Vets See Certain Breeds as Money in the Bank

Some years back, I noted the complicity vets have in the diseased, deformed, and defective pedigree dogs that we see today:

Pencil it out, and the big money in veterinary care is not in once-a-lifetime vaccines, but in the big stuff: shot hips, wrecked eyes, recurring skin conditions, Cesarean births, and mounting rates of cancer.... The vets are nearly silent about the litany of pain, suffering, shortened life, and rising expense...

Later, veterinarian Larry McDaniel over at the Purina Care blog (it seems to no longer exist), wrote about a recent New York Times piece on English Bulldogs:

I vividly remember a conversation I had with an established Veterinarian when I was starting out in practice in Montana. He told me that one sure fire way to get my practice going was to help establish the Bulldog as a breed in Western Montana. I thought he was joking, but he was serious. All the Bulldog people in the Western Part of the state saw him as the expert and brought their dogs to him. He told me that much of his success was based on the Bulldog.

The best summary of the relationship vets have with the worst of the genetically and morphologically challenged breeds is summed up in this satirical piece piece from the Beetoota Advocate entitled: Local Vet Quietly Cheering After Yet Another French Bulldog Pup Turns Up In The Neighbourhood:

This breed is basically like owning a vintage Alfa Romeo,” laughed the vet.

“They’re born half-fucked and they slowly get fully fucked. Don’t get me wrong, I love all dogs but it’s the French Bulldogs that put my kids through private school, I tell you. Somethings always wrong with them. Fucking ear drops, eye drops, skin irritations,”

“You name it, these dogs get it. It’s sad for me AND the owner when the Frenchie comes in the for the last time, absolutely peppered with the Spanish dancer. The gravy train is over.”

Nestled on the fringe of the Betoota Grove shopping village, Dr Melissa Grace’s veterinarian practice enjoys a humble trade.

As the go-to vet for our town’s well-heeled residents, Grace said her job is incredibly rewarding both financially and emotionally.

But, she admits, it can be tough at times.

“When a hardy breed comes in like a kelpie or cattledog, you think to yourself, ‘There’s no margin in this for me,’ and you just have to sigh,”

“But when you first meet a frenchie puppy and it’s already about to kick the bucket, you just have to quietly cheer to yourself. This’ll pay off half my new Passat stationwagon. Fuck yes.”