{"id":78619,"date":"2025-10-01T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T04:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=78619"},"modified":"2025-09-24T15:00:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:00:28","slug":"clients-opening-shots-1025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/clients-opening-shots-1025\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Fur Parents, Questionable Work Ethic and Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: I\u2019ve been a veterinarian for over 30 years. These days, clients call themselves \u201cfur parents\u201d and get emotional over things like ear infections and vaccines. I want to be compassionate, but I didn\u2019t sign up to be a therapist. What changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Here\u2019s the short answer: Everything changed. But not all at once.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a Gen Xer, and I remember when it wasn\u2019t common to grieve a pet publicly or refer to them as a \u201cfur baby.\u201d As a veterinary student, I heard I was too emotional about animals. I was reprimanded for sitting on the exam room floor, cradling a Doberman suffering from heart failure. I was taught that animals were property, not family. However, I didn\u2019t buy it, and I wasn\u2019t alone. Gen X was the first generation to truly push the boundary by treating pets as full-fledged family members.<\/p>\n

Millennials and Gen Zers didn\u2019t just continue that shift; they turned it into a cultural standard. For many of today\u2019s clients, pets are emotional anchors, family members and a central part of their lifestyle. In a 2025 survey, 71% of child-free couples said their lives revolved around their dogs, and more than half admitted to canceling plans so they could stay home with their pets. That\u2019s why clients expect more than clinical care from us. They want relatability, compassion and empathy. And if you come across as cold or dismissive, they might not come back.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear: Empathy isn\u2019t just a nice-to-have in veterinary care. It\u2019s also a clinical necessity.<\/p>\n

Studies of veterinary appointments reveal that explicit empathy statements are used in only about 7% of consultations. That means 93% of visits lack the simple \u201cI understand\u201d moment that clients need, even though empathy is proven to boost trust, satisfaction and compliance. We can do better.<\/p>\n

So, what does that look like in practice? Try this:<\/p>\n