Vets, good and bad

[Jac]

Another article made me think of this.

Are vets "in it for the money"? I think some are and some aren't.
I left a vet's practise because she was obviously afraid of Blue. I took him for a booster and had a really nasty experience.

The vet I am with now is expensive but fantastic. When Blue became ill she new exactly what it was. She said she could run tests to confirm it but they were expensive and wouldn't make any difference to the out come.

I had another dog Sasha. Some of you will remember her story. Again the vet was fantastic. Sasha had hayfever. The vet told me to go to the chemist and buy our hayfever tablets and how much to give her as animals equivalent were expensive.
I would take my vets advise about anything. I trust her 100%.

[Darky]

I certainly think that some are in it for the money, due to various stories that I've heard. I think that our tiny village veterinary surgery is a Godsend, because my parents refuse to go to the one in the town over - because it is apparently totally overpriced and has terrible vets.

The surgery in the village has only one vet, and he's a lovely chap. On two occassions I have had pets die of unnatural, horrible causes and he has not charged me when putting them to sleep to end their suffering, once driving a long way to get to the surgery on an emergency visit when it was closed.

The only thing that used to bug me about him is the fact that he always spoke to my parents instead of me about issues with my pets, but he stopped doing that once he realised that I was paying the bills. XD

[Grete]

I think it depends on the vet, some of them are in it for the money, it's just a job etc. Some tho seem to have a genuine affinity for the animals they care for and as for costs - it's not always them that sets the bulk of the price of medicines and treatment, but the suppliers of medications etc that they have to deal with.

I think I have been really lucky with my vets practice.
I don't think they are any more expensive than some and they don't always charge for everything they do. When Squeak was first diagnosed and through 2 years of treatment, they bent over backwards to make life easier for her and when she was having to be tested twice daily sometimes plus blood pressure, they arranged to come out to me and only charged me half price for home visits etc.

They were upset when she passed on and even now a few years on, when I take the girls in for boosters etc, they remember me and my late girl. They also take time out to fuss the cats as well which I think is excellent.

[dandysmom]

I think it depends on the vets themselves. The Clinic I go to now is very large and rather impersonal, although I'm not implying that they're uncaring. The small one vet Clinic I used to go to was fantastic..he was extremely caring and obviously loved animals; used to fuss over them and make the visit a bit less stressful for the cats. I'm repeating a story I already posted in another thread: when Sultan was there for three days being treated for what turned out to be an incurable fungal lung infection, Dr. C. went out of his way to do what he could...consulted with specialists at the U. of Pa. School of Veterinary medicine where he had gone. And when it was obvious that Sultan wasn't going to make it, he called me at home Sunday (the Clinic was closed on Sundays), because he knew I'd want to be there. He came in and opened the Clinic for me so I could hold him as he was relieved finally of his pain. I have never forgotten that kindness.

[Moli]

My vet is not the cheapest by far but I have known her for the past 15 years, she looked after my previous 2 staffies and has looked after all the dogs and cats I have now from day one, we are good friends too, to me thats what is important..I completely trust her....

[Amber]

It definately does depend on the vets themselves, although the prices they charge can often be due to the overheads of the practice. In my experience working as a VN, I find that most people seem to think that the bills they pay, pay the vets wages and nothing else. Unfortunately for the vet that just isn't the case. There are as I said the overheads, and the wages for all other members of staff, including those you don't see such as cleaners (if the practice has them - the nurses take on all roles in our practice )

As a practice, we're certainly not the cheapest around, although as our vet stated once to a client who was going on and on and getting very stroppy about the price of treatment (they'd not actually had any, just getting estimates for some) "we don't pride ourselves on being cheap, we pride ourselves on being good". I can honestly say our vet is fantastic, she will always do what is right for the animals, not what is right for herself which is what some vets seem to do. She won't encourage clients to let their animals go through unecessary procedures just to make the practice a bit of cash. You can see by how she works that it's really not just a job for her. She comes in at 8:15 in the morning, and is often there until 7:30pm at night.

[Annette]

I had a bad experience with my vets, which we had been using for quite a number of years. The one vet treated us very unfairly, they were a locum for that practice and after upsetting me I asked for a second opinion for my cat if we had not had that then we would not have known what he had died of.
Both my cats died this year one was put to sleep in August and the other I nursed at home after being treated badly by the vet.
A few weeks after my cat died I did write to them with my concerns , but I am still waiting for a reply.
I have found by recommedation another local vet.

[Tink]

agree with u lot about it depending on the vet...although i'd also like to add that it makes me lose faith in the vet when they push an rx food on you that you know you don't need and that you have read bad things about (if you are like me and are an obsessive freak about what my cat should eat..i could write a book with all the research...LOL) just to up your bill and get you to come back there to buy your food regularly.
i have worked at a vet in the past...one of the docs was good, the other two...well...if it made the client's bill larger was more important to them than the animal's welfare.
i do entrust a vet with my animal's health but i also always do my own research and take what they say with a grain of salt and don't let their word be final just because of the framed degree on the wall.

[Steph]

A good vet is wonderful. But some are better than others it`s true.

One of ours once got nasty blisters on his feet(cat not vet and our normal surgery suggested we had been careless and left something caustic around. Huh-as if. We took him for a second opinion and `pododermatitis` was diagnosed as a reaction to his food.

We have moved since and we have a great vet. When we got Cleo she went for her free health check(they do that for rescue cats) and the senior vet looked at her spaying stitches with something beyond disdain saying "who did this?"

The same vet saw Parsley when he went blind. He told us that it was not going to be easy but there was a chance that if the bloods were OK and we could get his BP down the retinas might re-attach-they did. Even an experienced and senior vet was thrilled.

Same vet with `Rags` who really was a mess when I found her. He said things could be done but warned it would not be cheap and refused to do anything for a week in case she wandered off.

[calismum]

I can only praise my vet(s). Large practice but I see three vets there. They know all my animals and one of them gets down on the floor to give the dog a cuddle before he even starts to examine her. They've phoned me at night after evening checks tolet me know an animal in for an op is ok. They respect my wishes when I've had to make hard decisions. All in all they are great. Not the cheapest in town but not the dearest either.

I recommend them to everyone.