From the Archives, one year ago
Mixed practice in the 1970s and more
Mixed practice in the 1970s and more
Country vet for over 40 years in Sweet Home Oregon. I graduated from Colorado State University in 1975. I practiced in Enumclaw Washington for a year and a half before moving to Sweet Home to start a practice. View more posts
Memoirs of a Country Vet
I almost missed what I think is the real lesson here, I think. Animal and man both need a reason to get up in the morning, a purpose, some connection to others, otherwise, they are just waiting for the bus. They don’t have to be old to feel that way.
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Lavinia, you may be detected a deeper meaning than I was trying to portray. I like your view. I was trying to illustrate the power of the placebo effect on people and on dogs (owned by people). If an old dog is lying on the porch every day, he gets up only when he has to and he is sore when he gets up. When all of a sudden the owner comes along every morning, pats him on the head and gives him something, a treat, a pill, or some magic potion, he suddenly feels he still has a place in the world. The owner perceives it to be the pill (or whatever). when actually, it is the attention. Same thing with people. you take a pill hoping to feel better, a high percent of the time, you feel better. Thus the need for double-blind studies when evaluating the efficacy of a new medication.
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I thought about your story, and people and animals I’ve known, all day when I was at work yesterday. My mother was a nurse, a Public Health nurse in her later working years. Back in the day when I was young, I went on some of her calls with her. Most of them were older house-bound folks. The look on their faces spoke volumes.
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