DNA Lady
Having the pleasure of owning, Tucker for just over 6 months now, I've noticed an unpleasant feeling I get when finishing with yet another visit to the vet. Granted, we know we weren't getting a brand new puppy, with out any previous health problems and adopting a 7 year old Springer spaniel, one would have to be completely naive to think there would be no visits to vet. So, off to the vet we have been to make sure that our care and treatment of this new family member is up to par.
The Animal Rescue Group even followed up with a phone call about 3 months after we adopted our new family member to make sure he was doing OK with his transition to our home. I would say he's doing fine. 10 visits to 2 different vets within 6 months - $2,000 in vet fees - I think we're doing our best to make sure this handsome, loveable guy with the soulful brown eyes (ringed in red because of his allergies) is well taken care of - physically. He has allergies to alot of things - carpeting, rugs, cats, pollen - so even though we brought him home in November - this poor guy has had red ringed "CUJO" like eyes since almost day one. And giving him Benedryl (another vet idea) doesn't work because it seems to make his head spin. You know that really sweaty, speedy feeling when you take benedryl - well the dog feels it too. Reduce the dosage but he still flops his head around - so no more benedryl for this guy.
However, each time I've left the vets offices, I get this queazy feeling as I am unable to separate the medical advice from the sales pitch delivered by both vet and his staff. Does my 7 year old really need the vet's Arthritis Medicine for over $65 or would the store bought Glucosomine Chondroitin have the same net effect on the dog. In checking the labels, there is not much difference in ingredients or efficacy of the product - so was that medical advice or a sale?
If a vet has been in practice for at least 15 years, wouldn't he be able to determine that a simple, soft bump on one side of this breed, is just a fatty pocket - nothing that needs to be aspirated not once but twice at $150 per aspiration plus in house cytology of $125. Isn't this breed prone to these fatty little bumps - another queasy feeling came over me when I told the doc that the first vet already did aspirate one of those fatty bumps and told us it was nothing to worry about - too late - in went the needle and out came the bill.
OK - well I'm supposed to feel Peace of Mind, knowing that I have done the right thing. I rescued an adult, male dog that otherwise might still be sitting in a cage. I am taking him to the vet - everytime he looks funny to me or pants too much or seems to be lethargic.
But there's that queasy feeling again, didn't the animal rescue group know about all these "little" issues with this darling dog. And he is darling, all wagging his tail and jumping up and down when you come home or when it is time for one of his walks. He jumps up and down even though his front paw has been sore since we brought him home. (not mentioned by the rescue group). Oh yes, that was another trip to a vet, who then gave the poor dog NSAIDs. In the human world - we know these as Celebrex (remember the suit against Celebrex about two years ago) and Vioxx (which when taken by a human must be accompanied by the little purple pill because of possible side effects to the gut) and so in administering the 1/2 pill per day for 4 days with food, the dog that had a sore paw now had an upset gut and so destroyed the front lawn of our neighbors. Did we go back to the vet - no we gave him bread and stopped giving him the NSAIDs which any idiot knows upsets a stomach especially one from this breed and age.
What's the bottom line - we love Tucker, he's a joy to have around - but it is an eye opening experience to try and find a vet that has the dog's best interest in mind and not his own bottom line. I know when I visit my own doctors, which coincidentally I suffer from much the same issues as the dog, joint problems, stomach upset and anxiety if left alone too long - I don't feel like I've left a sales call when I leave my doctor and I just wish the vet visit could be as enlightening and comforting but instead I also feel like I've been sold a bill of goods about my dog. No matter, Tucker will be taken care of and I will just have to learn the difference between a caring vet, a salesman and medical advice and that sometimes a "bark is just a bark".
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