Viva la difference
Ok, so I recently moved to Coral Springs, Florida from Grand Rapids, Michigan (and yes I do seem to have a penchant for living in cities with two names). Hence my all day mission to find a new veterinarian. Let me just start by saying that I am what we are going to call an "involved" pet owner. If you choose to read "pain in the ass" pet owner that is your point of view. I want to know the what AND the why of what is going on and I have the anatomy/physiology background and animal care experience to understand if the vet is willing to take the time.
I was blessed to have one of the best in the business back in Michigan. Doc Swift would see staff pets and she was freakin' awesome. She would always listen and take our observations seriously. The vet I had chosen before I worked at the HSKC insisted that Bleys merely 'liked to have his head scratched....a lot.' Horse-pucky! Doc sent in an allergy panel and he is totally allergic to fleas (a Cavalier thing) and somewhat allergic to wheat. Wheat, you say, what does that matter, dogs don't eat pasta. Ah, but take a look at your dog food bag. Most of them have some form of wheat as the first or second ingredient. So we switched him to Eukanuba K/O , have him on Frontline every 21 days instead of 28 and Sentinel every month.
We start our day by sitting down and writing out a list of things to discuss while visiting area facilities (retentive...yes). Then we go to the AAHA website to find some practices. I had also asked for some recommendations from a couple of local Cavalier groups and gotten the name of Dr. Cindi Bossart whose facility was not on the AAHA list. I decide to visit that one and one other to start. I call both facilities:
Battle: Phone Call
Wiles Road Animal Hospital - you can come in anytime, but between 12 and 2 would be best as the vets are in surgery then.
Animal Hosptial of Fort Lauderdale - you can come in anytime except between 12 and 2 as the vets are in surgery then.
Do we see a difference already? Wiles thinks I should come when I CAN'T speak to the vet, while Lauderdale thinks I should come when I will be more likely to be able to speak to the vet.
Desicion: Wiles -1/Lauderdale +1
Next, we go to Wiles and Lauderale. I will ask for a tour and to ask questions at each facility. In location Wiles has the advantage as it is only about 10 minutes from our apartment (Lauderdale is like 3o minutes). Also some of our best friends in Michigan have the last name Wiles, so that a bonus.
Battle: Initial Visit
Wiles - Fairly pleasant greeting, person with a really irritating voice doing something on the computer at the front desk is not so nice, but incidental. Woman (who does not introduce herself) takes me on an extremely brief tour of the place except for the boarding facility. Why can't we go in there? Oh they are doing some special cleaning as its a Monday.
In my head - why didn't you say that on the phone when I asked about getting a tour?
We go back to the front where I these questions among others:
Q: My dog has allergies to fleas and wheat, how does the vet like to handle that?
A: Well, on your first visit you could discuss that with the vet.
Q: Which vaccines do you recommend?
A: That is something you would need to discuss with the vet on your first visit.
The final straw:
Q: My dog is on prescription food, Eukanuba Kangaroo and Oat...
A: Oh we don't carry that.
At this point I see it is pointless to go on. The reason I came in was to get answers to these questions BEFORE I chose the vet, not after. If you are wondering the correct answer to the last question would have been 'Oh we doing carry Eukanuba, but we could see about getting your dog on such-and-such which we do carry and does not contain wheat.'
At this point I am very discouraged. That was a horrible experience and say to myself as I get in the car "sheesh, you don't really want me to be a client do you?"
Lauderdale - Immediately greeted by Jim (who turns out to be Cindi's husband). He takes me on a tour, very friendly, shows me all the rooms, kennels, surgery suites. Personally introduces me to all 5 vets that are on that day including Cindi. Cindi takes a good 10 minutes to chat with me about my dog and my concerns, answers all my questions, and even chats with me about a food I didn't know about for heart health. They have Eukanuba K/O in stock and Jim spends a total of probably 30 minutes just with me (and I don't even have a dog with me).
Decision: Wiles -5/Lauderdale +6
Overall Score: Wiles -6/Lauderdale +7
Final thoughts: What a difference between the two clinics. I can't imagine going back to the first place, or not going back to the second place. I just hope she can come close to Doc!
I was blessed to have one of the best in the business back in Michigan. Doc Swift would see staff pets and she was freakin' awesome. She would always listen and take our observations seriously. The vet I had chosen before I worked at the HSKC insisted that Bleys merely 'liked to have his head scratched....a lot.' Horse-pucky! Doc sent in an allergy panel and he is totally allergic to fleas (a Cavalier thing) and somewhat allergic to wheat. Wheat, you say, what does that matter, dogs don't eat pasta. Ah, but take a look at your dog food bag. Most of them have some form of wheat as the first or second ingredient. So we switched him to Eukanuba K/O , have him on Frontline every 21 days instead of 28 and Sentinel every month.
We start our day by sitting down and writing out a list of things to discuss while visiting area facilities (retentive...yes). Then we go to the AAHA website to find some practices. I had also asked for some recommendations from a couple of local Cavalier groups and gotten the name of Dr. Cindi Bossart whose facility was not on the AAHA list. I decide to visit that one and one other to start. I call both facilities:
Battle: Phone Call
Wiles Road Animal Hospital - you can come in anytime, but between 12 and 2 would be best as the vets are in surgery then.
Animal Hosptial of Fort Lauderdale - you can come in anytime except between 12 and 2 as the vets are in surgery then.
Do we see a difference already? Wiles thinks I should come when I CAN'T speak to the vet, while Lauderdale thinks I should come when I will be more likely to be able to speak to the vet.
Desicion: Wiles -1/Lauderdale +1
Next, we go to Wiles and Lauderale. I will ask for a tour and to ask questions at each facility. In location Wiles has the advantage as it is only about 10 minutes from our apartment (Lauderdale is like 3o minutes). Also some of our best friends in Michigan have the last name Wiles, so that a bonus.
Battle: Initial Visit
Wiles - Fairly pleasant greeting, person with a really irritating voice doing something on the computer at the front desk is not so nice, but incidental. Woman (who does not introduce herself) takes me on an extremely brief tour of the place except for the boarding facility. Why can't we go in there? Oh they are doing some special cleaning as its a Monday.
In my head - why didn't you say that on the phone when I asked about getting a tour?
We go back to the front where I these questions among others:
Q: My dog has allergies to fleas and wheat, how does the vet like to handle that?
A: Well, on your first visit you could discuss that with the vet.
Q: Which vaccines do you recommend?
A: That is something you would need to discuss with the vet on your first visit.
The final straw:
Q: My dog is on prescription food, Eukanuba Kangaroo and Oat...
A: Oh we don't carry that.
At this point I see it is pointless to go on. The reason I came in was to get answers to these questions BEFORE I chose the vet, not after. If you are wondering the correct answer to the last question would have been 'Oh we doing carry Eukanuba, but we could see about getting your dog on such-and-such which we do carry and does not contain wheat.'
At this point I am very discouraged. That was a horrible experience and say to myself as I get in the car "sheesh, you don't really want me to be a client do you?"
Lauderdale - Immediately greeted by Jim (who turns out to be Cindi's husband). He takes me on a tour, very friendly, shows me all the rooms, kennels, surgery suites. Personally introduces me to all 5 vets that are on that day including Cindi. Cindi takes a good 10 minutes to chat with me about my dog and my concerns, answers all my questions, and even chats with me about a food I didn't know about for heart health. They have Eukanuba K/O in stock and Jim spends a total of probably 30 minutes just with me (and I don't even have a dog with me).
Decision: Wiles -5/Lauderdale +6
Overall Score: Wiles -6/Lauderdale +7
Final thoughts: What a difference between the two clinics. I can't imagine going back to the first place, or not going back to the second place. I just hope she can come close to Doc!
Labels: Bleys, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Moving, Tricolor
posted by Susan at 10:16 PM
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