How Do You Thank Your Veterinarian?

[Mini Horses]

My vet of 30 years was sometimes at our home and eating with us in times of emergency visits. We raised our own beef and when we butchered, they were the recipients of some extremely tasty steaks/roasts, etc. Fresh eggs, veggies & all those things that they did NOT have time to raise but appreciated. Our bill was always paid on time & believe me, when raising horses, we had some bills!! Not a problem, it was earned.

In our case, we had loaned equipment to him if his in shop...we had ultrasound, sperm collection, full emergency room with anesthesia equipment, etc. I even "free boarded" a couple horses for them when they were moving. Yep, always there when I needed help!! I was happy to be able to offer help when needed. A real partnership & friendship.

Oh, excellent vetting. Exotics & horses a specialty. Since he was a teaching vet, I sure enjoyed the lessons. They are people, like us -- they just have extreme schedules and appreciate all the understanding, help & assistance we can give them.

 

[Mini Horses]

ONE more thing --

BE there and BE READY when vet arrives. Have animals ready and caught/penned, etc. Don't make the wait for you to "chase it down" ...........

 

[frustratedearthmother]

AMEN to what Mini Horses said.

Also - I worked with a mobile vet about a million years ago.... The worst words we ever heard were "Hey doc, while you're here...."

Make your appointment for the animals you Need to be seen and don't add in a bunch of other critters at the last minute. We were always on a tight schedule and one or two calls like that and we'd never get home in the evenings.

 

[greybeard]

ONE more thing --

BE there and BE READY when vet arrives. Have animals ready and caught/penned, etc. Don't make the wait for you to "chase it down" ...........

Ain't that the truth!!
They're medical professionals, not part time cowboys/cowgirls...so don't be expecting them to help pen the animals..They can't afford to get hurt..other people depend on them.

 

[Sourland]

I too worked with a veterinarian while in high school and college - a darn good one ! A heartfelt thank you and handshake are given every time I see my present vet. He is not seeing clients now (semi retired and leaves that up to staff), but he always sees me and my animals.

Since my last visit here, Dani our golden retriever was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. I opted to have the tumor removed. Got a call that afternoon that she was slow at coming out of anesthesia and was asked if they could keep her overnight. Long story short our vet sat on his clinic floor on a blanket with Dani's head on his lap as she died. He called me at midnight to let me know. I told him that was why he could never retire - he will never find anyone with the level of compassion that he has.

Got talked into another dog that I DID NOT WANT. Only way I agreed was that our daughter would take the dog if the Princess and I died before the dog - a distinct possibility. December 0f 2020 Miss Maggie Mae entered our home. Bred to be a medium sized golden doodle she matured at 70 pounds. Smart, willful, obstinate she became my shadow, and I was hers from the time I put her inside my jacket to keep her warm. March of 2022 she had her first idiopathic seizure. We were never able to get them under control. The weekend of Oct. 15=17 she had six seizures in a 36 hour period. I could no longer justify keeping her alive. I have never grieved over an animal like I am grieving over that DAMN dog I never wanted. This same vet eased her suffering. I would have trusted her to no one else. He is now 79 years old. I have no idea how much longer he will continue practicing,

 

[Sourland]

Haven't had occasion to visit the vet until last week when I had a 13+ year old beagle euthanized - she had a good life. He told me that he has a decision to make. In June he either has to sign a 5 year rental agreement or vacate the building he rents. That would keep him in practice until he was 85. He's betwixt and between on what to do. He divorced many years ago and never remarried. He has maintained a good relationship with his kids, and now there are grandkids in the picture. Other than that his practice is his life. He has been unable to find anyone 'satisfactory' to either buy or run the practice and feels a great responsibility to his clients. He is in great physical condition/health, but we are all aware of how soon that can change. A quandary for sure.

 

[SageHill]

So tough to figure out. If he were to retire that would leave you and the rest of his clients w/o a vet. Good vets today are hard to find. So many want to throw test after test and pharmaceutical after pharmaceutical on even the simplest of ailments. They don't look at something and evaluate based on what they see and know. There are good ones, don't get me wrong, but in my experience of looking for a new/closer vet it isn't a pretty picture. My vet, God bless him, is over an hour away and worth every minute and hassle of the travel. He is 70.
Here is something to think about - but think fast - can the clients get together as one and offset/pay the rent while searching for a new vet to come in and partner with the current vet? I've been thinking along those lines for many year (and obviously haven't gone beyond thinking - shame on me). Around here practices are being bought up by companies that require every test under the sun be done. Not good, especially for knowing owners who can pretty much diagnose at least half of what they see. And - vets in the company owned practices seem to not listen to the client at all.
Pipe dream I'm sure.

 

[Sourland]

He has and has had several vets working in the practice - sadly most if not all seem to view it as a 40 hour a week job. One of his fears is that he might die and leave a mess for his kids to handle - I kind of get that reflecting back on what we had to do after my in laws died. Healthwise at the present time he is great - knock on wood. I commented on how steady his hands still are, and his response was, "That's a good thing because I do all of the surgery here." When I asked him why, he told me that most of the 'kids' graduating today are specialists, and many have little or no surgical experience. My gut instinct is that he will continue working as he still enjoys the job and has a massive sense of responsibility. This is the guy who paid his entire staff for several weeks when Hurricane Sandy shut his practice down. He is a truly special person, and I feel luck to consider him a friend.