Compassion is the First Requirement for a Veterinarian

The feline herpesvirus, which is commonplace, can blind cats. The same can happen to humans. I refer to that infectious agent, briefly below, but first we have to recognise that even the best qualified veterinarian will not be a good vet without that precious characteristic: compassion. You can add to that an empathy for animals. All the veterinary qualifications in the world cannot compensate for a lack of compassion and empathy.

Ray - a blinded cat
Ray – a blinded cat
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Blinded Ray and His Siblings

It is clear that the vet involved in the story about Ray, Stevie and their siblings was neither compassionate nor empathetic towards animals.

Not only did her cruel neglect result in the acute suffering and eventual blindness of five cats, she also kept Pit Bull Terrier dogs caged up for the sole purpose to provide blood transfusions.

We have to recognise the fact that this vet, who practiced her profession in Mentor, Ohio (or near by) got cancer. This caused her to close her veterinary clinic. Fair enough, and I’d feel really sorry for her if it wasn’t for the fact that she kept Ray and his siblings in a cage for seven years at the back of her clinic, living in their own feces and urine, with little or no contact with people and under such a level of neglect that the treatable herpesvirus ate away at their eyes, with accompanying pain and discomfort, to eventually blindness. How could that happen?

Herpesvirus and Blindness

The vet who eventually treated Ray, in the picture above, believes that the herpesvirus made him blind. In humans the herpes simplex virus is a major cause of blindness worldwide. The blindness is caused by corneal scarring and opacity.

In cats an infectious form of ulcerative keratitis is caused by the feline herpesvirus. Keratitis results in the loss of transparency of the the cornea, which leads to partial or complete blindness.

In Ray’s case, it appears that the disease has gone beyond causing the cornea to become opaque. It has damaged the eye to the point where it has diminished in size. There may be some other diseases at play.

Abandoned Animal Welfare (AAW) rescued Ray and his siblings from their misery. Well done to you all. Ray was in the worst condition. Poor Ray has other medical problems. He survived. Without the closure of the vet’s clinic due to the cancer that the vet suffered from, these cats wouldn’t have made it. There is a sense of natural justice in that.

Nice video, but the music is overplayed. But that is unimportant. Saving Ray and his siblings is. Well done, again.

I wonder if vets are screened for their compassion before embarking on a degree course? I don’t think so. The problem with uncaring vets is the same as uncaring nurses in England. In respect of nurses, there has been an overemphasis on qualifications while ignoring the most important qualification of all: compassion.

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14 thoughts on “Compassion is the First Requirement for a Veterinarian”

  1. I don’t understand, isn’t there some federal or local gov agency required to inspect conditions at least yearly? If not, this needs some work from all of us. It should have been caught much, much sooner. I’m very saddened by this. That motivates me to do more research into veterinary clinic inspections and so forth…

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    • Excellent point, Cal. How did a vet get away with such gross mistreatment of cats? There is no control over vets not even by the AVMA because they declaw for non-therapeutic purposes. No one in the AVMA stops that. It is clearly against the interests of the cat in respect of health.

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  2. This is beyond awful. It’s terrible. It’s worse than dying probably. Poor Ray has lost most of his life to that stupid cow who clearly deserved what she finally got. One metaphor for cancer is not dealing with things and putting them aside in your life until they grow into something that has a life of it’s own and kills you. Well she didn’t deal with anything in the back of her office. I am sorry to be so hardcore about it but can you imagine how much those cats and dogs suffered? It’s impossible to come to terms with the thought – I can’t even understand what that must be like. I’m sure the little time the vet suffered doesn’t even account for 10% of the payback she deserved. She deserves to live with cancer stuck in a hospital bed with a dirty bedpan for as many years added up as each cat and dog suffered suffered added up in total. Probably a person doesn’t even live that long. 10 cats and dogs for 10 years would amount to 100years. Ok I am getting carried away. Again. But this time I don’t apologize. The carbon footprint, or mark those animals made on this planet is so tiny it’s incredible – they didn’t deserve it and that is a guaranteed fact. I bet the vet had 2 cars. I bet she had a big house with the air conditioning running all summer. A human who tries to do the right thing can’t help but be 100 times worse than a cat or dog. Something tells me this vet wasn’t vegan or energy concious. It goes hand in hand with how evil she is/was that she probably made a big dent in the atmosphere while she was at it.

    Then there’s the fact that nobody spoke out… It’s very depressing and disheartening when it’s not just individuals but groups.

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    • Ok I just watched the video without sound cuz I’m at work. Usually I can’t watch these things. It is the saddest thing I can imagine. If something like that happened to one of my cats I would die. I just can’t accept or have any understanding towards whoever made this happen. I lose all control and respect and want to freak out when I think of people who do things like this to animals. It brings out the worst in me.

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    • If she does have cancer she got what she deserved by the way of Karma and I don’t care if anyone thinks that’s harsh,I hate animal abusers like poison.
      How could any vet be so cruel and yes someone else working there should have done something about it,it’s unspeakably wrong that they didn’t.

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      • It makes me want to cry – I’m at work – I shouldn’t have watched it here now. What poor sweet cats to be made to suffer for so so long. It makes me so sad. No I don’t think you are being harsh. They are like poison and deserve the poison they cause to innocent animals.
        I cant believe they were stuck with deteriorating eye problems for SEVEN whole years. It’s impossible to come to terms with this idea and what it would be like. They weren’t even in a big cage together but alone and without probably any love year after year. I hope they can somehow stay together. I wish I could adopt them.

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  3. This is terrible, poor little cats. I agree with Nancy, someone should have stepped forward and reported that cruel vet, covering up someone else’s abuse is almost as bad as doing it!
    I’ve worked with many vets and other vet nurses and although most were compassionate people I used to wonder why some trained to work with animals and I always spoke out if I saw something wrong.
    Why did no one speak out there?
    Yes Kevin we can only do our bit to help as best we can as we are not God.

    Reply
    • Why did no one speak out there?

      A very good point. If people stay silent they are participating in the crime. As far as I know no criminal proceedings have been started probably because the vet has cancer (we are told). However, sometimes criminals avoid prosecution by saying they are ill. I am not saying that is the case here but it does happen. This must be a example of animal cruelty and a crime.

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  4. things like that are hard for me to see or even hear about..im not god so i cant stop that kind of abuse that happens more than we hear about or will ever know about.

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    • in addition to my last comment,if i was god none of that abuse would ever happen.i can only do a very small part by making donations to my local not for proffit animal shelter and making shelter adoption my first option

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    • It’s so hard to feel helpless to do anything about it sometimes. You are right – we can only do our small bit to help but it makes me feel powerless.

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      • The longer I live the more I realise we have to forget some of the cr*p otherwise we’ll go mad. I guess it is about accepting the things we can’t change, hard though it is.

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  5. Some one that worked with this vet.should have stepped up and told the police about these cats. This made me cry. But so happy they are in good hands now.I have a blind cat that I love very much.He manages very well.He was blinded in an accident when he was 7 years old. these kitties will learn to be cats and they will be ok now. Bless their little hearts and bless the angels who saved them.

    Reply

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