Pet Philosohy - Ever have to just bite your tongue?

I took my snake to the vet yesterday for the first time. She hasn'r eaten in a few months and I wanted to have her checked out. Everything is fine in that regard but something happened that bothered me a little. As I was checking out, the lady hadling my paper work asked if she could see Chloe (I had her in a pillow case). So I took her out and she thought it was a was great. She tried to get one of her coworkers to touch her. She wanted nothing to do with it but that wasn't what bothered me.

The coworker said "Any animal that has to be kept in a cage shouldn't be a pet."

It took all I had to not rebuke her for such a comment. And on top of that, why would you say that in front of a customer that obviously disagrees?

LOL, blond moment eh? Some people just don't think before they speak. :rolleyes:

Ummmm...what? An employee at your vet clinic told a customer that any caged animal should not be kept as a pet????

Well I guess there goes all the nice birds people keep as pets and the hamsters and rabbits and dogs that are kennelled like mine at night and so on.

Personally I'd be on the phone with the vet having a strong word with him/her about their employees keeping their PETA opinions to themselves! :mad:

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

The coworker said "Any animal that has to be kept in a cage shouldn't be a pet."

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Welcome to reptile keeping you will find people that think if it doesn't shed on the couch and greet you at the door it not a pet. I just tell those people I can enjoy my animals with out having reinforcement from them.

People have no problem seeing fish as pets but reptile..No thats not a Pet..

LOL

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Personally I'd be on the phone with the vet having a strong word with him/her about their employees keeping their PETA opinions to themselves! :mad:

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I agree like 645%...I would have said something right there tho.

"Then I guess you should look for another job out of the PET INDUSTRY since I'm taking my pet need business elsewhere."

...and I'll write the local paper and I'll tell all my friends not to do business here...grrr...

:8: Haha, she's so dumb. She potentially drove you [their customer] away from the clinic.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Welcome to reptile keeping you will find people that think if it doesn't shed on the couch and greet you at the door it not a pet. I just tell those people I can enjoy my animals with out having reinforcement from them.

People have no problem seeing fish as pets but reptile..No thats not a Pet..

LOL

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Fish don't bite and coil around your finger! :D lol

hmmm, does your snake fit the definition of a pet? let's see...here read the #1 definition:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pet
You know, my family thinks I'm nuts for wanting to have a snake as a pet. they all say things like "what can you do with it? you can't play with it in the floor like a dog or cat!".

I'd still speak with the vet or vets that own that clinic. They may be completely unaware that they have an employee who could be driving their business away. I mean this is a vet that does exotics or you wouldn't have a snake there in the first place, right? What did the twit expect you to do...build it a dog house and a run outside? I'd let your vet know.

I agree with Joanna, let the vet(s) know ASAP! That may have been an unthought comment, but it was stupid, uneducated, and rude...especially in front of a 'small animal/exotic' owner. They need to know about that employee.

On a similar note, I've heard very similar comments when I worked at Petsmart, as well as when I would be shopping or talking about my snakes and rodents. Tons of people out there have that 'PETA' attitude that if it can't run around 'free' and do something for the owner then it's a captive and not a pet. SIGH :rolleyes: There's just no hope for people like that...

Most times I don't or can't bite my tongue.. When people buy crappy dog food, my brain screams at them, and most times I go up to them and make a suggestion. Poor husbandry, I have to speak up.. Fat dogs kill me and it's just necessary that I gripe at people for doing that to an animal that doesn't know any better. I have to bite my tongue with my grandmother because she doesn't listen anyway.. Her blue heeler, with a HEAD AND NECK OSTECTOMY OF THE FEMUR is around 55-60lbs. A BLUE HEELER!!! Her other dog, who should weigh around 35lbs, is also 65lbs or more.. But does she care? Nope.. It's sad and all I can do is shake my head and watch those dogs die slowly.

I had no problem with the vet or the other staff. The vet was highly knowledgable and it really my only choice in the area so I am glad for the place.

It just struck as odd that someone that works at a place that see reptiles often would have that attitude.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

I took my snake to the vet yesterday for the first time. She hasn'r eaten in a few months and I wanted to have her checked out. Everything is fine in that regard but something happened that bothered me a little. As I was checking out, the lady hadling my paper work asked if she could see Chloe (I had her in a pillow case). So I took her out and she thought it was a was great. She tried to get one of her coworkers to touch her. She wanted nothing to do with it but that wasn't what bothered me.

The coworker said "Any animal that has to be kept in a cage shouldn't be a pet."

It took all I had to not rebuke her for such a comment. And on top of that, why would you say that in front of a customer that obviously disagrees?

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Did you mention it to the owner of that place? If she has to make ignorant comments about others choices of pets maybe she should work elsewhere ;)

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Originally Posted by cassandra

I agree like 645%...I would have said something right there tho.

"Then I guess you should look for another job out of the PET INDUSTRY since I'm taking my pet need business elsewhere."

...and I'll write the local paper and I'll tell all my friends not to do business here...grrr...

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Are we related somehow :O.I would have done the same thing :rofl:

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Originally Posted by kneepoles

hmmm, does your snake fit the definition of a pet? let's see...here read the #1 definition:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pet
You know, my family thinks I'm nuts for wanting to have a snake as a pet. they all say things like "what can you do with it? you can't play with it in the floor like a dog or cat!".

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Yea. I hate it when people say that. What can you do with it? How stupid. Just because my snakes can't catch a ball they suddenly become boring or unfit as a pet.

Why to people go to zoos???? They can't play with the animals. :O

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

LOL, blond moment eh? Some people just don't think before they speak. :rolleyes:

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Unfortunately, she was thinking. She's was thinking she was right.

So, she thinks this entitles her to voice her "facts". A trap a lot of people fall into.

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Originally Posted by cassandra

I agree like 645%...I would have said something right there tho.

"Then I guess you should look for another job out of the PET INDUSTRY since I'm taking my pet need business elsewhere."

...and I'll write the local paper and I'll tell all my friends not to do business here...grrr...

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Hellll yeah! I would gone straight to the vet him/herself and tell her i'm done. I would try not to pay for the appointment, lol, but that probably wouldn't work too well.

You don't pay for opinions.

By that logic we shouldn't have dogs or cats as pets either. Even a house with a yard is nowhere near as big as their territory in the wild would be. Next time you go up there you should ask her if she has cats or dogs and hit her with that bit of logic. Beat her at her own game.

And she wouldn't even touch your snake? Was it because she was afraid of it or what? Or was she just so morally offended that she couldn't bring herself to touch him? I'd have serious concerns over someone like that working at a exotic animal clinic.

I agree with everyone! simply said. The employees at the vet I take my bp to are not ignorant, but oh boy are the customers. Comments like "why would you need to bring a snake to the vet!?" and "is it slimey? Can I touch it!?" sigh....You gota love it when people leave the room and cower in the corner when they find out you have an ity bity little python. But I can guarantee I would have had a rebutal for that young ladies ignorance;)

I would definitely inform the owners of the clinic. Verbally, and in writing. I would also ask for follow up on how they are going to rectify this situation. I think this is information they need to have in order to evaluate their staff.

What was said was glid, high-handed, elitist, and insensitive.

No one dealing with a potentiall sick animal, in a state of stress, and coming from a semi-powerless position needs to hear that.

And for the record. I used to bite my tongue... till I realized that clenching it between your teeth prevents you from saying things such as "excuse me?" "Hey dum dum... I can hear you"... things like that.

Bruce

Well, she's entitled to her opinion. Some people don't believe in keeping cage birds, or reptiles, or... or...
BUT. If she's working at the vet clinic and voices such an opinion, I would tell the vet as well.
"I'm sorry to have to leave your services here, but your staff doesn't approve of my choice in pet, and with that atitude towards a large portion of pets that I keep, I just don't feel comfortable spending my money here. There's more to pets than just dogs."
Her attitude is lousy, especially for anyone dealing with the clients.
I have a vet tech next door to me who said "I don't believe in feeding animals to other animals."
I then gleefully pointed out what a COMPLETE hypocrite she is, since she owns cats and dogs. Since she doesn't use any vegan kibble she feeds processed animals to HER pets, and at least my snakes are more honest!
She doesn't like me much. I really don't mind that she doesn't like me.

my husband feels that way, so I have spent a lot of time trying to understand and be compassionate for that point of view.
He goes a step further and says that all pets are bad - not just caged ones.
The assumption is that people are selfish to keep animals for their own entertainment.
Unfortunately, there's good arguments both for and against. Pets are a central part of my life so obviously I fall on the side of responsible pet ownership being a good thing, but I understand the darker side of the pet trade and agree that his opinion has validity also.

My guess is that this worker has had a life long love of animals and is sincere. I would also be inclined to believe that she has been influenced along the way by the Humane Society and is in lock step with their beliefs.

To the OP - I strongly agree with everyone who said you should let the vet know. It may have just been a random comment caused by a bad mood and doesn't even represent how the employee really thinks. Or it may be that this employee is driving away a lot of the vet's business. Or anywhere in between and any number of other possibilities. But the vet should be aware of it and be the one to decide what to do about it.

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

my husband feels that way, so I have spent a lot of time trying to understand and be compassionate for that point of view. He goes a step further and says that all pets are bad - not just caged ones. The assumption is that people are selfish to keep animals for their own entertainment.

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Not to say anything about your husband in particular, because obviously I don't know him, but in my experience, most people who use these arguments are NOT animal lovers. They actually don't like animals (maybe they like looking at them in a zoo, but they don't want them in their daily life). They use the arguments they have heard from PETA and similar sources to try to justify it because they think being an animal lover is more popular and/or they think those arguments will get further with real animal lovers than the "I just don't like it" argument will.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

I have a vet tech next door to me who said "I don't believe in feeding animals to other animals."
I then gleefully pointed out what a COMPLETE hypocrite she is, since she owns cats and dogs. Since she doesn't use any vegan kibble she feeds processed animals to HER pets, and at least my snakes are more honest!
She doesn't like me much. I really don't mind that she doesn't like me.

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Did she have anything to say to that? That really bugs me.:irkd:
Like the other day when I was standing in an Indian food buffet line. I had just put some lamb on my plate and some women behind me says to her little kid..."We don't believe in eating baby animals." I was like--gee that chicken on your plate was killed at around 12 weeks old. I think you should put it back.
I held my tongue because her kid was so young. Now I wish I hadn't. When people like that say stuff out loud like that and their facts are just wrong. It's our duty to correct them.:sweeet::wuv: