I made an appointment yesterday for this afternoon to meet a vet who practices both traditional and some alternative veterinary medicine. I had an appointment...to actually meet with her, ask her questions, and tour the animal hospital.

First, when I got there, the receptionist took us to an exam room, so that Kodee wouldn't "get too rowdy when other clients came in." (her words). WTH??? He was acting perfectly-well behaved when we came in. Walking nicely on leash, not pulling, not acting freaked out about being in a vet clinic. I also had my 2 yr old in a stroller. So my guess is that they didn't want my big, evil, black and tan GSD puppy frightening the other clients, who were allowed to hang out in the comfy, bright, airy waiting room. Grrr....I was already ticked, but whatever. I figure, let's meet the vet - maybe she's awesome.

So 20 minutes later, where am I? Sitting in a little, tiny, airless, hot exam room with my quiet 2 yr old, and Kodee is actually laying down at my feet. 20 freakin' minutes after my appointment! It's not like I just showed up. And they knew the purpose of the appt was to meet the Dr. I got there 5 minutes til 2:00 b/c my appt to meet with the vet was at 2:00. And at 2:00, a bunch of people came in for appts with the vet.

If there had been an emergency, it would have been understandable. But the people that came in clearly had appts, as I could hear the receptionist speaking to them from my cell in the back. They obviously just had me come at 2:00 and intended for me to wait til the Dr. had a break between clients. I was so p.o.ed. So I got up and told the receptionist "I have to go. I've been waiting for the last 20 minutes." She said "Yeah, I know. I apologize." Yeah, you know??? She tone of voice was basically like "too bad for you." So I walk out, and get Kodee in the car, and the vet tech or whoever comes out and says "Do you want to go ahead and tour the hospital?" I told her no thanks, and she kind of gave me a funny look. I'm thinking, I already got my dog back in the car, and why would I want to tour a hospital where the Dr. is too busy to keep an appointment with a potential new client? I figure first impressions should count more than that, especially as much as veterinary care can cost. Oh, yeah, and there was Science Diet posters everywhere, and they gave Kodee an Iams treat before they left us in the exam room. Kodee dropped it and looked at me like "Do you see the crap they tried to feed me?" LMAO - it was too funny. But the rest of the trip was a total waste.

Grrr....thanks for listening to my vent. I didn't realize how hard it is to find a vet who knows anything about holistic medicine and a natural diet. I will keep trying...

Wow, I'm sorry it was a bust but it's better to find out this way, when you have no immediate need of a vet.

One of our doctors, the owner no less, used to run late for appointments because he'd decide some pressing personal errand needed to be done out of the hospital 5 minutes before he had an appointment. Nevermind that other people's time is valuable, nevermind that it backed up later appointments and filled the hospital to overflowing....Hey, that errand was REALLY important

It absolutely infuriated me...so I comped exams for those people who were willing to wait. If a simple sense of duty didn't get his attention, paying for it in the bank account did

Yeah, I think what made me the maddest was I think we were a victim of "dog profiling," if you know what I mean. The receptionist who had never laid eyes on either me or Kodee before decided that it was too risky for him to be in the nice waiting area when other people were expected to come in, so she stuck us in an airless exam room (we weren't even getting an exam), so she wouldn't have to worry about him "getting too rowdy" when the real clients came in. Nevermind that I was a potential real client who made an actual appointment to meet the vet.

On a good note, I got to talk to the holistic vet that I was hoping to see later this week. She called me this evening, and we had a long conversation on the phone. (This was after my OP.) She was very happy to hear about my attitudes re: diet, vaccinations, etc. It was pretty clear that she and I would be on the same page re: Kodee's vet care. However, she does not do surgeries, etc. She has an office within a vet hospital where she can meet patients, do consults, etc, as she is a holistic vet only. I made an appt also to meet with both her and the more "traditional" vet that she shares an office with, as that is who I would go to for the more traditional aspects of vet care (surgeries, if heaven forbid we need them, etc). We discussed his diet, and she was happy to hear what I was feeding him (no other vet so far that I've found does anything but peddle SD.) She is also in agreement that titers are better than vaccinations, and she thinks the other vet would agree to titers vs. vacc. So that is sounding very promising. Wish me luck!

 Quote: Sarah Morris

Wow, I'm sorry it was a bust but it's better to find out this way, when you have no immediate need of a vet.

And this is why the interview is so important. I do hope the O.P. drops a note about making an appointment and being stood up.... because no one will have any flash in their dim lil brains about why you left, otherwise.

 Quote: Kori Bigge

... However, she does not do surgeries, etc. She has an office within a vet hospital where she can meet patients, do consults, etc, as she is a holistic vet only.

But she is a DVM?

Did you tell her about your experience? SO SO rude. I love my vet but I mostly adore his staff. They always make a fuss, like mine are the first dogs they have seen all day. My boxer eats it up. Also my vet is a talker so always running late but someone always pops their head in to apoligize.

I went to a new hoalistic vet for a acupunture visit. Right away they jumped out to help me with my dog. I thought they meant my 80 pound boxer but they were scared of my 5 mnth old shepherd?1? I was also shooed quickly into a room. (mine had a window lol).

The real reaso I posted a responce was to ask where you got Kodee's back pack? It looks like one of the nicer ones I have seen.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

But she is a DVM?

Yes, she is. She actually used to work in a large animal hospital in Lawrence (where I am actually touring tomorrow), and after she had her kids, when she went back to work, she started focusing on only holistic veterinary medicine. She does mainly housecalls for acupuncture, chiro, etc, although she will meet clients in the clinic if they prefer. More than likely, I would be seeing the other vet for most treatment, she says he has a good understanding of holistic medicine (although he mainly practices traditional, himself), which is why he asked her to join his clinic. But I would love to have someone to consult with re: natural diet, alternative treatments, etc.

Michelle-I actually ordered it from amazon.com (Man, I love amazon!!!) The reason I got it is it looked really sturdy, and I like that it has 2 straps under the belly to hold the load in place better. I was leaning towards the Approach II by Ruffwear, but it only has one belly strap. I saw the Approach II in the store, and it looks nice, but I am so glad I got this one. It fits Kodee great, and has lots of room to grow, but it adjusts so well that it's not too big now (The chest strap and both belly straps are all adjustable and fleece lined for comfort). Right now he's only wearing it empty or with an extremely light load (like poo bags, treats, and maybe a long line), so he can get used to it. He's used to wearing a vest, and he seemed comfortable with the backpack as soon as I put it on the first time. Here's the site I ordered it from:

http://www.amazon.com/Mountainsmith-Dog-Pack-Medium-Backpack/dp/B0007KJL9E/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1204687017&sr=8-5

P.S. Michelle - the sizes run large. I looked at some reviews of this bag before I bought it, and they mentioned the size issue. The bag I have is a Medium, which is for 40-80 lb dogs. Kodee fall right in the middle of this (he's 63 lbs.) so I went ahead and got Medium. The straps are adjusted almost as small as they would go, and he's a GSD (deep chest, of course). If he was 40-50 lbs, this bag would have been too big. Just FYI.


Edited by Kori Bigge (03/04/2008 09:29 PM)
Edit reason: P.S. Added

Wow very helpful because I was looking at ruffwear also. I like the quality of other stuff I had gotten there. I think I too would like the double strap.

Did you read the one review that complained about it setting the load on the dog wrong? There is always one nay sayer to confuse every disicion it seems.
I think I will bypass that worry as I do not plain to use the dog as a pack mule in the near future. A water bottle and poop bags would please me.

Thanks so much for the link.

Yeah, I saw that review, too. Just about every bag I looked at had at least one party-pooper. I don't ever plan for him to carry really heavy loads, but from what I've seen so far, the bag fits great.