Veterinary Care Specialists and VCS Pets First are small concerns. We are really a family here and the hospital was built and organized with the idea of being a more intimate, ‘patient care intense’ veterinary hospital. We never had ambitions to be big, but we strive to be very good at what we do. I think that we achieve that goal and I am very proud of the support staff and doctors that make our office a caring and professional place.
Veterinarians don’t typically spend 4 + years in college seeking an advanced degree to get rich. We are among the crazy folks that get all that schooling because we really believe in and like what we do. So, when someone says we did not provide adequate care or they were unhappy with our performance we tend to get upset. We take it personally, because we put so much of ourselves into our work.
So recently a client, John Whitt, posted a review of VCS on the internet that was less than stellar. He made a lot of inaccurate claims like ’VCS is the only emergency clinic within a 50 mile radius’, there are actually 3+ Veterinary ER clinics within a 50 mile radius of us, and he felt we provided an excessive estimate for his pets care and, after all, his dog is better now, without all that expense. He neglected to mention that the medications that have helped his dog get better were prescribed by us and without our assistance in that regard his dog may not be doing as well as he is today.
Here is the problem with this situation and this owners thought process. First, their dog, by their admission, had been injured days earlier and was very ill. They had been treating the dog at home with injections of medications, some of which are not appropriate for dogs. The dog had seriously infected bite wounds that were extensive and potentially life threatening. Second, we did what we are ethically bound to do, the very best we can on behalf of the patient. Not to trivialize the problem, but to be sure that the patient’s pain was managed, it’s infections treated and it was protected from the septicemia and organ damage that can occur from chronic deep seeded wounds and certain medications that he received. We also were obliged to provide a plan to debride (surgically cleaning) these wounds so they might heal quickly and by healing more quickly, keep the patient more comfortable. Unfortunately, that plan was costly.
This is the hard part for us to swallow, the owners got angry. Not because we did not care for their dog, we did. We ultimately gave the owners antibiotics and pain medication for their dog. We functioned well within the constraints that they applied to us. But they were upset we gave them a quote for the pet’s very best care. They didn’t understand that we cannot gamble with their pet’s health. It was their option to decline our best plan. Also, they apparently became upset because their pet was lucky enough to get better using a very conservative treatment plan. They’ve even sent emails, sort of flaunting their pet’s success, like that makes us wrong. It doesn’t, it just makes their dog very fortunate. With the years of experience we have and the years of education we’ve received, we realize all the potential outcomes for injuries like their dog sustained and we know how to best manage these wounds, the Whitt’s pet was lucky, pure and simple, he beat the odds, and we are happy for the dog and the owners.
So here is the bottom line for all you pet owners out there that will bring your pet to the vets with a serious health problem: 1. Expect that veterinarian to provide the very best plan for your pets care, 2. If you either don’t want to pursue that plan or cannot afford that plan, don’t get angry, your veterinarian should respect your limitations, whether philosophical or financial, and provide another, more acceptable plan, then, 3. Institute that plan and be very happy if it all works out, and lastly, 4. Don’t be mad if you are offered the very best care possible for your pet, that is what every pet and owner deserves.
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