Does your community have a veterinarian?

Tracy Rimmer · #1 09/27/07, 02:22 PM

Ours doesn't

We did, but he is now retired, so we have a fully functioning modern vet clinic and no vet to operate it.

Anyone have a spare we could borrow?

kitaye · #2 09/27/07, 02:35 PM

We were lucky to find a vet who has an office in the village 3 days a week and in town, 22km away, 2 days a week.

DocM · #3 09/27/07, 02:36 PM

There are 8 or 9 vets (large animal) a 45-60 minute drive. 2 of those vets have office hours in my little community each week, one has an abbreviated vet clinic on Wed and Sat, the other has a mobile unit (motor home converted to a vet clinic) on Tue and Thur. Farm calls are no charge on those days, except I refer to the T-Th vet as the "goat killer", however she's okay with dogs and horses. Wouldn't you know though, a majority of our emergencies are on Sun-Mon.

fellini123 · #4 09/27/07, 02:36 PM

We had a community vet but he got sick and didnt look for anyone to replace him. He died this year and now we have no one.
It is sad that he died but when he knew he would not get better I really thik he owed it to the community to sell his practice, or look for someone to replace him.Just a note the community put him through vet school.
Alice in Virginia

turtlehead · #5 09/27/07, 02:39 PM

We have a couple of vets within an hour's drive of here, maybe even 45 minutes. I wouldn't say they're in my community, but then I don't have a grocery store in my community. I just have a few houses and a feed store.

RandB · #6 09/27/07, 02:44 PM

Perhaps your community leaders could contact some veterinary schools, try to get a young vet just graduating. It would be nice to step into a ready-made practice, I would think!

comfortablynumb · #7 09/27/07, 02:47 PM

you cant spit around here and not hit a vet clinic.

Ravenlost · #8 09/27/07, 02:51 PM

We have a vet seven miles from us. We really like him too. He bought out the older vet (we didn't like his doctoring although he was a nice guy) and we're very happy now. He has three other vets who work for him and all four alternate between two towns. We like all of them.

I don't know what I would do if we didn't have a vet nearby so you have my sympathies!

big rockpile · #9 09/27/07, 02:51 PM

Got a very good Vet been around for years.

Went with him one time to pull a Calf.Well get over there seems these people were over the road Truck Drivers and they had left their three kids to take care of the Farm.Well these kids were not doing a very good Job they was losing several Calves.

Well we get there this Cow had been walking around with this Calf hanging out for three days.Nothing looked good.Doc had them Kids out there helping him pull this dead Calf.He didn't hold back as far as how he felt about them not getting ahold of him sooner

He did what he could for the Cow told the kids what to do but they would probably lose the Cow too.Which they did.

The point I'm trying to make he cares about animals and will be very honest on what he thinks as far as care.Like he has told me its hard enough to make a living farming around here and if you want to be stupid you'll not make it.

big rockpile

GoldenMom · #10 09/27/07, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracy Rimmer

Ours doesn't

We did, but he is now retired, so we have a fully functioning modern vet clinic and no vet to operate it.

Anyone have a spare we could borrow?

What are you paying?? DH would be thrilled but I don't know if I would like to live in the great white north though....

wr · #11 09/27/07, 02:57 PM

Tracy, we have a very serious vet crisis in Canada. I know that there are vets who are trying to sell their practices because they want to retire and many have offered bonuses, some have offered to give them away and there are simply not that many young people that want to become vets when they can attend university for a comparable period of time and become a doctor which allows for greater income and more desireable hours. Last I heard, the average age of a vet in Canada is 58 years old.

Tracy Rimmer · #12 09/27/07, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenMom

What are you paying?? DH would be thrilled but I don't know if I would like to live in the great white north though....

Are you kidding? I'd LOVE to have a fellow HTer as a neighbor, and to solve the town's vet problem, too?

If you're serious, PM me. The town serves a very large area, with a lot of farms and cattle operations, and they're more than willing to look outside the country for a solution. Like I said, if you're serious, PM me and I'll get the contact information for you for the person to speak to. I do know that the practice makes good money.

Tracy Rimmer · #13 09/27/07, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wr

Tracy, we have a very serious vet crisis in Canada. I know that there are vets who are trying to sell their practices because they want to retire and many have offered bonuses, some have offered to give them away and there are simply not that many young people that want to become vets when they can attend university for a comparable period of time and become a doctor which allows for greater income and more desireable hours. Last I heard, the average age of a vet in Canada is 58 years old.

I know. I just wish it wasn't that way. My town is willing to look overseas, whatever it takes. We have a lot of cattle in this area (beef and dairy) and the smaller farms mostly all have various livestock. That, and most people who live in town have pets, as well. It's crazy.

Perhaps it's time to subsidize education for veterinary students somehow. The current shortage doesn't seem to be something with a short term solution.

GoldenMom · #14 09/27/07, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracy Rimmer

Are you kidding? I'd LOVE to have a fellow HTer as a neighbor, and to solve the town's vet problem, too?

If you're serious, PM me. The town serves a very large area, with a lot of farms and cattle operations, and they're more than willing to look outside the country for a solution. Like I said, if you're serious, PM me and I'll get the contact information for you for the person to speak to. I do know that the practice makes good money.

DH would love it, but I don't think I would-sorry. I'd hate to leave all of our family, etc. And I'm not sure what hoops would have to be jumped through as far as licensing, etc. Wish I could help you out!

Some towns/counties/states here in the US *do* subsidize a student's education in exchange for service for a set amount of years.

stars01 · #15 09/27/07, 07:02 PM

I wish I could share my vet(s) with you. Two weeks ago they had to put my cat down after they couldn't help her any more. They sent me flowers the next day and a card after that. They are a bunch of wonderful, caring, sensitive people and I can't say enough good things about them.

Paula

comfortablynumb · #16 09/27/07, 07:07 PM

10000000 vets here and hardly a farrier to be found, go figure.

i need a farrier in SWPA like.... desperately.

wr · #17 09/27/07, 07:21 PM

comfortablynumb, it's about the same here for farriers. I really can't blame them, the struggle to build a client base and travel out to remote areas for very little pay when you figure in fuel costs and about the time they start gaining respect in the area, they seem to get a couple stables or big barns and they don't have to travel and it's back to the great farrier hunt.

Tracy, even the vets we do get are smart enough to realize that small animal practice is where the good money and more regular hours are at. I can certainly understand why someone would choose an office with regular hours over spending 16 hour days in the fall preg checking cows and the same hours in the spring doing c sections on the same cows and semen testing bulls.

bluetick · #18 09/27/07, 07:23 PM

Wow! I didn't realize so many people had problems finding a vet nearby or at all!

I live in a semi-rural area but practically trip over vets! My regular dog/cat vet is about 10 minutes away. The avian practice I use is about 15 minutes away. If they aren't available, there are lots more within half an hour, including two more that treat birds. I am really lucky!

AR Cattails · #19 09/27/07, 07:35 PM

Our vet is 12 miles away. I happen to be taking two of my female cats to him tomorrow to be "fixed".

Karenrbw · #20 09/28/07, 08:44 AM

Our livstock vet is 8 miles down the road. He was recently featured on the front cover of the Cattlemen's Advocate as the last of a dying breed. He doesn't really appreciate the small animal portion of the business and will sew up your dog if he gets caught in the barb wire, but will keep no small animals overnight or do surgery on them. We take the dogs and cats to another vet in town.

Doc is wonderful when it comes to livestock. He came out to the house, did a wellness exam on a new colt, vaccinated mom and son, and took blood for a Coggins last year - $50.

Our mare got cut under the leg this summer and developed a tennis ball sized absess that was oozing and dripping. I called in the morning for an appointment. "Doc is out working cattle all day. Let me call him and I'll give you a call back." Doc figured he would be done with cattle about 5:00 and said he would drive back to the office and wait for us. I loaded the horse and two goats with a fungal infection and took them down. He gave the mare IV antibiotics, checked out the goats, and gave me a bottle of betagene for them. Total bill - $27.

We called him out of the hay field on a Saturday afternoon when our billy went down with pneumonia. He came out, shot him up with various antibiotics, gave him a wormer and charged $45 for a weekend farm visit with meds.

We ar going to be in trouble if Doc decides to retire.