When I was a boy, I used to love taking sick animals to the vet. Regardless of the problem, species, or breed, the veterinarian would examine the animal, give it a shot, send us home with pills, and more often then not, the animal would get better! At seven years of age, I honestly believed that that shot and those pills were magic cure all’s. The veterinarian was even better then Santa Claus, because you could get their magic cure whenever you need them just by going to their office.
Boy, was I disappointed when we learned that that shot was penicillin and the pills were antibiotics. The “magic cure” really only worked against infections. Today, some people still believe, as I once did, that a veterinarian can diagnosis any condition just by “looking at” the animal and treat any condition with a “magic” shot and some pills.
Simply put, we know a lot more and have better medications today, then veterinarians did 40 years ago. Being able to get CBC and chem screen results in the office in less then one hour, is a diagnostic tool that simply wasn’t available to any vet 40 years ago. This has made us much better at treating just about any sick animal.