Touching the untouchables: The first reactive referral center for pets with behavioral challenges

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On this episode of the latest Vet Blast Podcast, Tracy Paukette, DVM, joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss the Reactive Referral Center, the first of its kind to help treat pets with special needs. Paukette tells listeners about her path to the referral center, the work they do, and some of the success stories they had.

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

Tracy Paukette, DVM: I gotta go through that history before I even talk to that client. So go through what history we have, including trading history. So it's not just medical, but if they have any training history, I go through all of that, then we set up actually a telehealth appointment with me. So we take that time to I break down every single detail as far as because I want to set this patient up for success. And I want these [clients] to trust me that, hey, it's gonna be okay. It may be that you walk in the door and your dog may try to lunge at me right away. That's okay. We're gonna be okay.

We break down all the details starting from you know, 'how was your last visit?' And I'll start with them in their own home and walk you through 'did your dog get into the car? How did the car ride though? Did they get out of the car? What happened at the door? What did you use for restraint? Was a towel ever used? Where were the vaccines given?' All these things, because oftentimes is you know, these pets remember all of that and so they're fearful. We want to try to readjust some of those things in advance.