As I previously mentioned, Saturday was Ray’s last puppy wellness visit to the Vet. He had his Rabies and his last booster so now he won’t have another official visit for a year. I say official visit because we’re still getting his heartworm meds one per month. With his rapid growth, it just works out easier that way and I can weigh him there easier than the two of us lumbering onto my kitchen scale and me doing the subtraction in my head.
I actually was so looking forward to our visit. Of the three doctors there, the newest one has a Pit mix and I really connected with her. She takes her time and, of course, coos over the little prince while we discuss everything Ray related, SmilingK9’s Rescue and any upcoming dog events. Always a nice visit. Unfortunately she was not there this time and while I have always liked the other vet, I feel rather upset by this past visit.
Now, I’ve read tremendous amounts of articles and blog posts about Pit bull type dogs, running the whole gamut of subjects and one thing I knew to expect from my reading and conversations is that Pit bull type dogs need to be on their best behavior at all times because any incident will point back to them, justified or not. Also there will be a fair number of people who judge or prejudge on looks and treatment may be different. Knowing that, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how great the reception regarding Ray has been, from PetSmart visits to puppy class and everywhere in between. So imagine my astonishment when we seemed to get the second class citizen treatment in the vet office this week. The first comment went over my head, but the second one clicked.
We go to the office for our appointment and Ray was actually walking really well on his leash, so we checked in and hopped on the scale to find that Biggie had already gained two pounds since his neuter four days previous. We gave the receptionist a copy of the neuter paperwork and were shown into an exam room to wait. Since this time Ray was obviously much bigger I opted to not put him on the table right away so we bided our time by sitting and practicing our “leave it” skills which are getting to be pretty darn good. When the vet came in I asked him to check a little bump under Ray’s tail which he did and then he called for a tech to come in and hold Ray, “Because he is so wiggly.” Well, two shots later and Ray still hadn’t uttered a sound and the vet went to get a heartworm dose. He told me to “just wait in here until I get back” which we did and when he came back in with the meds he said we could go ahead and finish up but we might want to peek out there first to see how busy it is before going out there.
Now, I know that neither of those statements is that big of a deal, but given the fact that Ray had been a perfect gentleman and I’ve been there several times before with a cat that has to be muzzled before he performs the crocodile death roll made me feel like we had just been slighted. What is your take on it?
Speaking of things that make me mad…
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| Couldn’t get it turned, but you get the idea… |
Peace-a-bull Assembly 
Usually there is vet tech holding while the Dr does their thing with any of my dogs or cats so im not sure that was unusual. I would either ask the vet what he meant by it or I would request that vet never see any of my animals again. I've left vets before when I felt like they weren't connecting with the patient.
Yeah, I didn't have so much of an issue with the holding as I felt like we were supposed to hide in the room until the coast was clear. I ususally request the one I like but you can't do that on Saturdays.
The second comment would have really irked me. I wouldn't go back to that vet, but instead, insist on seeing the one you like, even if you have to wait longer. Every vet I've ever met sings the praises of pit bulls, and I wouldn't put up with seeing a vet who thinks my dog is too scary to be out with the general population of his clinic.