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  #1  
Old December 21st, 2014, 02:34 AM
Chewydog Chewydog is offline
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A Humble Vet Assistant's Rambling...

1. We love our jobs and your pets. I love my clients and I love my patients. I chose to be here. I have made enormous financial sacrifices, left an $80,000+ per year profession after 14 years, went back to school, received a college diploma, and started from scratch, at 35 years old. I now earn less than $25,000 a year. I did this because I love animals and chose to pursue an emotional paycheck, to love my job, and to follow a dream.

2. We do not receive kickbacks from food manufacturers. Yes we make profit from them no different than how Petsmart or Petland makes profit from their food sales. My nutritional education via college, though limited was NOT taught by food reps. Yes food reps do provide in house "lunch and learns" bringing us up to speed on their latest research and products. We recommend these products because we believe in them and we have had positive results with them. They provide science based, factual research and spend millions to gain veterinary endorsement. Yes I understand suspicion of bias in research. But if not the manufacturers whom do you propose should be responsible for the research and development of pet foods?

3. We don't trust online pharmacies. It's true. Why? Because knockoffs, expired and tainted products are sold every day. We also genuinely want the best for your pet. That includes a DVMs evaluation and ongoing support and monitoring. We honestly are not rubbing our hands together, chuckling "mwa a a" over a $50 exam fee. To be honest no profit is made with exam fees. They basically break even, the DVMs wage and operational overhead.

4. Illnesses and emergencies are unfortunately expensive. Please be prepared, as the loving owner you are, to bare the financial burden an understand that it is sheer economics that binds us. At the end of the day we are happy to make a 10% profit margin on your bills. So that $1500 emergency surgery actually only resulted in a whopping $150 profit to the business. We are faced with grief striken, financially restrained clients daily. Providing services on a "promise to pay" would effectively put us out of business. I know, I know...you get paid Friday, you are good for it...but time and time again we are burned. We simply cannot. And it's honestly not up to me, so please understand, I am actually human. I see death everyday. The loss of your pet affects me deeply. I do care.

5. I am truly sorry for the wait. Life at a veterinary practice is unpredictable. Emergencies, treatment or surgical complications, late clients are part of day to day operations. So please keep this in mind. Never schedule an appointment when strapped for time. Good doctors do not rush through there appointments. Diagnostics take time. Prescriptions require attention to detail. There is a team of professionals working together to ensure your pet receives the care it needs. We can only go so fast. 20 min exam, 20 min diagnostics, 10 mins to fill prescriptions, 20 mins to discharge you with instructions. Not to mention the time that goes into writing up your charts...40 mins to an hour is a safe assumption for your average visit.

6. Most vets do actually care. I mean this with all sincerity. I have had the pleasure of knowing some amazing doctors. Yes they will often propose the most expensive method of treatment first. In a perfect world every pet would receive the highest level of care, with in depth diagnostic testing, potential surgery, preventative care, nutrition, etc. It is in the best interest of the animal to recommend the highest level of care first. Then, if necessary, adress and work with the owner and their financial constraints as they are encountered. If you are of limited means communicate with us. Be kind. And be proactive. You'll be pleasantly suprised with the outcome.

7. The dreaded "A Clinic". Well know to us, this term is used to describe low quality, low cost clinics that in the old days had names that started with an "A" so they were the first in alphabetical phone book listings. Not all low cost clinics are "bad". Many are non-profit, recieve funding and subsidies, and rely on volunteers, while providing resonable standards of care. And "A Clinic" is typically understaffed. They cut corners, use cheap, low quality meds, have untrained staff and rely on sheer volume, and vulnerable clients who can't afford better.

8. Your small gestures mean a lot. That thank you card made my day, those cookies lifted my spirits, and that positive online review had me beaming and proud. Thank you for recognizing those of us that go over an above because we care.
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  #2  
Old December 21st, 2014, 08:46 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Thanks for posting. It would be nice to know who the author was and what his/her credentials are.

I will address point #3. Please check out on-line pharmacies for your pet orders as thoroughly as you do for your own and the Doctors you visit. Some are legitimate. I use one that is also a bricks and mortar pharmacy for people and pets that I can visit in person if I am in the city. In the process of checking it out I did find another that was bogus, a fake warehouse address and a staff Vet who was not licensed in the province of the fake address. I reported all that to Manitoba Animal Health officials (forget the proper name for their agency) and the website was taken down.

Also note: some Big Pharma have places on their websites where they show you what a counterfeit of their product looks like. Of course along with the photos and descriptions of what the real thing should look like. Even if the product you receive in the mail, or at the Vet's office too for that matter, is authentic, check the expiry dates.

I hope you don't need any meds at all. Not likely in the long life of a well loved pet but I hope it for you and your pets anyway.
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Old December 21st, 2014, 10:31 AM
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marko marko is offline
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Thank you for posting this Chewydog!

Unfortunately our kitties have been sick a while so we see lots of vets.

In my experience most vets and vet techs are FAB.

I've met a few that were not fab, it's true - but they are in the minority.

I also live in the real world so even though vet care is expensive, so is car care. So is repairing your fridge or calling a plumber. They all cost at least $50. plus an hour and a vet is a more highly trained professional than a plumber.....but I don't know too many vets making over 6 figures. I know a few doctors AND some plumbers that make more than that.

Vets get a bad rap for charging a professional wage which seems TOTALLY unfair.

In Canada we can't see this easily because our expensive human medical care does not come out of our pocket in one shot. It's part of our income tax so we feel it less. Unspecialized Vets go to university for 4 years just like general medical practitioners.

So basically I support your rant.

You sound like an exceptional person Chewydog! Thanks for posting and welcome to our forum
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  #4  
Old December 21st, 2014, 06:36 PM
Digston Digston is offline
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There as so many things that go on behind the scenes in vet clinics that I wish people could see so they would know just how much we care. Some things are small, like seeing a sick patient that shows no interest in food and taking the time to microwave a buffet of wet food and offer it to them by hand. Some things stay with you forever, like the pet whose owner is unable to be there in its last moments, so you stroke their fur and whisper how good of a dog/cat he/she is while they breathe their last breath (cue the tears).
It is the most rewarding job in the world, and also, the hardest job in the world. It is also frustrating due to many things pointed out in this rant. Ultimately though, I wouldn't want to do anything else.
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Old December 25th, 2014, 03:44 AM
Chewydog Chewydog is offline
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Thank you everyone. As far as credentials go I am but a lowly vet assistant. I received a diploma after 8 months of college.

I truly love my job. I truly believe in my industry.

I have she'd many tears, but continue to be amazed by the compassion I see daily. I got into this work wanting to work with animals, never expecting my true joy would come from work the front end. I cannot express enough how much I love working with you, my clients.

I wonder about these pharmacies. I am open. I have much to learn. I know medications are reasonably priced in Canada. The only one I have dealt with is 1800petmeds. My doctors are just so against them. And only because they just don't trust them...from what they say....

Thanks for the tolerant replies and warm welcomes!!!! I am a long time lurker...LOL
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Old December 25th, 2014, 10:27 AM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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I have used 1800PetMeds without a problem, and am currently using WalMart for one of my cats meds. I pay one third the cost by using them.
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  #7  
Old December 25th, 2014, 12:50 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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I had one vet take me a side and said that pet food the office sell is junk and
advises me not buy it. I am sure the owner of the office would not had been pleases with this. I unfortunately had a very sleazy vet , I took my standard
poodle who was my hearing dog to her office and the vet told me my dog had heart murmur and that he needed a $200 x ray right away and I said " NO" then the vet said I would need to bring my dog in every month to have his heart checked. I knew the vet was full of crap b/c dogs that are trained to be service dogs has to pass a health test , it can cost from $5,000 -$10,000 to train a service dog and if a dog had a bad heart a penny is not going to be spend on it. I spoke to other dog owners that said the vet was horrible too.
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Old January 9th, 2015, 08:42 PM
rhynes rhynes is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chewydog View Post
2. We do not receive kickbacks from food manufacturers. Yes we make profit from them no different than how Petsmart or Petland makes profit from their food sales. My nutritional education via college, though limited was NOT taught by food reps. Yes food reps do provide in house "lunch and learns" bringing us up to speed on their latest research and products. We recommend these products because we believe in them and we have had positive results with them. They provide science based, factual research and spend millions to gain veterinary endorsement. Yes I understand suspicion of bias in research. But if not the manufacturers whom do you propose should be responsible for the research and development of pet foods?
Funny timing, I had this exact conversation with a young friend that is a vet tech. Lovely young lady, loves animals. We spent the day there, brought the dog and his meal of raw food - she was appalled that we were feeding raw. Had a lengthy conversation about commercial foods, the legalities, the good/bad/ugly about it and the main point I tried to get across to her was to use her own mind, explore further options, don't just regurgitate what you're told - this is sorely lacking in the vet industry IMO, too much follow the leader. If a cat owner called in saying that their cat killed and ate a mouse - you wouldn't tell them to call poison control would you? It's a cat doing what they do...

We just changed vets as IMO the last one was useless, not easy to find a vet that supports raw feeding - this new one isn't too keen on the idea but he has a shelf full of science diet that he's willing to sell to us, no thank you. He's an old farm doctor that's used to seeing dogs and cats that have lived on what they kill to eat. Blood and other tests came back perfect, hard to argue that point. There is a screen on the wall in his waiting room explaining science diet food and the fact that "corn is not a filler".

IMO, when it comes to food, there's a difference between surviving and thriving.
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