Not happy with this vet
 

Scooter was scheduled to have his teeth cleaned and be neutered today. I am under a lot of stress anyway so I decided not to have him neutered and just have his teeth cleaned. I took him in at 8 am and since I hadn't heard from them at 3 pm I called. I was told he was still WAITING to have his teeth cleaned because there had been several emergencies this morning. It's now 3:30 and I am really stressing out. They close at 6 so how is he supposed to recover from the anesthetic and be ready to come home? I'm so nervous my hands are shaking. This vet came highly recommended but after this I wouldn't let her clip his nails.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

I'm sorry. :( I would be FURIOUS if Jackson sat there all day for no reason. He gets extremely stressed at the vets, especially when I am not with him, so I would never leave him there for a longer period of time than necessary.

I am very sorry. :(

Im sorry that doesnt seem right that hes sat there all day. If they had too many emergencies they shoulod have called you to reschedule and let you pick him up

I'm sorry that you are going thru this. Their office should have called you to let you know there would be a delay. Hope everything is OK.

I agree with Chachi, they should have called you to reschedule if so many emergencies came up. I wouldn't be happy about my pup sitting there for 7 hours for no reason and it would definately cause me to look for another vet. That's just not acceptable practice, IMO.

I'm sorry you're upset.

This is not uncommon and IMO the vet didn't do anything wrong. Unless they told you it would be done early (in which case they should have called you), then I'm not sure what they did that was wrong. Surgeries and such are prioritized. Dentals don't take long, particularly without extractions. He should start to wake up a couple minutes after being disconnected from Iso.

I am sorry that he had to wait there a long time but had you come in with an emergency you would want the vet to take care of and look at your pet as soon as they could not after they finished up everything they had to do for the day. I think they might should have called you and let you know but emergences happen.

i bet you would feel different if you were the owner of the emergency dog and were told your dog had to wait because a routine dental needed to be done.

I'd be thrilled that the vet prioritized his patients the way yours did. An emergency takes priority over EVERYTHING, otherwise it wouldn't be an emergency. Your vet did nothing wrong. A routine dental takes a max of 30 minutes so i'm sure he will be perfectly fine to go home before 6pm.

I'm you do not like the fact that your dog had to sit at the vet's office while they took care of emergency patients instead of your dogs teeth cleaning. I'm sure your dog was absolutely fine there and was probably sleeping most of the time like most dogs do while they are there. Everybody thinks their dog can't cope without them when they are left places but 99% of the time once you are out of their line of vision they calm down. You may think they are freaking out because of the way they act when you are leaving them, but that is because they are feeding off of your poor energy.

I think people should expect to not be treated like a number when getting vet care.

I know how upset you are. The least they could have done was call and let you know and given you the choice of bringing Scooter in another day since it would be so late in the day when they got to him.
I know it hasn't been easy for you the last few weeks, with the passing of your husband and then to add this to your stress.

Sorry that this happened and I too would be very upset too..they should have rescheduled...

I agree that emergencies come first but I'm sure that someone had to be at the front desk and could have called each owner that had their dog in and waiting. I would like to have the option to either pick up or wait.

I would be stressed too. Shoot, I'm stressed if my car isn't done in a few hours let alone my pet. :)

Not the case with Jackson. I was actually really really calm and cool about his dental surgery, I honestly was not nervous one bit because I was very confident in the place, didn't make a big deal out of leaving him there, but they called me and told me he could be picked up early because he was acting very stressed out and crying and very whiny (of course part of the whininess was coming off anesthesia too).

The other time I had to leave him overnight, he came back to me with his butt all disgusting because he had been expressing his anal glands (he only does this when he's VERY scared) so I know he was petrified.

So yeah, I would be a little irritated if I knew he had to sit somewhere where he was clearly extremely uncomfortable and stressed. But I also do understand that emergencies take top priority so I can see both sides.

:thumbup::thumbup: I agree

I do think the vet should have called you though

--Classic case of a lack of office management!

They should have called you to inform you it wouldn't be happening on schedule-if they are not in the least apologetic they are a beyond sub-par veterinary establishment.

There are too many Dr.s that (yes I'm including vets) allow their business practices and office staff to be far too laxed and thus they are failing in their ability to manage themselves and provide quality care!

:thumbup: well said

Poor office management/staff resulting in poor quality customer service to you the pet owner. If that's lacking, it would make me wonder what else is lacking in that practice.

I am sorry this happened. This is a new Vet for you and highly recommended. So the Vet may not have any idea, you would be stressed. My Vet has years of dealing with me and my dogs. She knows what I need as well as what my dogs need. If something came up they would have called me. Because I ALWAYS want called when surgery starts and as soon as the surgery is done. Unlike me most people are told to pick up their dog at 6 pm they don't call to check on things. They know the Vet would call if something went wrong. They show up at 6 to get their dog.
A routine dental is not of equal importance as an emergency. I trust my Vet to do the right thing. I have been the one with the bloody dog in my arms, so I know she would drop everything to treat an emergency.
I think that the problem was that the Vet did not know you and how worried you were. A good relationship with pet owners is very important to most Vets. I don't want you to give up a really good Vet because of a misunderstanding. You should tell them how worried and upset you were , tell them you ALWAYS want called when surgery starts and is finished. That way you are not crazy with worry all day.
Hugs for you.

When Callie had her LP surgery she would not eat, drink, pee or poo. They called and wanted me to pick her up early because they were so worried about her. But Callie also has never been left alone ever so maybe shes a little different. I was very calm when I left her they actually took her from me and back as soon as I got there so I didn't really have time to freak out just time to kiss her head. I actually didn't cry until it was time to walk in the house and I knew she wasn't going to be in there.

Scooter is safely home. He had one tooth pulled but otherwise he's ok. I still think I should have been told that there was a delay. All it would have taken is a brief phone call. This is not my regular vet and considering the cost :eek: I seriously doubt that he will go back to her. I think $479 is a lot for a dental cleaning and an extraction. Anyway thanks everyone for your concern. Since my husband died I only have my two precious dogs and if anything happened to them I don't know what I would do and if I have poor energy....that is understandable.

So glad Scooter is home! I hope he can rest well and recover quickly!

So sorry you had to go through this! I agree, the office should of made the effort to call you and let you know it would be awhile. That way you could of rescheduled if need be and your little one wouldn't have to sit there and stress. I wouldn't be happy about that. I don't think I would be downright rude with them, but I would mention that a phone call would of been appreciated. I know emergencies happen, but that is what the vet has vet techs and office staff for. They are there to keep you informed and help you/your pet the best they can.

-I do not think it was about her dog being dumped due to an emergency (that would be lacking in consideration of common sense) it was about the lack of professionalism and people doing their job to the ability they are required to do...anything less is well unprofessional, if not previously agreed on.

I'm unsure of your reaction to the OP :confused:

My vet knows my dogs are not dropped off to be sitting in a cage all day waiting for their appointment we show up for the appointment and we leave when done-especially if they are supposed to do an evaluation prior to release, if that's how they handle communication do you really think they weren't going to rush through an evaluation?

Then again I do not drop my dogs off at the groomers all day either, we have an appointment time, we show up for it if I don't stay there I run a few errands in the shopping center and then pick them up...

I am so glad that Scooter is home safe and sound. I understand about you being anxious. Emergencies happen, and of course a life or death situation would take presidence over a dental. However, good customer relations would dictate a quick phone call to give a status report to clients who had pets waiting for surgery. I know that I would receive a call from someone in the practice if that type of situation arose and I would definately understand.

On the other hand, the time I had an emergency with two young pups and made a mad dash to the vet, I felt blessed that I was surrounded by 4 very qualified vets who left their client rooms to put heads together to figure out why I had two pups that appeared to have a seizure at the exact same time. It was a very busy day, but everyone was kind and understanding because they knew if it had been them in my place they would have received the same professional care.

btw - as it turned out one of the pups had found the only electrical cord in the living room, bit into it and got shocked - apparently the second pup was touching the first pup and got shocked as well. Both pups recovered and all was well.

So glad that your baby is home. I agree that a phone call would of been appropriate,my vet's front desk sends me text updates every couple of hours. I also think that the price was a bit high. If everyone is healthy,it might be a good time to go shopping for a new vet or maybe just put some time into the one you have and explain your situation. I lost my very precious lil friend last March and therefore I do get a bit upset if something that I havent seen before happens to my new baby. This doesnt happen often but the office people as well as my vet are very understanding and reassuring because they know the situation.

Because we allow it
 

I've had similar experiences sitting with my dog in a packed office for two hours for a well-visit when I could have been called to reschedule. This was just one of numerous unpleasant front desk encounters with this particular vet's office and when pointed out to the vet herself, the answer was "I know, I'm working on it." I got tired of waiting for change, so I found a new vet; a father and son practice, where they actually know my name and value my business.

I work hard for my money in a highly competetive business and I will not stand for being abused and inconvenienced when I am on the other side of the counter. I expect the same courtesy, respect and compassion that my clients demand and get from me, regardless of what challenges I might be facing on any given day.:animal-pa

I agree 100% with you!! Someone should have called. "You only have one time to make a first impression," and in my opinion, it was negative.
I'm so sorry for your loss.

If you've ever had a dog in your arms fighting for its life and needing the vet to put routine matters like dentals aside then maybe you would see it differently. I have been on both sides of this issue - waiting while other dogs with greater needs were treated first - and with a half alive dog in my arms fighting for its life. I'd gladly wait or have my dog sit in a cage if it meant that someone else's pet having an emergency got the care it needed.

I agree with you emergencies should come first but this was lack of grood office management this pet owner wasnt contacted and allowed to reschedule. if your a vet and your in the service industry you have to appeal to your clients and not treat their dogs like a # and thats one of the ways you do it. My vets does it and they are just a small operation

I agree with this

:thumbup: