Looking for a new vet - What to look for?

[rsieg]

My current veterinarian is retiring. They are a husband/wife team that has been practicing 39 years, and we have been taking our pets there my entire life (my dad first, now me). So I am now looking for a new vet for the first time ever.

There is a very large animal hospital (about two dozen vets) which is a 10 minute drive from my house, and I have taken Logan there a couple times for emergencies since they are a 24 hour/365 day evet. The seemed to be good, although perhaps expensive, so I'm thinking of going with them. Being a patient at a closeby evet seems like a good thing, with Logan being 13 years old now. That way in an emergency situation they have his records onhand, and as a large animal hospital I expect they have resources onhand that a sole practitioner vet would lack.

But OTOH mega-anything seems like it brings its own problem.. I assume we would generally get a different vet each visit, whereas my old vets got to know each dog well. There are a couple smaller vets nearby based only on Internet searching and looking at their websites, one that recently opened and is very close by but with more limited hours.

So I guess my question is, what should I be looking for? Are there any specific questions I should ask, or any red flags I should be alert for, in selecting a vet? Thoughts on whether a mega-animal hospital or sole proprieter vet is better? I understand this is probably unanswerable, but any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

BTW, I'm on the westside of Cleveland (North Ridgeville/North Olmsted/Olmsted Falls area) on the offchance anyone is local and has specific suggestions :-)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[Remolacha]

Let me confuse things further for you   I had to find a new vet last year because the one I had been seeing decided to focus on a speciality practice and not do “regular” vet stuff. She was (is) a mobile vet who comes to the house, I really liked that. I wanted to try a couple of the small practices near me as I like the more personal contact you get, but either one was accepting new clients 

so be aware of that possible problem. The large multi vet clinic was accepting new clients and they were fine, but I didn’t feel it was very personal. I ended up finding another mobile vet and so far I am very happy with them.

Good luck!

[greysmom]

First place to start is with your local adoption group.  Most will have a vet list on their website.  If the group has a local Facebook page you can ask actual greyhound owners in your area where they go.

But, as mentioned above, be aware that it may not be an easy search.  My vet - who is the owner of the multi-vet clinic where we go - has not been accepting new clients since Covid started.  At the end of 2019 she had 8 vets (including herself) and a whole slew of techs and assistants, and she'd just finished a remodel of the clinic to make more room.  Now they are down to four vets and are constantly searching for more staff.  It also takes weeks to get in to see a vet due to so many clients and so few doctors.  So be prepared for an extended search, and to perhaps compromise in the short term with a "big box" but available vet, over a more personal smaller clinic.

When searching for this vet, I did ask other greyhound owners, and this one was recommended highly.  She had worked with the (now long closed) local race track vet, and was familiar with the differences that greyhounds can pose for treatment.  It was also important to me that my vet and I have a more collaborative approach to care for my dogs, not a my-way-or-the-highway doctor who wouldn't listen to my concerns or to my experience with my own dogs.  If you can, I would always urge going in to chat with a new vet and just get a read on personality and how they manage an appointment.

Good luck!!

[rsieg]

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't thought about vets not accepting new clients. The retiring vet gave a one month notice and I've let a week go by, so I will need to move fairly quickly here. The big animal hospital may be the only choice.

Mobile vet idea is interesting, I think there are at least a couple around here. But at Logan's age I'd prefer immediate vet access over arranging a home visit.

[macoduck]

Read the bio on the vets as you check on each clinic. Several of mine have trained at Ohio State and the NC State veterinarian programs. Asking if they have greyhound experience or many greyhound patients may give you insight too.

[Remolacha]

2 hours ago, rsieg said:

Thanks for the heads up, I hadn't thought about vets not accepting new clients. The retiring vet gave a one month notice and I've let a week go by, so I will need to move fairly quickly here. The big animal hospital may be the only choice.

Mobile vet idea is interesting, I think there are at least a couple around here. But at Logan's age I'd prefer immediate vet access over arranging a home visit.

There is no reason you can’t do both 

[rsieg]

15 hours ago, macoduck said:

Read the bio on the vets as you check on each clinic. Several of mine have trained at Ohio State and the NC State veterinarian programs. Asking if they have greyhound experience or many greyhound patients may give you insight too.

Finding Ohio State trained vets seems pretty easy in my area. I looked through the bios for the mega animal hospital - 27 vets, 21 graduated from OSU vet school. The closest veterinarian office to me has four vets, all Ohio State. But looking at their website, the office closest to me is actually a satellite office that is only open three days a week.

I did pick up Logan's medical records this morning. Made me kind of melancholy. I was looking through them, and he has had 46 visits over the 10 years I've had him. He is terrified of the place, but they gave him good care.

Thanks for all the advice/suggestions!

[Bogangles]

I wish we had Ohio State trained vets here in Canada. I was sent to a vet this week for a second opinion. He was a very cold fish and he frightened my dog. Did not understand the differences in greyhounds to other breeds. Said she had a heart murmur (I don't believe she does) and he did not realize how stoic they can be in a situation like this and will not show pain with all the prodding they do.

The other problem, as mentioned, is getting into a greyhound savvy vet. I have begged them saying but she's a greyhound but they are fully booked.

(A side note: Also, very important, the antibiotic prescribed previously contained a sweetener called aspartame which should not be given to animals but they will argue otherwise. Thanks to the compounding pharmacy he said it is not for animals, and evidence has come out that it should not be given to humans either. I think everyone needs to know this. A holistic vet already new this and had mentioned it in articles she had written.)

I would definitely have a holistic vet on your team. Many had started out as conventional vets but expanded their knowledge out of frustration. People here have also had success with mobile vets as well.

 

[cleptogrey]

i went thru the same thing when my vet of 38 years was reducing his hours, not admitting that he was ready to retire(he had twins very late in life) and eventually/unfortunately suddenly passed.

i asked friends, looked for a practice with max 2 vets. Friends who used a practice that changed to a zillion vets were really disappointed. the larger practices often have new new grads who are text book savvy but not hands on and they never were able to get the same practitioner twice. so, the problem was never really dealt with.

i am anti VCA and Banfield. There are quite a few groups out there, so look it up. One might need to visit one for a true emergency, so don't shy away, but I prefer a ma and pa operation. We did use one of the best VCA E-hospitals in Denver when Lettuce was running 105 and staining- fear of pyrometria. But we were very lucky and I opened my mouth up immediately and told them that unnecessary testing was out of the question. The triage vet was very understanding.

Ohio state is not essential, I have had good luck w/ vets from Cornell, U of PA, and our adoption group used one trained in Prince Edwards Island.All the stats for a GH are published.  My long time late vet was more of a country vet located in a suburban hamlet but he was a great diagnostician.  My new vet explains everything more than thoroughly, knows i'm pretty conservative in treatment and respects that. She is a wonderful human and very scientific. 

Good luck, unfortunately one can't tell by their receptionist.