Even my vet isn't safe with my babies,,,,,,,,

[Frankie]

Remember my dog losing her hair,,,,,,,,,,,,took her to the vet,,,,,,,,,,,,

$189.60 for him to tell me she has fleas :new_shocked: :new_shocked:

He found 2 on her,,,,,,,,,,,,,that is the reason for all her hair loss.

:

:

Hair loss in places that there is no way she can reach to scratch unless she pulled a fork out of the kitchen drawer. This dog has zero abrasions on her skin from scratching. The 2 fleas were found under her chin, almost chest area, no place else,,,,,,about the only place she has hair left. Places she can actually reach to scratch, still has hair.

Refused to do the "unneccessary" testing for low thyroid

So,,,,,,,,,as I type, hubby has her at 2nd vet,,,,,,,,getting a thyroid test and a GOOD check up.

Oh, the cost of the visit,,,,,,,,,,,,,I guess it is the new fee as they just moved into a brand new building. :no:

 

[lvponies]

That's an awfully steep charge to be told your dog has 2 fleas!!! WOW!!! Hope the 2nd vet figures out what is really wrong with her!!

 

[Gena]

:new_shocked: That is very expensive! I agree, 2nd opinion needed!!!

 

[Lisa]

I would refuse to pay that! That is robbery in my opinion! It's not YOUR responsibility to pay for their new building! There should NOT be a new charge because of that!

 

[keeperofthehorses]

I so understand where you are coming from. Find a new one. There are plenty of fresh, enthusiastic young doctors out there that will appreciate your business. I'd also send a copy of the Thyroid workup to him when you get it back.

I finally got fed up paying for my small-animal vet's multi-million dollar facility (which is very nice and state-of-the-art, but there's a line to be drawn in my bank account). Unlike yours, my vet did do what was needed, but then would do quite a bit more (I'm sorry, I just don't think a cat neuter warrants a $200.00 laser surgery add-on). Our last dentals there were over $600/each (basic stuff, nothing major, more than twice what it costs for my 1400 lb. horse). A 14-day strip of Clavamox tablets was $80. When I called for an appointment, they made me feel like they were doing me a favor by "squeezing me in" in a couple of weeks. Forget emergencies, unless I got nasty with them. When I got there, they had no clue who I was even though I've been taking my animals there several times a year for 10 years, before they were so grand.

A new little vet hospital opened this year just down the road from me. Small, basic facility. Very friendly personable staff. Took Sprocket in for a foxtail in her ear last month... grand total of $52.00, including the 14-day Clavamox! Jerry just got stung by a wasp on his eyelid on Monday, they got me in as soon as I called... $62.00 including the lamp shade for his head. That's less than walking through the door of the state-of-the-art place. The new place is on 24-hour call, AND does farm calls for large animals! I'm going to make them some cookies.

I don't like the new trend in small animal medicine. There's almost an entitlement attitude and guilt if you challenge the outrageous prices ("Well most people want the best for their pets" That one really ticks me off; I got that when I expressed that $600 was a bit steep for a cat-bite abcess). Owning a pet is becoming an unaffordable luxury for a lot of folks.

 

[CyndiM]

One winter my cocker spaniel was loosing hair in places where he couldn't scratch, the vet thought he had allergies. That didn't help, took him back again with even more hair missing. I asked if he could have lice? Vet said no he didn't think so and didn't see any so we tried another medicine. It didn't work either. So I asked again if it could be lice, he said well it won't hurt to treat for that as nothing else has worked. :new_shocked: Guess what it WAS lice, after the shampooing and treating for lice he was cured. Hair grew back and all was well.

:

 

[Jill]

Oh, does this bring back memories!!!!

When I was a teenager, my parents had a dog named Paws and he was Ollie's / Oliver's predecessor. Paws was overweight, bulgy eyes and dry skin. My family now knows this is signs of thyroid. They kept taking him to their vet at the time and trying this and that. Mostly stuff like special shampoos.

Then my mom read someplace about thyroid and recognized Paws' symptoms matched. They took Paws to the vet for a thyroid test and sure enough, that had been his trouble all along. My parents asked the vet why hadn't she tested him for that before and she said she didn't think my parents would want the extra expense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was IT. They got a new vet and have been happy with the new one ever since. My parents don't throw money away but they would and have poured 10's of thousands of dollars into vet care for a single animal (Ollie). They would want all the tests for likely troubles run on any of their pets to give them better lives.

I know vets can't know everything and everyone makes mistakes. However, Paws' symptoms were SOOO classic of a thyroid problem. It just doesn't make sense that the vet didn't see it, too, if she was paying any kind of attention and really a lot of nerve to act like my parents wouldn't be willing to pay for that test.

 

[NMMack]

A good Vet is worth their weight in Gold!!!

:

I am SO very fortunate in having our Vet Clinic just 10 minutes from our house. They all know our name and all of our babies names. When we have an emergency, we call while on the way there, and when we walk in, there is a Vet right there to greet us and take charge of the situation.

When we had a Sheltie with Epilepsie, and had to take him in in the middle of the night when we couldn't get his seizures under control, Dr Diane took Casey home with her, and had him sleep right next to her bed so that she could keep an eye on him all night. And she did not charge us a thing for doing that, they have a real love for their patients, and they always come first. Dr Mike is my Avian vet (a very rare thing in these parts) and is so wonderful and gentle with my birdies. He has called all over the country talking to Specialists when we have a question that he may not know the answer to, or wants a more thorough understanding of an illness or problem. Dr Bob is the only vet that our Sheltie, Katie, will behave for, he can actually *talk* to the animals and calm their fears. All 3 of these Vets have our everlasting gratitude and love for the care that they give our little Fid Family. We are incredibly fortunate in having 3 such wonderful vets so close to home! They are truly a Blessing!

:

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Nancy

 

[laughingllama75]

Any word on your furbaby's condition yet? I feel bad your old vet treated youlike he did. :no: A good vet is worth thier weight in gold, keep searching until you find one. Good luck and keep us updated!

Alicia

 

[kimie28]

Where is the hair missing on your dog? Does she having a "smell" to her? Does she have greasy feeling coat?

As far as a flea allery, only one flea has to bite a dog and the allergic reaction causing the hair to fall out is not due to scratching. It's from the flea's mouth secretion and the skin having an allergy to it. One flea when it feeds bites the dog thousands of times to get it's fill, therefore the spreading effect and the hair falls out. And by the way, the skin is like an organ. If a bite happens in one spot, the reaction can take place in another area of the skin, sounds weird, but it does. Not only do you have to treat the animal, you have to treat the area. The flea will only get onto an animal when it feeds. The rest of it's life is in the bedding, carpets, furnature, etc. Word of warning, do not put over the counter stuff on pets! I used to work at an Emergency Clinic and I can't tell you how many pets we had come having seizures or skin burns due to Hartz or other flea topicals! It was really sad!

If she has a "smell" to her or a greasy feel to her skin and coat, I would think more about the thryroid issue. Those are pretty classic signs of low thyroid in dogs.

As far as the price, did they sell you anything else too or was the Exam itself that much? If so, that is terrible, but if they sold you Advantage or Frontline then that is where the mark up is.

 

[sharon]

That sure is very expensive!!! I just had to take my new doxie girl to the vet cause it was obvious she hurt herself. She was screaming ande getting all stiff and shsking really bad. Took her to the vet, he gave her a very thorough physical exam and determined she has some swelling around her spine in the neck area. Told us to keep her as quiet as possible and give her baby asparin twice a day. Do this for a week and if she's no better, then we take her back.

A 20 minute visit with the vet while he moved her little legs all around to make sure they were okay, checking her tummy, her temp, feeling all up and down her spine......cost.......$37. I thought it would be more as she was a new patient to him, although he sees our cats and other dog.

Guess you can actually find a bargain her in NJ after all.

 

[momtotwo]

Carolyn, How did your baby's visit with the new vet go? Our Dobie weighed 120# and wanted to do nothing but sleep when I took him in to the vet's. I asked her to check his thyroid and she was more than willing to do so. Turned out that he had no noticable thyroid function (she ran the test three times then asked three different vets if it was possible for a dog to be alive with no sign of thyroid hormone in his blood). He went on thyroxine and lost 20 pounds in one month. He has to go back Monday for a checkup as he's gaining weight again and his skin is starting to get uckie. We also have a possible Cocker Spaniel/Chow mix I found at a gas station. Someone had dumped her out there because she had mange. I took her to one vet who gave me a dip to use on her. He said that there wasn't anything else he could do for her. She lost almost all of her hair and was miserable. We had a horse colic and while the big animal vet was out I asked him if he'd put Tina down. He told me that all I needed to do was give her Ivomec daily for 14 weeks and she'd be fine. Her skin cleared up, hair grew back, and eight years later she still has a full coat of hair. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion. Like everything else, veterinary medicine is a learning experience. -jo ann-

 

[Frankie]

Well, at the cost of $110, including a thyroid test, office visit and medicine,,,,,,,,,,,her thyroid level is borderline. What the vet believes, giving her some symptoms, but not all. Her numbers didn't quite make the chart for what is normal.

Her heat cycle is messed up, loss of hair, weight gain, (only 1.3 pounds,,but remember, she ony weights 4)

bulging eyes,,,,,,,but she still has an energy level.

So, 1/2 pill, morning and night and we will see!!!!

She goes back in 4 weeks.

I also wanted to mention, when my husband took her, I told him to let them do the examination first and see what they said. If thyroid was not mention, he was to bring it up and he was to ask for the test.

But one look at the pattern of hair loss, the same on both sides, he did a thyroid level test.

After only 1 1/2 day, she already acts better!

 

[laughingllama75]

Sounds like you found a vet who knows what he's doing! Yay! :aktion033:

I hope this helps your baby, all the symptoms sound like classic thyroid to me. Thanks for

keeping us updated,

Alicia :bgrin