Comments on the dilemma in the September issue: ‘What if it was your dog?’

The dilemma in the September issue dealt with vets attempting to put themselves in clients' shoes. Practitioners are often asked what they would do if the animal was actually their own, and it can be difficult to know how best to answer ( In Practice , September 2012, volume 34, pp 494‐495). Steven McCulloch considered the different permutations of what the question, ‘What if it was your dog?’, might actually mean. The first involved the vet taking only their own moral values and practical resource base into consideration. Alternatively, the practitioner could answer based on their own moral values but the specific client's resource base. The third interpretation involved deciding on the dog's treatment based solely on the morals and resources of the particular owner. He suggested that answering the question based on the second interpretation was a possible way forward, as it seemed reasonable to believe this was essentially what the client wanted to know. After having answered the question, a brief explanation by the vet, of what their professional judgement was based on, could help foster the client's trust and open up discussion about treatment options.