Secret motives of veterinarians

"Woody?" I called out in the waiting area. A large but skinny golden retriever bounded up to me. "Hi", I said to its owner, "let's get his I mean her weight before we go into a room". I thought Woody was more of a masculine name but a quick glance at her paperwork while 'his' slid easily out of my mouth made me second guess. Woody was a very hairy but kind ten-year-old dog who had a really gross bleeding mass on her right rear leg. But I try never to assume why a client has decided to bring their pet in to the vet clinic: "so how has Woody been doing? I see she has a good-sized growth on her leg. How long has that been there?" Most clients respond in short sentances, "oh, ***** is great, wow, I have never noticed that lump before. Hmm, isn't that interesting" and I still have no idea why they are here. This woman, however, was different. She turned to me and quietly but intently said, "the growth has been there for about a month and when I talked with a veterinarian here she told me that we should get it removed soon, but I just don't know. I talked with my husband and he doesn't want to pay an enormous amount of money only to find out that the growth is cancerous and have to put Woody to sleep". As she continued, something struck me about the way she was speaking. She was being honest and sincere and it was disquieting to me. She said that after she was told that the results of a fine needle aspiration were inconclusive, she wondered if we really didn't find anything but were just trying to scam her into surgery anyway. I sat on the floor of the exam room scratching Woody's belly and explained to her how I perceived our clinic; as a very reputable place where veterinarians are willing to admit when they do not have the expertise to make an accurate diagnosis. I talked with her about some of the options she still had adn the relative costs of all of them. After a few minutes, I told her that the veterinarian who was going to see her was particularly adept at finding inexpensive ways to treat pets and that I completely trusted her to be honest in her recommendations. We ended up removing the growth in a fifteen minute surgery in the afternoon and Woody went home an hour or so later. During the surgery, while watching Woody's vital signs, I combed her hair, shaved off some matts and clipped her nails. I really felt a connection with her owner and wanted to ensure that she left with a good impression of our clinic. It was really interesting because I have never felt that wrapped up in a client's impression of my work before; usually I just focus on the animal.
Well, since it is a Friday night and I work in the morning, I am off to bed. No partying for this working student.