would you be concerned about this vet?
I emailed the vet who is the owner of the practice and a vet I have loved for the 16 years I have been seeing him to let him know of my concerns. He met with me on Friday when I took Daisy in for her dental cleaning and addressed my concerns. He told me that when Ayla had her spay, other dogs exhibited problems and they narrowed it down to a bad batch of sutures. He also said his clinic was shorthanded for vets and his staff of techs and assistants had turned over suddenly and he knew the level of care he was used to providing was not up to par. On Friday afternoon, after I had picked up Daisy from her dental, I noticed Ayla scratching at her ear and shaking her head and whimpering. I looked at her ears and the left one was horribly swollen, red, with black gunk in it. Remember, she had been seen on Thursday for a "tech exam". I was alarmed and called the vet, but they were closed. I called first thing the next day, only to find out they were closed for the entire weekend, due to the "vet shortage" here. I called another vet who got her in the same day and she has an extremely bad ear infection. She was treated and we are hopefully on the road to recovery, and I feel terrible I did not see it coming. But, I am concerned that I had her seen the day before by the tech who did not notice any sign of trouble. I think I need to change to a new clinic, despite the fact that I have loved the my original vet for so many years. However, it seems the clinic is incapable of providing the kind of care I had become accustomed to. Is it unreasonable to expect they should have seen signs of her infection during her tech exam? |
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| Whether or not that the ear infection was evident at the time of the exam, I think I would seriously consider switching to another veterinary practice. If the vet himself is telling you that he can't provide you with excellent care, that would be enough. I know it's a tough decision to make when you like the guy, but if you're not getting great care and not being able to get in when you need to, you really should go to someone else who could meet those needs.
Although we didn't have the time in as you did with your vet, we switched to another practice when we tried to get a rescue in that was suffering a bad reaction from a neuter surgery. It was normal office hours but, since it wasn't a "planned" appointment, they were going to have to charge me emergency vet prices. If it were an after hours clinic, or something extraneous to normal practice, I could understand but it just seemed all they cared about was making money. I know that's a big part of any practice but the vet we have now gets us in even if her schedule is full. She makes time for us and makes sure we always get good care. I always feel like I can depend on her being there when we need her-- which is probably one of the most important things in a vet to me. |
| I'd be concerned, and I'd look for care elsewhere.
Follow your instincts, and WELCOME to the forum! |
| I had a Vet that was always able to fit me in. It was the first place I found when I moved here. When I needed my Vet the most.... he was out sick and my dog couldn't be seen for days. Also they took forever to get regular blood tests back that most Vets have done in their office.
So I made a bunch of calls and found a place that would take me immediately with no extra charges. They also do their own lab work in house. The Vet was so great with my dog, so caring.... I decided to switch. They have more than one Vet so I know I can always been seen if I need it. |
| If you wouldn't accept that level of care for your skin family, why would you put up with it for your fur family? |
| Yes I'd be looking for a new vet. It is too bad that the practice has deteriorated. There's no reason to be loyal to them when they are not doing the best they can for you. If you have qualms (and I would, given what you've described), that's a good reason to try someplace else.
When I moved to Boulder, my friend recommended a vet here that was supposed to have an outstanding reputation, great service etc. but Chum whined and whimpered the whole time -- something she doesn't usually do. He told me that Chum needed to grow up. 
So I found another Vet -- also with a great reputation. This vet gets down on the floor with Chum and she licks him and lies down and puts her head in his lap. It is so much better of an experience and I also believe that the time he takes to soothe her makes him understand her ailments better too. I would not hesitate to try somewhere else. You may be very pleasantly surprised. |
| I would definitely look elsewhere.
I went to the same vet clinic for years also, and even worked there for a while. The vet who owned the clinic was amazing, but once he retired and had less involvement with the clinic it changed. They became totally money oriented, and did not seem to actually care about the animals at all. About a year and a half ago I was recommended another vet clinic about half an hour out of town. I decided to give them a try and would never go anywhere else now. There are 3 vets, in addition to techs and other staff who are ALL wonderful. All of them are caring, and will spend so much time talking to me, understanding my need to know EVERYTHING LOL You need to trust your vets, and feel totally comfortable with them, so I would recommend you look elsewhere. See if you can meet some, talk to them a bit, bring a dog with you for them to meet and go with your gut. |
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