We love our dogs. We spend a lot of money on our dogs. The biggest expense we have for our dogs is vetting and if you are like me 10 years ago, you have no idea how vetting works other than it is terrifying, expensive, and you try to avoid it at all costs. When faced with a situation or illness you look doe-eyed at the vet who is speaking words you have no idea about and want to scream “CASH IN MY 401K JUST MAKE MY DOG HEALTHY”.
A decade ago, before I got into rescue, I was vetting my dogs at Banfield, had purchased their “program” and thought I was the best DM (Dog Mom) in the entire world. I patted myself on the back each time I visited the practice and commended myself on how savvy I was to “save” so much on vetting.
I had SO MUCH to learn.
Back in the early days of rescue, and to this day, I marveled at how the process worked to treat our dogs. I had zero idea of how medicine in any capacity worked and when your dog was sick, you took them to a vet and did what the vet said. I had no idea about specialists, style, bedside manner, the merits of young doctors vs. older doctors, corporate practices vs. private, specialty centers vs. emergency centers, best medicine, standard of care, or essentially how to “manage” the vetting of my dogs in any way shape or form other than completely reactively and from a place of fear and worry- Not at all a fabulous way to operate.
To prove exactly how little I knew, when I transitioned from that Banfield Practice to new practice, they asked me if I had my medical records or if they should call and get them from Banfield. “Of course I do” I proudly exclaimed (because I am the best DM in the entire world), “I have them all, organized chronologically and am happy to bring them with me to my first appointment” (all said while silently shaming and judging any Dog Mom who couldn’t produce the same documentation on a moments notice.)
The day of our appointment arrived, and I brought Abby, my beautiful pearl clad senior doxie to Hollywood Animal Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, and proudly produced my stack of “medical records” for the vet to review. I stood there and waited for the accolades of how I was the best client they had ever seen and how obvious it was that I loved Abby so very much evidenced by the meticulous documentation I had collected, tracked, and provided to our new vet.
The Vet very graciously examined my stack of “records” (complete with a cover sheet containing an excel spreadsheet summarizing dates, procedures, medication given, etc) and very gently let me know that what had lovingly and proudly cataloged and brought with me were indeed not “vetting records” but “receipts”.
I had a lot to learn.
Lucky for me, the universe was about to provide, as just at the time I was learning the difference between records and receipts, I was in the process of selling my soul to rescue where I would have the opportunity to have a front row seat to watch some of the most world class and compassionate vetting around.
But in the mean time, I had to educate myself starting from the basics. I am a nerd. I read. I found a book and that book taught me amazing things and to me, if you have a dog, you need this book. Every dog owner needs to have a copy of “Speaking for Spot” by Dr. Nancy Kay. Nobody teaches you “how to vet your dog” which is crazy because vetting is the MOST EXPENSIVE PART of owning a dog and the key factor to how long your amazing dog is going to live. Seems like the sort of thing we should read up on, yes?
YASSSSSSS! Why is this not a thing we talk about??????
Here is one of the most profound things I learned from this book and I never did it the same after. As yourself this question “How did you choose the vet you have now?”
Prior to my life in rescue my vet choice was made based on where someone else went. I worked with so-and-so and they went there so I went there. (This is how I ended up at Banfield. Please do not take this as “Banfield Bashing” – as I came to learn, if you understand the practice and how it operates, you understand what you are getting in a service which is the most important thing.)
Did I know where the vet I was seeing went to school? – I did not.
Did I know if they had any complaints lodged against them or issues with their licencing? I did not.
Did I know that if my dog stayed there overnight, was there anyone there to watch them? – I did not.
When my dog had a dental there, did the vet do the dental or did a tech do the dental? – I did not.
What style of medicine did the vet I was seeing practice and what are their philosophies on care? – No clue.
Did I ask for a tour of the practice to get a feel for how the dogs were being treated? Nope – didn’t do that either.
Did I know what kind of advanced diagnostic equipment they had on site or where their in house capabilities would end? I did not.
Did I know if they had any relationships with specialists or ask them based on various conditions I could expect to face where they would cease being comfortable diagnosing the issue and refer me to a specialist? I did not.
Did I know how or when to get a 2nd opinion? Nope, not something I had ever thought of.
What did my vet know about IVDD and should I face it, what treatment recommendations would they recommend or would they recommend euthanasia? I had no idea what my vet knew about doxies or IVDD.
Did I understand how the pricing was arrived at for amy procedures I did or did I know enough to get a 2nd price for something to determine if there was an important component left out of the 1st price I got? I did not.
Did I know how to be a good client, how to answer questions an offer information in a way that is most helpful to the vet ? I spoke all the words and very few of them were likely very helpful to the vet. .
Did I know their philosophy on vaccinations, euthanasia, treatment of seniors, incorporating alternative therpaies, behavior modification, food recommendations, etc to know if I had a good fit for my own perspective on those components of caring for my dog – Ummmmmmmm. That is gonna be a no as well.
You may be completely happy with your vet now, and if you are, that is great. For me, there is no such thing as too much information and I love nothing more than an insider tip, a hack ( do you keep a copy of your dogs entire vetting record handy or last bloodwoork results in case they are needed at an emergency hospital?), or a way to try (usually in vain) to make myself seem just a bit more savvy than the average bear.
This is an amazing book and resource to have on hand, and I still turn to it every now and again for reference. You may already know everything there is to know here, but for less than $20, there may just be some nugget of info in here that can make a world of difference in how you approach a vetting issue down the line.
I am proud to say that today, 10 years on, I have had the opportunity to learn from the best in the business. As DRSF’s fundraiser, I get the info, theory, explanation, and education on each case straight from President Pam to be able to tell our dogs stories to our community and how their treatment program has been developed. I have a front row seat to seeing how Pam partners with each of our vets to to make the best choices for our dogs and why we do certain things in certain ways with certain vets. It is all in understanding the process, the benefits of each kind of practice, and making the best choices with the available information.
Equally importantly, it is about sharing what we have learned with others. My goal for all of these posts is to take what I have had the opportunity to learn and share it to the world (or on a smaller scale – anyone who is crazy enough to have read this far!). So many have given so much to keep DRSF going, and we want to give back. iif we can help just one Dog Mom or Dad along the way, then I have achieved my goal.
Happy Vetting and if you pick this book up, leave me a message and let me know how you like it and what you learned!
