Share your veterinary nightmares---or why I hate vets! - Page 10

I really dont know where to start but here. A good and very close friend on mine who we bothe share dogs.

We had a Rhodesian ridgeback pair sadly we lost them because the female got tick fever and could not be cured and the male had got some mysterious illness and passed away.

Then we had a dalmatian, he had distemper. We werent told so until he died 2 weeks later. Sadly he infected our pomernarian female who also died few weeks later.

We had a 2nd Dalmatian, he also died after an operation. He had kidney stones that blocked his urine passage. After reading many books etc.. we requeted thed vet to do a surgery and remove the stones rather than put him in pain and cathether the urine. Sadly the out put of urine was too slow and in a few days when we operated the bladder was the size of a full coconut. At this point I knew that he wount make it.

As of few weeks back, our pug male died. He was rushed to the vet because he wasnt feeling well, we were informed that he needed an anal draining. They dog died of tick fever few days later, the doctore said that they missed diagnosed him.

 

I'm with Julie9000, I too am a Vet Tech and the only people allowed to administer any medication (Vacs, drugs)are the vets themselves, I mean why not... they had to earn that right by studying for many years and having to deal with all sorts of people and situations that they encounter in the 'normal' business day.  And yes, good point, some breeders are only in it for the money.... we have many clients who jump into breeding to make a quick dollar and then grumble and complain about the costs of feeding, vaccinating, vet checking etc the puppies... and that is WITHOUT doing the proper research into their specific breed and what medical problems that breed could be prone too... We too see many horror things so this whole debate can surely not be one sided (with vets on the wrong side each time).

We've seen plenty of unnecessary suffering done to animals due to either owner neglect or ignorance, but there is always two sides to each story.  People make mistakes, sometimes it's the innocent animal who gets stuck in the middle and suffers, wether it's the owner or the vets fault.  Choosing a vet is like choosing a family doctor - you need trust, communication and understanding from BOTH parties... communicate, communicate, communicate and LISTEN to the other person.  Breeders and Vets can actually work together if you get the mix right.

 

 

 

I do understand the rising costs in business... and I also know that the cost for Malpractice insurance is insane...  But I also know that the actual cost for fully vaccinating a dog (Distemper combo and Rabies) only comes to $10+/- including syringe and disposal of same.  I believe that basic care, anual vaccination, fecal exam, and heartworm check... should be kept as low as possible so that it is affordable for all. 

  I've also seen a trend toward pressuring clients into performing tests which aren't really necessary.  Of clinical interest to the Vet, and to the client if they can afford it... but in my situation... Cocoa would have had to be euthanized for a cardiac condition that was clear by listening to her heart and lungs.  Fortunate for her I knew the Senior Vet and she has been treated with medication now for 6 months.  The younger vet may have been brilliant... however was quite strong in pushing that these other tests were needed to treat the dog... and on limited income I couldn't have afforded a couple thousand dollars for tests and medications.   Though the wealthy can afford to pay for the luxury of "curiosity" testing I don't think that it means a dog with a poor owner should die. OFFER THE TESTING... absolutely... but not to refuse treatment unless the person can afford it. Especially when it adds little info to the diagnosis.

   For 25 years I worked in a small office of a mixed practice.   I knew every dog, cat or gerbil that came thru the door as did the vet, as we were there 6 days a week.  Now that practice has been encorporated into a larger practice with 7 vets, and about 20 staff... clients rarely even see the same vet or staff member each time they come in unless they specially request it.  They have a HUGE overhead... have purchased a lot of specialized diagnostic equipment... and that's all well and good.  However the result is that the cost to the client for basic services have increase by 5X in the past few years.  We used to refer cases to a specialty clinic for advanced treatment of difficult cases... and only charged $25 for an office call... $10 for each additional dog/cat. So a client with 4 dogs paid the basic $25 plus $30 for the others, or a total call charge of $55... now it's $50/animal.. before  treatment or vaccination even begins.

I am not a GSD owner, but i do now something about veterinary malpractice.  After a horrible experience where my cat was given a massive insulin overdose by an unlicensed, unsupervised relative of the vet/owner, who had no formal training and was left alone to care for the patients, I started learning alot.

 

I have to respond to the poster who made a comment about malpractice insurance, saying that you know the "cost for Malpractice insurance is insane."

No, you don't know that.  You can't know that, because it's not true.

The average vet pays about $300 in malpractice insurance for a $1 million policy, and some vets may pay as much as $500 a year but that's tops, and its for a multimillion policy.  This is less than your car insurance. 

Why is it so low?  Because if a vet kills your pet negligently, you typically can recover nothing, or next to nothing, in  a court of law.  This remains true even if the circumstances surrounding your pets death were egregious.

This remains true because our pets are seen by the law as worth only "market value." For those of you with purebred GSDs, maybe there is some market value when they are young and healthy.  But once they are middle aged or older, you won't be better off than someone with a mutt.  A vet will kill your animals and laugh all the way to the vet board, who will pat him on the back and believe his lies and then do nothing. 

Here are some good resources to educate yourself:

http://www.badvetdaily.blogspot.com

http://www.TheTooncesProject.com

http://www.VetAbuseNetwork.com

http://www.animallaw.info/journals/jo_pdf/vol10_p163.pdf

The last link is to a groundbreaking article that discusses HOW CHEAP veterinary malpractice insurance is, and how the law and regulatory agencies fail to do anything about this widespread problem. 

Most of all, before you go to a vet, look up his disciplinary record with the Vet Board. The vet boards rarely take action, so if your vet has a record for something related to the care of a patient, chances are he did something really bad, even if the fine is small.  Because vet boards dismiss 90% of cases, even many good ones.

You can contact your vet board and file a FOIA request for your vets records; get vet board contact info here:

http://forourcompanions.com/or.html

Finally, get your pets records and bloodwork and other test results EVERY TIME you go to the vet, and review them.  Review the initials of the person giving your pet treatments.  Make sure it's a vet or licensed technician.  Remember:  Vets can pull a homeless person off the street and put them in scrubs and call them a vet tech -- and many of them pretty much do that.  You need to make it your business to figure out who is doing what to your pet.  Look at the bloodwork -- did they discuss abnormal results with you?  Get second opinions.  You've got to be involved, don't just blindly trust.  Those of us who did have ended up very sorry.

Just as in all walks of life, there are good vets who run good practices, and there are some who are not so good. Each consumer must educate themself and based on what kind of stuff regularly appears on this forum, sadly, too many people don't educate themself. It is no different with human medicine.

Vets, just like human physicians, don't know everything. And they must often base their initial treatment or diagnosis on information a client provides which may or may not prove accurate. Educating oneself, and taking an active part in the treatment rendered your dog or cat is no different than what should happen with your private physician.

Do I think my vet knows everything? No. She clearly does not, and sometimes on certain topics, I might know more than she does. But my vet stayed last night at her clinic until almost 8 pm doing an emergency spay on my old female who had developed a sudden pyometria. She could have said take her to an emergency clinic where the cost would have skyrocketed. Her tech had to stay late to assist her as well.....hmmm a 13 hour day for them. Wonder what either of them got for it except my thanks and appreciation..................................

"But I also know that the actual cost for fully vaccinating a dog (Distemper combo and Rabies) only comes to $10+/- including syringe and disposal of same."

Add to this cost the cost of

1) the building
2) taxes on building
3) utilities
4) wages for all staff
5) benefits for all statf
6) all that equipment in the building - computers, furniture, kennels, cages, scales, exam tables, microscopes, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.  This is a PARTIAL list.  Just how do you think the vet is to pay for all of these things if they charge shots and other services exactly at cost or with a 1.00 mark-up?

And we didn't even get to the pay for the vet yet.

THAT'S why you're charged more than actual cost for the shots.

"I believe that basic care, anual vaccination, fecal exam, and heartworm check... should be kept as low as possible so that it is affordable for all. "

What do you do for a living?  I think that the people who work in stores should sell stuff for exactly what it costs, "so it is affordable for all."  I think farmers should sell food for what it costs them to raise, and bakers, too, and people who make canned tomatoes, and people who package tuna and bread and sell vegetables.  I think they should ALL, including you, windwalker, have your own pay "kept as low as possible."  After all, if it's fair for the vet, it's fair for you.

HERE IS LOUISE?  hopefully she has taken time off to write a book! She ha great deal of knowledge to share, and she sure knows bloodlines. Probably run off by all the BS.
    C'mon Louise, share the wealth of info!!!!!!!!!!!!