Pet Doctor Forum founder talks about importance of Communication

The Pet Doctor Forum is a brand new forum started on February 5th 2009. While there are thousands of forums on the internet, and hundreds of sites for pet enthusiasts, this one forum aims to make a big difference.
Its aim is to help Pets and their Doctors communicate better!!

I recently had a great opportunity to talk to the founder, Dr Matthew, a British veterinarian, and these were the answers he gave.

I asked Dr Matthew, about what made him start the unique forum-

"Pets can't talk. (.. some of my nurses might also say Doctor's can't listen, but of course they can!)...and pets need a voice."

"Anyway communication is obviously more difficult between pets and their Doctors, than it is between ill people and their Doctor's- this is clear to all."

"So, hence this forum evolved, to try to help both sides hear what the other side is trying to say. "

I continues to ask him questions about how the forum works- these were his replies.

"On the forum (www.petdoctorforum.com) we have two sections. The first is a public forum, for anyone to post questions and comments in. They can be pet owners, pet doctors, pets (if they know how to type!) and anyone else with an active interest and enthusiasm for pets and animals, or who works with them. "

"Essentially, its hoped that on the forum, pet owners can chat with each other, but also learn and become more informed about the process of going to the vet. Any diseases their pet has, they can talk about and compare notes. And any treatments, they can comment on their thoughts."

But what about the vets, what can they learn?  I asked Dr Matthew-

" well, perhaps also by reading here their doctor's will be able to keep a "finger on the pulse" of the pet owning community, and help anticipate their needs and cares. This would be a wonderful thing."

We then moved to talk about the second section of the forum, what is this I asked? His reply was-

"The second section is the private section (all the forums are free by the way). This is only for Pet Doctors, and trainee pet doctors.
Here they can chat about their experiences and network with each other and learn from each other."

But the  site is very new and basic looking, and doesn't have many members yet, I commented-

"Yes" he replied, "The site is clearly very much in its infancy, but that also means because it is so small and new, it can evolve in any suitable way to achieve its aim of enhancing pet and pet doctor communication. Its not a beauty pageant, its meant to be a resource."

I wish him luck with his project. He asked me to ensure that the public is aware of the limitations of reading on the internet as opposed to a hands-on examination by their veterinarian!