Originally Posted by gracielove (Post 4376822)

Ha! I just noticed that my post says I live in BUS! I have to watch what this tablet is doing to me more closely.:eek: Should be NYS. You gotta wonder how these things choose for us.:confused:

Originally Posted by Britster (Post 4376414)

I don't know about standard for large animals, but for dogs, cats? Heck NO would I go anywhere NEAR a guy like this.

Disgusting.

His bedside manner is horrible (i.e. I've heard him say 'stupid dog' to an anesthetized animal, NOT that the animal will care or hear, but it's just the point) He never wears a cap, I hardly even see him in gloves, just unsanitary conditions all around. His sterilization technique is horrible, anesthesia monitoring...???, pain relief, etc?

Not to mention he was on probation as were ALL the other vets in his hospital.

Veterinarians Behaving Badly: The Incredible Disciplinary Action

Originally Posted by Britster (Post 4377332)

Like I said, I don't know about normal procedures for large animals. But he should not be treating cats or dogs. IMO. :)

Originally Posted by Britster (Post 4377332)

Like I said, I don't know about normal procedures for large animals. But he should not be treating cats or dogs. IMO. :)

Originally Posted by theporkieyorkie (Post 4378575)

Agreed there!!!

I think he is MUCH better at treating larger animals than smaller animals. It seems like most large animal vets are that way though and they seem to do the small animal as more of an afterthought or more of a side thing. In my home town, most of the large animal vets either grew up on a farm and/or owned farm animals and that is what they were passionate about.

It seems like farmers in general, have a very different viewpoint than many of us would with our animals. Their animals are their livelyhood more than another family member...and to them, their animals serve a purpose...even down to the barn cats that keep the mice out of the grain. If a barn cat got kicked by a cow or horse and broke it's leg, they wouldn't rush it in for surgery...it would be put down, most likely with a shot gun instead of going to the vet.

Some farmers do take care of their dogs when it comes to vaccinations and such, but you probably won't find a lot of them taking their pup to a specialist or putting a lot of money into their pet if it gets hurt. I think this minimalist approach to animal care, especially animals that aren't making the farmer money, has bled over to the way Dr. Pol and other large animal vets operate their small animal practice.


I also think that when Dr Pol is working on small animals, he tends to forget that he's not working on cows in a barn but instead, he is working on someone's beloved pet and family member. He might be able to get away with de-horning a goat without anesthesia, but he shouldn't be cutting off a dog's broken tail like that...especially when we DO have the medicine and the ability to make the dog more comfortable. Because many of us have humanized our pets and they are our family members, we expect them to get the best and most humane health care available to them...and with the advancements in veterinary care, we do now have access to vet care that nearly parallels the care that is available to humans. There's no need for a dog to sit and suffer in pain when they don't have to...and there's no need to take some or the risks he is taking when there's equipment and methods to make things safer and he's just unwilling to use them. Definitely not the small animal vet for me, but interesting none the less.

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1 (Post 4376534)

There was an episode of a show called something like,"The dirtiest Jobs on Earth"...that may not be the correct name but I am sure those that are familiar with the show, will recognize it. Anyway, the "star" of the show said he had something to share, something that taught him a very valuable lesson and he wanted to share that point with the rest of the world. He was referrences the castration of lambs....the rancher put a lamb on the chopping block, show the "star" how to cut the scrotum, reach in and grab the testicles, pull them out, and then benmd down and bite them off the lamb!!! The "star" was shocked and stupefied and said he just could NOT do that procedure. The rancher put the lamb down on the ground, where it bleeted a couple of times and then ran around like nothing had ever happened. The rancher said there was another way, the "way the animal rights activist insisted it be done, with a rubber band." The rancher grabbed another lamb, put him on the chopping block, rancher twisted the band tightly around the scrotum....rancher put the lamb down, where it staggered and fell and stumbled and fell and staggered around, bleeting pathetically, for 20-30 minutes..."star" asked how long that was going to continue, and rancher told him the testicles would necrotize and drop off from lack of blood supply in about 3-4 days...."star" was dumbfounded. The "humane, civilized" way to castrate lambs was clearly torture to the lamb, waiting for his testicles to rot and drop off....where as the lamb the rancher had rapidly bitten the testicles off, was up and running around in no apparent discomfort, almost immediately after the procedure. The "stars" whole point is that often times the more civilized, kinder way to do something, was actually more barberic than the way ranchers and farmers have been doing thing for hundreds of years. I remember my father telling me something about cows bloating up and they will die if the bloat is not relieved and the stomach decompressed...they used to take a knife and stick it into the cow, back behind what I call that hip bone, and that bloat wouyld disappear....I dont know if this is what Dr.Pol is correcting by turning a cow on its back and stitching the stomach to the belly of the cow.....but maybe you farmers out there can tell me!

Originally Posted by theporkieyorkie (Post 4378575)

Agreed there!!!

I think he is MUCH better at treating larger animals than smaller animals. It seems like most large animal vets are that way though and they seem to do the small animal as more of an afterthought or more of a side thing. In my home town, most of the large animal vets either grew up on a farm and/or owned farm animals and that is what they were passionate about.

It seems like farmers in general, have a very different viewpoint than many of us would with our animals. Their animals are their livelyhood more than another family member...and to them, their animals serve a purpose...even down to the barn cats that keep the mice out of the grain. If a barn cat got kicked by a cow or horse and broke it's leg, they wouldn't rush it in for surgery...it would be put down, most likely with a shot gun instead of going to the vet.

Some farmers do take care of their dogs when it comes to vaccinations and such, but you probably won't find a lot of them taking their pup to a specialist or putting a lot of money into their pet if it gets hurt. I think this minimalist approach to animal care, especially animals that aren't making the farmer money, has bled over to the way Dr. Pol and other large animal vets operate their small animal practice.


I also think that when Dr Pol is working on small animals, he tends to forget that he's not working on cows in a barn but instead, he is working on someone's beloved pet and family member. He might be able to get away with de-horning a goat without anesthesia, but he shouldn't be cutting off a dog's broken tail like that...especially when we DO have the medicine and the ability to make the dog more comfortable. Because many of us have humanized our pets and they are our family members, we expect them to get the best and most humane health care available to them...and with the advancements in veterinary care, we do now have access to vet care that nearly parallels the care that is available to humans. There's no need for a dog to sit and suffer in pain when they don't have to...and there's no need to take some or the risks he is taking when there's equipment and methods to make things safer and he's just unwilling to use them. Definitely not the small animal vet for me, but interesting none the less.