Finding a vet

When I moved to Atlanta a few years ago, I knew I needed to find a good vet for my two kitties. I asked my boss, who has two dogs, for a recommendation, and she pointed me to one that was practically next door that they used.

I went there a total of three times. I wasn't too impressed, especially after he told me that he had brought his cat in that day to be declawed. The cat apparently was tearing up the new furniture. I was skeptical - what vet declaws his cat because of furniture? But, I like giving people the benefit of the doubt so I said nothing. Then he told me my cat Lewis weighed 8 pounds. I was curious about that - Lewis was (and is!) a little fatso and I knew 8 pounds was way too light. (I was right. A second opinion later told me he was actually 11 pounds.) The thing that clinched it though was when I brought Lewis in for a urine sample, and I was asked to leave him for the day because his bladder was empty. I picked him up at the end of the day, and he was so out of it. He wouldn't eat (NOT like Lewis at all), was all dopey and couldn't even make it to the litter box. I called the vet, concerned. The vet assured me that Lewis hadn't been given any medication. I decided to see a new vet.

A year or so later, my boss happened to ask me if I was still seeing the vet they had recommended. I admitted no, and told them the story. They then told me how the had their own problems with the vet - how he tacked on all these extra fees, didn't do what he charged them for, and was overall more concerned about the money than the wellbeing of the animals. He drove his luxury car, with his custom hubcaps and fancy billet grille, and kept the office in disrepair. I could definitely see where they were coming from.

Last week, I was surprised to see that vet made the news. I'm not going to comment on this particular case, but I thought it was interesting. Apparently, the vet was treating a dog, and tacked on these extra fees that the owner couldn't pay. So, the vet was holding the dog until the owner paid up. Because of my negative experience with this vet, I wasn't too surprised. I'm so glad this didn't happen to me. It goes to show you how important it is to find a good vet.