Tails of Truth: The Truth about Veterinary Medicine

How to Maximize Vet Visits for You and Your Pet

• Episode 14

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 📚 Summary

In this episode of Tails of Truth, Dr. Angie and JoJo chat about simple ways to get more out of every vet visit. From jotting down your questions and knowing your pet’s vaccine needs, to saying “no thanks” when something doesn’t feel right — they share real, practical tips to help you feel more confident and keep your pet comfortable. Plus, they break down how good communication and a supportive vet team can make all the difference. Dr. Angie and JoJo offer practical advice to help every visit be more efficient, supportive, and aligned with your pet’s well-being. 

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Come prepared: know what your pet needs and what you want.
  • It’s okay to say “no” or “I’m not sure” during your visit.
  • Understand your “vaccine personality” so you can make choices that fit your pet and your comfort level.
  • Write down your questions ahead of time — and bring them with you.
  • Always bring the primary caretaker to the appointment (or have them on the phone)
  • How you transport your pet matters — think ahead about stress, sedation, and comfort.
  • A good vet team supports you — there’s no place for pushy sales tactics.
  • Take your time — you never have to make decisions on the spot unless it’s truly urgent.

 🎧 Sound Bites

  • “It's okay to say no and I don't know.” — Dr. Angie 
  • “Bring your pet and the poop.” — JoJo 
  • “There should never be pressure to make that decision right then.” — JoJo 
  • “We don’t do high-pressure sales in veterinary medicine.” — Dr. Angie 
  • “How you get your pet to the vet matters.” — Dr. Angie

Please subscribe and review! xoxo Dr. Angie & JoJo


Dr. Angie (00:00)
Welcome back to Tales of Truth, where we tell the truth about veterinary medicine. I'm Dr. Angie, and this is my nurse JoJo And today we are going to talk about how you can get the most out of your veterinary visit. Hi, JoJo.

JoJo (00:13)
Hey, I love this topic.

Dr. Angie (00:15)
It's good, and I feel like we don't talk about this enough. doing the relief work I've been doing, I have so much to say about how some clinics have more efficiency than others. And I think there are ways that pet parents can be getting more out of their visits.

JoJo (00:33)
and especially now that visits are shorter, right? So this is just more ideal to come in prepared.

Dr. Angie (00:40)
Yeah, sometimes they're really short. Sometimes veterinarians are double booked or they get behind. So I think the first thing that people are attacked with or feel attacked with at the beginning of an appointment is that nurse comes in or veterinary assistant comes in and there's a sales pitch. And, you know, in some clinics, the sales pitch is really rough.

JoJo (01:01)
I'm so sorry.

Hmm.

Dr. Angie (01:08)
It's really

rough. And I think that there's a big disconnect between reading the room and really interacting with someone on a personal level versus here's, you know, here's my pitch. And I think it can come across really salesy.

JoJo (01:26)
Does that happen on sick visits as well as wellness visits? Okay, thank goodness. I'm so glad to hear that.

Dr. Angie (01:29)
No, it does not happen. I

know that would be horrifying. Although I have to say it's really cringy when veterinary nurses or veterinary assistants come in and like the dog or cat is sick and they're like, well, I just want you to know that they need their rabies vaccine and maybe we can get that done today. And then they'll come back to me and say, Dr. Krauss fluffy's here for X, Y, and Z. But do think we can give their rabies vaccine today? I'm usually like, no.

JoJo (01:34)
Yeah.

Dr. Angie (01:59)
No, no, no, no, we're not doing that.

JoJo (02:00)
That is cringing. We have had clients that come to for house call visits that talk about this specifically either they're they get fat shamed not they but they their pet gets fat shamed right from the beginning when they're there for a sick visit because that and vaccines or raw food shaming those are like the three big ones we hear about from those appointments yeah okay okay

Dr. Angie (02:13)
Yes.

I know.

That's not the time. It's not the time to do it.

So I think when people are faced with the sales pitch, just know what you want and feel comfortable saying no, or I'd like to talk to the veterinarian about that. Thanks for offering that. Do you mind if I discuss it with the vet when they're in? And so that's a good way to just kind of either put it off.

or get more information, you can definitely ask the nurses about the vaccine or whatever heartworm preventative or flea and tick preventative. And you can also know that they have kind of a script that they need to follow. Either they're in a corporate situation or, you know, a lot of times they have been trained by the pharmaceutical company that of the product they're selling. So

If we use Zoetis vaccines, they would come in and train us on those vaccines. And so a lot of those nurses or veterinary assistants are kind of regurgitating that, which can feel really impersonal.

JoJo (03:34)
My first

job and my first internship while I was still in college was very salesy like that all the way down to prescription foods and like we had a quota chart not that they wanted us to hit a certain quota and you could get bonuses on it. I didn't last very long there at all but that does exist I mean it does exist and I would not want to be a pet parent on the receiving end of that it wouldn't feel good.

Dr. Angie (03:55)
Yeah.

No, yeah, it doesn't feel good because we want to personalize the medicine a little bit more. ⁓ so I usually like to ask people about their dog's activity. And sometimes that doesn't necessarily change my recommendation, but people also need to know that you understand that dog's lifestyle and that you can provide a reason why they need that preventative care, whether it's a vaccine or.

JoJo (04:10)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Angie (04:33)
and take prevention and even just, you know, finding out, yeah, my dog's always inside, but goes outside to pee in the backyard. And maybe you live in Florida and like likely there are fleas everywhere in everyone's backyard. I've never lived in Florida or practiced in Florida, but I'm assuming that's the case. It has to be the case.

JoJo (04:47)
Mm-hmm.

It has to be the case. When I ride a bike

in Florida, I get bugs in my teeth. So I feel like it has to be the case. But what I heard in that is that it's important if the veterinary nurse, the veterinary assistant is recommending it, it doesn't mean you have to say yes to it. A recommendation does not mean it's the right fit for your pet.

Dr. Angie (05:15)
Definitely. Right. It's okay to say no to some things and yes to others. It's okay to say, I'll think about it. And I like to pay attention to how people treat you. so if that veterinary nurse or assistant is snarky about it, I, I would pass that on to the veterinarian. And if the veterinarian doesn't care, then it's probably not the best fit. you don't want to be in a clinic that feels like a sales pitch.

JoJo (05:45)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Angie (05:45)
We don't do

high pressure sales in veterinary medicine. Just like if you showed up to your, you know, general practitioner for a physical and if they're like, Hey, we have flu vaccines. Do you want one? And if you said no, you would still want to have a really positive visit overall and you would want to feel respected. And so you want, you deserve the same from your veterinary staff.

JoJo (06:05)
Mm-hmm.

Okay,

step number one.

Dr. Angie (06:11)
Step number one, it's okay to say no and I don't know. The other thing I really recommend people do is have an idea of what vaccines your pet is due for and have an idea of whether or not you want to give them or if you are a person that wants to space things out or if you're a person that's like, I want to vaccinate for anything that's preventable or I want to do the most minimal.

start to think about that ahead of time. Some people come into a clinic and they're like, I want to minimize the number of trips into a clinic because my cat, this is such a stressful moment. Please don't tell me we're going to do rabies now and FVRCP three months from now. I want to do them both now. And some people are like, I can't imagine giving two vaccines at one time. This feels like too much. So kind of go in and have an idea of

your risk tolerance, your risk assessment, and kind of your philosophies around vaccines and prevention.

JoJo (07:18)
You couldn't have said that any better. You took like three of the words I would have used.

Dr. Angie (07:22)
Yay. Yeah, it helps

because then you can kind of stand your ground and then ask for what you need. And most veterinarians and veterinary clinics are happy to assist you. And if you say, Hey, I really only want to vaccinate for the things I absolutely have to, or in this situation, or, know, some people are like, my gosh, if I could prevent it with a vaccine, please do it. It's important.

JoJo (07:45)
Mm-hmm.

And I would say all spectrums are welcome. Like anywhere you fall along that line is welcome.

Dr. Angie (07:52)
Yes.

And it's okay to change your mind. It's okay to, yeah, it's okay to do it all at one time and then say, Oh, that didn't work out. And I want to do something different or this year I need to do something different or this year I, I'm really tight on funds and I don't take my dog to boarding or in any kind of like group setting. So I'm not going to get that kennel cough vaccine because I need to save $45 or

JoJo (07:56)
Mm-hmm. I have many times depending on the pet

Dr. Angie (08:21)
you know, whatever it may be, it's okay to come with your needs. So just kind of know, know your vaccine and preventative personality ahead of time.

JoJo (08:31)
Your vaccine and preventative personality. I love that. On what our vaccine, what people's vaccine personality is. Yeah, that's true. That would be interesting. I would love to see that. I'm a personality. I don't know, but I'm a middle of the road. I'm one who's gonna keep up with the rabies and the distemper parvo's.

Dr. Angie (08:34)
We should create a quiz.

Yes.

What would your vaccine personality be?

JoJo (08:56)
just because one I have a biter, I have a dog that's a biter and so I just want to have evidence that he doesn't need to go in quarantine somewhere. But we never do Bordetella and I've never done Lepto. Although that might change with it becoming core vaccine, I don't know if I will be required to for certain situations. So I don't know and we get advised a lot to get the rattlesnake.

Dr. Angie (09:05)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ right, yeah.

JoJo (09:22)
the rattlesnake vaccine at our clinic and I'm just not gonna do that.

Dr. Angie (09:27)
I didn't think it worked that well. Whenever I have checked into that with other, um, colleagues that live in highly infested rattlesnake areas, they, they say it doesn't really work.

JoJo (09:39)
Yeah, I've read the data. I'm somebody middle of the road, but I also read all the research. So I come in pretty prepared. How about you? What's your, what's your vaccine personality?

Dr. Angie (09:46)
Right.

I think it changes. I think it changes from animal to animal and from time to time. I would say I go in spurts where I will think, ⁓ I've got to catch everybody up. And so I would be the client that came in was like, I think I haven't vaccinated my cats in five years and they're due every three year. Like, it two years ago. ⁓ I think that's the client.

JoJo (10:07)
Hmm.

You

Dr. Angie (10:19)
that I would be unless you were reminding me. Yeah, I think that, but I would still want to do them if they were necessary, but I would find that, you know, life kind of, you know, happens and then you get behind and then suddenly the time goes by and you're like, ⁓ no. And that's how I am with my own health. I always get my physical every year, but I'll do it.

JoJo (10:23)
Huh.

Yeah.

⁓

Dr. Angie (10:47)
of on time but then they'll give me like a lab slip to get my lab work done and I'll get it done approximately three months later.

JoJo (10:54)
That's why you gotta

find a place that does it right there. That's so true. And I think like if I had cats, that's a different personality because I did lose a kitty to a sarcoma and I never vaccinated my cats after that. So if I had indoor cats, yeah, if I, is that your, I didn't know if that was coming. I'm like, where is that coming from? Yes, I do. Yeah.

Dr. Angie (10:57)
I know.

8.

Can you hear my cats fighting?

That's my cats just fighting off to the side playing.

Hey kids, kids.

JoJo (11:21)
I was like looking at my ear like where's that? Where's that coming from?

Dr. Angie (11:22)
Sorry.

Yeah, so since

you have had the experience of a vaccine-related sarcoma that resulted in your cat's death, you probably would...

JoJo (11:34)
Yeah,

I'm very conservative. I would follow a conservative personality in terms of indoor feline. And I would say I'm middle of the road personality with dogs. That's probably where I would say I land in the, I don't know if those are personalities though.

Dr. Angie (11:40)
Yes.

Yes. Okay.

It's like if a Cosmo was giving you a quiz, you would like fall into, you know how like on Sex in the City, they're like, are you Carrie or Samantha or whatever?

JoJo (11:56)
Yeah, right.

But I never watched

Sex and the City, but I know what you're talking about, yes. That would take me more time to come up with some fun thing. You have one, you have one, I can tell. What are you?

Dr. Angie (12:05)
Like what character are you? And I guess I would...

I mean, I'm

just, if I were to like, I guess we were talking about archetypes here, I would be the like frazzled bomb archetype. It's like, no, with ADHD, I forgot to do that. But then I would still want to do the things, but I would be very particular about like vaccine brand. And so I definitely have my, my little quirks.

JoJo (12:19)
Mm.

And I think, okay, then I would be the nun schoolteacher with a ruler that slaps the hands of people like you, like, and make sure that I'm on like, because I have to make my deadlines.

Dr. Angie (12:50)
I know.

Yeah, well, and that's why you keep me in check all the time.

JoJo (12:58)
Yeah, but I also

envy, I also envy your personality type as well. Yeah.

Dr. Angie (13:05)
You do? Yeah.

I know just I have to say as an aside, like what we've been working together for five years, six years.

JoJo (13:13)
⁓ yeah

I don't know it's somewhere in there between five and six.

Dr. Angie (13:17)
I remember when you first started with me, you would say things like, no, no, no, it was so good. It's so good. You would say things like, Angie, with your to-do list, how do you sleep at night?

JoJo (13:19)
no. I'm just gonna hang my head down now.

Yeah, because I

could not sleep with that. Yeah, we had a little friction right there because I didn't realize how that could impact land on you. But really it was about me because I can't do it. It's my anxiety feeds off that.

Dr. Angie (13:35)
Yeah.

Yeah, I think my

life stresses you out constantly because you don't have ADHD and you don't have your hand in five million pots. Although, I don't know, you have a lot of children. You have a lot of children. Maybe, yeah, you just relate to them differently and you're more on top of things.

JoJo (13:51)
You

I don't.

No. Yeah, I don't know if that's fair. Yeah, I do have a lot of pods going on.

Yeah,

yeah, but I bet my life stresses you out.

Dr. Angie (14:10)
Yeah, yes. When I think of having a spouse and children, like all the children, like, so I just have two, no spouse, two cats. Like, I can't imagine all the needs you have coming at you. Right. And that's why you're so good for me.

JoJo (14:24)
But I think that's why I have to be so organized.

and you're good for me. Because I think I really set that down. I've been able to set down like, that she's, you're comfortable in that. I don't need to fix it, right? Like that you're comfortable in that space and it doesn't have to be mine either. Yeah, it's interesting. This is so far off topic. That was my type A bringing the ADHD back, no.

Dr. Angie (14:32)
Aww.

Right, yeah.

No, yes.

I know back to how to make veterinary visits. I know. I know.

I was like, where else can we go?

JoJo (15:01)
Now you know a little bit more about us.

Dr. Angie (15:01)
Okay, now

you do. We are telling the truth about everything. Okay, so we want you to know your personality profile that we need to still make up for you, your vaccine archetype. The other thing you should do is write down your questions. The clients that have their questions either in their phone or written on a piece of paper get the most out of their visits. And so...

JoJo (15:28)
This is so

true.

Dr. Angie (15:29)
do it because then you don't, you're not like checking out and like, I forgot to ask this question and tell the nurse that you have these questions because that nurse is going to tell the veterinarian, the veterinarian is going to come in and prioritize that. And they're going to want that to be front and center.

JoJo (15:46)
Yeah, questions are fantastic. And Google ahead of time. That is going to be so controversial. Do you want to kill me right now? ⁓

Dr. Angie (15:49)
Yes. And then.

But some veterinarians are such jerks about,

like, don't tell them you Googled. Or get a different veterinarian. I don't know. I hate it when veterinarians, it's my ick, when veterinarians shame clients for Googling. So if you're...

JoJo (16:11)
Yeah, I

think Googling helps you get to a clear place of what your question really is.

Dr. Angie (16:16)
Yes, there is still good information on Google. Not all of it.

JoJo (16:20)
Why can't

the veterinarian just feel like a hero at that? Because then they can debunk something or like, I don't know, come across with some evidence why that's not accurate. How does Google, what's the problem with Google? I don't understand.

Dr. Angie (16:32)
There are some big egos.

I don't,

I don't, I don't either. Google everything probably to my detriment. But the other thing you and I talked about is to make sure that you are bringing or are the person that is the primary caretaker of the animal. Here's what's so tragic is that, you know, veterinary reminders go out, Fluffy's due for their six month exam. And you're like, okay, I'm going to schedule it, but I can't make it at that time.

JoJo (16:49)
You

Dr. Angie (17:04)
So I'm going to let my significant other slash child slash whatever bring.

JoJo (17:11)
caretaker,

yeah, my, I don't know, somebody who sees my dog once a week, yeah.

Dr. Angie (17:14)
nanny, personal

assistant, and then we don't get the information that we need. And the whole visit, you're you're not getting your money's worth out of it. In my opinion, I think you should be making the time even if it means you're a month late to your visit. It's worth it, you're going to get so much more out of it. Because a lot of these people then feel like, well,

I don't have the decision making authority or I don't really know if we need that. I don't really know if there's a problem. I don't know what the litter box looks like. so, and then a lot of things can be missed because then that person will say, I'll go and ask them if blood works. Okay. But you're never coming back. Like then life happens.

JoJo (17:54)
So many things.

Right.

Dr. Angie (18:01)
So don't do that, if you can.

JoJo (18:04)
At the very least have that person on the phone or accessible by phone.

Dr. Angie (18:10)
At the minimum, yes.

JoJo (18:13)
Right, because you might find, I mean, I can think of so many things. You're going to ask about diet. And oftentimes, there's no answer for that. Then we don't really know how to talk about weight loss if that's needed. Lifestyle, which is going to go into vaccines and preventative care. What kind of treats, what kind of snacks, what kind of bones, what kind of, I don't know, cats, what kind so many questions. It's just like, oh, I don't know. I don't know. It's very hard to come up with a care plan.

Dr. Angie (18:24)
Mm-mm.

Yes.

Yeah.

JoJo (18:40)
in a sea of unknowns. You might do an exam and find a lump and go like, how long is this lump? Primary caretaker might know that it started out as a pea size and it's graduated to a, I don't know, a prune.

Dr. Angie (18:40)
It's very hard.

Right. Or that it's been aspirated five times by the previous veterinarian. I know about that. Don't worry about that. It hasn't changed in six years or whatever. And so, yeah, it's easier on everyone.

JoJo (18:57)
Yeah.

Right. Yeah.

Everyone. Yep.

Dr. Angie (19:08)
And then our last and final point, our last tip is how you get your pet to the vet matters. So like how you're bringing them in, if you're bringing them in stressed, ⁓ if they need some sedation ahead of time, think about that because the visit is going to go so much more smoothly. Take less time, be less traumatic. So if you have a dog that gets really nervous or a cat that gets really fractious,

Make sure you get some sedation ahead of time. It's gonna make everyone's life easier and it's just so much better for your pet.

JoJo (19:42)
Mm-hmm. That and if you have a cat, practice with the carrier ahead of time. Carriers are so stressful, but also use a carrier. I cannot believe how many people come in carrying a cat into a lobby of dogs. Yeah, that just riles everybody up. And if you have a dog, take them for a walk prior. Just move some of that energy, please.

Dr. Angie (19:47)
Yes, please.

Don't do it.

Except

sometimes we need pee from them.

JoJo (20:07)
that's true. Don't we

like? I don't know.

Dr. Angie (20:13)
Well, if you're coming in for a wellness and you take them for a walk ahead of time, grab that pee, pick up that poop and bring it in. You'll be the hero. You'll be fresh.

JoJo (20:19)
Yeah.

Please, yeah. Always bring a bag of

poop with you. I would just say that standard. Bring your pet and the poop. Because if we don't use it, we don't use it. But if we want it, we have it.

Dr. Angie (20:32)
Yeah. And it makes everything faster and easier than you don't have to come back the next day with a poop. So, and bring urine into why not just catch it. Just catch it with a ladle. Yeah. With cats it's yeah, it's a whole different story. Okay. Anything else that we need to tell everyone before we sign off.

JoJo (20:40)
Yeah, easier for a dog than a cat.

Well, I would just say at the very end, whatever you're presented with, whatever care plan you're presented with, it is okay to pause and say you need to think about it. There should never be pressure to make that decision right then unless it's a life-threatening situation.

Dr. Angie (21:06)
Right. I like it. No pressure. You need to find a team that is going to be supportive of your decision making.

JoJo (21:13)
Okay.

Dr. Angie (21:13)
Nice. Well, on that note, we would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment wherever you're watching this. And if there's something else you'd like us to cover, we want to know about it. So leave a comment and we will see you next time. Bye.

JoJo (21:27)
Happy vet visits!