05/17/2023
Our hearts and solidarity go out to the staff and families of Shively Animal Clinic & Hospital for this senseless act of violence on Sunday ❤️
While the details are still coming out, what is very clear is that a young man went to work on Sunday to serve animals in his hospital, and his mother (who also worked at the clinic) held him as he died, after being shot by a client. We are unbelievably saddened by this horrific news, and are saving space for the team at Shively Animal Clinic & Hospital PSC. The unfortunate truth is that our own team, like almost all veterinary professionals, have been threatened with violence and abused too often by clients who have lost control. We work in an industry where emotions are high, stakes are high, and communication and respect are of the utmost importance. We are told all we care about is money, that we don’t care if people’s pets die, we don’t care if they suffer, and so many more horrible things on a regular basis when clients can not afford recommended treatment or do not understand why we can not do more for them. We try to explain that our costs are set by our expenses, that we are a business who is accountable to our owners and team to be sustainable and profitable, and that no one who works in vet med got into this business to get rich. We want people to understand our why, that we are here to help, that we love your pets, we are here to serve your pets, but we will always put the safety of our team above all else. We can not and will not tolerate any form of abusive behavior toward our team, and hope to be part of industry wide changes that shut down abusive behavior long before these horrific tragedies happen.
