Update on giving own shots/vets

Pigeon Lady · #1 07/07/07, 10:50 PM

Thanks to everyone who contributed to my previous thread on giving your own shots and how your vets viewed the practice.

Just wanted to let you all know that I spoke with the vets from VA Tech. I told them I'd decided to give my own shots and asked if it was something they frowned on.

The answer:....

"Why the heck would we want to make the expedition all the way out there to give a couple of shots"?!?

They said they have no problem with it at all. In fact many customers pick up the shots from them to take home and administer themselves. And they'll always be available to come out in an emergency.

They would prefer to give the rabies shot themselves so that there was documentation of it but since the horses don't go anywhere -shows etc- they have no problem with me administering it.

So that's a load off my mind.

I have an appointment with the other (dog) vet in a couple of weeks. The last one. I'll be sure to let her know what these guys said and wish her farewell.

Some Mennonite friends gave me the name of a guy they use for their dogs who's prices are about half what this lady charges. The farrier also recommended him so I'll go there in future.

Thanks all for your input,

Pauline

tinknal · #2 07/07/07, 11:14 PM

I would show up, sans patient, with all documentation and commentary and lay it on the witch's lap. Then dare her to send you a bill.

anniew · #3 07/08/07, 07:19 AM

If, for some reason, your dog bit someone, or had some other altercation, your giving it a rabies shot yourself, would not be proof that he'd been vaccinated. That is the only thing I'd consider getting it done by a vet. Our humane society can't even have their rabies shots verified if they do it themselves rather than a vet. Just FYI.
Ann

Rockin'B · #4 07/08/07, 07:23 AM

A perfect example of someone's attitude putting themselves out of business.

It's great that you found some vets that are worth working with!

sancraft · #5 07/08/07, 07:37 AM

I give all my own shots except rabies and Feline Lukemia. In GA, a vet has to give rabies and you have to have prescription for FeLuk and vet's charge the same for teh prescription as the shot. My vet was always okay with it. I would bring in the packing slip and vaccine vials and he would note thier charts that they had shots. THen he'd give the rabies and FeLuk and out the door we'd go. I had one female vet get smart with me and ask why I didn't just become a vet. I told her that I had 8 doors, 6 cats, 3 goats, 2 horses and 30 chickens and 20+ ducks. If I had to pay for routine care, then I wouldn't be able to afford specialized care when they needed it. So rather than be a bad owner and not get them routine care, I chose to do what I coudl do myself and leave the specialize stuff to the professionals, sor t of like changing the oil in your car yourself, but taking it to a mechanic when a major problem hit. She shut up then.
I'm glad you got things worked out.

wr · #6 07/08/07, 10:36 AM

I still find that whole thread shocking but vets up here are in terrible short supply and they know that if they are out giving shots, there is likely an emergency back at the clinic or on another farm that really does need their attention. It's far more common, if someone doesn't know how to administer shots to a large animal for a vet to ask you bring it in or make a one time trip out to show you how to do it but most truly do feel it is a waste of their time and qualifications and they don't need the money bad enough to force you to pay them to do something you can do yourself.

Pigeon Lady · #7 07/08/07, 01:33 PM

Ann, it's just the horses and goats I give shots too. The dogs and cats get theirs at the vet's office- for the reasons you stated-.

It's just that this particular vet went on a very unprofessional tirade and told me that I would never be able to get a vet out to the livestock in an emergency if I chose to vaccinate them myself. Which now I know to be untrue.

I'll tell her what I found out but I'm not going to stoop down to the snarky level. At almost $100 per visit she's going to miss our 5 dogs and 3 cats. If she's that smart, she'll figure it out.

Pauline

wr · #8 07/08/07, 01:43 PM

Pigeon Lady, I wouldn't worry too much about unprofessional vets. I ended up with a couple of dropped off cats and figured I should probably take them into a vet and have their shots and neuter them. Since I don't own cats, I took them in a cardboard box, lined with baby blankets. I left the strays with the vet and walked out when she started screaming at me about how she could have me sent to jail for neglect and animal abuse because I didn't have a proper cat carrier/wire cage for them and told her that they were likely better off in her care than mine. I did return for round 2 when I heard she put them down rather than try to find a home for them and pointed out just as loudly that I had sent two different people in to see about adopting them but she refused to allow them to go to a farm family because they would not have proper care and might be allowed out to a dangerous barn or they might catch a mouse and a disease from said mouse.

Farmerwilly2 · #9 07/08/07, 03:13 PM

we have about 12 doors, our vet told us to go to wally world, get a gallon of semi-gloss and they'd be just fine. told us not to worry about the winders, they'd be a pane.