A doctor’s appointment is probably not the most awaited thing on your schedule. Trust me, your four-legged friend is likely equally unimpressed. And “unimpressed” is a soft word to refer to many people's experience of feeling anxious, nauseated and simply in fear before knocking on a GP’s or a vet’s door.
Some of us fear that the doctor will find something seriously wrong with us or our pets, others dread the “uncertainty” of whatever it is they are going to find out in their office.
And while we fight our demons armed with “what if” scenarios, some doctors and veterinarians take an extra step to make sure not just our health but also our state of being is in a good place.
So as a tribute to them, Bored Panda compiled this list with heartwarming examples of doctors and vets making us feel less miserable and way brighter. Whether it’s a simple comforting gesture or some cute decor in their office that makes you smile, little things work wonders!
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Saw This Next To The Weighting Scale At The Hospital
My Local Vet Has A Sign And Candle For When Someone’s Saying Goodbye To Their Pet
In Spanish-Speaking Countries, The Tooth Fairy Is A Mouse (Ratoncito Pérez). This Is My Dentist Office
To find out why so many of us feel that anxious about visiting a doctor or a vet, we spoke with Dr. Rory Lubold, the chief medical operations officer at Galaxy Vets. “A trip to the doctor is stressful for all of us, pets included. There is an added level of anxiety with a trip to the veterinarian because we can’t explain to our pets why we have taken them away from home.”
Moreover, for pets, the veterinary office is a place with unfamiliar smells, sounds and other pets they don’t know, Rory explained. “There is often something invasive done, such as a temperature being taken and their daily routine is interrupted by this car trip, which can be stressful as well. There are specific items and attire, such as scrubs, white coats, stethoscopes, and other equipment that pets can associate with it,” he told us.
A Doctor Made A "Special Prescription" For An Illiterate Patient
A moving "Thank You" To a vet
Found In My Doctor’s Office
Rory explained that the stress with a doctor’s visit is often associated with the anticipation of unpleasant things, and the fear of the unknown. “For pet parents, it is the fear of learning that something is wrong with their pet or the unknown costs associated with treating the pet. There can also be a negative association with a veterinarian’s office because it is the place to go when your pet has an emergency, is very ill, or where you might have had to say goodbye to a pet.”
Vet’s Mew Surgical Assistant
This May Not Seem Like Much, But After 10 Years, I Am Stepping Down As A Practicing Veterinarian. This Is Every Thank You Card And Picture That I've Received Over The Last Decade
Hospital T-Rex Has A Reminder For You
The chief medical operations office at Galaxy Vets added that pets are also very intuitive and will pick up on the stress and anxiety from their parents, which can add to their own discomfort.
When asked whether there’s anything to be done to make the patients feel less stressed, Rory said that veterinary clinics have indeed many ways to make this experience less stressful and still provide excellent medicine. “There are simple things such as keeping the clinic very clean to reduce smells, adding pheromones to lower pet stress, and creating positive associations, such as treats and visits where nothing bad happens.”
This Coffee Mug In My Doctor's Office Telling It Like It Is
At The Local Vet's
We Really Take Post-Op Care Seriously At My Job. Cuddles Is The Best Medicine
“The most effective way to comfort patients is to change how veterinary practices approach delivering care. Veterinary clinics may add virtual care to help answer questions and treat minor conditions without a stressful trip. If a relationship with a pet and its family exists, many questions can be answered and conditions treated with a low-stress video or phone call,” Rory explained.
This Was Outside My Local Vet's Office. It Made My Day And I Hope It Makes Yours
Always Choose The Doctor With A Sense Of Humor
Friend's Daughter Is Afraid Of Monsters In Her Closet. The Doctor Had The Pharmacy Fill This For Her
Another way to comfort pets is to help their parents better understand the cost expectations for care. It turns out that “financial stress is one of the most significant issues in treating pets and both pet parents and veterinary teams feel this stress.” Rory said that “we can help with the addition of clear payment options, pet insurance, and wellness programs that distribute the costs for care over a longer period of time.”
My Cousin's Costume. He's A Dentist. And Yes, He's At Work
I Saw This At The Doctor’s Office Today
Dropped Her Off At The Vet As A Dog. Picked Her Up From The Vet As A Taco
The Teddy Bear Is Taken Care Of
My Outdoor Cat Is So Fat The Vet Added A New Category In The Diagram Just For Charlie
My Friend's Work Requires A Doctor's Note If You Call In Sick
This Veterinarian
Babies Born In The Festive Period Are Wrapped Up In Christmas Stockings
My son was born in November. He was due in January. On Christmas day the nurses/angels who took care of him in the NICU called me to tell me that I could finally bring him home. Best Christmas present ever. He wore a Winnie the Pooh Christmas outfit. It was huge on him. Lol. He just celebrated his 24th birthday and is brilliant with an incredible career.
He has my sympathy. My husband's birthday is the 20th of December, my brothers is the 23rd, and I'm the 24th.
Load More Replies...Well, cute, but I thought separating mums and babies ended about 40 years ago. What country is this? Doesnt look like NICU either.
We would do this for our babies that were still in hospital on Christmas Day (Australia) and our 'well' babies were kept at Mums bedside. They would occasionally come out to stay with the staff when Mum was showering, so we would dress them up then, or sneak them out for a min to dress them up as a surprise.
Load More Replies...Why are they not with their mothers? Over here mum and baby are never seperated after birth.
Some mothers would prefer that they be in the nursery for a while. That should be a choice. I get why some mothers don't want to be separated from their babies after birth, but I would have very much have liked my baby to be able to go to the nursery to give me time to recovery from surgery. If the moms are okay with having them be in the nursery, then that's their choice.
Load More Replies...My brother was born on December 20th 55 years ago. (As a side story my Mom had a baby girl 60 years ago on December 20th that did not survive. She had to have surgery to have children and when she went into labor on the exact same day five years later it was terrifying for her. She thought it was a bad omen. She didn't know she had lost her first baby until she woke up in the hospital in a room with another new mother who asked her about her baby and the nurse responded that the baby was dead). They sent my brother home from the hospital in a Christmas stocking. It's been his Christmas stocking his entire life...the one he came home from the hospital in.
I'm a mom of 4 and where I live (Canada) babies stay in our room at all time. It's even stricter now, since 2014, when a little girl (known as Baby Victoria) was abducted by a mentally unstable woman disguised as a nurse, in Quebec. They found the abducted baby about a day later btw. She was ok. So now babies never leave their parents. If they have to take the baby somewhere, one of the parents must accompany the nurse.
Um... why are these babies in a weird dormitory? Is this normal in some countries still? Where I am all babies are with their mothers at all times, and only babies with health issues may be in separate rooms, but there would still not be this stockpiling of babies going on.
My twins had the red and green hats Bday is 12/14. No stocking though it would of been amazing
My oldest two, about to turn 23 in a few weeks, they were brought to me in stockings.
My youngest son was born on December 22nd back in '86. Yes, he was put in a stocking just like this. He and I came home from the hospital on Christmas Day. 🎄🎅 Best Christmas gift ever!
They sure didn't do that when I was born December 24 196X. They used old potato sacks and made us march in a specially constructed walkway outside the maternity ward from our mother's bed to the nursery. It was uphill both ways with snow 2 ft deep and we had to climb into our cribs with a drill instructor shouting at us. Different times.
The Was On The Whiteboard Outside Of Radiology At My Vet Hospital
Kitty Got A Boo Boo And The Vet Made His Body Cast Look Like A Little Shirt And Tie
Saw This At My Doctor's Office, Definitely Neat With The New Covid Vaccine Coming Out
A Client At My Friend's Vet Clinic Told Them It Was Their Dogs B-Day Today So Post-Op They Did This
This Vet With A Kitty In Her Pocket
Had To Take My Cat To The Vet. Ridiculously Handsome
Had To Get My Blood Drawn Today. This Was On The Wall At The Lab
My Vet Has An Empty Cabinet In The Exam Rooms Specifically For Cats To Hide In When They’re Not Being Examined
This Was In My Dentist's Waiting Room
Best Pain Scale Ever. Found At My Wife's Doctor's Office
My Doctor Has Kept All The Pictures Kids Have Drawn Of Him
My Doctor's Office Has A Legitimate Stool Sample
Doctors Paint The MRI Machine In The Children's Clinic To Look Like A Submarine
Every hospital should do this. I'm 18, but I will admit that the white color on MRI machines isn't exactly appealing.
I Noticed A New Sign At My Doctor's Office
Went To My Local Vet Clinic To Drop Off My Dog For Surgery And Was Surprised To See This Awesome Fish Tank/Dog House
Doctor’s Office Got Jokes... But Seriously, Vaccinate
Back At The Very Start Of The Pandemic, I Had To Take My Mom To Urgent Care For A Non-Covid Issue, And This Was The Doctor That Entered The Room
I still can't get it out of my head.
My Wife Took Our Cat To The Vet's, And My Son Told The Vet His Toy Dinosaur Was Feeling Poorly So The Vet Gave It An X-Ray
Of course his T-Rex was feeling poorly. He's only been dead for the past 65 million years!
This Sign At My Doctor's Office
Girlfriend's Eye Doctor Hit Her With A Good Ol' Dad Joke Today
I'd actually give this too my boss. "I just want you to know that I am so dedicated to my job that I'm willing to not follow doctor's orders to be here today"
IV Bag Plant Watering Thing I Saw At My Doctor's Office
We once had a goldfish in our staff lounge. Just so they would not get over fed we put a Medication Administration Record beside the bowl for people to sign off on feeding at listed times. One day when someone was cleaning the bowl they dropped the fish and it spent a bit if time on the floor. Put it back in the bowl. It could still swim, but it didn't look good. Our lounge used to be an exam room so it had a connection for oxygen. We rigged up an O2 nasal cannula into the water. It didn't help. It eventually died. We held a little funeral in the dirty utility room across the hall. Yep. We really did. Flushed him down the Rainbow Drain. We kept it secret because we didn't want to scare the patients that we couldn't even keep a goldfish alive.😳
So My Dad Got His Hip Replaced And Had The Doctor Save It So He Could Turn It Into A Cane
Toilet Lid At The Eye Doctor's Office
At My Local Vet's Office
My Local Dentist Has A Ceiling "Where's Wally?" For Patients During Appointments
My Coworker Got His Wisdom Teeth Removed The Other Day, The Doctor Said He Would Take A Funny Picture While He Was Under Anesthesia
By the look on your friend's face he was getting some pretty good "laughing gas" too.
The Ceiling At My Vet Had Paws On It
Note: this post originally had 111 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I’d had a new little puppy for a week when she got a bad case of runny bum. I decided it was a bit too bad to deal with at home and called the vet. (In context I look after puppies from 9 weeks old until they’re 12 months old or so for an assistance dog charity). She’ was a bit subdued and actually a little floppy so I was very worried and I rushed her to the vet on a Saturday night. The vet was also worried. The vet recommended they give her antibiotics and keep her in on a drip and look at her again in the morning. 7am Sunday I get a phone call from the vet. “Could you PLEASE come and pick your puppy up? She’s definitely feeling better and she’s taken her cannula out, every 10 minutes overnight, opened her crate, every 10 minutes overnight and is now marching up and down the crate room barking her head off! She’s also let 4 other dogs out of their crates during the night. Repeatedly.” She was a lot better when we got her home and she went on to qualify as an assistance dog.
I’d had a new little puppy for a week when she got a bad case of runny bum. I decided it was a bit too bad to deal with at home and called the vet. (In context I look after puppies from 9 weeks old until they’re 12 months old or so for an assistance dog charity). She’ was a bit subdued and actually a little floppy so I was very worried and I rushed her to the vet on a Saturday night. The vet was also worried. The vet recommended they give her antibiotics and keep her in on a drip and look at her again in the morning. 7am Sunday I get a phone call from the vet. “Could you PLEASE come and pick your puppy up? She’s definitely feeling better and she’s taken her cannula out, every 10 minutes overnight, opened her crate, every 10 minutes overnight and is now marching up and down the crate room barking her head off! She’s also let 4 other dogs out of their crates during the night. Repeatedly.” She was a lot better when we got her home and she went on to qualify as an assistance dog.