisa Beagan in Severna Park, Md., the Mobile Pet Vet. There is no waiting, driving, loading or getting hot and cranky for kids or pets, she said.
House calls help vets solve behavior problems, too.
Beagan had a client who couldn’t figure out why her cat was peeing outside its box. Seems the litter box was next to the cat’s pet door and when it came through the door and went to the box, the flap on the door would hit it on the behind. Removing the flap solved the problem, she said.
Beagan said many of her pets and owners are geriatric and have trouble getting in and out of cars, so house calls help them all.
House calls can cost twice as much as an office visit, but every vet is different. Charges have to be higher because sometimes the vets can only make it to three or four homes in a day and they have to limit client numbers.
Vets who make house calls say home euthanasia is one of the most important parts of their practices.
