I read a couple interesting defenses of vet clinics as far as the reasons
it is not cool to demand your animal be seen.  The little story I am
posting is not directly related, but it is an example of a vet clinic
*wanting* to see your animal rather than refer it elsewhere.  This may
seem odd to complain about in this experience a ferret died because the
vet did not refer me somewhere else.
 
years and years ago I went to a vet at a vet clinic quite regularly (for
3 years).  The vet left the clinic, and referred all his ferret patients
elsewhere.  One of my ferrets was going through a procedure w/the vet that
was not finished when he left.  I went to the clinic and asked a vet if
they felt, in their professional opinion, they could a) remove a pin from
my ferret's leg; and b) descent him.  The vet said, to me, he personally
has very little experience with ferrets, but another vet has and he was
the one who would do the surgery.  The answer was yes, we feel we can.  I
turned over my baby to them on Tuesday, 8 in the morning.  By Wednesday,
11:30 am (next day) he was dead.  The descent surgery left two huge (silver
dollar size) swellings, black, and an infection had spread all the way down
his back legs.  16 hours after surgery he succumbed.  I had checked on him
the next morning (Wednesday, 7am) to find him distressed, with these awful
swellings, and had immediately taken him back to the vet.  I checked him in
with the same vet I had checked him into on Tuesday (the one with very
little ferret experience).  He didn't know what to do with my ferret and
commented "a little" swelling after surgery is normal (this was not "a
little" swelling).  I assumed two things: a) he would turn my ferret over
to the vet who did the surgery (I assumed this b/c this man clearly *did
not* know what to do with this ferret); or b) he would tell me, as a
professional, they were not equipped to deal with this and I should take
him elsewhere.  They did neither.  When I called to see how he was doing,
and came back at 11:30, and my ferret had died, this same vet with very
little ferret experience was the one working on him.  The vet who had done
the surgery hadn't even come in yet, hadn't even been called.  he came in
after my ferret had died and was *surprised*.
 
The lady in charge of the whole clinic kept talking to me about what
happened, how sorry they were, how they were going over the whole thing
to figure out what went wrong.  I am sure she was sad about it, but in my
dealings with her she was concerned I would take my animals elsewhere.  She
wanted my business, and apparently quite badly.  I understand they lost a
lot of clients when my vet had left, but this whole experience left me with
the feeling they were so desperate to keep any of them, they were willing
to get in over their heads over a distressed animal and not admit it to the
owner.  Why was the inexperienced one working on my ferret, and why didn't
he tell me he couldn't deal with it?  I have had people tell me I should be
able to assume any vet will take care of my animal, no vet will kill my
animal, and they should know--much better than I--whether they can handle a
distressed animal.  They should have told me to go elsewhere, that is my
whole point to this post.  They should have turned me away for the benefit
of my ferret's life.  They didn't.
 
To all the vets out there, I'm sorry if it sounds unbalanced; I still have
a tremendous amount of guilt over taking him there (this happened 2 years
ago).
 
Minta
[Posted in FML issue 2829]