There's trust, and then there's trust

[captainsblog]

Just now, Jon Katz, he of the Rose in a Storm book lately linked here, posted a simple question: "Do you trust your vet?"

Seems simple enough, but I have to break it down to give a complete answer.

Do I trust their medical judgments, their medical advice, the things they tell us to do and not do to keep our animals healthy? Absolutely. They've actively saved one cat's life, sat with us while we bravely said goodbye to three others, and have worked with us through the prior-life traumas of our older dog who can now, a decade into her life, go into an appointment with them without requiring heavy sedation.  That's all good.

This, though, is the other paw that you're waiting to drop: I'm not sure I trust all of the things they are trying to sell me on.

Their practice is not cheap. A routine visit for a completely healthy Zoey the other day, with two vaccinations, came to almost $150. Dog visits are more, and heartworm meds for them run close to $500 a year.  In recent years, they've been trying to get us onto a twice-a-year examination routine for all of them; "studies show that more frequent exams can identify problems sooner." Well, yeah, but when you balance that intangible benefit against the very tangible stress that each of them (especially Tasha, and to a lesser extent the cats) would go through from doubling their out-of-house visits there? We've said no to that- and they accept that, and turn off the "reminders" as soon as they send the first one.

While waiting for Zo to be called in yesterday, I saw their latest waiting-room bulletin board project. Most recently, this focused on trying to sell us on annual teeth cleanings for everyone, but now, the enemy is not tartar but petmeds-dot-com.

INTERNET MEDICATIONS ARE NOT THE SAME!
THEY LOOK ALIKE, BUT THESE PILLS CAME FROM ::dah-duh-DONNNNN!:: INDIA!
ONLY AUTHORIZED DISPENSARIES CAN PROVIDE MEDICATIONS THAT ARE GUARANTEED SAFE!

I'd be more impressed by this marketing if, on more than one prior occasion, they hadn't dispensed either the wrong-season heartworm medication for the dogs or even too-small pills for their weight.  I'd also prefer to see them looking at their pharmacy as a necessary evil rather than a profit center.

What say you? (And in particular, what say she-who's-an-almost-vet who is a sister of one of you?)

Comments

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Well, that's not an easy one. I just changed vets this year.

What wasn't working for me about the previous one was that they had difficulty handling my animal, and kept talking about "their liability" when taking him away from me to do work that they then had great difficulty handling him for. I felt talked down to, and I found their practice and unpleasant place to be, even though it was a beautiful place. I didn't have trust in their advice versus their profit-making engines. And then my nosy, annoying former neighbor got a job at their reception desk, and I was just done.

The new vet I like-- I find his front office person tends to lose track of having already spoken to me, so I don't think she's keeping good enough records of what's going on, but she's a sweet lady, I think she's just got difficulty concentrating. The vet himself I like a lot. He's running into the same difficulty working with my cat safely, though, and we just decided last week not to do certain diagnostics because he was trying to attack, and we don't feel it's safe to sedate him. I have resisted the urge to say, "I don't want to act like I'm trying to tell you your job, but the cardiologist restrains him in _this_ way, and it worked, is this something you've tried?" It may be that the cardiologist just has "the touch." It may be that I can be in the room, there, whereas for an x-ray I cannot. So I'm _frustrated_, but I do trust him, because he has a background I feel comfortable with-- he used to teach about cattle and goat medicine.

One of the things my sister stresses is that it is important to determine and then respect what you, as a particular owner, can do, and ask that your vet respect that as well. My old practice leaned on me for things and made me feel bad about them. My current vet is better so far, and the cardiologist really really puts me at ease. I had a friend get kinda mad at me a week or two ago for questioning some things about the prescription diet programs-- if they say your other cats can eat that special diet you buy for one, then why are they _prescription_? But I'm questioning what that term MEANS, and the motives of the feed companies in setting it up this way, because it's NOT really an FDA-mediated prescription, dammit, it isn't, there's no paperwork for it. I do understand that it is part of the profit-making engine that keeps these practices afloat, and because of my sister, I know most practices struggle with costs and debts. It's just that I wish the diets were easier to get-- I've just changed from the Royal Canid SO to the Hills Prescription CD because my emergency vet started me on Royal Canid, but they're 30 miles away, and so I need to start buying Hills from my local vet in town, and sometimes the office doesn't have the large bags, and yes, THIS IS FRUSTRATING.

It really depends on the vet, and I don't believe in asking them to do work on the cheap, but yeah, I feel like I deeply trust the cardiologist, and I largely trust my emergency hospital and my in-town vet.

And I trust my sister flat-out, always, but you know, she and I grew up together.

[platypus]

IIRC hypoallergenic foods are often prescription to keep people from randomly buying them for cats that don't need them; if they start being purchased casually, they're not going to be reliably hypoallergenic anymore. But there's no damage in a cat who doesn't need to be eating it. For the kidney special diets and whatnot, the manufacturer probably wants to make sure that any cat with kidney trouble is under a vet's care and the owner's not just trying to self-manage it without the appropriate tests or medications. It makes it frustrating to be a well-informed pet owner who knows what they need and still have to jump through hoops, though. There used to be a time where you couldn't buy Advantage from PetSmart without seeing their vet during certain weekday hours, but you could just pick up the Hartz flea crap that really was dangerous anytime.

I like our vets okay -- there's one at the practice I won't see because she handled Moly roughly (when Moly, of all cats, is tiny and passive and terrified), but the others are fine. They don't push over-vaccination, and when they recommended dental work for one cat we knew he really needed it. (They always tell us Moly's teeth look excellent for her age, but Toeffe had some really nasty decay, and we'd brought him in in the first place because he was crying for no reason we could discern.) I don't take them in twice a year or even once a year, but I should have some bloodwork done on Moly since she's getting older and any kidney/thyroid problems are best caught before they have obvious symptoms.

I guess veterinary work, like dentistry, sometimes feels like more of an art than a science. Might this procedure help? Maybe. Is it necessary? Opinions will differ. I don't think I'd like the feel of a vet (or dental) office that was always pushing what felt like extra procedures; I probably would look elsewhere.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Dude, I totally forgot about the hypoallergenic part! Holy cow, thank you! I didn't get that, and it's not as applicable with urine health. Though as an encouragement to see a vet, yeah, it's hella effective.

[firynze.livejournal.com]

I had three different vets for my ratties. The first was great, but too far away to be convenient. The second had a lovely practice, but the man told me that rats live for ten years...uh...WHAT?! No, they don't. When was the last time you've actually practiced on a rat? In a vivarium at school?!

The final vet was the best. They gave Rorshach wonderful treatment, in a lovely facility, and the vet obviously knew and loved Wee Beasties...while the tech actually made a habit of sneaking treats from her lunch for him. They were sweet and kind and understanding, even when I turned down chemo for the poor boy and chose to put him to sleep instead. They were so kind during that process, too, and even sent me a condolence letter afterwards. I desperately wish they had an avian practice so I could take Cody to them.

[sturgeonslawyer.livejournal.com]

We've been going to the same veterinary clinic for better than a quarter-century, and we're obviously quite satisfied. They have been sympathetic and helpful when we've decided that something wasn't worth the cost, and didn't push us into extreme care for a pet who was dying. They lay out the options and let us choose.

[nonspecific.livejournal.com]

Z worked at a vet's office for about five years ago, and he doesn't have much good to say about their practices. After a while, a lot of them got numb to what they were doing, and didn't care about giving the animals the best experience. I've heard the words "money-grubbing" and "heartless" several times in regards to that particular office. Plus, it depends on the vet. Some will give the animals extra shots that another told me were unnecessary if we didn't have outside cats, or other conditions I forget about. I'm very cynical about people in general, and I can't speak for other offices. But I've seen too much "I don't care about the customer and if they get screwed over" in most places I've worked to think that certain professions are going to be more altruistic.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

If they do good medicine, I'd trust them. I most certainly wouldn't trust their advertising, but if they still give you a choice, however phrased, I'd give them a pass.

James Herriot, sadly is dead -- and we only have his word on his practice in the first place.

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Well. I got this same Dire Warning when attempting to purchase Frontline from amazon. However, I did the research and have been buying Frontline online ever since, with no ill effects. That's not PILLS, though, so I don't know.