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Originally Posted by gracielove  I live in a fairly rural area of BUS but we have a wide variety of veterinary care to choose from. Anything from a large animal vet that sees small animals on the side to Cornell Veterinary College.
I remember many years ago a friend of mine had a Husky she wanted to have spayed. She knew of a retired large animal vet that did that type of surgery on the side. We drove about 30 miles up into the hills to find this guy. He had a lovely country home but the place he did his work in was a small converted garage. Very, very small. His operating table was in the same small room that the cages were in. I was beyond appalled at what I saw. Being a person who had always been very sensitive to animals I knew right away this was not a place I would leave one of my pets.....not even for a moment.
That poor Husky had her surgery there and almost died from infection. When my friend called to tell the vet that her dog was sick he didn't even want to see her but told her to pick up some pills for the dog. That poor Husky suffered needlessly because this vet decided to make some extra money at the animals expense.
Needless to say my feelings about large animal vets was badly tainted. Over the years many people continued to go to this man for various procedures. He charged less than half the price other vets charged. While many animals did get spayed and neutered that might not have been otherwise, from time to time I would hear the horror stories from people who had lost or nearly lost their pets at his hands.
I probably would have always had a bad feeling toward large animal vets if I had not read the wonderful James Harriot books about a very dedicated country vet. I doubt there are many left like him but I sincerely hope the new large animal vets are far more adept and caring than the "retired" one that caused so much suffering in our area.
Now I travel past at least 3 other veterinary clinics to get to the one I feel confident allowing to share in the healthcare of my pets.
I really do not have any desire to watch veterinary care on TV. While I have taken part in many types of human medical procedures and healthcare I still get stressed dealing with the suffering of animals. That is not entertainment for me. Too much reality. |
I felt this way when I went to Haiti and saw the way they treated their laboring moms. We had no hot water to scrub up with before entering an operating room, the equipment was antiquated and rusty, their NICU was a closet with 2 old beds and a warming light, and the bedside manner was atrocious. The moms left on the back of mopeds with newborns in tow..... The same dirty moped that dropped them off.