Bad vets Vs bad clients/petowners

somethingeasy

Hi all, long time lurker here. A friend of mine is a vet and tells me lots of stories about her job and clients, some funny, some sad, some really frustrating. I don't envy her job dealing with petowners requests and complaints sometimes. Some seem very tough to deal with. Came across this blog and been reading it for a few weeks now.

http://vetsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/

It's an American blog but still relevant. I hear so many stories on here people moaning and complaining about their vets, whether it's treatment decisions, costs, bad attitude etc. I think some of it's unfair especially badmouthing a practice because of one encounter, as I get the impression people tend to tell the story the way it suits them alot, especially hearing what my friend puts up with. Or pretending to be experts on what treatment is needed because they've had experience with that particular condition before, not allowing for the fact there may be other things the vet needs to rule out that have the same symptoms for example. This blog kind of gives a vets perspective.

Found it interesting and entertaining reading, but some of the stories make you cringe at the way people treat animals. What do you guys think? Ever guilty of being an unreasonable client, or dismissing the vets opinion or expertise because it doesn't sit well with you?

tk123

somethingeasy wrote: »

Ever guilty of being an unreasonable client, or dismissing the vets opinion or expertise because it doesn't sit well with you?

I sure have and now I have a happy dog with 2 straight legs instead of crippled/dead one! It wasn't my vet who I was disagreeing btw with but one I'd been referred too. My vet told me when he was getting his stitches out last year that she admired the way I asked for a second opinion and I'd done a great job getting him back on his feet.

Discodog

I have sued a UK vet & won. My local vet knows this & I have disagreed with her opinion. But she is a brilliant vet & accepts that there can be more than one valid opinion especially on subjects like the need for male neutering.

We all see being a vet as a vocation but it is also a business that depends on revenue to survive. Vets can make mistakes just like anyone else so we shouldn't assume infallibility or be hesitant to get a second opinion.

My main gripe with vets here is the suggestion that they are unwilling to give evidence in cruelty cases.

teacherspet

I have worked in a vets and seen some horrible things. I once saw a woman bring in a cavalier, who she said kept scratching at the back door to come in, when her grandchildren came to visit. Daughter did not like the children near dog hair.
She wanted the dog put down because nobody would look after him like she did. I ask you anybody else would be better than her.
It took me an hour to convince her I could find the dog a good home, which I did. The following week she phoned to ask how the dog was doing. My thought was any one was better than you (who would have killed the dog). I have so many stories of the stupid public. I think that is what SOMETHINGEASY is talking about

The Sweeper

Most of my vet experiences have been very good. I had a single experience where I took a cat to the vet with a chlamydia type infection - she wanted it to clear up on its own, I wanted her to give me something like vibravet only because I have a multicat household and when one gets it, they all get it, and if untreated they just pass it back and forth.


Anyway. When I really had reservations was when the cat, sitting on a rubber mat on the examination table, began to knead the mat with his claws while I was rubbing his head. She saw him flexing his claws and told me the cat didn't look happy and may bite because he was flexing his claws. I was kinda gobsmacked tbh.

JustAThought

There's a lot of barrack-room lawyers ( or vets!) around all right;but then I find it really helpful to get ideas, advise & suggestions thrown about ; it can really make you think & be so helpful. What can make it really unpleasant is how belligerent & online aggressive a rare few people can get; rare thank God, but persistently unpleasant. Best ignored I suppose but it always shocks me; particularly as they are strangers; makes you wonder what their lives are like. but.

Luckily,I have a GREAT vet who puts up with all my pet hyperchondias & despite my munchhausen nonsense has managed to leave me with my dignity mostly intact & feeling that I can always return & be welcome! A great gift & a hard balancing act!!!

A hard one was when I had twice taken fido down cos shed swollen up & come out in hundreds of lumps like the measles. On both occasions by the time the dog had got there the lumps had vanished!!! Third day in a row lucky..& thank God for iPhones ... Horror photos from the night before , with angelic smooth looking dog were produced... One course of injections & anti-bios later & the dog us in great form since ; no mire allergic reactions to bites & I have recovered my reputation as a normal person : )
Happy Days!!!

I have a

planetX

I heard a vet tell a client not to bother neutering her male cat - went something like 'as a man I couldn't recommend it, haha'. Never went back there, and I would have liked to have reported him to some kind of governing body. I would never assume that a vet cares about animals, you have to seek out that type of vet.

Discodog

The Pets Undercover program aired on ITV in 2009 & the BBC program It Shouldn't Happen at a Vets both showed examples of serious problems with Vets in the UK.

As with every profession there will always be some that are not as good as others. I accept that they are a small minority but it becomes a big issue if you are the client.

When in the UK I used a practice that I rated very highly so when they told me that my dog had terminal liver failure after €800 of treatment & that I should put the dog down, I believed them. A second Vet carried out a simple operation & the dog was fine in a few days. The first Vet had missed a simple gut blockage & the second Vet said that it was serious malpractice.

seamus

The problem with veterinary practice is that there seems to be very little ethical legislation, in the same way that human medicine has.

It's almost closer to being a mechanic than a doctor (ethically, not in terms of the skill level). Some vets consider the animals which pass through their doors as broken property that needs to be fixed, other vets consider them more ethically as suffering animals to be taken care of.

This directly affects the customer's perception of what they consider to be a quality vet. In some quarters, a vet who recommends euthanising for something like a busted limb, would be considered a monster. In other quarters a vet who refused to euthanise for a busted limb would be subject to a torrent of abuse and considered an awful vet.

My wife said she wanted to be a vet growing up, so did a week's work experience in a local vets in transition year. Turned her away from the profession completely. What upset her most was the amount of people (in just a week) who came in with a dog or cat asking for them to be PTS for no reason in particular, stuff like someone is allergic, or the dog won't stop barking. Disposing of them like an old TV or a pair of shoes that don't fit.

At least with human medicine, it's almost taken for granted that everyone cares to some degree - everyone's aim is to make the patient better.
This doesn't exist in veterinary medicine - the vet's aim or the owner's aim may not be the patient's health at all.

FWIW, we love our current vet. No-nonsense, always willing to help, and because we're up so often with a skin condition we usually get a reduced consultation rate (or no consultation charge at all).

**Vai**

Does anyone know if theres a 'rate my vet' type site in Ireland? I dont have a complaint or anything but it seems like a good idea for people who are pleased with their vet to pass the message on to other pet owners in the area.

koneko

Great site recommendation, really enjoying the blog
Interesting to read some of the frustrations written out that I'd assumed they have to deal with.

Also reminds me that I love my vets! Great practice, reasonable prices, really friendly people.

Mo60

Discodog wrote: »

The Pets Undercover program aired on ITV in 2009 & the BBC program It Shouldn't Happen at a Vets both showed examples of serious problems with Vets in the UK.

As with every profession there will always be some that are not as good as others. I accept that they are a small minority but it becomes a big issue if you are the client.

When in the UK I used a practice that I rated very highly so when they told me that my dog had terminal liver failure after €800 of treatment & that I should put the dog down, I believed them. A second Vet carried out a simple operation & the dog was fine in a few days. The first Vet had missed a simple gut blockage & the second Vet said that it was serious malpractice.

I had a similar experience. When living in the UK I took one of my dogs to a vet, one of a large chain of practices. The dog ended up being kept in over Christmas supposedly with liver problems, and at great expense to myself.

A few months later I was over here with my dog when he became ill again with similar symptoms as before. The vet here told me it was a simple kidney infection and prescribed antibiotics, and my dog recovered within a day or so. Needless to say I now use this vet since moving here and I could not fault him in any way. Animals seem to be his main priority not the money.

Discodog

seamus wrote: »

This directly affects the customer's perception of what they consider to be a quality vet. In some quarters, a vet who recommends euthanising for something like a busted limb, would be considered a monster. In other quarters a vet who refused to euthanise for a busted limb would be subject to a torrent of abuse and considered an awful vet.

A farmer came into my Vets with a collie that had been run over. It's leg was in a dreadful state. Later the Vet phone him with the good news that the dog would make a full recovery but that they had to amputate the leg. The farmer told them to keep the dog as it was no use to him.

Some of the problems may arise from Irish Vet schools still being a bit old fashioned. I was discussing keyhole spays with my Vet & she was adamant that you had to remove the womb to avoid pyometra. I sent her some articles & research & she changed her mind. But she had been taught in Vet school that you had to remove the womb & this was not many years ago, even though many European countries have accepted this for years.

Btw the three legged Collie was rehomed !

Chris_Heilong

Discodog wrote: »

A farmer came into my Vets with a collie that had been run over. It's leg was in a dreadful state. Later the Vet phone him with the good news that the dog would make a full recovery but that they had to amputate the leg. The farmer told them to keep the dog as it was no use to him.

Some of the problems may arise from Irish Vet schools still being a bit old fashioned. I was discussing keyhole spays with my Vet & she was adamant that you had to remove the womb to avoid pyometra. I sent her some articles & research & she changed her mind. But she had been taught in Vet school that you had to remove the womb & this was not many years ago, even though many European countries have accepted this for years.

Btw the three legged Collie was rehomed !

Very true, proper education is the key but also a vet who is willing to use logic and not always go by the book, most of the vets I talk to never recommend RAW feeding my dog, even admitting to not really remembering their dietary coarse in collage but when I want to discuss the benefits with them and they say they are vets and should know better, the ones who did listen to me and looked at the information I provided changed their minds and I now use these 2 people when ever a vet visit is needed.

Silverfish

I'm lucky with my vet, who has been fantastic with my little mouse who's currently racking up medical bills in the hundreds...

But I am really enjoying that blog!

SingItOut

When I got my oldest male neutered, the vet we USED to be with handed him back to us while he was still asleep from the anaestetic and soaked in his own urine! he ended up getting a rash on his heels from it, I was so angry! I was only in school at the time so my mam rang them and voiced our disgust >:(

That same cat was recently ill and vet bills (different vet obviously!) went over €300, he needed to be on a drip and under constant supervison so the vet even took him home with her each night to keep an eye on him, in fact the vet was sad giving him back to us .. And just yesterday when I left my little female kitten in to be spayed, when I collected her she was still a little drowsy but otherwise fine. The vets had wrapped her in a blanket because they said "shes a tiny little thing". They even rang to check up on her this morning, they couldn't have been nicer. I've been to quite a few vets and could definetly tell a few dodgy stories