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Permalink Reply by Charlie on January 9, 2008 at 5:46pm

I'm not sure I would know what to ask a vet to determine if they are good or not. I did switch vets between my last dog passing away this summer and getting Charlie. I have some new neighbors who are both vet techs. Several of my friends use their vet clinic and were very happy. I also did an internet search for ratings, and read numerous good reviews. To me it was more valuable to read unbiased customer feedback reviews than to know what to ask the vet.

You might type in the name of the clinic and "reviews" on Yahoo or Google, and see if you can find some ratings for the clinics you've chosen. Also ask any friends or coworkers with pets who they use and if they've been happy.

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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on January 9, 2008 at 7:05pm

That's good advice. Unfortunately, I found some websites that have reviews of vets in my city, but none of the vets in my area have any reviews. :( And the few people I know with pets, I don't really trust their opinion because they don't believe in the level of care for their pets that I do. It sounds horrible, I know, but here's an example: my friend's dog has a problem with her eyelid where it's basically irritated and infected all the time. It's pretty disgusting. My friend said his vet told him there wasn't anything he could do about it. I find that hard to believe, so either my friend isn't a very good pet owner or he doesn't have a very good vet (or both!).

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on January 10, 2008 at 6:39am

Hi JuLo! Finding the right vet can be daunting. I'm fortunate in that CorgiMom works for an awesome vet who is well-versed in Corgi. But were I to have to find one, I would start by making an appointment for a simple consultation: just you and the vet. You can talk about what the vet knows of corgis. Have they treated corgis before? Things like that. Hopefully, you can get a feel for who the vet is. Once you have a couple of vets you like, bring your dog in for a basic check up. Then you can see how both the vet and their staff interact with your dog. The staff is just as important, if not more so, than the vet. It's the staff who will spend time with your dog. If they are not caring and loving with your dog, chances are good the vet won't be either. A good vet will surround themselves with techs and assistants who love animals and treat them with care and respect.

Hope these will help you. Good luck on your search!

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on January 10, 2008 at 9:12am

By the way, if you have found a great vet, post his contact info in the classified area so that other members can benefit from a good vet as well. I gather my vet's info from their clients in the dog park.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on June 6, 2008 at 11:13pm

I have some vet horror stories. Doing extra uneeded tests is a big one. I brought my dog in when he was just losing his baby teeth and after getting accidentally konked on the head one day his canine got impacted and the next day was swollen and red and he was shaking with fever. I went to the vet knowing I needed antibiotics and pain killers for him and explained exactly what happened only to get talked into getting a skull X-ray where they had to sedate him to check for some rare genetic disease she thought it might be. I did argue that I KNEW what it was but she was one of those better safe than sorry give me all your money type vets and so I caved. Turns out SURPRISE he just needed antibiotics and pain killers and I got a huge bill and poor Ein threw up from the sedation. I never went back to that vet.
I have some similar stories like the nasty vets office that Ein got a horrible virus from and threw up all day and night after that getting dehydrated. Needless to say we don't go to the vets office unless absolutely necassary. Oh and my cats having allergic reactions to the vaccines yet they insisted on the same vaccines the next year to have them get sick again. yeah.
Anyway, found a good one finally that I trust here in San Antonio. They are clean, have great caring doctors and have decent prices and even a military discount. It's the Pleasantan Rd. Animal Hospital. So I guess that only helps if you live in SA though, huh? Anyway, good luck. Just keep trying and don't think you have to stick with any one vet if you sense something's not right.

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Permalink Reply by James on June 7, 2008 at 3:37am

Look up the non profit pet care places in your area, the low/no cost spay/neuter places that are based around income. Most of the time those places have volunteer vet's perform the procedure. Check into getting those vet's names. Really check up on the company though and make sure there is no profit, that really shows an actual care of animals. My vet donates time/experience at the city-spay/neuter and she is also opening up a stray no-kill animal shelter later this year. Just talking to her I know that she is very compasionate and humble. Humble is typically not used to describe doctors. That is the most important thing that I looked for, I found two doc's in the area that were very active in the community and narrowed it down based on facility and character. Both places were exceptionally clean/updated and I finally made a decision based on my opinions on her personality and knowledge. It is however probably the farthest vet from my home I could have chosen... At least the emergency care place is close by.

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Permalink Reply by Bridget on June 7, 2008 at 8:33am

When I was looking for Lucy's vet recently, I talked to everyone I knew to get recommendations. They all had stories to share that helped me get a feel for their vet. Then I went into extreme research mode.....

Being on a VERY tight budget, I called a few to see about pricing info and how they handled the phone. Some info was online, but some were unable to tell me how much my puppy visits would be and did not handle it well. That made me nervous. It is not ALL about the money, but it is a factor.

I then stopped by without an appointment at the 4 or 5 top ones to talk with the staff and see what they knew about corgis, if they had corgi patients and what were their dispositions (well both the corgi and the staff!) If I met a vet while I was there, bonus points. If they were friendly, bonus points. If they acted like they didn't care, negative!

One vet knew I was in the waiting room, no patients around, the staff went to ask about corgis since she didn't have personal experience with them and she gave the vet tech a book to let me read a profile out of. NO personal contact. If I am am a new potential client who will be spending lots of $$$$ someplace, you would think that they'd do their best to at least say, "Hello."

Another vet's office was new, lovely, sparkling clean, and terribly expensive! Many of my friends go there and I would too if I had won the lottery. I heard some bad things about overcrowding in their boarding area. My friend's dog didn't eat for a week, but they didn't contact her to let her know. Ended up spending more on drugs for illness than boarding. They were incredibly friendly though.

Also ask to take a tour. See where you'll be going for your puppy visits, see what kind of equipment they have in the rooms, does it smell clean? If you'll be spaying or neutering your pup, what is the recovery area like? (I saw a horror story at one location.) Ask about how they handle incidents like swallowing balls...can they take care of it, or do they refer you to emergency vets? Where is the closest location? Do they take panicked puppy parent calls? Do they have dog food they sell in the lobby? What brand? What about flea and heartworm recommendations? All these things can tell you bits and pieces about the practice. How is the staff interacting with other patients while you are there?

I was able to narrow it down by doing the above and found a vet I am really comfortable with. You want to be able to trust your vet and be able to ask ANY question no matter how silly you may think it. Someone who'll take time with you and your buddy.

Mine gave the first flea and heartworm treatment free. They clipped her nails when I asked how to do it also for free. They match internet pricing on all meds if you bring the print out. I didn't know these things up front though.

Good luck! I am sure you'll find a great one!

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