Even though I may gripe about many clients, I have some absolutely wonderful ones. In fact, most of my clients are great, and the obnoxious ones are in the minority. If all clients were "bad" I couldn't do this job.
One of my favorite clients is an elderly couple (we'll call them Mr. and Mrs. Charming) who are in their 80s and have been married for nearly 60 years. I've been seeing their pets for many years. One of their dogs was a very sweet, very old Sheltie. They took great care of her for 16 years, and loved her dearly. We finally had to euthanize her last winter, and it was hard on them. Not long afterwards they got a new puppy, another Sheltie. She actually closely resembles their other dog, and is just as calm and sweet.
Recently I was talking to another regular client in the lobby, and she gave me a hug because of how much she appreciated me taking care of her dog. Mrs. Charming happened to be up there and I didn't see her right away. She walked over and said "Why are you hugging my doctor?" with a smile on her face. I turned to her and said "I have enough hugs for you too," and gave her one.
The next day she and her husband brought their puppy in for her first heartworm test and routine checkup. While there were there I recounted to her husband my experience of the day before, then asked "Does she get that jealous with you, too?" Mr. Charming replied "No, she actually encourages me." He chuckled and she rolled her eyes and playfully hit his shoulder.
That is the kind of interaction they have. You can easily tell that they care about each other and that he likes antagonizing her, but she's used to it. The are one of the sweetest old couples I've know, and they take great care of their dogs. All of my staff loves when they come in and I always look forward to talking to them. They're very entertaining to watch, but very genuine and have a quiet love of life. You can't help but smile when you spend even a short amount of time with them. My only problem is that I'll sometimes loose track of time talking to them and almost forget that I have other patients.
I'm glad I have clients like the Charmings. They make the day worthwhile.
