Infuriating vet trip

This vet trip was not for our rats. We were transporting an acquaintance's rats. We were sitting with them - in two different carriers - in the waiting room when a woman across from us asked why they were separated. She seemed very concerned, so I thought she was worried for their well-being, since rats don't usually do so well alone. So, we explained that they were both adult males and the owners had not done well at introducing them, so they can't live together right now. She then informed us that she had had hundreds of rats and she never had a problem just throwing them together.

She not only bred feeders by the hundreds, she sold to pet stores and such. So, already, I was uninterested in her advice on rat care. She continued to explain proper rat care to us, though, and tried to sell us a huge plexiglass tank for them.

We tried to keep a civil conversation because I didn't want to start a fight with this woman in a crowded vet's office waiting room. We tried to brush her off. She would not stop talking. I think she started to notice our annoyance when we mentioned that we haven't needed to buy rats from breeders, because we rescue and there's such an abundance of rats that need rescuing. We mentioned frequently in the conversation that we rescue and that we have dealt with a lot of rats from people who didn't know how to care for them.

When she left, we thought we were okay. And then a woman came in with a dog that she was allowing to sniff at and bother other people and their dogs, despite other pet owners physically trying to move their dogs away and expressing their discomfort. The woman's son addressed the problem once, and his contribution was, "sometimes dogs sniff each other's butts. That's just what they do."

Another gentleman had brought a small puppy and let it wander freely and unsupervised all through the lobby. He almost followed people out the door and tried to wander into the offices.

The worst part about the vet for me these days is how many people I end up seeing who can't seem to be bothered to take care of their animals.

been there, seen that, too, it's very frustrating

It's so sad. Especially when you're sitting across from someone breeding rats like crazy and you know that so many of your own babies with sad stories came from people like that

I hope you made some kind of impression by repeatedly bringing up rescue. Maybe it will plant a seed in the back of her mind.
There are a lot of people who don't know proper etiquette, but hey, at least they took their pet to the vet! That's saying something, right?
(The glass is half full, the glass is half full...)

Yeah. It was a puppy they were taking, though. A real pet that they care about. But still. Plus.

I hope it left her with something to think about. She was really odd. One of the rats we took was a rescue from a very bad situation and we were telling her about it when we were explaining that we took in rats in need, and she seemed baffled by the idea that you could abuse a rat. Which was unsettling. I mostly just hope she never owns a rodent again.