We saw a new vet

[JoanneF]

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Some of you may have picked up that I've lost a bit of confidence in Timber's old vet - I'm not vet bashing, but theres been a couple of things in the last year that have made me question whether they were good fit.

Anyway, someone recommended another new practice that's opened nearby.

About a week ago, T developed a very slight limp. As you do, I held off doing anything at first, to see if it sorted itself. It didn't entirely, he was fine if walking on grass and fine if I'd really rested him (such as after Monday's bad rain, he was fine on Tuesday). And it was never bad, a few times I was second guessing myself whether he actually was limping or just walking on uneven ground. But there was something, so I decided to try the new vet.

He had me walking T up and down the corridor and of course, the little monster walked perfectly. Then, on maybe one or two paces, there was the merest hint. So we have some metacam.

But here's the good thing. He listened to his heart and agreed there is a murmur but his heartbeat is strong and his lungs are clear - people who know his history may remember the echocardiograph episode from earlier this year. And he talked to me, discussed treatment options. I'm quite impressed.

 

[Laco]

Access to a Vet you trust is so important. We are very fortunate with ours, to whom we had taken Samantha, our last dog to, from the time we first adopted her, to the end, and Lexi our current dog for the almost two years we have had her. I talk to so many folks that are not happy with the Vet they take their fur babies to.
Unfortunately one of the trends here, maybe in the UK too, is, large corporations are buying up small Vet practices and seemingly turning them into money making operations, and quality Vet care seems to often be secondary. I truly prefer the small corner Vet practice that has been there for years, with the same Vet or Vets consistently practicing with a priority of treatment and medical care based on what is best for the pet.

 

[JoanneF]

Yes, it's going the same way here @Laco.

 

[BKayHol2]

It is SO important to have a vet you can really **talk** to. At least, IMO. I have just enough medical knowledge to be a bit scary, and want to totally **understand** things that are being relayed to me when it comes to physical issues (whether they're human or canine related)

Because of things that happened a few years back, before & then exacerbated during Covid lockdowns (fault/no fault - at this point is matters none) I switched vet practices a couple times. At the time my Dinah (RIP) had both GI issues (ended up being diagnosed as IBD, possible intestinal lymphoma) and physical pain issues (possible elbow dysplasia, symptom-wise it fit, but was never formally diagnosed) that we were having trouble balancing. Anything given to manage pain just caused intestinal 'blow out'. Old vet's practice just wanted to do a dental. (???) Then we had a serious bite incident. To the face. (My husband, her Daddy, ie - FAVORITE human on the planet) There is no doubt it was triggered by unmanaged pain. I was ready to euthanize, but after a long, sleepless night, much discussion with people who knew her, me & understood our situation, I cancelled her appointment with the old vet, booked an appointment with a new (our now current) vet, and hoped for the best.

The day I went in to see Dr. S. I had a pile of vet records & a timeline for Dinah's medical history. It was May of 2021 & they had just recently started allowing people into the office (rather than the Covid protocol of dropping them off in the parking lot) There were still tape lines on the floor that you weren't "allowed" to cross (6' Social Distancing rule) Dr. S. came into the exam room, basically ignored the dog, plopped down cross-legged on the floor & said "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on." An hour (and about a bucket full of my tears) later, we had a treatment plan for going forward.

She gave Dinah another really good year & a half of life. She helped manage the end of life care for two other senior dogs, and is now Veterinary Goddess for Ellie & Felix. Dr. S. makes me feel heard. We talk through issues, discuss treatment options, sometimes come to an 'agree to disagree' (but anytime I go against her 'professional recommendations' she doesn't make me feel dismissed - I am always the end decision maker & fully supported, whatever that decision might be)

Never underestimate the importance of a great Vet-Client relationship. Never forget to drop in with a basket of muffins for the staff on a regular basis. Never forget to tell them "Thank You" a thousand times over. You will never regret it. As I'm sure you well know.

 

[JoanneF]

That's such a helpful post @BKayHol2 .

The vets we were with are highly regarded with five star facilities, and for long enough I was happy with the service I was getting. But, reflecting on that, I was happy because there was never really any problem with T's health.

His first real health problem was in 2021 when he ruptured his cruciate ligament.. I can't fault the treatment he received, they work with an independent specialist surgeon that comes in as a locum when required to do specific surgeries, and he called me (because, covid) before the procedure to explain what he planned to do; then afterwards to explain what he had done. Follow up appointments with the other regular vets were okay, except for the appointment to get his stitches removed, when the vet didn't know why we were there and couldn't do it as she was working alone (our vet has a satellite surgery in our small town for minor appointments, that's where we'd gone, assuming there'd be a second person to hold T while someone took out the stitches). But we brushed that off.

The first doubts crept in last year, when we visited a vet in Spain (when we travel, he is required to have certain routine treatments done and paperwork signed for return to the UK). This vet is a self confessed orthopaedics nerd and, three years after his surgery, had me walking T up and down the corridor so he could observe his gait. He then pulled up videos on his laptop, showing how different muscle groups work on different surfaces, and why walking through shallow water and up slight inclines would build the muscle around the knee and help protect the injury area. And I was standing there wondering why my own vet had never discussed this.

Then there was the £1000 pedicure ... we've known for a while Timber has a heart murmur and have been keeping an eye on it. At the start of the year, I told the vet he'd been coughing, and she referred us to a specialist for an echocardiograph, and prescribed vetmedin. We went for the echo, the specialist vet explained (as I knew) that the echo is an 'awake' procedure, but if Timber was stressed, they might, with my consent, give him a little chill pill to take the edge off. I said fine, but if they did that, could the nurse maybe cut his nails while he was more relaxed?

I went to collect him and she told me his heart was strong, the murmur hadn't deteriorated, it wasn't what was causing the cough and he shouldn't have been on the vetmedin so to stop that immediately. But they'd cut his nails ...

Like I said, this isn't about vet bashing. I get it entirely that vet treatment is expensive and that it's important to rule things out, which sometimes involves doing procedures that don't work - or turn out to have not been needed - until you find what does. I think what happened here is the vet wasn't experienced and one with more miles behind them might not have been so quick to refer him, based on his heartbeat being strong and his lungs being clear. And I don't really blame for her choice, she did what she thought was right.

But it feels like it's all a bit - IDK - mechanical, process driven? And I was left treating the cough symptoms, not getting to the root of it. The new vet thinks he has inflammation of the bronchial tube and wants to try anti-inflammatories. It's a different type from the metacam, but we're going to try that for the leg first and just see whether it makes any difference to the cough or not, and that will give him clues what to try next.

Sorry, that turned into an essay!

 

[Mad Murphy]

I'm so lucky living in the countryside we have quite a lot of independent vets who still see livestock I find them to be the best ,no nonsense, no gobbledy gook just plain straight talk.

But many vet practices here in the Netherlands are also being bought up by a major multinational and then the emphasis is on making money.

I still miss my vet . I say my that because he was my kind of man straight talking slightly autistic and willing to do whatever it took to make sure that the animal got the best care he passed away in 2014 and I still miss him.

 

[arealhuman]

I found out last week that out local village vet had been taken over by a larger firm It's getting like the water industry, just pulling out profit and everything else is secondary.

 

[Jobeth]

The vet in my village was taken over by a larger firm once she retired. I changed to the vet practice in the next village as they have 24:7 emergency care and everything you need. I don’t mind seeing a different vet each time but will miss the specialist orthopaedic vet that fixed my oldest dog’s cruciate ligament as he’s decided to go travelling. He did an amazing job and you’d never know he had damaged it.

 

[Rona]

Not only do you need a vet that explains things, but probably more importantly, listens to you about your dog.
I always went independent except in emergency situations

 

[Burrowzig]

The vet I was with for over 25 years was bought out by a multiple when the original (independent) owner retired.
I've not felt the trust since my dog Flossie was misdiagnosed last year, and was dead within 3 days. The vet thought she had a gastric bleed as she was on Metacam, but I know it's a possible side effect and always looked out for signs of blood in her poo, and I told the vet categorically there was none. She might have been bleeding internally elsewhere, and likely was. She was booked in to have a tumour removed the following week. I took her back the next day for X-rays, but her heart rate was too low to use a sedative or anaesthetic. I took her back the following morning first thing for euthanasia as she could no longer even sit up. It was then that the vet realised she had IMHA and I could see in her face she realised she'd got it wrong. By that time it was too late to do anything, and that she had IMHA suggested that the tumour was malignant. Flossie would have died anyway but it has rankled all this time. I know it's a hard condition to diagnose and that the vet was doing her best with the info at hand. I'd never heard of it before but have read up a lot since, and there were signs I could have mentioned if I'd realised their significance - so I blame myself too. But as the vet knew she had a tumour (just large pea-sized) it should have registered as a possibility. For those that don't know, IMHA is triggered by infection or cancer and the immune system destroys the red blood cells, and is around 80% fatal on it's own, before you get to the trigger.
So when I got Maddy a few months later, I registered her with a different vet, an independent, and have just transferred my other 2 dogs to them as well. It's further away, but quicker to get to as it doesn't mean trying to get through town traffic.

 

[BKayHol2]

Yeah, I get it that sometimes vets have to opt for treatment plans made on 'best guess' type situations. For better or worse, our pets can't talk & tell us (or their vets!) exactly how they feel, or what/where it hurts. Not to mention that under stressful situations (vet visits being high up on that list) they're LESS likely to show discomfort. So, yeah, it's sometimes a guessing game, or you have to start ruling things out and hoping you hit on what the problem really is. Experience absolutely helps vets to come to correct conclusions more quickly, but they're all human, and some of them, I feel, just have better 'instincts' when it comes to diagnostics.

Another of my previous senior dogs started having impaction/infection issues with one of his anal glands. (2 e-vet + 1 'regular' vet visit in the span of 5 days!) I mentioned to everyone I saw, that his seasonal allergies (runny nose, itchy face) were flaring badly at the time, in addition to the anal gland problem. When we were finally able to get in to see Dr. S, she treated the anal gland, but also suggested starting him on allergy meds because she felt that the two were connected. Didn't make any sense to me, but OK... Well, she was right. Once we started the allergy meds he never had another issue with that gland.

This practice is still independently owned, as is the connected 24/7 e-vet next door. Most other practices in my area (we're in the US) have been gobbled up by large corporate practices, and I know that effects procedures & limits the freedom the vets have in determining 'necessary' treatment. At a previous clinic, I once had the vet tell me directly (when I was arguing with her the necessity of having to give a KC vaccine before they would do a dental on the dog) that "It's corporate procedure & there's nothing I can do about it." She knew I was right & that he didn't **really** NEED that vaccine, but her hands were tied and she didn't have the 'power' to waive it.

 

[Buzzer777]

Like other members, my family owned vet was bought out by a money grubber vet who worked in the practice. Every other independent vet had been bought out by large corporations. (except for the mobile vet that I used).

I took one of mine in for her vaccinations in June; which was my first trip in person since the pandemic. (had been using a mobile vet for about 5 yrs., and always forwarded the info to the regular vet. ). Before the vet came in, her assistant began updating my 7 yr. old's records. He asked me if I was going to keep her intact; and I was horrified.
She was spayed when she was a year old, and the procedure was done at the same practice; by a surgeon who I had known for 10+ years.!

Needles to say that was not confidence inspiring!

 

[Gemmaa]

We'd been with the same vet since it opened 1987 and I was a baby. But both the vets retired after lockdown, Medivet took over, and recently closed the branch down.

I found another independent vet who have been open for a long time, but it's so hard learning to trust them even though they get recommended all the time and are really good.
Especially having gone from old, experienced vets, to vets who are now younger than me!
I wasn't sure I'd made the right choice when one of them, albeit gently, told Charlie off when he was having his ear drama last year. I didn't think that was very helpful for a dog in a lot of pain and scared, I also don't love it when vets seem scared of animals.

He had his booster yesterday, and we saw a really lovely lady who didn't make us feel bad about him being a bit of a knob at times.
She told us that as we signed up to one of their monthly plans, we get free "Friendly Visits" to build his trust with them.
I think it'll be good for us both to get to know the staff more