hiitdogs
Cathlete
I know there are a lot of pet lovers on this forum and I wanted to share with you what happened to me.
I called my vet on Wednesday because Scooter, one of my Mini Aussies had developed a HUGE goose egg (actually it was more the size of a double-size dinner roll) below what appeared to be a bite wound. I knew he had been attacked at the dog park but the wound didn't look like a problem and he has a lot of fur around his chest, so I didn't see that a problem had developed until I gave him a bath Wednesday.
My regular vet was not in the office but her staff told me they would try and reach her so she could talk to me (I LOVE that vet - she ALWAYS calls when I have issues with my dogs and has NEVER charged anything for that). They couldn't reach her for a few hours and I was getting really worried, so I called a vet that I had been to with Scooter before - didn't like them and had run into issues with them before, which was the reason why I switched to my current vet (well, there is your first clue Sherlock
) but I was getting a little worried because of the size of the thingy, I didn't know what else to do and just wanted a vet to take a look at it.
Without even taking a look at him, my previous vet told me over the phone I had to bring him in on Friday at 7 am, they would put him under general anesthesia to drain it, he needed blood tests before the anesthesia, plus some other stuff and 1 or 2 rounds of antibiotics. When I said I just wanted a vet to take a look at it and then decide what to do, they told me that I was putting my dog at a serious risk, he could go into septic shock and die. And oh yeah, by the way, this would cost me between $ 350 to 450, IF everything went well, more if there were complications. I asked them why if he was at such a risk they wouldn't take him in immediately or advise to go to an emergency vet instead of waiting until Friday!?? Mind you, it was Wednesday late afternoon.
A half hour later my regular vet called from her family vacation (talk about dedication), I told her what was going on and she asked me a few questions, take the temperature, is the swelling red and hot, does it seem to hurt him when I touch it, is he eating, does he seem lethargic ..... He was fine, only his temperature was .2 degrees higher than normal. She told me that she couldn't say for sure if there was an infection or not but it didn't sound that he was in any immenent danger. She told me to watch him closely, told me to call her on her cell if anything else happened or if he got worse and by all means go to an emergency vet if things took a turn for the worse.
She was completely in shock about what the other vet had told me and said, you don't want to put your dog under general anesthesia unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, there is ALWAYS a risk with anesthesia and you don't want to do it unless there is no other option. She told me to bring him in on Friday, the office was closed for regular business but open for emergencies like that, she wouldn't be there but one of the vets on her staff would take good care of Scooter and she would be talking to her if anything was out of the ordinary, or talk to me if I was uneasy and they certainly wouldn't do surgery on Scooter without her approving it first. She called me back within 5 minutes with an appointment for Friday.
I went to her office this afternoon. They checked him out, the vet on staff said, it doesn't look like an infection but suggested to take a sample. She took out the first full syringe, ALL blood. She took out a second one, just to make sure there is no pus and took out a total of 6 syringes full of blood, the last few were mainly to relieve the pressure. Despite of the fact that she took out 1.2 lbs (we weighed him before and after) there is still a little bit of a bump. She told me, there appears to only be trauma, no infection, therefore, no antibiotics necessary, just do warm compresses 3 to 4 times a day for 3 to 5 minutes, if things don't get better by next Friday, come back or call.
Here is the kicker, I paid $ 40 (granted, I get a discount for multiple pets - normally it would have been $ 48) in oppose to several hundred $$$ for unnecessary surgery from another vet, but more importantly, I would have put my dog at an unnecessay risk of surgery had I listened to the other vet and their doom and gloom, you are a bad pet parent line.
I just wanted to pass on the lesson I have learned, I have a vet that sounds VERY expensive in some things, but if you look at the big picture, I am way better off with her than some other vets I have come across. I know there are a LOT of good vets out there and I am not out to slam a whole profession. I just want to pass on my experience and advise you to ALWAYS ask questions!
I hope you guys have a fantabulous weekend, I know I can breathe a little easier now and enjoy my Thanksgiving weekend
I called my vet on Wednesday because Scooter, one of my Mini Aussies had developed a HUGE goose egg (actually it was more the size of a double-size dinner roll) below what appeared to be a bite wound. I knew he had been attacked at the dog park but the wound didn't look like a problem and he has a lot of fur around his chest, so I didn't see that a problem had developed until I gave him a bath Wednesday.
My regular vet was not in the office but her staff told me they would try and reach her so she could talk to me (I LOVE that vet - she ALWAYS calls when I have issues with my dogs and has NEVER charged anything for that). They couldn't reach her for a few hours and I was getting really worried, so I called a vet that I had been to with Scooter before - didn't like them and had run into issues with them before, which was the reason why I switched to my current vet (well, there is your first clue Sherlock
) but I was getting a little worried because of the size of the thingy, I didn't know what else to do and just wanted a vet to take a look at it.Without even taking a look at him, my previous vet told me over the phone I had to bring him in on Friday at 7 am, they would put him under general anesthesia to drain it, he needed blood tests before the anesthesia, plus some other stuff and 1 or 2 rounds of antibiotics. When I said I just wanted a vet to take a look at it and then decide what to do, they told me that I was putting my dog at a serious risk, he could go into septic shock and die. And oh yeah, by the way, this would cost me between $ 350 to 450, IF everything went well, more if there were complications. I asked them why if he was at such a risk they wouldn't take him in immediately or advise to go to an emergency vet instead of waiting until Friday!?? Mind you, it was Wednesday late afternoon.
A half hour later my regular vet called from her family vacation (talk about dedication), I told her what was going on and she asked me a few questions, take the temperature, is the swelling red and hot, does it seem to hurt him when I touch it, is he eating, does he seem lethargic ..... He was fine, only his temperature was .2 degrees higher than normal. She told me that she couldn't say for sure if there was an infection or not but it didn't sound that he was in any immenent danger. She told me to watch him closely, told me to call her on her cell if anything else happened or if he got worse and by all means go to an emergency vet if things took a turn for the worse.
She was completely in shock about what the other vet had told me and said, you don't want to put your dog under general anesthesia unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, there is ALWAYS a risk with anesthesia and you don't want to do it unless there is no other option. She told me to bring him in on Friday, the office was closed for regular business but open for emergencies like that, she wouldn't be there but one of the vets on her staff would take good care of Scooter and she would be talking to her if anything was out of the ordinary, or talk to me if I was uneasy and they certainly wouldn't do surgery on Scooter without her approving it first. She called me back within 5 minutes with an appointment for Friday.
I went to her office this afternoon. They checked him out, the vet on staff said, it doesn't look like an infection but suggested to take a sample. She took out the first full syringe, ALL blood. She took out a second one, just to make sure there is no pus and took out a total of 6 syringes full of blood, the last few were mainly to relieve the pressure. Despite of the fact that she took out 1.2 lbs (we weighed him before and after) there is still a little bit of a bump. She told me, there appears to only be trauma, no infection, therefore, no antibiotics necessary, just do warm compresses 3 to 4 times a day for 3 to 5 minutes, if things don't get better by next Friday, come back or call.
Here is the kicker, I paid $ 40 (granted, I get a discount for multiple pets - normally it would have been $ 48) in oppose to several hundred $$$ for unnecessary surgery from another vet, but more importantly, I would have put my dog at an unnecessay risk of surgery had I listened to the other vet and their doom and gloom, you are a bad pet parent line.
I just wanted to pass on the lesson I have learned, I have a vet that sounds VERY expensive in some things, but if you look at the big picture, I am way better off with her than some other vets I have come across. I know there are a LOT of good vets out there and I am not out to slam a whole profession. I just want to pass on my experience and advise you to ALWAYS ask questions!
I hope you guys have a fantabulous weekend, I know I can breathe a little easier now and enjoy my Thanksgiving weekend
