Walked Out Of The Vets Office In The Middle Of Our Appt

[Guest Dillymom]

I've only had Lola a couple weeks so I made our first appt at the local vets office. I had gone in early in the week to ask about how much experience they had with greyhounds and I wasn't 100% comfortable with their answer but made an appt anyway.

 

So her appt was yesterday afternoon. I had had this nagging feeling all morning about it and thought about cancelling but chalked it up to new mommy nerves. The vet tech comes in and checks teeth and temp and all the prelim stuff. I gave her a copy of Lola's records from while she was in foster care so they could see her shots and everything were up to date. The tech kept coming in and and asking questions and then would leave and talk to the vet and then come back and ask more questions. This kept going on and it was disconcerning since I was already having a bad feeling. So then I asked her about Revolution which she tells me they don't sell so I'd have to pay $15 to get an RX for it. Then she goes on to tell me all the negatives about it and tries to push the Heartguard on me b/c they do sell that. All the while this nagging feeling is getting worse in the pit of my stomach.

 

She tells me that my hound is very healthy and then proceeds to hand me a bill for over $200 worth of stuff they want to do. I'm reading it over and thinking they want me to spend this much money and I have yet to actually see a vet. Maybe I overreacted but when I started questioning the things on the list (several of which were redundant and I had records of having been done less than a month ago) the tech started to get aggrevated with me and made me feel like my dog was going to die tomorrow if these things were not done today. Ok she never said that but the way she was talking that was what it felt like. This was my breaking point. I told the girl I was not comfortable with any of this and walked out.

 

I get to the front desk and they want to know what was wrong- I told them I couldn't explain it but that I just had a bad feeling about this place from the get go and it was just a gut feeling but I wanted to leave and not complete the exam.

 

Today's mission is to find another vet office who I feel more comfortable with.

 

[Guest greyladydown]

Sorry about the bad experience. A similar thing happened to me when I went to a new dentist. I was over 40 and never had any major problems with my teeth, but this dentist had his tech suggest to me that my teeth were in bad shape and I needed over $3,000 worth of work. I was shocked, left the office and called my insurance company to report what they had told me. I made an appointment with another dentist and he never suggested that I needed anything more than a routine cleaning and an updated set of x-rays. My x-rays showed no problems.

 

About a year later, the first dentist built a brand new fancy office ... go figure!

[Guest Dillymom]

Greylady- I had a similar experience with a dentist a few yrs ago. He tried to tell me I had 9 cavities. Funny but I didn't have any pain in my mouth. So I went to another dentist who said I had none. I should have just gone with my original gut instinct and not made the appt. But live and learn right?

[Aerosmom]

Wow. I don't blame you for walking out.

[Guest CyndiW]

You made an excellent decision by going with your gut feeling! I always do and make good decisions except once last year. My husband talked me into an exploratory surgery the vet was suggesting and our grey almost died the next day from complications. It took another surgery, thousands of dollars, and months to save him and theoretically he should not have ever made it. I never let anyone influence my decisions now even my own husband and he loves our dogs dearly. From the situation that you described, they were out to get $ and did not have the best interest of Lola in mind. If you have only had her a couple of weeks, then they should have known this was a "get to know each other appt for future problems" and not "this dog is in desperate need of health care because she has been neglected, let's load her up on everything appt." Also, the tech even pointed out that she was very healthy so that must have been obvious. Why start doing a bunch of stuff to a healthy grey? So glad you are looking for another vet who will actually meet with you and Lola face to face. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Guest greyhound1]

Find a new vet. Some vets are out only to make money on things you do not need. I would of left too.

[Guest Tigonie]

Yikes! That does sound odd. Not that I would normally say to walk out of a vet's appt, but under those circumstances, good for you. The fact that it was a tech and the person got aggravated with you--in combination--tell me that she didn't really know what she was talking about. When I was doing computer tech support, the clearest sign that one of my coworkers didn't know what they were talking about was that they'd get surly to the user, hoping that the user would be cowed into stopping the questions. It's not professional, and it's even worse when it comes from medical people.

 

As for finding a new vet:

• You can check with your adoption group. Not all of them recommend vets, but it's worth asking.
• You probably want to sift through the vet list pinned at the top of the Health and Medical discussion board here. I would start at the last page and work backward, to get the most current recommendations, since posts start as long ago as 2002.
• If you don't mind posting it, you might say what city/state you're from. (I know not everyone is comfortable with that, and that's ok.) Maybe someone near you on the board can recommend a vet.

[Guest luckydog]

I say bravo to you for following your gut feeling. Did they charge for your 1/2 an appointment?

[Guest Dillymom]

I say bravo to you for following your gut feeling. Did they charge for your 1/2 an appointment?

 

No they didn't charge me.

 

I'm in the Orlando, Fl area. The adoption group recommended a couple vets but they're all on the other side of town and are 40 min away so I was hoping to find someone more local for me. There's several adoption groups in my area so I'm going to contact them and see who they recommend.

[Guest greyhound1]

You could ask some of the greyhound people who adopted in your area too. Maybe the different groups may have a list.

[Maddiesmom]

You did the right thing. Good for you and Lola for walking out. I would have done the same thing if I felt uncomfortable with the way they were treating me and my fur baby.

[Guest janlove]

Good for you for walking out! I would have done the same thing. Find another vet that you are 100% comfortable with, and stick with them. Good Luck!

[patricia]

I also think that you did the right thing for you and your precious little girl. If it doesn't feel right...it usually isn't right!

[4greyhounds]

I am very sorry you had to go through that but I know I would have done the same thing. I don't blame you for walking out.

[Guest lotsagreys4me]

You did the right thing. Sounds like that vet was only there for the money. I bet your adoption group can direct you to a vet that knows and understands Greyhounds. Good luck.

[winnie]

Good for you! Finding a vet you like and trust is very important. DH and I really like our vets office. They aren't the cheapest in town. However, they don't push procedures you don't need and don't charge anything to write a script. They won me over when they looked at our greys teeth during "Dental Health Month" and told us they looked fine. You'd think they'd want to push dentals those during "Dental Health Month," but they didn't...

[Pepsi2004]

Good for you! Lola is gorgeous!!

[Guest TBSFlame]

I believe we should trust our gut more often. I think it is there for a reason.

[Guest md7nd]

Cheers to you! But depends on how upset you are over this, I might be inclind to contact the BBB or the FL humane socity because a vet that has people not knowing their job/ or trying to getover on someone needs to be reported or inspected.

[jodyksam]

I drive 24 miles to our vet because he is grey savvy and he is an excellent vet. Their staff are equally excellent. Such a sharp contrast to the local vet we'd been going to, and yes, my gut feeling had not been content with the local one. It's worth it to drive the distance for the right vet.

Edited March 21, 2008 by jodyksam

[MerlinsMum]

Good for you. Sometimes it's easier just to go along with things, despite getting a bad impression. I totally think you did the right thing. Hopefully you'll find a nice, grey-savvy vet in your area soon. Good luck!

 

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

It is extremely important for you to find a vet you like and respect! I think you did the right thing myself! When I first got Spencer, I asked a couple of different vets what their experience with Greyhounds was before ever bringing in Spencer. The one I ended up going to is one where a gal works as a vet tech that I do Greyhound PR work with so I know that if she takes her Greys to this vet and works for them then I can trust them too.

 

Also, check with your group for a list of recommended vets. I think most groups have a list.

 

 

[Guest Tiz3]

I'm glad you had the courage to walk out. I've sat through vet appointments and doctor visits feeling the way you did, not having the nerve to walk out. It's taken me 4 different vets (one telling me to put my dog down) to find out what was wrong with Lily. Of course now 4 months later the infection is so bad she may have to have her toe amputated. The first vet I went to actually told me that greyhounds weren't so special. She then went on to say that we owners just think they are. She even bashed the group I got my dogs from. I get monthly reminders from this vet of all the things that need to be done.

[Guest HeatherDemps]

Good for you for walking out and for listening to your instincts! I think it can be intimidating to stand up to people who are (supposed to be) more knowledgeable about something than we are or who are an authority-type figure. You definitely did the right thing! I've been using the same vet for 9 years now and had scheduled a bone biopsy on Christmas Eve after a bone lesion was found. That weekend, my insides were *screaming* that it was wrong. The night before, I decided not to do it but still took my dog in to the clinic. I told the receptionist I wanted to talk to the vet and then told the vet I couldn't do it. She didn't pressure me but it was still hard to tell a vet that I couldn't go through with a procedure because it just felt really wrong. It did teach me though that our strong gut reactions are there for a reason and to listen to them!

[ahicks51]

When Coco had his weird mouth growth a few months back, we had to see another vet at the hospital we normally go to. Her response was to go with gas anaesthesia, biopsy, etc. to the tune of $800. All well and good- if it were a research facility and Coco were a lab rat.

 

Instead, I talked her down to a handful of pills, a 'script for Diflucan (fluconazole), and a follow-up in a week or so. I should have skipped the oral antibiotics (it was clearly a fungal growth), and knocked it down to the cost of an office visit + $11 in Diflucan. But they did say the Fry's supermarket had the unbeatable price on Diflucan; their own pharmacy couldn't beat it, so- go up the street and get it filled there.

 

Sometimes the tests just aren't necessary. Of course, knowing when they're not is the problem!