I am not flaming - I will be respectful with this, but I would have to disagree. I have had doctors and vets who would automatically say "come in for an appointment" no matter what & without even listening to me. I have also had doctors and vets who would listen to me on the phone, discuss possibilities with me (when appropriate), and then either recommend an appointment or in the case of something obviously unnecessary, recommend that I do this or watch for that, & if this continues come in, etc. I don't think that the former ones were "just being greedy", but I do think that they were either unconcerned about taking the kind of time that makes a great doctor or vet, or that they were operating their practice primarily on the basis of fear of being sued, in which case I feel many important things can get overlooked, and many unnecessary thing get done - at the expense of the patient, both financially, and in the form of lost reassurance that the doctor or vet actually cares primarily about the patient. I will not go to a doctor or vet that is sloppy & will not be as thorough as they need to be, but I also will not go to one like I have just discussed. I also do not think that the person with the beagle was trying to "bash" their vet; it sounded more to me like they just had no confidence that the vet in question would take the time to listen & care, especially if the *receptionist* simply heads off all vet questions with 'just bring her in'. Shannon Sterling, Pandora, & Jasmin [Posted in FML issue 3679]