Pup Still Ailing; Vet Fired
So we're down to the last dose in a ten-day course of amoxicillin and Ruby the Corgi still shows signs of a urinary infection. Or something.
I collected a sample when she widdled yesterday; put it in a clear glass container and observed particles floating around ("crystals"?) and cloudy yellow liquid. Called the vet. Said I'd like to bring this in for testing.
They resisted: said it had to be freshly collected and what I'd managed to farm from the dog could NOT be stored overnight in the fridge. I had guests coming for dinner shortly and a business networking event to attend that evening. Schlepping to northeast Phoenix with a bottle of dog pee in the rush-hour traffic was, alas, on the agenda.
Accordingly, when I came in from today's morning meeting, I performed the same trick, collecting another small amount of dog pee. Called the vet's office to say I was bringing this sample in and got a recording: closed until 2:00 p.m.
Got that? This is a business day. I happen to own a business. That business entails work (can you imagine?). The vet's office is closed more than a third of today's business hours. During that time, no one is there to receive your collected urine sample. If you have work to do during the few hours that they are open, it's incumbent upon you to cancel that work.
Peeved, I track down a vet with whom I used to work when I had a greyhound, probably the most brightest and most insightful vet I've ever known. Greyhounds require care by vets who have some special expertise, which this gentleman has in spades.
Rumor had it that he had retired. But no: as it develops, he's still practicing. And -- can you imagine? His staff answered the phone at 11 o'clock of a Thursday morning! Explained the situation. They arranged to shoehorn Ruby in on Monday and asked me to try to bring a sample of Ruby widdle collected on that day. They want to see the record of the lab test that led Vet #1 to believe the dog had an infection amenable to Amoxycillin.
Cancel my afternoon appointment. Call the corgi vet, by now even more peeved (this is, after all, how I pay the bills...including the veterinary bills, which are rapidly becoming considerable...) and explain my concerns. Get a supercilious response.
The practice I've been using with the corgis has given me pause a couple of times in the past, for various reasons. This vet was recommended by my former husband's current wife, a practical and smart woman who loves dogs and has quite a few of them. It must be said, Ruth's referral for a dentist was sheer genius. But the vet?... Hm. Maybe not so much.
This veterinary is closed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day and on Wednesdays is open only from 4 to 8 p.m. And yes, I understand that vets need to schedule uninterrupted blocks of time in which to perform surgeries. But there's no reason to lay off the receptionist while you're in the Pet OR, so that clients can't get through on the phone or bring in a bottle of cloudy, crystal-laden dog pee. There's an assumption behind that kind of behavior that I find puzzling and annoying.
Nor am I pleased when I call three different vets, ask the same question (can I bring in a sample of dog pee and have your lab examine it?), and get three different answers at least one of them utterly off the wall (1. Must be collected in special containers; 2. Can't be stored in a refrigerator until we're open; 3) Can't be collected in a container cleaned by washing in detergent and a dishwasher). (I seriously considered majoring microbiology, and so I'm not a total naif here...)
And I really don't l like it when people assume that because I'm an older woman, basically of retirement age, I have nothing to do but wait on their convenience, as though my livelihood were less important than theirs. That was the attitude I got when, after talking to my old vet, I called the corgi vet to say I would come by this afternoon to pick up the records of Ruby's lab results.
Obviously, my livelihood is neither more important nor less important than theirs, but it would be nice if some respect could be paid to the possibility that even old people have things to do with their time. Things that matter.
The older I get, the shorter my patience grows (there are, after all, only so many days and hours and minutes left now). Probably I was too short, or too quick to move to another vet.
But...it appears that this little dog has been sick since the day I brought her home at the age of eight weeks, or at least since very shortly after that. After much racking of brains, I don't think I've done anything to bring this condition on, and that makes me feel more open to the idea that she hasn't been well since I got her. In any event, given that urinary infections can spread into the kidneys and can, under some circumstances, be life-threatening, the fact that the pup has been suffering with this at least half her life seems to me to create some urgency. It certainly doesn't call for a brush-off.
Sooo...Vet fired, dog still ailing, outcome uncertain.
Am I totally unreasonable?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I can totally understand you're frustration. My Aussie has had three bladder infections in two years, this last one two weeks ago was a kidney infection. When we took her to the emergency vet this last time, I asked for a emesis basin so I could collect some pee from her before we took her in, knowing that she will submissively pee whenever she is excited or a stranger talks to her, thus rendering her bladder empty. The receptionist very rudely told me that they would do a cystoscopy (stick a needle in to her bladder) to get a sterile specimen, that they would NEVER get a sample any other way. I rudely told her back that considering the last time we had her there they took her pee OFF THE FLOOR (she of course piddled and considering they couldn't get anymore pee from her, took their sample from the floor and ran a test), that I found that very hard to believe.
However, being an emergency room nurse, I totally understand their not wanting a sample that has been in the refrigerator overnight- it is not a good specimen as bacteria still grow, rendering the sample inaccurate. And since the urine you collected wasn't straight from the bladder via a needle, any sediment is really a mute point, as it very well could be skin cells, dirt, hair, etc from coming out.
But, I am a firm believer in following your gut. If you are not happy with your vet for ANY reason, then you need to find a new one. I absolutely love my vet, and can ignore the hours blocked off for surgery, simply because I love him so much. I know that in an emergency, he would rearrange his schedule to treat my animal. And if this is your third round of antibiotics, and your baby is still showing signs of a UTI, then you need further tests done.
My Seanna has an extra fold of skin on her vulva, which makes her prone to UTIs. She also has a high pH and forms struviite crystals. She eats Royal Canin S/O, and we keep her hair "down there" shaved to allow air to dry her better.
My Aussie is going in Tuesday for a sterile bladder collection with XRays for stones. We then are scheduling her for an Ultrasound to make sure she doesn't have a fistula- evidently the umbilical cord when it tears off can leave a hole in the bladder and cause frequent UTIs. We've also switched her to Royal Canin S/O.
So hang in there!! It is a frustrating road sometimes, but usually leads you to a vet that you can respect and love, and a final diagnosis for your loved one. :-)
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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I sincerely hope you're right that the particles in her urine are something other than crystals. The vets seem to think she's way too young to be forming crystals or kidney stones...but we shall see.
Yes, at the "fired" vet's office they captured Ruby's pee in the vet's hand after the poor little dog freaked completely out and started squirting pee all over the place. So...uhm...sterility did not seem to be the point there.
And yes, the beloved old vet that I'm returning to also has to block out time in the day for surgery and other procedures. That's not a problem. What IS a problem is no one to answer the phone to make an appointment for three hours every day, and the clinic closed most of the day one day a week and over the weekend. If you're going to practice veterinary medicine part-time, it would make more sense to join an existing practice that will give you flexible hours than to rent space and try to run the practice as a going business.
Hm. That's interesting about the umbilical cord/fistula issue! This pup was one of six in the litter. One of those pups died, leaving Ruby as the smallest and weakest of the surviving siblings. I suspected she might have an issue of one sort or another when I got her, and took her directly to the vet after picking her up. The vet thought she was fine. But...I wonder. I'll write all these matters down to discuss with Dr. Bracken when he examines Pup on Monday.
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Permalink Reply by Kathryn Harbour on
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I used to have a vet I loved when I had my doxie, but when my LuLu died and I had no need for a vet, I lost touch. When I finally decided to get another forever friend, my regular vet had retired and his daughter had taken over the practice. Although, I had no reason to think she would be inferior to her father, I chose a different vet when I got Ellie because my original vet specialized in large farm animals. The new vet's office didn't keep me for long. The staff were very unfriendly. They wouldn't smile, have conversation with you, or even say hi to Ellie--it was all very clinical. I'm back at my original vet's office and I like the second generation doctor just as well as her father. They actually act like they like Ellie and enjoy seeing her.
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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Kathryn....I worried when my vet hired 2 new vets for his practice, been going to him for 34 years. But he is now in his early 70s, has a few physical problems...like bad knees. I don't know why I should be surprised but he hired 2 gals who are a lot like him, they give me the same feeling of security that I always had with him. The one I disliked immensely at first...she's a bit sociallly inept but once you get to know her and she gets to know you..that you truly care about your animals...she's fantastic. He's there for back up, does surgery where he can sit down and he always handles the middle of the night/Sunday morning emergencies..he lives upstairs. You have to trust your vet as much as you do your own doctor.
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