Non-Stop Vomitting - Need Help ASAP Please!

[GlassOnion]

Eh I doubt he was trying to make it 'worth' it for him. We have a minimum of $100 if we do a house call or the vets do any extensive work outside our normal hours.


Part of his irritation could have also been because of you, though. I know our vets get irritated when an owner declines treatment that the animal really needs. We can't force it, of course, but to tell an owner that the animal needs X amount of treatment and then have them second guess the vet, that really ticks them off, as if they know better? That's like telling your doctor 'no, I don't need an x-ray, I'm fairly certain the bone isn't broken' and your leg is swollen.

Nothing more infuriating than watching an owner take out their animal just to have it die a few days later because they thought we were ripping them off.

 

[Kathy29]

Eh I doubt he was trying to make it 'worth' it for him. We have a minimum of $100 if we do a house call or the vets do any extensive work outside our normal hours.


Part of his irritation could have also been because of you, though. I know our vets get irritated when an owner declines treatment that the animal really needs. We can't force it, of course, but to tell an owner that the animal needs X amount of treatment and then have them second guess the vet, that really ticks them off, as if they know better? That's like telling your doctor 'no, I don't need an x-ray, I'm fairly certain the bone isn't broken' and your leg is swollen.

Nothing more infuriating than watching an owner take out their animal just to have it die a few days later because they thought we were ripping them off.

No, it wasn't after normal hours. They have a huge sign that says OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT, which was why I called in the first place. If that wasn't there, I would've driven 40 mins to the nearest animal emergency clinic. And even so, he could've told me over the phone that I needed to spend a certain amount of money.

And I don't trust anyone just because they are vets. Although they obviously have way more knowledge than I do in treating animals, it is also MY responsibility as the owner to find a good vet for my dog. And this is one area where I will make judgments to see whether or not the vet is reliable according to my standards.

As for the broken bone example, well I never said to him that my dog was fine and didn't need the treatments done. I said I was going to monitor her carefully and bring her back in ASAP if things didn't get any better - nowhere did I mention that I didn't believe what he said. Neither did I ever imply that to him.

If something had gone wrong while she was under his care, I could only blame myself for allowing him to take her in while at the back of my mind, I already didn't trust him at all.

I never would've let this escalated to the point where she'd be dying a FEW dayS later. I don't believe anyone should be judging me for the decision I made not to let THIS particular vet treat my dog. No one else was there to see the way things went. I just wish people would try to step out of the box and see things from different perspectives. Even though your vet might be the best in the world, not every one of them are going to be like that. I wouldn't have rushed Loppi to the vet immediately an hour before midnight to bring her to the vet if I didn't care about her.

The point here is that I brought her in to see a vet and she's being diagnosed for it. But thanks anyway for your opinion in this matter, I know everyone just wants the best for all animals and trust me, I want the best for my dog, too.

 

[moxiegrl]

It is not only about having a vet your dog is comfortable with, you have to be comfortable with him/her too. I know I would not let anyone I did not trust treat my dog. Now if Katie was in DIRE need of medical attention that minute, and they were my only choice, yes of course she would get the treatment...then be moved to another vet. People have instincts as well...and most of the time they arent going to screw you.

Kathy also knows her dog. She said she was not lethargic, was happy and playful at the time, etc. I dont think this was a "I dont want to pay the $$" type situation, it was a "something doesnt feel right" type situation.

The vet should have explained to her WHY all those tests were important, and made her comfortable with the situation. We pay them to take care of our babies, the least they can do is to make us comfortable w/ their recomendations, and trust their instincts as well.

 

[Bobsk8]

I think I would have let the vet do what he wanted to make sure the dog wasn't in a life threatening situation where a few hours delay could have made the difference in the dog's surviving or not. I would have looked for a new vet at another time. Kind of like bringing a person into an emergency room in a hospital that is having chest pains, and then taking them back home without treatment because one didn't like the doctor's bedside manner......

 

[Ashlea]

Personally I agree with the OP. If I have a funny feeling about a vet I will not use them.

She knows her dog and she could tell it was not life or death at that stage. It took me a long time to find a vet that I was comfortable with for Lilly. He is slightly more expensive but he is well worth it. He is good to Lilly and always makes sure that her visits are a stress free as possible. Some vets don't even take the time to calm the animal down and treat them as a patient.

 

[SeniorPetLover]

Thank you, I hope so too! What's wrong with your little one?

We're not sure. She has been having problems with her pancreas. My vet thinks perhaps she may have a tumor. Yesterday, she seemed gravely ill, but this morning he says she is bouncing off the walls and is ready to come home. How is your baby this morning?

 

[GlassOnion]

What gets me though is how do you know it wasn't life or death? If the dog has 'non-stop vomitting' that's pretty darn serious, especially if there's blood in the vomit.

That could simply be the eroding of the throat lining or it could be internal bleeding. You don't know, the vet might.


And as someone else said, a dog can dehydrate very quickly when vomitting, especially the smaller breeds. They don't hold a whole lot of water to begin with.

Anyhow, do as you want. If you don't trust the vet that's fine. But you tell me to step out of the box and look at your perspective. Why won't you step out of your box and look at his? A client comes in, the dog is throwing up blood and the client doesn't want to get the dog the help it needs.

 

[Kathy29]

What gets me though is how do you know it wasn't life or death? If the dog has 'non-stop vomitting' that's pretty darn serious, especially if there's blood in the vomit.

That could simply be the eroding of the throat lining or it could be internal bleeding. You don't know, the vet might.


And as someone else said, a dog can dehydrate very quickly when vomitting, especially the smaller breeds. They don't hold a whole lot of water to begin with.

Anyhow, do as you want. If you don't trust the vet that's fine. But you tell me to step out of the box and look at your perspective. Why won't you step out of your box and look at his? A client comes in, the dog is throwing up blood and the client doesn't want to get the dog the help it needs.

If you actually read my original post carefully, you would see that I said a SPOT of blood. Note: A SPOT. Maybe I should have said a DOT, that was more like it. Not a whole stream of blood just leaking out from the mouth.

Now I'm just getting really angry because I made this thread asking people for what I should be EXPECTING to have the vet to my dog when I bring her in to a new one, not criticize on whether YOU THINK I made the right decision or not. Telling me NOW what you think I should HAVE done is pointless because you know what? It's in the past - that was 2 days ago. If you want to debate on that, feel free to start a new thread on it.

Like mentioned, I know my dog, she has been with me for 4 years, do you not think I'm able to tell whether she's in major stress or not? I already mentioned and I will not say it again, that if she seemed like she was really uncomfortable and was bleeding non-stop, then I would've let the first vet take care of it right away. In this case, that wasn't the case.

If you feel that you can bring your dog into any vet and let them do whatever they want to your dog, then that's your choice. Like food, like vaccines, like heartworm meds, like anything that I give OR do for my dog, I choose to evaluate the situation and make what I think is the best decision FOR her.

My dog trusts me with her life and I'm not going to shove her into the hands of just anyone that I think could possibly help her when I don't FEEL that he's the vet for her even at first impression.

So judge and deem me a bad owner for that.

 

[Kathy29]

PS - Do you really believe that if a dog was dying, she'd be running around like a little puppy still, barking from excitement because her owner just came home, begging for food like she usually does, drinking water like normal, and going potty like usual?

My dog is very sensitive and if something, anything, is bothering her, she will show it by the way she acts. If you're going to ask how do I know that, I'm going to answer: because she's been with me ever since she was 8 weeks old. If I don't know her, then I don't know who else would.

I'd like to believe that the "symptoms" I mentioned up there in the first paragraph still sounds a little far from dying. Maybe could get progressively worse and then eventually lead to death if nothing was done about it. She was acting hyper and normal so I decided it was in her best interest to wait 6 hours to see a vet I trust rather than hand her into the arms of another that I neither trust nor like.

 

[Kathy29]

In this case, yes, his manners and attitude had to do with a lot of it. It was my first time meeting him and he acted the way he did. Based on his attitude towards ME, how would I know he'd do the best thing for Loppi?

I am still going to argue that his intentions were more focused on the money than the health. Why? Because if he was really that concerned, his last words to me would've been, "Please bring her back in asap if she doesn't get any better," and NOT, "I had to drive here from home and open up just for $20." Because if a life really was on the line, which caring vet would continue to talk about the money?

Do you guys not see it? In that position, even though if the owner decided not to have her dog treated right away with me, I would STILL urge her to come back if anything comes up. Why he would mutter on about the measly 20 bucks he just earned.. well, I'm still at a loss for.

 

[Bobsk8]

Well, maybe I am dimwitted or something, but if I bring a dog to a Vet.. ( That's a person that has a doctorate in Animal health, and he tells me something about my dog, I am not going to tell the vet he is wrong and confused and I am right. That is , of course, unless I am a vet myself.......

 

[Kathy29]

Kathy also knows her dog. She said she was not lethargic, was happy and playful at the time, etc. I dont think this was a "I dont want to pay the $$" type situation, it was a "something doesnt feel right" type situation.

Thank you! It was certainly not about the money. I only made it a big deal because HE made it a big deal. How else am I supposed to interpret that? The vet Loppi is at right now actually costs a decent amount more but at least my mind is at ease because I trust him.

 

[Kathy29]

Well, maybe I am dimwitted or something, but if I bring a dog to a Vet.. ( That's a person that has a doctorate in Animal health, and he tells me something about my dog, I am not going to tell the vet he is wrong and confused and I am right. That is , of course, unless I am a vet myself.......

I'm going to have to say that's debatable. My reasoning behind it? It's gotta be the fact that they try to sell me food they sell at their clinics. Now, maybe they just don't know much about nutrition, but it all ties in with health in the end. And they have a doctorate in Animal Health, yet they tell me Medi-Cal or Science Diet is good for my dog, better than what I'm currently feeding her (Natural Balance for chicken allergy and raw meaty bones occasionally). It makes me go hmm.

I didn't want to bring the whole food issue into this, but that's just an example of why I can't believe EVERYTHING I'm told.

 

[Bobsk8]

I'm going to have to say that's debatable. My reasoning behind it? It's gotta be the fact that they try to sell me food they sell at their clinics. Now, maybe they just don't know much about nutrition, but it all ties in with health in the end. And they have a doctorate in Animal Health, yet they tell me Medi-Cal or Science Diet is good for my dog, better than what I'm currently feeding her (Natural Balance for chicken allergy and raw meaty bones occasionally). It makes me go hmm.

I didn't want to bring the whole food issue into this, but that's just an example of why I can't believe EVERYTHING I'm told.

I think the food issue is irrelevant in this discussion because there are many medical doctors that are specialists in their field that don't know much about nutrition either since that is not on the curriculum in many med schools. You brought your dog in to the vet with a set of symptoms. The doctor evaluated the situation and told you it was important to quickly act because the consequences could be dire if prombt action wasn't taken. You decided not to listen to the vet and took a gamble with your dog's life and you lucked out this time. Would I take the same gamble with my dog's life, not in a million years....

 

[Kathy29]

Sure, it was a gamble. There are ALWAYS risks involved in EVERY decision I make. I could've been gambling with her life had I let the first vet treat her as well. You have not even heard of the stories people are telling me from first-hand experience with this vet. Not going to go into that, but there were questionings of abuse involved.

But I'm not going to waste anymore of my time trying to prove a point to anyone who thinks that all vets are perfectionists and make no mistakes. I like to live in reality and know that there are good and bad vets, just like there are good and bad doctors, just like there are goods and bads of everything, period.

You think that this issue revolves around the fact of whether I should have waited to treat her or not. NO, this is about trusting THE PERSON who treats her. And IMO, the person who treats her could save her or kill her. If I choose to believe that this person is NOT right for her, then so be it. I won't go into an argument on whether this vet is good or not, not until you come here and meet him for yourself.

This whole situation is like saying..
Your dog is having some health issue and needs to see a vet, sooner the better. There is one person there to help you but you absolutely have NO trust in him. Do you go ahead and let him do it or would you wait a few hours for a vet you trust?

There IS no right or wrong answer. It's up to you to decide and you weigh the pros and cons and evaluate the situation, the vet, the consequences, and finally, make the decision. Mine was to wait.

End of debate on whether or not I should've let the vet take care of her.

 

[bubbatd]

Kathy ... be reasonable . Your first post was asking for help ASAP ... not a rant over your experience with a " bad " vet. I'm glad your dog is fine .

 

[Kathy29]

Kathy ... be reasonable . Your first post was asking for help ASAP ... not a rant over your experience with a " bad " vet. I'm glad your dog is fine .

Now I'm just getting really angry because I made this thread asking people for what I should be EXPECTING to have the vet to my dog when I bring her in to a new one, not criticize on whether YOU THINK I made the right decision or not.

Isn't that exactly what I said to GlassOnion?

Anyhow, I'm not going to be posting in this thread anymore. If anyone's actually only interested in how Loppi's doing, they could PM me.

 

[bubbatd]

Whatever ............... please post how Loppi's doing . That's what we care about .