RANT: Disappearing Veterinarians

My wife and I are really getting fed up after being abandoned by two
consecutive veterinarians over the course of only 3 years.

We brought our puppy to the first vet for his first year. We had a long
and satisfying experience with this vet when we owned an elderly cat that
we had inherited from our in-laws. Just as the time for the yearly exam
(and rabies certificate, med renewal, etc were due) we were suddenly
unable to reach her by phone. We drove by the office and found it
shuttered and dark; no note. A couple of MONTHS later, received a postcard
from her new office on the other side of the state, with a recommendation
for another local vet if needed. No offer to provide/copy/fax charts for
continuity of care. Fortunately, he a healthy dog, and most of our needs
have been for health maintenance rather than illness.

Googling around for a replacement, by chance we stumbled upon an ad from
her at a professional web site, in which she had been offering to sell her
practice. So it not as though she did not see this coming, or had no
opportunity to communicate her plans with her patients!

From that search we connected with a different local vet who seemed to
have a thriving group practice and got good reviews on local web sites.
Things went very well for the first year. Then, I almost didn notice the
fact that there was no reminder postcard that he was due for an annual
exam. So at the beginning of this month, I made an appointment for all the
yearly stuff. It was on a weekday that I had already taken off from work
in order to tend to errands. Arriving in the office, I found a red-faced
receptionist who told me there was no appointment on the books, and that
"the vet isn't even here today". She told me that the partner had retired,
and the remaining practitioner was only there 11 hours per week; but she
made an evening appointment for us later in the week.

When I met with the vet later that week, he told me that he was searching
for a replacement partner but that (on point-blank questioning) he had no
plans to go anywhere soon. (I had just told him the story about the first
abandonment above). Promised to send an Rx to Petmeds in a few days. When
that didn't happen, I called the office, only to hear a recording that
they had shut down. A post card followed with his new address in (take a
guess) the other side of the state. At least he left a means of requesting
faxed copies of charts. But he outright lied to my face a few days earlier
about whether we could rely upon him in the near future.

Now, I realize there may be factors (rent, taxes, family and personal
health, etc) which may require a vet to reorganize or relocate their
practice. In fairness, we live in a part of the country where cost of
living (and doing business) is very high. My rant is about the
CIRCUMSTANCES and lack of communication. In human medicine, such behavior
would be unethical and unforgiveable if not illegal. Is this
representative of the ethics and standards of behavior that veterinarians
adhere to?

Luckily I had saved the postcard containing the recommended replacement
practitioner that our first vet had sent, 2 months too late. I planning to
have the dog records faxed there, so that we can pick up where we left
off. One thing I DEFINITELY going to do is to alter the health maintenance
cycle so that all these things don come due at the end of the year, when,
by unfortunate circumstances, leases on buildings are also renewed - or
not.

Fingers crossed, but I not all that hopeful that this experience will be
any better.

On 12/29/2011 11:10 AM, Mike S. wrote:

Luckily I had saved the postcard containing the recommended replacement
practitioner that our first vet had sent, 2 months too late. I planning to
have the dog records faxed there,

..............You need to request records of all lab work, etc. while
it's happening. And once a year request copies of all other notes, etc.
on your records. Seems as if you're living in an area of depleting
population.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

On Dec 29 2011, 11:10*am, (Mike S.) wrote:
My wife and I are really getting fed up after being abandoned by two
consecutive veterinarians over the course of only 3 years.

We brought our puppy to the first vet for his first year. We had a long
and satisfying experience with this vet when we owned an elderly cat that
we had inherited from our in-laws. Just as the time for the yearly exam
(and rabies certificate, med renewal, etc were due) we were suddenly
unable to reach her by phone. We drove by the office and found it
shuttered and dark; no note. A couple of MONTHS later, received a postcard
from her new office on the other side of the state, with a recommendation
for another local vet if needed. No offer to provide/copy/fax charts for
continuity of care. Fortunately, he a healthy dog, and most of our needs
have been for health maintenance rather than illness.

Googling around for a replacement, by chance we stumbled upon an ad from
her at a professional web site, in which she had been offering to sell her
practice. So it not as though she did not see this coming, or had no
opportunity to communicate her plans with her patients!

From that search we connected with a different local vet who seemed to
have a thriving group practice and got good reviews on local web sites.
Things went very well for the first year. Then, I almost didn notice the
fact that there was no reminder postcard that he was due for an annual
exam. So at the beginning of this month, I made an appointment for all the
yearly stuff. It was on a weekday that I had already taken off from work
in order to tend to errands. Arriving in the office, I found a red-faced
receptionist who told me there was no appointment on the books, and that
"the vet isn't even here today". She told me that the partner had retired,
and the remaining practitioner was only there 11 hours per week; but she
made an evening appointment for us later in the week.

When I met with the vet later that week, he told me that he was searching
for a replacement partner but that (on point-blank questioning) he had no
plans to go anywhere soon. (I had just told him the story about the first
abandonment above). Promised to send an Rx to Petmeds in a few days. When
that didn't happen, I called the office, only to hear a recording that
they had shut down. A post card followed with his new address in (take a
guess) the other side of the state. At least he left a means of requesting
faxed copies of charts. But he outright lied to my face a few days earlier
about whether we could rely upon him in the near future.

Now, I realize there may be factors (rent, taxes, family and personal
health, etc) which may require a vet to reorganize or relocate their
practice. In fairness, we live in a part of the country where cost of
living (and doing business) is very high. My rant is about the
CIRCUMSTANCES and lack of communication. In human medicine, such behavior
would be unethical and unforgiveable *if not illegal. Is this
representative of the ethics and standards of behavior that veterinarians
adhere to?

Luckily I had saved the postcard containing the recommended replacement
practitioner that our first vet had sent, 2 months too late. I planning to
have the dog records faxed there, so that we can pick up where we left
off. One thing I DEFINITELY going to do is to alter the health maintenance
cycle so that all these things don come due at the end of the year, when,
by unfortunate circumstances, leases on buildings are also renewed - or
not.

Fingers crossed, but I not all that hopeful that this experience will be
any better.

Thank goodness my pets are so healthy I don't even have a regular vet!
saved me tons of money that way. It's been about 3 years or more since
I was even in a vet office and I don't miss it.

Because Cindy doesn't think vets know what they are doing, she's such an
"expert".....

My dogs still get an annual physical by a vet, with heartworm test; so
the vet will know the dog if there is an emergency of some sort. I
assure that my dogs get heartworm preventive, which is prescription
item, and an effective flea preventive only available from a vet. I
know a heckuva lot more than my vet about canine behavior, and
considerably more about normal nutrition, but not medicine and surgery,
and the species anatomy and physiology on which they are based.

You just hit the wrong button with both vets.... This is NOT common
behavior, to just close and go. I have used a multi-vet practice where
junior vets left for various reasons.... one to go into equine practice
full time, one to move when his wife got a fantastic job elsewhere, one
to open her own practice locally.... with new vets coming in. When the
owner sold the practice, the purchasing vets were in the building before
he left for retirement. Another local vet delayed retirement until his
son moved back to the area and opened a practice with the son of the
guy who owned the above practice, and refered all clients to his son's
practice where he now works part time. One very popular, now very old,
vet has retired three times in the 20+ years I've lived here, and at
least once before that.... and each time, he notified every client by
mail, refering them either to another vet or to the vet who bought his
practice. So far, he's bought back the practice twice, and will
probably die in the middle of taking care of an animal while scolding
the owner. If he lived closer to me, I'd use him.... he's excellent....
but with a good vet within 1 mile, driving 20 miles one way, through
city traffic, doesn't make much sense.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia, USA

On Jan 29, 1:21*am, (Jo Wolf) wrote:
Because Cindy doesn't think vets know what they are doing, she's such an
"expert".....

My dogs still get an annual physical by a vet, with heartworm test;

You can get those tests at most clinics and don't need a vet.

so
the vet will know the dog if there is an emergency of some sort. *I
assure that my dogs get heartworm preventive, which is *prescription

Those are not preventatives, they are poisons. There are preventatives
out there that you don't need a prescription for and that are much
safer.

item, and an effective flea preventive only available from a vet.

Vets sell pesticides. They kill dogs. No thanks! There are natural
alternatives for those as well, as noted in another thread.

*I
know a heckuva lot more than my vet about canine behavior, and
considerably more about normal nutrition,

That's pretty sad that your vet (and most out there) are so ignorant
about dog nutrition. On that we agree. Many of them sell one of the
nastiest foods you can get right in their offices and are convinced
it's a good diet. Unfortunately nutrition is not given enough time in
vet schools and worse yet it's taught by kibble companies. You can
usually weed out most bad vets by what they choose to learn after they
are out of school and actually using their skills. I hate to use the
word "practicing". When it comes to my pets I don't want anyone just
practicing on them.

In article ,
Jo Wolf wrote:

You just hit the wrong button with both vets.... This is NOT common
behavior, to just close and go. I have used a multi-vet practice where
junior vets left for various reasons.... one to go into equine practice
full time, one to move when his wife got a fantastic job elsewhere, one
to open her own practice locally.... with new vets coming in. When the
owner sold the practice, the purchasing vets were in the building before
he left for retirement. Another local vet delayed retirement until his
son moved back to the area and opened a practice with the son of the
guy who owned the above practice, and refered all clients to his son's
practice where he now works part time. One very popular, now very old,
vet has retired three times in the 20+ years I've lived here, and at
least once before that.... and each time, he notified every client by
mail, refering them either to another vet or to the vet who bought his
practice. So far, he's bought back the practice twice, and will
probably die in the middle of taking care of an animal while scolding
the owner. If he lived closer to me, I'd use him.... he's excellent....
but with a good vet within 1 mile, driving 20 miles one way, through
city traffic, doesn't make much sense.

Sure, vets have various reasons for choosing to move/retire (and when),
and in a changing economy it's no surprise that these things may be
happening more often. In the case of my latest practitioner, the owner
of the practice was dividing his hours between 2 locations in different
parts of the state, with the other one filling in the hours. The other vet
chose to retire, and after an attempt at replacing him failed, a choice had
to be made. He chose to move away. Sure, his decision.

My issue was with the lack of professionalism and continuity. I was in the
office for a yearly check-up, and seeing things in motion I reminded him
that I came to the practice after already having been abandoned once, and
pointedly asked for notice if he was going to pack it in. He point blank
told me he wasn't going anywhere. The next week I called in for prescriptions
and got a recording that they had closed up shop. I'm STILL waiting for
them to fax the records to the new vet that I made contact with.

cyndi wrote in rec.pets.dogs.health:

On Jan 29, 1:21*am, (Jo Wolf) wrote:
Because Cindy doesn't think vets know what they are doing, she's
such an "expert".....

My dogs still get an annual physical by a vet, with heartworm test;

You can get those tests at most clinics and don't need a vet.

so
the vet will know the dog if there is an emergency of some sort. *I
assure that my dogs get heartworm preventive, which is *prescription

Those are not preventatives, they are poisons. There are preventatives
out there that you don't need a prescription for and that are much
safer.

item, and an effective flea preventive only available from a vet.

Vets sell pesticides. They kill dogs. No thanks! There are natural
alternatives for those as well, as noted in another thread.

*I
know a heckuva lot more than my vet about canine behavior, and
considerably more about normal nutrition,

That's pretty sad that your vet (and most out there) are so ignorant
about dog nutrition. On that we agree. Many of them sell one of the
nastiest foods you can get right in their offices and are convinced
it's a good diet. Unfortunately nutrition is not given enough time in
vet schools and worse yet it's taught by kibble companies. You can
usually weed out most bad vets by what they choose to learn after they
are out of school and actually using their skills. I hate to use the
word "practicing". When it comes to my pets I don't want anyone just
practicing on them.

Hi Char, you are not confusing anyone you know.

--

Originally Posted by cyndi

On Dec 29 2011, 11:10*am, (Mike S.) wrote:
My wife and I are really getting fed up after being abandoned by two
consecutive veterinarians over the course of only 3 years.

We brought our puppy to the first vet for his first year. We had a long
and satisfying experience with this vet when we owned an elderly cat that
we had inherited from our in-laws. Just as the time for the yearly exam
(and rabies certificate, med renewal, etc were due) we were suddenly
unable to reach her by phone. We drove by the office and found it
shuttered and dark; no note. A couple of MONTHS later, received a postcard
from her new office on the other side of the state, with a recommendation
for another local vet if needed. No offer to provide/copy/fax charts for
continuity of care. Fortunately, he a healthy dog, and most of our needs
have been for health maintenance rather than illness.

Googling around for a replacement, by chance we stumbled upon an ad from
her at a professional web site, in which she had been offering to sell her
practice. So it not as though she did not see this coming, or had no
opportunity to communicate her plans with her patients!

From that search we connected with a different local vet who seemed to
have a thriving group practice and got good reviews on local web sites.
Things went very well for the first year. Then, I almost didn notice the
fact that there was no reminder postcard that he was due for an annual
exam. So at the beginning of this month, I made an appointment for all the
yearly stuff. It was on a weekday that I had already taken off from work
in order to tend to errands. Arriving in the office, I found a red-faced
receptionist who told me there was no appointment on the books, and that
"the vet isn't even here today". She told me that the partner had retired,
and the remaining practitioner was only there 11 hours per week; but she
made an evening appointment for us later in the week.

When I met with the vet later that week, he told me that he was searching
for a replacement partner but that (on point-blank questioning) he had no
plans to go anywhere soon. (I had just told him the story about the first
abandonment above). Promised to send an Rx to Petmeds in a few days. When
that didn't happen, I called the office, only to hear a recording that
they had shut down. A post card followed with his new address in (take a
guess) the other side of the state. At least he left a means of requesting
faxed copies of charts. But he outright lied to my face a few days earlier
about whether we could rely upon him in the near future.

Now, I realize there may be factors (rent, taxes, family and personal
health, etc) which may require a vet to reorganize or relocate their
practice. In fairness, we live in a part of the country where cost of
living (and doing business) is very high. My rant is about the
CIRCUMSTANCES and lack of communication. In human medicine, such behavior
would be unethical and unforgiveable *if not illegal. Is this
representative of the ethics and standards of behavior that veterinarians
adhere to?

Luckily I had saved the postcard containing the recommended replacement
practitioner that our first vet had sent, 2 months too late. I planning to
have the dog records faxed there, so that we can pick up where we left
off. One thing I DEFINITELY going to do is to alter the health maintenance
cycle so that all these things don come due at the end of the year, when,
by unfortunate circumstances, leases on buildings are also renewed - or
not.

Fingers crossed, but I not all that hopeful that this experience will be
any better.

Thank goodness my pets are so healthy I don't even have a regular vet!
saved me tons of money that way. It's been about 3 years or more since
I was even in a vet office and I don't miss it.

I'm glad my vet is a family friend. He also sometimes gives hands on care to my Qaqa, a Queensland Heeler. You should find a vet that you can be close to.

That's a bummer. I suggest you should go to the vet of your friends.