Barks 'n Bytes No. 32

Three Caesareans presented by one client end up in the deaths of two of the bitches.

How is it possible that a multi-man veterinary practice, whose veterinarians perform thousands of Caesareans and spays each year, can have such a disastrous outcome in two out of three surgeries with one client?

Barks 'n Bytes No. 31

 Veterinary Boards hold veterinarians to a high standard, but many fail to apply the same standards to themselves. 

Particularly irksome is the fact that some Boards delegate responsibilities to lay-person staff members, and then let these staff members loose on the profession without seeming to have much idea of what their staff members are doing “in their name”.

Barks 'n Bytes No. 30

The best way to avoid a Board complaint is to deal adequately with events, incidents and disputes that arise in your practice before the client resorts to lodging a complaint with the Board.

The VDA is managed by seventeen veterinarians who are experienced veterinary practitioners, and we know how easily an unexpected outcome or client dispute can turn into a Board complaint and how disastrous this can be to your mental well-being.

Barks 'n Bytes No. 29

Why do owners abandon their pets when they have cared enough about them to take them for treatment to a veterinary facility?

It seems that clients abandon their pets for many reasons, amongst them being:

•        Owners have developed allergies;

•        The pet is owned by a child who is not caring for it properly;

•        Owners are re-locating and cannot take the pet with them;

•        The dog/cat has become destructive;

•        The dog has become too big.

However, there are other, more complex reasons, too. In the following case, the VDA advises Dr A on how to handle the situation when a pet has been abandoned.

Barks 'n Bytes No. 28

The purpose of this article is to explain the Veterinary Board disciplinary proceedings in the State of Queensland and to expose some of the defects that the VDA has identified in these proceedings.

The VDA believes that it is imperative for Queensland veterinarians to contact the VDA for assistance with Queensland Veterinary Board complaints prior to subjecting themselves to any of the Board’s complaints processes.

Barks 'n Bytes No. 27

Veterinarians under stress sometimes have suicidal thoughts and they may even follow through, thinking that this is the only way out.

The VDA interviews Dr Peter Hatch, a Veterinary Psychology Counselor on the subject of suicide, in order to shed some light on the factors surrounding suicidal feelings.