Before i verbally blast my veterinarian..input?
 

some of you know i adopted a problem dog. "harry". he is 12 years old. one year ago, for whatever reason, his owners pushed him into one of those dog drop off boxes late at night. he had to endure the entire dog pound experience, and when finally cleared for adoption he was taken to a new home. well, it didnt work out..and he was night dropped again. a note was left saying, "sorry, we cant take his barking".

now my wife and i have him. he was HELL in the beginning. but we worked through it. i say harry is 80% reformed. he slips into his dark place sometimes. we deal.

now our vet knows all this. we took him in friday to have his teeth cleaned. we were told not to feed him much the night before, and nothing that morning. he was scheduled for an early procedure, a day of observations, and we were to call at 5pm to confirm a pickup. we did as we were asked. well come 5pm, my wife called..i went mountain biking so i didnt go. i get back around 5:30 and my wife's car was gone..good! she is picking up harry. as i was cooling down in the backyard, they pull up. my wife was pissed! the vet never got to harry! he was left in a box with no water or food for 9 hours. harry was FREAKED! he wouldnt sleep in his kennel, wouldnt leave our sides. the separation anxiety came back!!

the vet graciously rescheduled us for this coming friday, automatically. we never saw the vet himself. wife wants me to call and cancel, and ask for our files. i want to release the kraken. i purposely waited until today to calm down.

harry is ok. he is almost normal again..but damn. my weekend was tough managing that little hellion again. but i am proud, he bounced back quickly. we kept him tired from constant exercise all weekend. no explanation from the vet staff.

not cool, right?

harry. we joke that "he put the terror in terrier"

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1336421838.jpg

Ask for a explanation. If still not happy, unleash the kracken.

totally unacceptable.. I'd rip him a new one and find another vet..

Hmm, they know the dog is in for a procedure that limited food/water from the previous day on and left him in a crate for 9 hours without?

Posible the vet had an emergency situation that tied him up but at some point the vet/his office had to realize they would not get to Harry that day.

Yeah i'd be looking for a new vet and I might have to make a call to the state licensing board.

Even IF happy release the Kraken. That is horse hockey at it's worst. There is no excuse. Even if "something came up" the lack of communication is not acceptable. You've worked very hard to make Harry a good boy only to stress him out by a non carrying vet.
It will be interesting to see if Mark chimes in, I think he'll agree.
Let us know what happens.

Bad vets are easy to find. Goods vets are a different story. He sounds like the first type. Vote with your wallet. Pick up the records and go someplace else. I'd also send him a bill for dog rental.

a couple of hrs..a MAYBE..
9 hrs..
that's not right Vash..
abuse in my book...
a tech could have handled Harry..

they forgot about him..

my wife once had a ?..
our former Vet responded with..
google it..

Rika

Remember your vet works for YOU. Fire his/her ass, and tell him/her exactly why you are doing it.

There are a few places that you can make your voice heard: State Licensing Board, State Consumer Affairs Department, BBB, Angies list, etc.

A Vet is a service provider. If he/she is not providing the level of service you expect, then find a new provider. There is no sense in patronizing any service business that does not appreciate you as a customer - whether it is a vet, an auto mechanic, etc.

If you had gone to your doctor for an early procedure, but had to sit in the waiting room for 9 hours before being sent home sans procedure, what would you be doing right now?

Unleash the Kracken.

angela

Short and sweet....Angela - you called it.

UNACCEPTABLE ON SO MANY LEVELS!

You need to find a vet who gives a damn about your furkid! Fark that guy and his lame excuse for a staff.

Poor Harry - bless you and your wife Vash for your caring.

Best,
Baz and the girls

Thats BS, so does everyone at the Vet's office turn into a pumpkin at 5pm? Why the hell doesn't anyone work til the job's done anymore?

i would be fricken pissed.
Poor old dog....

Then let Harry get first dibs on the scraps ;)

Damn shame. There are other Vets out there who will do right by Harry. Move on.

Uh, yeah - that is completely uncool and there simply is no acceptable explanation short of the vet himself dying and not having someone around (office manager or techs) to handle the situation.

If that happened to my dog no explanation would be needed. I don't need some service provider scaring the crap out of my dog and turning them into something with an over abundance of fear. Fearful dogs bite people they are afraid of.

I would doubt that I would be able to take my dog back there without them being scared. I already don't like taking my dog places where she is afraid (my dog happens to be a wimpy scardy-dog though who is afraid of her own shadow).

We weren't comfortable having the vet put our labradoodle under general anesthesia just to clean his teeth, and I also wasn't too thrilled about the cost (~$500), so I purchased a double ended scaler ($3) and my wife and I do it ourselves every 3 months or so. It's just the back teeth that get the heavy tartar build up and it flakes right off once you get the hang of using the scaler. Of course your dog has to have the right temperament to pull this off. Our dog's coat requires quite a bit of maintenance, so he's used to us handling him, and inflicting some occasional minor discomfort.

It sucks that they treated your dog that way.

I can only imagine it was because someone came in with something a little more serious than tartar buildup.

My old neighbor in NY was a vet.

Had his own cable TV show for years.

We'd bring our Schnauzer in and he'd call in this big football player looking orderly to keep the dog under control. He'd do "maintenance" stuff like clip the nails for a $40 upsell on the visit.

He had an associate, woman, she could do anything to that dog and he'd take it without a complaint. She used to clip the nails and we would never be charged for it.

When she left and opened her own practice we moved with her.

My neighbor calls me and asks what gives?

Said sorry, dog likes her better and I don't feel like I'm getting raked over the coals every time I come in for a visit.

Wow, 9 hours??? Doesn't say much for the vet's bed side manner.
Find another that is interested in your old boy's well being. Give him a pet from us here at the bird. He has suffered enough.

Forgot about him!? WTF?!

INEXCUSABLE!

On a positive note, good for you and your wife for taking him in and not giving up on him.

Definitely get a new vet. Don't bother cancelling the next appointment, let them figure it out (I can be a bit passive aggressive). Write a letter stating exactly why you aren't coming back. I don't see how you can do much else.

Unleash the Kraken.

When my GSD Samson was diagnosed with cancer the Vet treated my wife like total crap and basically blew her off (I was out of State on business).

I went in there in person and had a nice little chat, leaving with my files.

Bill

Pelican Nation has spoken...

RELEASE THE KRAKEN

I have two dogs (used to have three) and have opted for the anesthesia free teeth cleaning. Most vets will not recommend it because they don't get under the gum line very well and may not recognize a serious condition developing, but in my experience a good technician can do a decent job under the gum line and recognize dental problems. There is a good outfit called Canine Care at (800) 242-9966. I think Melissa is one of their best technicians, and she goes to Debbie's Dog Grooming in Lafayette once or twice a month. Don't mention my name because I pissed her off saying that Debbie is crazy (she is).

Regarding the vet- I'd say transfer to another.

... and get somebody to film it for us. :D

But also treat Harry to something nice, I know my dogs would think it was some kind of punishment. Poor little guy.

My wife says the Kraken better be on it's way.

The Kraken should be the appetizer...a visit to the seventh level of hell should soon follow.

Completely inexcusable to do that to an animal that's essentially at their mercy.

glad we are all on the same team!!

i called and then showed up. i couldnt blast the poor lady at the front desk. i calmed down, told them i would love our files..and i would be on my way. i pick them up wednesday.

she did say, "we would have eventually gotten to him.." i left. she didnt get it.

next!

Again WTF! You had more restraint than I would have, after she said that. Sounds like the place just runs that way. I don't know who would be the proper authority(s) to notify, but that place needs to be looked into.

I cannot believe a DVM said that.

You need to file a complaint with the State Licensing Board - maybe contact the newspaper or Humane Society also.

Inexcusable.

You really need to do this Vash.

You and your wife are Harry's ONLY advocate. He needs you - and think of all the other poor creatures being abused every day by this sorry excuse for a clinic.

"We would have eventually got to him"? Again....WTF?

OK, while the vet does bear the ultimate responsibility, this is more likely an oversight by his crappy staff. My wife works for a vet part time and they absolutely get busy, last minute emergency stuff etc.

Really the best way is to go to another vet and to explain to the original why. Screaming will get nowhere and honestly if someone is screaming at me I'd just dial 911. Anyway, calm rational explanation of why you are leaving and how he's a complete turd will burn him WAY more than the screamfest...

...if you really feel the need to burn him, do the talking down to him infront of his staff...that WILL get him chapped.

I am a little confused. How and why was the dog ever put in a box ?

Wow!
I would never even go back to that vet. I would get them personal and public trauma.

don't forget to blast them on Yelp/Foursquare/whatever the current fad is or Google reviews or something!

If I did a thread like this, it would start out with me bailing my wife out of jail for beating someone down for abusing her dog.

That is just wrong, no excuse. The vet is at fault for having crappy staff. It starts at the top, just like everything else.

Lock up the vet in your trunk for the same amount of time- ( 9 hours X human/ dog time so that is for 63 hours.)

Drive him to an area of the country where he's never been-in the dark- and tell him he won't know where he is -when- you dump him. Tell him not to yell or scream, i.e -bark like a dog because he is upset.


The vet knew about your dogs history. He didn't give a dogs turd.

Just wrong.

-btw-you adopted an 11 year old Dog?

Damn your friggin' cold-hearted, cruel & plain mean, but I like it :D
I was going to suggest a sniper shot with a paint ball, yellow like a coward, right in the back of the head. But I'll go with your suggestion.

Dr. Bernie?


Totally unacceptable. There is no excuse. They would have taken me out of there in handcuffs.