I have a vet situation

[Char]

Sorry but this will be a long post. I am really upset and undecided about what to do for a vet.

 

Whisper has been going to a wonderful vet that even though she is not avian certified her practice is exotics and she has been treating birds for 18 yrs. She also has a very close relationship with the avian vet who is about 1 1/2 hrs away in Louisville. So I felt comfortable with her expertise and she was wonderful with Whisper. She took emergency call and the one in Louisville does not so I felt it would be better to have someone near for emergencies especially since she is so experienced.

 

She moved to Iowa where she took a position with Iowa state teaching an exotics program. She had an associate in her practice but she only has 2 yrs vet experience and that is not enough for me. The vet who bought her practice does not treat exotics. Neither of them take emergency call. Emergency call is taken by another vet in town and he does treat exotics but of course not avian certified either.

 

 

While I was fostering the Cockatoo I rescued and rehomed I took her to the vet in Louisville to check him out since I new my vet would be leaving.

 

He has a terrific reputation. Treats the Eagles for the state and is very well respected avian vet. He sees more birds in a week than most vets do in a year. The breeder of my Amazon thinks he is the greatest and has a long relationship with him. he is working with the drug companies on some trials and i don't know if you all know it or not but there is very soon going to be a vaccine for PBFD in large part because of his work.

 

But..when I took the Cockatoo to see him I was not really impressed with him or his office. He may be a very intelligent man but his communication skills were sorely lacking. When he called me back with test results he said some things that made no sense to me at all and when I questioned him he got kind of huffy and smart.

 

He said some things that would have went right over the head of someone without a medical background but I questioned.

 

So I don't know what to do. I want my birds to have the best care possible but I also want a vet that handles my bird gently and is able to answer my questions.

 

The third option is to check out the vet here that is taking emergency call and see what he is like but as I said he is not Avian certified.

 

I worry about if an emergency happened being able to have them seen by someone who is capable.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/08/09 17:58

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/08/09 17:59

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/08/09 18:00<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/08/09 18:03

[lovethatgrey]

If these are my only choices..

 

I'd go for the vet that has more knowledge, background, experience and "has a terrific reputation".

 

The bottom line is that I would want my parrot to have the best care available when the situation arises. I couldn't care less about his personality and his huffy attitude and I would exercise my ability to be just as strong willed and assertive if I had to.

 

Of course this is just me.<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/08/09 20:29

[she]

If it was my choice I would stick with a vet who has the experiance and knowledge that this vet has.He has a good reputation so trust his expertise.One thing I will say is dont be afraid to ask or question.Some brilliant vets are better with animals than people.My vet is one in a million and will take time to explain things but I count myself very lucky,he is both very experianced with birds and willing to give advise and explanations.

[Char]

But what about an emergency situation? The vet in Louisville does not take emergency call. Their patient's are referred to vet hospital without an avian vet that is another 30 mins away from there. Total nearly 2 hrs in an emergency. The local here would not see them because they are not a patient.

 

I have never had an emergency but it would not be good, It would be me alone in a car with a sick or injured bird driving 2 hrs while nearly hysterical.

 

I guess there is just no win situation for the emergency. I will just have to hope and pray I never have one.

 

Thanks for your input. I guess I just need to hear it from someone not emotionally involved.

[she]

My vet referes his emergency patients to another practice,they are not avian vets but he insists they contact him if one of his birds comes to them and he will advise them if needed .I am very lucky and only have a 30-40 min drive to my vetand a 15 min drive to the out of hours emergency vets.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2009/08/09 21:07

[Tycos_mom]

Char I'm sure if it was a very deprate situation and your bird needed to see a vet imediatly the vet that is close to you would see your bird even if your bird is not a patient No Vet is going to let an amimal suffer just because he doesn't normaly see them. I think in an emergency any vet will do their very best to help.

[Char]

Ahh Pat in a perfect world that would certainly be true. When my husband and I were together we had a dog. The dog was sick and vomiting so forcefully over a period of time that I was afraid and I don't get afraid easily. I called the dogs vet and got an emergency answering service whose first question was "is the dog a patient of dr so and so?" I said yes but what if she was not. If not then I had to take the dog somewhere else.

 

So dear Pat in this cold world we live in they will not crawl out of bed if you are not a regular patient. This vet by the way is right down the street from me.<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/08/09 22:49