How To Choose The Perfect Vet For Your Pet

Finding the perfect veterinarian isn’t always easy. If you have a wonderful vet, one that treats your pet and your family with care and respect, you are very lucky. I used to think if I just went to my local vet, this is what I would find. I was WRONG!

In 2001 I moved with my family to a new area. We decided we wanted to breed golden retrievers. We started taking our dogs to the local veterinarian. He was a vet with years of experience and someone I thought I could trust the care of my fur babies.

Unfortunately, this turned into a horrible experience. Had I known what I know now, a deadly outcome might have been avoided. (see the full story below).

The only positive that came out of that tragedy was that I found my current vet, Dr. Ann Roberts, of Thumb Veterinary Services in Sandusky, Michigan. She is a veterinarian that treats your pet with compassion and your family with respect. For my family, she is our perfect vet and we would follow her anywhere!

• But how do you find such a vet?
• What things do you look for?
• What things do you ask?
• Are they able to treat any special needs your pet might have? How is the office staff?

You need to have a plan. If you do, you can find the perfect vet for your family and your fur babies.

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First, do your research

• Ask around for referrals.
• Is there a friend or family member that has a vet they are happy with in your area?
• You can also search the internet for reviews. There are websites like yelp! and Angie’s List that often has reviews of local veterinarians.
• Facebook has a lot of neighborhood community pages. You can ask for other people’s experiences with a vet you might be interested in.

Once you find a vet you might be interested in, call their office

Along with a good vet comes a good office staff. The office staff is the first person you will encounter and often a person you will deal with frequently.

• Are they pleasant?
• Are they rude?
• Do they take their time, or do they make you feel rushed or hurried?
• Do they attempt to work with any scheduling needs you may have?

Next, make a consultation appointment

Office Environment

• When you get to the office, is the waiting room clean and the office organized?
• Is the person at the front desk kind and courteous?
• Do you have a long wait?
• Do they have a sick room that possible contagious pets can wait in?
• Are the exam rooms clean and spacious?

These things can give you good information about how the office is run.

Vet Tech

Do the vet techs seem knowledgeable? There may be times when you need to call about a pet concern. Your vet might not be available right away and you must speak with the vet tech first.

I must say the techs at Thumb Vet know their stuff! Especially Lisa, I trust her judgment almost as much as I trust Dr. Ann.

Interaction between the vet and your dog

When you go in for your appointment, be honest about your reasons for being there. You should take your fur baby with you to meet the new vet.

Watch the interaction between your pet and the vet.

How does the vet treat your pet?

When we take our goldens to see Dr. Ann, she gets the floor to be at eye level with my dogs. She talks with our dogs and she treats them as if they were her own. She develops a bond with them and earns my dog’s trust.

Interaction between the vet and you

Dr. Ann also treats me and my family with respect.

Let’s face it, you know your pet better than anyone. You are the first to pick up on slight clues that there is a change in your pet.

When we come to Dr. Ann with any issues, she listens to our concerns and does her best to find a solution. This was a big reason why we stopped going to our last vet and it costed us dearly. (see the full story below)

Make a list of questions

What things are important to you and for your pet?

When you go to the vet’s office have a plan of what things you want and need to know. Some questions might be directed to the vet. Other questions might be about the vet office practices. Examples may be:

• How long have they been in practice and at their current location? Are they a member of the AAHA?
• Will you see the same vet each time? A bigger office may have multiple vets. Even though we love our vet, Dr. Ann, there are times that we must see other vets in their office. If it’s a simple visit, I’m ok with that. You need to determine what is right for you and your family.
• What is the turn-over rate of vets in the office and the office staff? Will there be someone new every time you are there? This makes it hard to build up trust. A high turn-over rate can also mean there are issues with the office dynamics.
• Does your vet share the same outlook on care practices? For example, do you wish your pet is cared for with holistic practices?
• What are their office hours? Are evening and weekend hours important to you?
• Is there an after-hours vet on call 24/7? It’s nice to know if there is an emergency, you can go to your own vet no matter what time of day it is. As opposed to going to a strange emergency vet that doesn’t know you or your fur baby.
• What are their prices of common visits or procedures and do they offer payment plans? Vets will always want payment at the time of service. But what if something unexpected comes up? Your pet’s care should never be determined by coming up with payment right then and there.
• Do they offer same-day appointments? There may be times when your pet is sick or has a minor injury and needs to be seen asap, but not an actual “emergency”. Do you have to wait a week or two just to get an appointment?
• Do they offer specialty services that might be important for the care of your pet? Does their office have the capabilities to do x-ray’s, ultrasound, or lab tests? Is your pet older and in need of senior care? Do you need a reproduction specialist? Do they do OFA’s or PennHips?

Finding a great vet is not impossible but might take work. Don’t be afraid to check out several vets at different offices. You might not get the perfect one the first time out.

But trust me, the perfect vet is out there! We found Dr. Ann, our perfect vet, and I’m sure with a plan, you will be able to find your own Dr. Ann.

Thumb Veterinary Services
60 E. Miller Rd.
Sandusky, MI 48471
810-648-8230
ThumbVets.com

Keep reading below for the horrific story of why we had to find a new vet.

What things do you look for in the perfect vet? Leave your answer in the comments below.

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The nightmare we endured before we found our perfect vet.

I share this story because I hope you can learn from my mistakes. There are a lot of changes I would have made if I could go back and do it over. But hindsight is always 20/20.

My husband and I had been breeding golden retrievers for a few years. We had been using the local vet. He had been in practice for serval years and I thought I could trust him.

One night we were anxiously waiting for our momma dog to have her babies. We didn’t know for sure how many were in the litter, but the momma was huge! She hadn’t started labor, but we knew it would be anytime.

It was that night when my dog started having seizures. Terrified, I called our vet and wanted to take her in. I have been a nurse for 20+ years and have seen seizures multiple times. I knew this could be life-threating!

It was after hours and understandably, it took us a bit to get ahold of the vet. When we finally did, I explained the situation. By this time, my momma had already had more than one seizure.

His response was, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t know what you mean that ‘your dog is having seizures’.”

I said, “Her head looks like a bobble-head! She is having seizures!” The vet was also aware I am a long-time nurse.

This time his response was, “I can hear your kids in the background. Your house is too noisy. You need to put your kids to bed and put the dog in a dark room and leave her alone.”

I explained to him first, my dog is used to being in my house and the house noises. Second, the dog was in the living room and my kids were in the family room.

The conversation continued, but in the end, he refused to let me bring my dog in to be seen. Being in a rural area, I didn’t think I had any other options.

To make matters worse, I was on call at the hospital that night, and I got called in. I left for the hospital and my husband put the kids to bed and went to bed too. (A decision that still haunts him to this day, but he was doing what the vet told us).

I was only gone for two hours.

When I got home, my dog was dead.

She never got a chance to have her puppies. They were all gone too.

Heartbroken doesn’t even describe what we went through.

We were also angry. We were mad at the vet. He treated me without respect and refused to listen to me when I explained the seriousness of the situation. He refused to see my baby.

We were also mad with ourselves. Once I realized I was getting nowhere with our vet, I should have taken her to an emergency after-hours vet. At the time, I didn’t know if there were any around me. But that is no excuse because I should have had a backup plan.

Furthermore, I should have told my work I couldn’t come in. I might have gotten in trouble, but it’s a job and my dogs are my family.

My husband was mad with himself for going to bed. Neither one of us could have saved her, and even the vet might not have been able to save her. But knowing she died alone is something we still have never gotten over.

We never contacted that vet again. I never even told him my momma dog died along with all her puppies. I just didn’t see the point. After dealing with him that horrible night, I knew it would make no difference to him.

We started looking for a new vet. But this time, we had different eyes. We met with several vets. I remember one that seemed to want to upsell everything. “Your dogs need this special ear cleaner and special ear wipes, and so on.” They just kept adding things and seemed like they were just trying to pad the bill. They didn’t seem to be concerned with what was in the best interest of my dogs.

The only positive thing that came out of this tragic experience, was we found our perfect vet, Dr. Ann. We can not thank you enough Dr. Ann and all the staff at Thumb vet! You are our perfect vet and I know we will never have to go through another experience like that again.

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What things do you look for in the perfect vet? Leave your answer in the comments below.

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