Valerie Tafoya
Biological Sciences, Freshman
Tafoya’s dogs Canela (left) and Baby (right)
On October 31st, 2016 I rushed my puppy, Canela, to an emergency animal hospital because she had been acting strange, was not eating and was having digestive problems. She had been quiet and tired for a couple days which did not alarm me because puppies tend to sleep a lot. It was not until my sister, Marsha, told me about Canela having digestive issues that Marsha and I decided to take her to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Canela was examined and tested for different diseases. After waiting for a dreadful ten minutes, one of the tests came back positive, canine parvovirus. The veterinarian, Dr. Sullivan, explained to me that parvovirus is a virus attacking her intestines and affecting her body from being able to absorb any nutrients. He also warned me that because of the stage Canela was at, she had a poor chance of surviving the virus. I immediately burst into tears and could not control the wave of emotions I felt: fear, guilt, and worry. Dr. Sullivan explained to us the cost of the treatment, which was out of our budget. Dr. Sullivan and I shared glances and without having to explain to him how desperate I was to get Canela treated, he left the room and came back with two options. One option was to pay an expensive amount to have Canela treated overnight. Another option was to allow Canela to be given IV fluids for twenty minutes and take her to another clinic he recommended where they had lower prices for treatments. I decided to go to the clinic Dr. Sullivan recommended and I left with Canela in my arms, comforting her.
I never realized until now what Dr. Sullivan did; he empathized with me and looked for more affordable solutions for Canela and me even though it meant a different doctor would be treating her. Dr. Sullivan did not have to recommend another clinic, but he shared the same worry I had for Canela. I always assumed he was just doing his job and Canela was simply another patient. I never thought that he might have been equally as worried for Canela as I was. Dr. Sullivan was able to do his job so well because he used a powerful tool, empathy. To be a veterinarian, you must care about animals. In order to care, you must have empathy- the action of understanding the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another. What is not talked about is the emotional cost of empathy. Caring is a double-edged sword and can lead to what is known as compassion fatigue. This is something many veterinarians experience where they are emotionally drained due to the stressful work they do. Although it is a great tool to connect with clients, it requires veterinarians to enter their client’s world and in turn experience their emotions.
Compassion fatigue is the result of taking on the emotional burden of clients and patients. For compassion fatigue to occur, a caregiving relationship must exist. In this relationship there must be an exchange of emotions and information between the veterinarian and the patient. The veterinarian must be determined to help lessen the suffering and pain of the client and patient. This relationship is known as the human-animal bond. When the human-animal bond is intense, the veterinarian empathizes for the client and patient strongly. Having this human-animal bond with various clients and patients can lead to a lot of negative emotions. When owners take their pets, who are often seen as more than a pet, they are stressed and worried. Veterinarians not only have to find out what is wrong with the animal and figure out how to heal but also figure out how to comfort the owners. Being a veterinarian does not mean just working with animals but also with people. This adds emotional and physical pressures onto veterinarians. Veterinarians have multiple emotional relationships with different owners and their pets and are constantly feeling pressured. Animals are taken to veterinarians because they are injured or ill which could have been caused by various reasons. There are injuries that can result from being hit by a vehicle, dog fighting, malnutrition, abandonment, etcetera. Veterinarians are constantly being exposed to trauma. Being exposed to pain and suffering every day can lead to a lot of negative emotions which can lead to emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual exhaustion resulting in compassion fatigue.
Despite being exposed to trauma and pain, veterinarians are still working hard every day to heal animals. Veterinarians are motivated to continue to go to work every day because of compassion satisfaction, the pleasure derived from being able to do their work. With compassion satisfaction, veterinarians feel positive about their ability to contribute to the work setting and to owners and their pets who need help. One-way veterinarians increase their compassion satisfaction is by remembering the cases where animals were saved. Another way is stress management through various techniques such as breathing exercises, peer support, etcetera. Through self-care, many veterinarians are still encouraged to get up and work hard with patients. I believe another force that motivates veterinarians is their passion. That strong, uncontrollable desire to help animals and their owners is what pushes veterinarians out of their beds every morning.
Passion is what drives people’s actions. My passion is animal welfare and conservation. It is what pushes me every morning to work hard in school so that one day I can become a veterinarian. I have been passionate about animal welfare since I was in middle school, but I was pushed towards veterinary medicine when I saw how influential veterinarians can be. Through my experience in the emergency animal hospital, I was able to see first-hand how deeply veterinarians care about their patients. It helps them be amazing caregivers like Dr. Sullivan who is a veterinarian that cares deeply about his patients, like Canela. He may have not realized it, but Dr. Sullivan educated me that day about parvovirus and influenced me to look up more about why vaccines are important and what kind of diseases they help prevent. It helped me realize that veterinarians are also educators who teach their clients how to give medications or aid to their pets, what certain behaviors might mean, how to take care of their pets, and how to be sure their pets live their best healthy life.
This passion has led me to DePaul University and pushed me to join DePaul University’s Pre-Veterinary Club where I can learn more about the veterinary career. I am excited every day because it is a new day to gain more knowledge that will push me closer to my goal of becoming a veterinarian and educate the public- especially in low-income neighborhoods. I know from living in a low-income neighborhood, that many people cannot afford medications for their pets. I want to teach people that there are ways to prevent their pets from becoming sick as they are like family. I know that the professors at DePaul University will teach me everything they can and push me to connect with the Chicago community and all the opportunities the city has to offer. I am excited each day because I know there is something new out there for me to learn and a new opportunity waiting for me to grab. I cannot wait until the day I can save animals’ lives and teach others they can help save their animals’ lives just as Dr. Sullivan did with me.