You had every right to ask questions and it is good to ask them. I think you are doing the right thing by taking your baby to a new vet. Good luck to you and I hope you find someone really great to vet your baby. You are a great mommy and you are doing an excellent job of taking care of your baby!

Wow! You do need to switch vets. My Carley just had major hip surgery on Sat. She went to an orthopedic surgeon who only takes referral cases from the dog's regular vet...you can't see him without a referral. We knew Carley would have to have this surgery sooner or later, and it turned out to be way sooner and our vet, who will do these surgeries actually told us our best best was the ortho guy...as they do these surgeries more and were better at them. I have the ortho's home phone # and he took all the time I needed for all the explanations I needed. That is the kind of person you want to operate on your dog....look until you find one!! Good luck

Would you take a human to a oral surgeon for a hip replacement? He sounds like he has a "god complex". Your last post was right on target, consultation first with a new vet.

You were totally justified. I'm glad you're finding a new vet.

THIS is a great answer! I wouldn't go back to that vet...and I'd write a letter as to why. (and quote the above!) :)

Wow, you are so lucky to have such an honest vet who really cares about the welfare of your dog. Too bad I don't live in Texas because I would love to take my dog to your vet and your surgeon. How is your furbaby doing after surgery? I hope he feels better real soon :)

I am still searching for a specialist. I called 2 today and one was on vacation and the other I left a message. YorkieMalt just gave me some info on one in Jersey. I need a referral though so it looks like I might have to find a new regular vet first and then get the specialist. Can you believe my EX-vet gave me the number to a place that only deals with emergencies and they don't even have an orthopedic surgeon? That shows you he doesn't care about my dog. He didn't even have the decency to refer me to someone who could help me out. I can't believe he would be so mean to me just because I asked him an honest question. I don't know what happened to him but now I am really stuck asking all around about another vet that is nice, cares about my dog, and will answer my questions. What worries me the most is I don't know if he really needs this surgery. If so then I hope his knee holds out until I can get him some help from vets who care. Wish me luck.

If you do have the # of the ortho guy and can't find another one, perhaps you could call him and just explain the situation. Do you have ex rays from the original vet? I bet if you talked to the receptionist and explained your situation, she could have the ortho call you back or if not, tell you names of vets who refer him.
It is very stressful enough to have a sick one, you don't need this additional worry. I wish you all the best!!
Oh, and thanks for your well wishes for Carley, she is doing pretty good, all things considered..I started a thread about her under sick/injured Yorkies and there are some pictures of her with her battle scar/wound.
I do wish you all the best, I know how hard this can all be.

I am going to try and call another vet tomorrow that was recommended by my cousin. Since I do need to find a general vet I hope this one works out well. I pray that she doesn't find anything wrong with his knees. Can you believe my EX-vet just diagnosed him as having luxating patellas without even taking X-rays? How crazy is that? I guess you can feel when the knee is popping out but the surest way to see it is with an X-ray right?

When it comes to important decisions I think the best thing to do is trust your gut instinct, and in this case your gut instict is that the vet should not have reacted the way he did for whatever reason. We can read alot into things sometime but our insticts are there for a reason and I think you are right to listen to yours. Communication is important before the surgery, and after and if you feel uncomfortable for any reason find someone else. There fortunately are many choices. I would definitely want to know how many successful surgeries he had performed and perhaps if any were not so successful, and what to expect either way.

You did the right thing. Thank God this made you realize how big of a jerk your vet is so you could get rid of him now instead of years down the road. Ugh! That makes me sick! Maybe join the meetup board in your area (meetup.com) and get some good recommendations for vets in your area. I would definitely stop all communication with that jerk vet! :thumbdown

You did the right thing, and you should always have a second opinion before any surgery, unless you totally trust your vet. People have second opinions - many insurance companies won't cover surgery for humans without a second opinion, in fact.

My personal feeling about doctors is that they are working for me. The bottom line is that I pay them. That gives me the right to ask whatever I want to know that's relevant. I also feel I have the right to discuss medications, alternatives, etc. if I want one to. I have gone to doctors who may not agree with what I want, but they have to prove to me that their way is the best for me. It's my body (or my pet's body).

This "God" complex is nonsense. You're paying their mortgage, car payments, and their childrens' college educations. That's fine if you're a satisified customer.

I called the vet my cousin recommended to me and scheduled an appointment for this Friday so she can give me a second opinion. I pray that my ex-vet was wrong and he doesn't need this surgery. I also hope she is as nice to me as she is with my cousin and she cares for my dog. We'll see.

I also took the advice of Wylie's Mom and wrote my ex-vet a letter explaining why I won't be returning to him. I also asked him to mail me my dogs medical records. I wonder if he will read it when he sees my name on it. If I get the medical records then I know he read it. If not then I have to call and get the records.