At the risk of stirring up more controversy, I'm going to comment on the
question about the spayed Beagle and a couple of other posts.
 
The reason I don't post more is because there's a lot of vet bashing on
this list.  It's usually subtle, but there are lots of snide little
comments.
 
Concerning the Beagle who still has gooey vaginal drainage after surgery:
Of course your vet wants you to bring the dog in.  If the vet tells you
over the phone without examing the dog that everything should be fine, and
then the dog dies or gets really sick, then you not only have the tragedy
of a dog who died unnecessarily, but the vet gets blamed because he told
you everything would be ok.  If he tells you to bring her in, then he's
just being greedy.  He can't win.
 
Someone else is looking for help suing a vet in Kansas.  I don't know
anything about this case, but I'm sure there are two sides to this story.
 
I'm still gun shy because a few months ago I ventured the opinion that not
everyone who declaws a ferret is a spawn of Satan.  I received several
hate-o-grams about being a butcher who obviously doesn't care about my
patients.
 
The bottom line is this: many people post on the FML looking for help from
vets.  I can tell you that over the years many good vets have been driven
off the FML by the comments people make here.  It's difficult to have a
friendly and helpful attitude toward folks who seem to believe that vets
are basically greedy and/or and ignorant.
 
Deborah Kemmerer DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3678]