Mostly Mutts

[foxxycat]

The Benadryl will definitely help keep the Beast calm. And it wears off in 6 to 8 hours. And if it's a sneezy time of year she won't be getting the sneezes.  Can you do mail order for the meds? Or do they have good prices there? My vet is kind of expensive so they let me use online pharmacy sites for long term meds.

Glad that the meds are still an option. Hope you all find some normalcy in the new year.

 

[Primula]

It's pretty much standard there and it's very frustrating, especially for an animal that is high-anxiety (but as I said, The Beast did very well). They apologized for the long wait, saying there was an emergency. We knew better, but just shrugged and said OK. But we know that when we go there, it's at least a two-hour visit and most of the that time is just waiting. 

To me that is quite simply a case of over-booking. Squeezing too many patients into one hour. Greedy people. I never have to wait at my vet. I usually take a cup of their Kroger coffee & then we go in the exam room. I once had a dermatologist who had a solo practice. This guy was so greedy - like your vet, you could figure on a 2 hour visit for 5 minutes of his time!

 

[miagi's_mommy]

Actually vets have walk in emergencie so it's not always a case of over booking... you never know what's going to happen in a day at your job. So if they have an emergency they can't help being late. It really has nothing to do with greed.

 

[Primula]

Actually vets have walk in emergencie so it's not always a case of over booking... you never know what's going to happen in a day at your job. So if they have an emergency they can't help being late. It really has nothing to do with greed.

Depends on the circumstances. Winchester said she always waits at least 2 hours. Same thing with the dermatologist I mentioned. Too many clients booked in a single hour.

 

[Winchester]

That's it. When we have a vet appt, we can always count on blowing an entire evening on the appt. If the appt is at 5:30, for example, it's often close to 8:00 before we're done. And it's simply waiting in the waiting room and then, once we're in the exam room, waiting again. They are very busy and we do think they overbook patients. The fact that when we call for a general check-up for any of the animals, we usually have to wait at least six weeks for the appointment tells us that they're way too busy. Not to mention that, for the most part, we need night appts and it seems that most other people do, too. That adds to the problem.

We really do try to be nice about the waiting times because there have been times when we've been on the other end with BooBoo and needing emergency appts and they've always done their best to fit us in. 

But we consider that an evening appt, even if it's early in the evening, is pretty much an evening shot for anything else. Because we'll be there late. Always. We haven't been in and out of there in years.

 

[Primula]

When I call my solo vet for an appointment in West Hartford (Pam, where you go to Penceys), I can sometimes get in the same day. At least the next day. No clue if she does evening appointments. I think not. But then we have CVC also in W.H., which is 24/7. I presume we have more vets in the area than Pam does.

 

[Winchester]

We are getting more vets in our area, but part of the problem is that we've stayed with the same vets now for well over 30 years and, overall, we really like them. They do evening appointments (which is what we usually need) and they're open on weekends now. They also deal with large animals, good for the farmers. And they come to our house if a kitty should be euthanized, which is better for the cat, IMO. Since they moved to their new facilities, they're also on emergency call 24/7. They do need more vets, though. They have way too many clients for the number of vets right now.

Don't get me wrong; we've had our share of issues with the vets, but overall, they're pretty good to work with. They were wonderful with Tabby's ear mite problems when we first brought her into the house; I was taking her down to the vet 4 times a week for several weeks on end and they didn't charge me. And they were good when we wanted the Prozac for The Beast, too. 

The waiting times, though, are a little ridiculous.