# Getting beyond frustrated with vets



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I have not had any luck finding a vet I actually like yet, it's driving me crazy! 3 years and 4 vets, meeting a 5th one tonight. Ruby has had the beginning stages of pigmentary keratitis since she was 6-9 months old on one eye. At her last year checkup my new vet pointed it out and said we would just keep an eye on it because I told her it hasn't changed since she was a baby. Then this year I had a different vet for the checkup because the other one went on maternity leave. I told her about Rubys eye and how it did change a bit, the brown did spread a bit further up her eye. She took literally a two second glance at it and said it was fine. I called today to talk to the vet again, and they told me to make another appointment and get it rechecked. I am not going to pay them again for something she barely looked at. Last year when I was a new client, they were so amazing and thorough and I was so impressed with the clinic, now that I'm not new, they really don't seem to care anymore. That has happened with every vet I go to, it's magical the first time, they want so badly to impress me and make me stick with them, then they slack off. I'm paying 75 dollars for a physical exam, I want my dogs to be examined from top to bottom, that's a lot of money! 

I'm going to a new clinic tonight with Ruby, they have better tools and machines to actually look at the eyes. I want a second opinion, and I want to start putting her on drops to slow the progression of the PK. My current vet has never even done any tests to make sure her tear production is healthy. 

Sorry for the rant, but the amount of money vets in my area cost, I expect more. I just can't find anyone I like enough to stick around.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i know, with bubba, we ended up seeing a doggie eye specialist.....my vets, whom i like, found the problem, and then referred me. 

i wonder why your vets didn't do that..


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I ended up cancelling Rubys appointment tonight and just took Oscar in to get his eye rechecked (he scratched it last week), and I am so glad I cancelled Rubys. I HATE this new clinic I went to. I have never been given so much attitude by a vet before. It's a regular clinic and an emergency clinic at night, which is why I took him last week when Oscar scratched it.

Anyway, so when I went last week, I was with Oscar the whole time, the doctor didn't even suggest to take him away from me. I meet another vet tonight, and she said she's going to take Oscar to the back. I say politely "no, sorry but I don't know you, this is my second time at this clinic so I do not feel comfortable. The vet last week didn't take him away, and I prefer to have my dog stay with me". Her attitude changed instantly, her face iced over. She looked at me like I was a complete idiot for wanting to stay with my dog and started saying very rudely how that is not her policy and if I have a problem with it I could wait for another doctor. I said "no, I made this appointment, I am not going to come back in a few hours and spend another 18 dollars on a taxi. I was not aware you had this policy as last weeks vet had no problem with me staying". So she finally says "fine, but if he struggles even a little I'm taking him to the back" I said "that won't be necessary"

And I was right, he stayed perfectly still. My dogs are used to being handled, I check their teeth, face, and eyes daily. They don't put up any struggle when I handle them. She was pissed I was right lol.

Long story short, I am NEVER going there again. I am so furious I'm actually going to go out of my way to write a negative review on yelp.com which I'm usually too lazy to do lol. 

With Ruby, I will go to my regular vet and get a referral to an ophthalmologist.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

I could be thinking this negatively because I'm so angry at that clinic right now, but I swear she was going to take him to the back of the clinic to scratch his eye and say it wasn't healed yet. The reason I say this is because I read reviews on the clinic, and they only have 2.4/5 stars, and everyone's negative review included "every vet made everything seem like a death situation, no matter how small the ailment was for the pet". And the way that doctor acted, I could see her doing that so I would have to fork out more money for an eye that had healed.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

when something was wrong with my dog's eye/eyes i took him to a specialist.
my Vet recommended seeing a specialist.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Good for you for sticking up for yourself! 

Do you have an eye specialist?


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks Danemama Not yet. I'm going to ask my regular vet for a referral for Ruby, because I don't think they know too much about eyes, just basic stuff like treating a scratch. I'm glad I didn't take her where I took Oscar for his recheck tonight.


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

do you have a vet school close? At least in the US vet schools are the best places to get specialists (from my experience anyway) and I've been lucky enough to have a vet from a teaching school for serious issues.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Yes, that is weird that she wanted to take Oscar out the back. I wouldn't have let that happen either, if they are hesitant to restrain them in front of you, then what on earth are they doing when he's out of your sight? 
And yes, agree with the others. Eye specialist. Don't mess around with the eyes. My friend who lives a parallel life with you has just taken her older Pug to an eye specialist because of an eye ulcer which her vet had operated on. Just to make sure everything was healing ok, and it is. Thats the trouble with Pugs huh, always so easy for them to get eye injuries.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

That is awful treatment from a vet. Good on you for standing your ground.
My dog Stanley I think has the same condition as Ruby otherwise known as Pannus? we are lucky in that there is one vet eye specialist in my town (which has NZs only vet school) and he treats ex racers free of charge. When we adopted our dog at age 5 he was on drops and we continued for a few weeks then had a checkup probably 2 months later. Specialist said that his eyes were not deteriorating at all and that we could stop the drops and it has been that way now for over 18 months with another checkup a few months later. It can't be cured, only managed. Now whether it is because of his diet or change in environment (he moved from south island to north island) I don't know but it seems to be quite stable and hasn't deteriorated. Of course he may well need drops in the future and yes I agree I would see a specialist for this.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

That's what I was thinking MollyWoppy! Who knows how they handle pets away from their owners. Even the way she cleaned Oscars eyes after the glowing green stuff made me cringe, she was pressing kind of hard and I told her to ease off which pissed her off. I have a feeling she was doing it on purpose. 

The closest vet school to me is just short of 2 hours away, and apparently they have a long waiting list. If I can't find a good specialist referral in my area, I will see if I could somehow figure out how to get a drive there. Not having a car can be so crippling sometimes :/


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## FBarnes (Feb 17, 2013)

Kat said:


> That's what I was thinking MollyWoppy! Who knows how they handle pets away from their owners. Even the way she cleaned Oscars eyes after the glowing green stuff made me cringe, she was pressing kind of hard and I told her to ease off which pissed her off. I have a feeling she was doing it on purpose.
> 
> The closest vet school to me is just short of 2 hours away, and apparently they have a long waiting list. If I can't find a good specialist referral in my area, I will see if I could somehow figure out how to get a drive there. Not having a car can be so crippling sometimes :/


Check for specialty clinics in your area. The closest vet school is four hours from me but there is a vet who travels regularly to a clinic in my area and has office hours twice a month.

And good for you for not letting them cart your dog off. I wonder why they do that. If I can't see it, do I want them doing it? I think not.


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## StdPooDad (Mar 16, 2012)

That's crazy! When Seamus had a tumor taken off of his leg a few months back, I was in there with him stroking him as the vet cut it off. I had no idea any vet or vet tech would even suggest that!



Kat said:


> she said she's going to take Oscar to the back.


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