Zoey had a terrible vet visit tonight

[shangrila]

Zoey had the worst vet visit ever today! We are both traumatized.

We wanted to try a new vet because we have been unhappy with the vet we have been seeing in our new town. Zoey has had some tummy issues the past week, and she has seems to be having more hip pain, so we wanted to get a check up. It was horrible.

First, we walk in and zoey tail is wagging, because she loves the vet. She has been to 4 different vets now and continues to love them all (except for this one). Then we meet the new doctor (very nice and knowledgable), and things were fine until zoey saw her get out the ear checker and got scared and started backing away from her. So the doctor tells us she wants to take her to a different exam room so we can put her on the table to keep her still. They have this table that they basically tie a leash to to keep the dog on it and then it lifts up. Zoey has never been on one before, and it scared her, so she was struggling to get off. Then the vet is like 'well, we might as well cut her nails first while she is already on the table'. Zoey is terrified of having her nails cut, and she always struggles to get away. So then a vet tech comes in and they are going to cut her nails - she sees the nail cutters and starts struggling and trying to get away even more. So then they decide to muzzle her. She has never been in a muzzle before so now she is even more terrified. Her eyes went completely bloodshot and gums tomato red from being so stressed, and she was breathing so hard and was so scared i thought she was going to have a heart attack. So I'm petting her and telling her its ok, the vet tech is holding her still, and the doctor is cutting her nails. I asked them to be careful because the whole reason she is afraid of her nails being cut is that her quick was cut once and it traumatized her. Well, they cut her quick, not once, but twice! one on the back paw and then one on the front. Then, they were so freaking slow stopping it, there was blood everywhere. Then zoey sat in the blood and had blood all over her backside. Then she got it on my pants and shoes. It was SO horrible seeing her blood everywhere and it was SO horrible seeing her so scared. I have never seen her even half that upset before.

We picked up some meds (heartgaurd, some frontline, some sedatives), so that was good. And the people were nice and all... But $200 later, her tummy is ok, her hips are fine, but  zoey is scarred for life and now we will have to sedate her whenever we need to cut her nails.

She is not a happy camper right now. 

[Jessdryden]

Oh no!  It sounds just awful.  Poor Zoey and poor you!  I hope a good snuggle and some special treats will help Zoey to recover.    I hope her tummy feels better too.

[Icerotti]

What an awful experince Poor Zoey
I hope she recovers fine. She looks really sad in the picture.

[ZooCrew]

How horrible.  If the dog is that scared of the hydrolic lift, they should have examined her on the floor.

I worked at a vet that had one of those tables, and we usually only used them for smaller to medium sized dogs, b/c a scared large dog is very hard to keep from slipping off the table and choking themselves.

I hope your next visit goes more smoothly.  Poor Zoey.

[Jen and Rick]

Oh, poor Zoey!  ::Big hugs to you both::

[Rachel]

We tried the sedatives with Sophie during our last visit so she would let the vet hold her down....  Just a heads up they didn't really work very well.  She was just as nervous about them holding her down. And when we got home I thought hey I'll trim her toe nails while she's tired...  hahaha  that didn't happen.   She did sleep the rest of the night and into the next day though     So anyways just wanted to let you know that even with the sedatives she still might not let you trim her nails.

[henrysmomma]

Aww poor Zoey...Sounds like the vet lacks good judgement.


Rose

[deafdanelvr]

I feel so bad for Zoey! That is awful that some vets and their staff don't know how to handle an animal and seem to have no compassion. I had a similiar but not quite as bad experience with Zion at the vet and I was so mad at the idiots that worked there. We hope Zoey feels much better and doesn't hold that against all vets.

[DixieSugarBear]

Poor Zoey, I hope she is better now.  Where is Nicki with her bat when we need her.  I hope her tummy is ok.  We have Sugar Bear on slippery elm for his tummy and it is helping a lot.

Lisa

[Gypsy Jazmine]

My first reaction when I just saw the name of this thread was "OH damn!"...Then I read your post...Double damn!!!...Absolute BS!!!...PLEASE keep looking for a vet that will understand & work with Zoey!!...That place does not sound like a place suitable for such a sweet "little" girl!...Good luck in your vet search!

[Good Hope]

So sorry to hear that. You know this probably is not practical, but the ADA recommends that when a person is seeking a new dentist, they drop in the office, look around the reception area, talk to the front desk staff, visit with other patients a little, and IF they like what they see and hear, then schedule a brief consultation.

I don't know why that wouldn't work in the same manner when selecting a vet. Zoey and a pocket full of dog treats could go with you... Perhaps it would ease both mom and babies anxiety regarding the selection process?

Just a thought..

Deena

P.S. If you try it..please report back, I'd love to hear about the vast difference in the offices, pet owners, staff, and Vets! (Bet everyone else here would too!)

[Gypsy Jazmine]

So sorry to hear that. You know this probably is not practical, but the ADA recommends that when a person is seeking a new dentist, they drop in the office, look around the reception area, talk to the front desk staff, visit with other patients a little, and IF they like what they see and hear, then schedule a brief consultation.

I don't know why that wouldn't work in the same manner when selecting a vet. Zoey and a pocket full of dog treats could go with you... Perhaps it would ease both mom and babies anxiety regarding the selection process?

Just a thought..

Deena

P.S. If you try it..please report back, I'd love to hear about the vast difference in the offices, pet owners, staff, and Vets! (Bet everyone else here would too!)

Deena, You are always such a smart & resonable woman!...Good words of wisdom!

[suzanne]

POOR Zoey!!! and POOR Mom to have to suffer through this with her.  Bach's Rescue Remedy might be helpful for her...and Mom can take a dose too.. before her next visit.  If one of my dogs had a similar experience, I would give them 3 or 4 drops...onto the fleshy part of the inside ear flap a couple of hours before the her appointment, then repeat it 2 or 3 more times 15 - 30 min. apart.   Do an online search for Bach's Rescue Remedy and read about it to determine if it is something you think might be helpful for her.  It's a natural and safe de-stressor.  Good Luck!!!!!

[VdogLover]

My first question is why did they need to put a dog of this size on to any type of table?
Why not just work on the dog on the ground? My vet always works on the larger dogs on the floor and my oldest V (who hates the table) is examined while she is on the human bench....why cause undue stress?

Also with time and patients there should be no need to sedate her for nails. Work on them at home at night when shes tired~ use a dremel and food and she should move right past this. Even if you at first only get one nail done a night.
 
Although your dog was not removed from you this post is a good place to remind people...unles s totally unavoidable (such as surgery)always think twice before allowing a vet to take your dog out of the room away from your line of sight. Not all vets have good judgment, not all vets should even be a vet....if something is not going how you think it should speak up as you would for your human child. You would be shocked at some of what goes on behind closed doors ar vet clinics.

[Moni]

OMG  That is horrible!     Poor Zoey!  I don't understand how people who's careers are based on animals can have such horrible body language and interaction skills with them?  Don't they realize the worse they make the experience for the animals, the harder its going to be to deal with them next time around?   

I loved my old vets' office and they were all great, except one of the Drs was scared of giant breed dogs.  He also had many negative comments about me having deaf or deaf/blind dogs... this from a VET!?!?!  One of the times he had to take blood from Tenchi, he walked up fast and Tenchi backed up.  He didn't duck, hide, growl or anything, just backed up.  So the vet got scared and made us muzzle him.  I understand them protecting their health, but if they're frightened of large dogs why not inform the owners so that they can get them used to being muzzled or at least schedual them with one of the other vets in the practice?  Luckily Tenchi was used to the halti so the muzzle wasn't that much different, but he still was very depressed about the whole thing.

I wish you good luck with finding a vet that works with Zoey.  Give her lots of cookies and treats from me, ok?   

Best wishes,
Moni