21 Feb 2018
Following an unusual Twitter conversation with fellow blogger Nick Marsh, our resident RVN stands up and admits: “My name’s Jane, and I’m a sniffoholic.”
Jane Davidson
Job Title
Good or bad, the smells associated with animal care stay with you throughout the years. Image © kirillica / Adobe Stock
Don’t run away! I’m not entering into the complementary and alternative medicine debates… I’ve just been thinking about the lovely smells of the vet world that make me feel good.
Following a Twitter conversation with fellow blogger Nick Marsh back in 2017, I’ve been keeping a little list – a secret list. But I’m now willing to share and show you mine if you show me yours…
The vet world has been a bit stressful since the start of this year, so maybe a nice blog on something non-divisive would be nice. I think Nick probably went a little too far in his tweet below…
This post isn’t about licking things, however (I’m far more civilised). No, I’m here to talk about sniffing – more specifically, which veterinary smells do you really like?
My list begins with an oldie, but a goodie:
I think Endorid was a wormer, and was “palatable” long before any other product had started doing the same.
I don’t think you can buy it anymore, as it was quite dated when I used to sniff it, but it was lovely.
The group of practices I worked in had only one branch that used it, so it was a treat to go and have a little sniff. Think of a milder, more pleasant palatable carprofen. Mmmmm!
I’ve told people about fixer/developer before, but it’s a sniffing joy not often shared by others.
Sorry. It appears I’ve ventured into divisive territory already. It’s a shame as the vinegary smell of a darkroom makes my mouth water.
If you don’t like the smell of spirit then I’m worried. It’s so lovely and clean, and a little nose tickly.
I know it’s not good to aerate it around pets – especially cats – so private sniffing is best.
Oh, pink tape! A fresh roll straight out of the box is so lovely – although it’s not so good when it’s a greasy, well-fingered end of the roll whiff, so choose when to sniff with this one.
White tape is not as joyous as pink, but in an emergency, it will do. Again, beware of the end of the roll whiff, so you really want this straight from the box.
I’m hoping if I’ve repulsed you with the list so far, I can win you back with dog paws. Yeast, popcorn, Doritos, whatever you smell, they smell good. Allegedly, it’s because of the pseudomonas on dog paws, but whatever it is, it’s great!
The not so pleasant smells, or the ones that got away, are:
I’ve heard people talking about this and sticking their noses into poor puppies mouths. I can say I’ve never smelt it. Maybe it’s like ketones and only some people can smell it? I realise puppy breath is such a huge thing, so I’ll likely be removed from the register for this revelation. I await the RCVS letter…
You know the pungent, catching the back of the throat whiff of a poorly cat with renal failure. It’s a horrid smell, but also one that’s made me love more than one cat in my time. Something about it makes me want to run a chronic renal failure hospice for cats.
Cautery may well be the Marmite of vet world smells. It makes me feel a little bit sick, but I’ve worked with people who love the smell… are you a lover or a hater?
Obviously, even more awful smells can be encounter at the vets – parvovirus diarrhoea is the worst, mange, purulent gums with rotten teeth – I can recall the smells and the pets that created them, even if the case was 15 years ago.
The memory of certain smells is strong, so – coming out of a dark January and freezing February – maybe we can focus on the whiff of spring that is white tape, the smell of a summer barbecue that is cautery and the dog paws – always the dog paws!
