Annoying owners: Routine interactions with problematic clients in a general veterinary practice

Based on a year of fieldwork in a large, mixed-practice veterinary clinic in New England, this discussion focuses on the criteria veterinarians use to evaluate and define certain clients as problematic. Doctors and clinical staff define most negatively those clients who are especially ignorant concerning basic features of being an owner, are argumentative or demanding, display concern for fees over the welfare of their animals, are apparently negligent of or abusive toward their pets, or are problematically over-involved with their animal companions. Comparisons are drawn between the typologizing activities of veterinarians and those of physicians and other service workers. Portions of this paper were presented at the Qualitative Analysis Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, May 22–25, 1992.