Imagine trying to resuscitate a critically ill dog while the owner is screaming:
“Kukupad-kupad kayo, patay na yung aso ko!”
Then, because the owner wants to be attended to immediately, comes another statement:
“Pag hindi n’yo ako pinasingit at namatay yung aso ko, isusunod ko mga aso n’yo.”
Other clients begin leaving because the situation has become aggressive.
The veterinary team continues working.
Then later, a message arrives:
“Doc, pasensya ka na nung nakaraan. Kinabahan lang at mahal na mahal namin si Chichay.”
What should a veterinary clinic do?
Should we simply accept the apology and move on?
I think we need to separate two things:
We can understand the emotion without normalizing the behavior.
A critically ill pet can bring out fear, panic, anger, guilt, and desperation. Veterinarians see this regularly. Sometimes people say things they would never normally say.
We understand that.
But there is still a line.
And “isusunod ko mga aso n’yo” is something a veterinary team should take seriously.
We do not need to exaggerate what was said. We should not change the wording or assume exactly what the person intended.
But neither should we dismiss it as:
“Nagve-vent lang naman.”
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WHAT SHOULD THE CLINIC DO?
First, take care of the patient according to medical urgency.
Emergency triage should be based on the condition of the animal, not on who shouts the loudest.
If the patient needs resuscitation, the medical team should focus on resuscitation.
If possible, another staff member should deal with the owner.
Calmly. Professionally. Firmly.
The message can be simple:
“We understand that you are worried about your pet. We are attending to the patient based on medical urgency. But threatening our staff or our animals is not acceptable.”
No shouting match.
No sarcasm.
No argument.
Just a boundary.
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DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
Then document everything.
This is extremely important.
Write an incident report while the events are still fresh.
Record the exact words used.
Note the date, time, people present, what happened before the statement, and what happened afterward.
Preserve CCTV footage if available.
Save text messages.
Ask employees who personally witnessed the incident to make their own written accounts.
Documentation is not revenge.
Documentation is protection.
Because months later, memories change.
People may remember events differently.
But contemporaneous records can help establish what actually happened.
WHAT IF THE CLIENT APOLOGIZES?
You can accept the apology.
You can understand why the person panicked.
But accepting an apology does not mean deleting the incident from the clinic record.
And forgiveness does not automatically mean that the professional relationship has to continue exactly as before.
The clinic still has to ask:
- Do our staff feel safe dealing with this person again?
- Can we maintain a functional veterinarian-client relationship after what happened?
- Can future interactions occur without putting employees, patients, resident animals, or other clients at risk?
Depending on the circumstances, the clinic may choose to continue seeing the client under clear behavioral expectations.
Or, after the immediate emergency has been properly addressed, the clinic may decide that future veterinary care would be better obtained elsewhere.
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DO NOT IMMEDIATELY TURN IT INTO A FACEBOOK WAR
Do not immediately turn it into a Facebook war.
When emotions are high, the temptation is to post screenshots, CCTV footage, names, photographs, and the entire story online.
Be careful.
Protect your staff first.
Preserve evidence first.
Document first.
If a threat continues or appears credible, seek appropriate legal or law-enforcement assistance.
Social media should not be the clinic’s first security protocol.
COMPASSION STILL NEEDS BOUNDARIES
Veterinary compassion still needs boundaries.
Being compassionate does not mean allowing people to intimidate your staff.
Understanding grief does not mean accepting threats.
And treating a dying animal does not mean surrendering the safety and dignity of the people trying to save it.
Yes, sometimes people say terrible things because they are frightened.
Yes, sometimes they apologize afterward.
And yes, we can forgive.
But a veterinary hospital should still be able to say:
“We understand that you were scared. We accept your apology. But what happened was not acceptable, and it cannot happen again.”
That is not being heartless.
That is having boundaries.
Dr. Geoff Carullo is a Fellow and the current President of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners.
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