"Thanks for squeezing us in this morning doc, April at the front desk said you guys were swamped. Hank here had really bad diarrhea this morning and I didn't want to have to wait until this afternoon."
"No sweat, I wouldn't want to wait very long with an Old English Sheepdog having diarrhea all over the place either, especially with all of it sticking to that long hair. What time did all of this start?"
"Oh, about 10 days ago."
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
been busy
Sorry I've let this blog slip, I've been swamped! Not only has work been busy, my wife and I had our first child less than a year ago. Some of our "hobbies" definitely took a back seat to all of our other priorities. I realize that I never really posted super often or anything, but I'll definitely try to get back into the swing of things. I really need to give mad props to those of you that have full times jobs, multiple children, several pets AND still post on your blogs regularly! There are not enough hours in the day!
The day after Easter...
"Could you check out the bumps on Speedy's back, my wife and I are REALLY worried they could be cancer, especially since he's a boxer and all."
"Of course, no problem. How long have the bumps been there?"
"Probably since February, maybe longer."
"Of course, no problem. How long have the bumps been there?"
"Probably since February, maybe longer."
Friday, September 2, 2011
definition of the day
If you were to look up "high-maintenance" in a Veterinary Medical dictionary, you'd see a picture of the client that has called me 8 times today about their healthy puppy. I don't mind answering questions and all, and the puppy is pretty damn cute. But seriously, spend a few minutes/hours/days/weeks gathering all of your questions together and only then call me. Or simply get a different hobby, because calling me this many times in one day is not working for me.
Edit: Sept. 3rd at 9:00am and I've already had another phone call. Don't forget that this puppy is healthy. This last phone call was to ask how I thought the puppy liked the treat I offered during the exam. Seriously? (grumble grumble)
Edit: Sept. 3rd at 9:00am and I've already had another phone call. Don't forget that this puppy is healthy. This last phone call was to ask how I thought the puppy liked the treat I offered during the exam. Seriously? (grumble grumble)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wait, huh?
Me: "So does Dudley eat things he's not supposed to?"
Mrs. Mechanic: "Oh gosh yes! He eats everything like they're lug nuts. Come to think of it, he did eat a lug nut once."
Mrs. Mechanic: "Oh gosh yes! He eats everything like they're lug nuts. Come to think of it, he did eat a lug nut once."
Monday, July 18, 2011
At some point...
...I'd really like to start a list of the Top 10 ways to really piss off your vet (or at least really annoy the hell out of them). Whenever I get around to it, me thinks this one should be on there:
Being late for an appointment is annoying, but too common to make the list on its own. But walking in 30 minutes late for your appointment on a busy Monday morning (packed full with one or two emergencies on top of my regular scheduled program) with an extra dog because you'd really like to have BOTH of them "checked out", is a sure fire way to get on my bad side.
Oh and complaining about the wait isn't going to make me get to you any faster.
Being late for an appointment is annoying, but too common to make the list on its own. But walking in 30 minutes late for your appointment on a busy Monday morning (packed full with one or two emergencies on top of my regular scheduled program) with an extra dog because you'd really like to have BOTH of them "checked out", is a sure fire way to get on my bad side.
Oh and complaining about the wait isn't going to make me get to you any faster.
Friday, July 15, 2011
I told you so...
One of our clients recently called and asked for a refill of an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). Not an uncommon request, many dogs (and people) are on one of the multitude of NSAIDs on the market for some type of pain or inflammation (usually arthritis). And the dog is a 15yr old Shih Tzu, so I'd fathom a guess that he probably has some arthritis and could benefit from it. Thing is, we've never prescribed anything to Fluff for arthritis . Oh he did get an NSAID from us once, but only a short course of something for post-op pain after a tumor excision....3 years ago. Regardless, the owner hadn't brought Fluff in for a full physical exam since that surgery was performed in 2008. Sure, the occasional "check ears", but nothing comprehensive and certainly nothing related to arthritis.
When I called the owner, I inquired if there was a reason for the sudden need for pain medicine.
"No, just the usual old age stiffness. In fact, just the other day he somehow got wedged behind the couch. He was limping pretty bad afterwards, his arthritis was really acting up from being stuck there for so long."
It's surprising how many acutely painful dogs are self-diagnosed by their owners with arthritis, or better yet hip dysplasia.
I politely explained that, although Fluff is fifteen and I have no doubt he would benefit from an NSAID, he really needed to be examined before we could dispense anything. And besides, we've never actually prescribed anything to him for arthritis before, so I definitely can't "refill" anything.
Wow, you'd think I'd just asked her to solve our current debt crisis. The extreme shock! How could I possibly ask such a long-time client to bring in her dog for something as benign as arthritis medicine?? "Do you know how difficult it is for me to come all the way down there?"
Interestingly, the owner is a family practitioner. But that's not the best part. She admitted on the phone to being completely against routine physical exams, thinks they're a terrible waste of time. She actually dissuades her patients from coming in unless they're sick. I didn't catch all of her reasoning, something about the cost of medical care, unnecessary tests being performed, too much doctors' time being wasted on healthy patients and not sick ones, blah, blah, blah. I guess the idea of preventative medicine is completely lost on her.
In the end I won out, she finally agreed to an appointment. Not because she agreed with me that Fluff needed an exam. Nope. She scheduled something because "finding a new vet was too much work, and they'd require a 'first visit' exam anyway, so why not just go to the place that has all of Fluff's records... what an incredible inconvenience you're causing!!". I think she was upset with me.
Turns out Fluff had a deep laceration on the medial (inside) aspect of one of his thighs that had become badly infected causing a significant amount of painful cellulitis surrounding the area. He wasn't limping from arthritis, he was limping because her owner (a medical doctor who disagrees with routine exams) had completely and utterly failed him. I admittedly expect a little more from my clients that are medical professionals, but this thing was huge. It's a sad and scary thing when a human physician misses something so blazingly obvious. Actually she didn't miss it, she just didn't care enough to look (which is even more sad and scary). I wouldn't allow her to examine my philodendron.
I hated seeing Fluff painful and sick, but it's a great thing knowing that he'll be fine all because you held your ground. Oh, and telling the owner told you so was icing on the cake.
When I called the owner, I inquired if there was a reason for the sudden need for pain medicine.
"No, just the usual old age stiffness. In fact, just the other day he somehow got wedged behind the couch. He was limping pretty bad afterwards, his arthritis was really acting up from being stuck there for so long."
It's surprising how many acutely painful dogs are self-diagnosed by their owners with arthritis, or better yet hip dysplasia.
I politely explained that, although Fluff is fifteen and I have no doubt he would benefit from an NSAID, he really needed to be examined before we could dispense anything. And besides, we've never actually prescribed anything to him for arthritis before, so I definitely can't "refill" anything.
Wow, you'd think I'd just asked her to solve our current debt crisis. The extreme shock! How could I possibly ask such a long-time client to bring in her dog for something as benign as arthritis medicine?? "Do you know how difficult it is for me to come all the way down there?"
Interestingly, the owner is a family practitioner. But that's not the best part. She admitted on the phone to being completely against routine physical exams, thinks they're a terrible waste of time. She actually dissuades her patients from coming in unless they're sick. I didn't catch all of her reasoning, something about the cost of medical care, unnecessary tests being performed, too much doctors' time being wasted on healthy patients and not sick ones, blah, blah, blah. I guess the idea of preventative medicine is completely lost on her.
In the end I won out, she finally agreed to an appointment. Not because she agreed with me that Fluff needed an exam. Nope. She scheduled something because "finding a new vet was too much work, and they'd require a 'first visit' exam anyway, so why not just go to the place that has all of Fluff's records... what an incredible inconvenience you're causing!!". I think she was upset with me.
Turns out Fluff had a deep laceration on the medial (inside) aspect of one of his thighs that had become badly infected causing a significant amount of painful cellulitis surrounding the area. He wasn't limping from arthritis, he was limping because her owner (a medical doctor who disagrees with routine exams) had completely and utterly failed him. I admittedly expect a little more from my clients that are medical professionals, but this thing was huge. It's a sad and scary thing when a human physician misses something so blazingly obvious. Actually she didn't miss it, she just didn't care enough to look (which is even more sad and scary). I wouldn't allow her to examine my philodendron.
I hated seeing Fluff painful and sick, but it's a great thing knowing that he'll be fine all because you held your ground. Oh, and telling the owner told you so was icing on the cake.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)