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Finding a Veterinarian: How to choose the perfect vet for your family

Finding a veterinarian to care for your pets can be as simple as lucking into an awesome referral or as challenging as interviewing lots of potential clinics. We’ve been through the range of vets from the best to the not-so-great, and we’re embarking on a search for a new vet for Cooper! I’m hoping by sharing our experience, I can help you find the perfect vet for your family!

Since we first adopted Emmett in 2005 through today, we’ve run the gamut of vets. We started at a Banfield, then moved to a small clinic that was in walking distance of our DC condo when we adopted Lucas. When we moved from DC to Indiana, we chose a practice based solely on proximity to our house–and lucked into one of the best vets we could’ve dreamed up. When she moved away, we got an OK vet for a little while. Then we moved and chose a vet in our small Louisiana town because it was the only AAHA accredited vet in driving distance. When we moved back and back to that same, previous practice, the OK vet had also moved on and we were matched with a brand-new vet who proved to be the absolute perfect fit for us. Then we moved again and picked an AAHA animal hospital that was open 24 hours. For whatever reason, their turnover rate has been ridiculous… we’ve had four vets in three years, and saw a fifth vet once in between, and none have been the right fit.

So, we’ve decided–for the first time ever in all this–that it’s time to move on not because we’re actually moving but because this practice doesn’t meet our needs. And that’s OK! More on that in a minute.

Finding a Veterinarian: How to choose the perfect vet for your family

Your relationship with your vet… and why it matters

Among the relationships your pet has outside immediate family and friends, the one with the vet matters the most. You need to trust your vet. So does your pet. You need to feel secure with your vet. So does your pet. No, it won’t always be super comfy for your pet. Cooper’s a nervous Nelly, and the cats are, well, cats. But, I need to feel confident that their vet will be compassionate with their, ahem, quirks. That’s the baseline for me. Even bigger than that, though, are the super tough times. When Lucas received his osteosarcoma diagnosis, his vet sat with him and sat with me, tears filled her eyes, and she took as long as we needed to ask questions and to make a plan. When he passed away, she came to our house and made the entire experience as gentle as possible. It was personal. She and the vet tech shared stories with us about Lucas from his stay at the animal hospital. It meant something. When Emmett passed, well, that vet was also gentle and compassionate, but we didn’t have a relationship with her, so it felt different, less authentic. Less personal.

Ultimately, your relationship with your vet matters because it won’t always be checkups and vaccines. Someday you might face disease or injury, and someday we’ll all face end-of-life care. Having a good relationship with your vet truly matters in those times.

What to look for in a new veterinarian

I’m not sure Cooper will ever feel relaxed at his vet’s office, but he did fine (for Cooper) with two of the roughly 10 vets listed above in no small part because of the effort those vets put into making him feel safe. That’s huge. If you have a nervous pup, it’s worth asking before you head in: What do you do for a fearful animal? (More on Q’s to ask below, btw!) Same thing for cats: Most will never be happy at a vet visit, but can you find a vet who will at least try different tactics to help your cat feel settled?

Here’s what to look for in a new veterinarian:

  • AAHA accreditation: No, it’s not a deal-breaker for us, but it at least shows that the practice follows a set of rigorous standards.
  • The lobby: This might sound silly if you’ve never loved a reactive dog but. When we lived in DC, Lucas was still new and intense in his reactivity. The lobby of the clinic near us was small. So, the receptionist would wave to us through the glass front, then kindly ask the other patients to move to one side so we could zip him through and straight back. Considering new vets now, I happened to be at another vet’s office in town and texted John that there was no way we could consider them. The lobby is SO small with two side-by-side benches and one way in or out. Our current vet, the one we’re leaving, has one thing going for them: You don’t wait in the lobby. You wait in a room.
  • Specialties or certifications: Are they a fear-free vet? Or a Cat-Friendly Practice?
  • Hours that work with your schedule: For example, if there’s no way you can ever get off work between 8 am and 5 pm, do they offer evening or weekend hours? If they’re not open 24 hours, do they have a relationship with an emergency hospital?
  • Payment methods that work with your needs: This includes accepting things like CareCredit or setting up payment plans.
  • Proximity: Can you get there quickly in an emergency?

Finally, are they willing to schedule an interview or a “get-to-know-you” appointment? This allows you to tour the practice and meet the staff before you commit. Some vets charge for this, and that’s perfectly OK since you’re using 30 to 60 minutes of their time.

How to interview a potential new vet (aka, how to vet your vet!)

Here are a few tips on how to find and arrange an interview with a potential new vet:

First, research potential vets on social media and among friends and family. Check out the comments and reviews on the practice’s Facebook page. Read their Yelp and Google reviews (bearing in mind people often use those channels to gripe), and check out your local Better Business Bureau for any reviews or complaints.

Second, call your selected vet and ask to schedule a meet-and-greet at a convenient time. A busy practice won’t appreciate or necessarily be able to accommodate a walk-in, so get it on the schedule! Ask if you should bring your pets along, too, so they can meet each other in a non-clinical setting.

Finally, have a copy of your pet’s records transferred to the potential new vet ahead of time. This is especially important if your dog has a chronic condition and you want to ask questions about their treatment methods.

Then, on the day of the appointment, arrive a few minutes early and be prepared with a list of questions. Here are 10 to consider if they’re relevant to your pet and situation (not all will apply to everyone, of course):

  1. Will my pet always see the same vet / can I request a specific vet for our appointments?
  2. What is your emergency response? Are there immediate appointments in a real emergency? Referral to an after-hours hospital?
  3. Do you take questions via email? Or phone only?
  4. Does your practice consider treatments / feeding / therapy beyond the traditional? (Depending on your situation, this question could cover raw feeding, acupuncture, etc.)
  5. How do you approach budgeting for treatments? Can you work with my threshold / payment needs?
  6. What’s the follow up / support / resources available for any diagnosis or treatment?
  7. I’m the kind of person who has a ton of questions. How long is a typical appointment? If I need more time, can I book extra time or a last of the day?
  8. How do you handle end of life care?
  9. Do you have a referral network of specialists if they’re needed?
  10. What steps can we take together to help my fearful dog / scaredy cat feel safer?

This is so important

In a perfect world, you and your pet would have the same vet for life. That doesn’t always happen. This relationship is so important that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable… or to move on if they’re just not a fit for you. I recently posed this question in the OMD Facebook group and was so happy to see how many people have wonderful relationships with their pets’ providers, and it was fascinating to hear how most people found their current vets. As we look for Cooper’s new vet (and, by extension, the cats’ new vet, too!) I’ll share what we learn along the way! Join the discussion here in the comments or hop into our Facebook group to share your experience!

Have you ever interviewed a vet? What questions do you ask potential new pet care practitioners? What would you add to this list? Any experiences–good or bad–with changing vets? 

Does my dog really need a dental cleaning?

Yep! He does!

OK, then. See you next time! (:

Just kidding… but, yeah, your dog probably does need a dental cleaning.

Today, Cooper goes in for his first full dental. The crazy thing is that Cooper will be 7 years old next month, and this is the first time he’s truly needed one.

Does my dog really need a dental cleaning

(OK, that pic is from a couple years ago… Cooper SMILES when he’s happy to see you. Our pet sitter friend, who he loves, snapped this gem!)

When Coop had his annual exam in October 2015, his vet said that he’d need a dental the following fall. Same thing with Newt. So, when I took them both in October 2016, I was surprised to hear her say that, actually, his teeth were still in pretty good shape, but we might as well schedule one within the next year. (Newt, on the other hand, needed hers ASAP and ended up discovering a cracked tooth.)

So, we put it off since we were dealing with Emmett’s myriad health issues, followed by Violet’s arrival.

But, I constantly flip his lip.

Do you do that?? You totally should! Every so often, flip up your pup’s lips and check out his teeth and gums. If you know, generally, what they look like, it’s easy to tell when something isn’t quite right.

And that’s exactly what happened.

His front left canine had some serious gunky discoloration along the gum line. And, while we were poking and prodding his other teeth, we noticed a small, hard lump just on the inside of his upper lip. Hmm. So, we called the vet and got his appointment scheduled ASAP. Today.

The plan: A full dental cleaning, along with an aspiration and possible removal of the lump. (trying not to panic… trying not to panic… trying…)

Cooper’s never been under anesthesia before, so they’re doing a full work-up first to make sure he’s a good candidate.

Our animal hospital is AAHA accredited–one of the reasons we chose it, to be honest–so there are a few things I know and feel comfortable with him going through this for the first time.

AAHA hospitals have to meet a series of mandatory standards, then earn points beyond what’s required. So, for today, I know that for the anesthesia, a trained tech will monitor Coop with required equipment throughout the entirety of his anesthesia. That allows for him to be closely monitored while he receives a thorough clean under the gumline, plus any extractions (which I reallllllly hope he doesn’t need), and then the aspiration and possible removal of this mystery lump. So, the whole time, he’s carefully monitored by focused, well-trained staff. They also have mandatory procedures for surgery, pain assessment and management, and protocols for recovery, like delivering oxygen in a number of different ways, if it’s needed.

These are the types of things I focus on when I’m trying not to panic…

It’s recommended, of course, that dogs get a full dental once a year. You and your vet will have to decide if that’s the best course for your pup. With Emmett, he had a dental every other year and definitely needed it each time. Lucas got one every two or three years because his teeth were in better shape than Em’s overall. Cooper truly hasn’t needed one until now, and he’s almost seven.

Every dog and every situation is unique.

So, does your dog really need a dental cleaning at the vet?

Probably.

According to the American Veterinary Dental College, “Periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition occurring in adult dogs and cats, and is entirely preventable.  By three years of age, most dogs and cats have some evidence of periodontal disease.”

If nothing else, take a couple minutes this weekend to flip your dog’s lip. Look at his teeth and gums. If you spot anything off or gunky or smelly, call the vet. If all looks well, add it to your calendar to check again in a couple weeks.

As for me, I’m going to go pour over the AAHA website again to refresh myself on their anesthesia, dental, surgery, and recovery standards so that I can focus on the good care he’s getting rather than all the worries…

Happy Friday, y’all!

An eye-opening visit to the UT vet school

One of the best parts of the PetSafe summit was our afternoon at the UT vet school. There were three BIG take-aways for me that I want to share here.

A quick note: While there were animals all over the place, we weren’t allowed to share pictures. Our guide explained their policies as “HIPAA for animals” so I took what I could. You’ll just have to imagine the animals that were there. (Including a TIGER! Having SURGERY! Which I SAW!!! I have the pics on my phone if our paths ever cross…)

Take-away one: We need a better understanding of the root cause of animal behavior. That means scientific inquiry, rather than just theory.

At veterinary schools around the country, behavior is diminished in importance compared to other specialties. The reason? According to Dr. Julie Albright, the PetSafe Chair in Small Animal Behavioral Research, it just doesn’t bring in the money that other areas – like oncology – do. At UT, PetSafe pays for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist to hold a post at the school where she sees patients, consults on behavior issues, and conducts research. This is huge since there are so few veterinary behaviorists around the country, and PetSafe is ensuring UT keeps one in their school. We spent some time chatting with her and learned, not surprisingly, that her most common dog cases are aggression (cats are inappropriate elimination). But she made the fascinating point that there still isn’t a genuine understanding of the causes of aggressive behavior – there’s a lot of theory, but the data isn’t there. Her research is looking at play behavior among puppies, mapping the differences between breeds and changes in play as the puppies develop.

Take-away two: The care available to our animals is far more sophisticated than I ever imagined.

And it’s such an uplifting demonstration of the compassion and love we have for the animals in our lives. I was amazed at the resources they have, like physical rehabilitation and sports medicine to stem cell therapy and emergency care. They have two hyperbaric chambers – one for small animals, which was even used on a guinea pig who had smoke inhalation, and one for horses/large animals. Here’s the small animal one:

Hyperbaric chamber at UT vet school
They’re able to treat avian and exotic animals all the way up to that tiger mentioned above. The Equine Performance and Rehabilitation Center was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. There was an underwater treadmill designed exclusively for horses.

Underwater treadmill for horses

State-of-the-art equipment and procedures are available for every type of animal you can think of. The entire place blew me away, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about all the attention and care our beloved animals are receiving. They literally have the benefit of every type of treatment under the sun. (Like, the CT machine there was IDENTICAL to the one at my oncologist’s office!)

Take-away three: Veterinary social work is an important emerging field. We need more of it.

There aren’t a lot of these programs. Yet. But they play such a critical and often overlooked role in veterinary medicine: caring for the people. We happened to be at UT shortly after Dr. Sophia Yin’s tragic suicide, and there was a somber mood as they spoke to us about this program. But there was a light, too. These social workers are specializing in the veterinary field so that they’re able to support vets. At UT, they’re offering courses on wellness and self-care, suicide prevention, and more for the veterinarians. But they also support the patients. They help upset or confused clients communicate with the medical stuff. They arrange community resources and pet loss support groups. In the hospital, they provide emotional support to patients who have to make difficult decisions and are available to be present during euthanasia. They provide grief counseling. And so much more. Can you even dream of a better service to be offered in a veterinary hospital? And it makes so much sense, right? We have those services in human hospitals across the country. This, to me, is a natural and much needed extension of that, and I can only hope that this field grows rapidly! So much warm-fuzzy here, too!

Overall, it was an amazing visit. I learned so much, and I was inspired to see how perfectly the school combines compassionate care with technology.

(Oh, incidentally: We heard a presentation from a veterinary nutritionist. I think Cooper needs one of those. I’m going to see if we can get some sort of referral at his next appointment…)