Dog Illnesses: Pets Do Get Under the Weather

Recently, Shadow my 14.75 year old dog was very sick with a dog illness.  She handled it with such grace, she is a very good dog.  Rarely does she use the papers and pads I leave for her to "just in case".  That week, when she absolutely had to use them, she kept on the papers each and every day even though she was suffering.  I had begun to prepare myself for the worst when it went into the second day,  she had never been sick with a dog flu like this.  I made the call to the vet.

With this dog illness incident, the vet came over to check on Shadow and gave her some fluids and some meds and within the next day, Shadow was back to her normal self.  Dr. Taylor, Chrissy, the technician and I joked about the possibility that Shadow was recovering on her own, but how all of the credit goes to the vet visit.  Shadow even thought so, usually she runs under the bed as soon as she can after the doctor checks her and this time she even stayed out to say goodbye as they packed up for their next visit.

Finally, someone who cares about the well being of my dog and other people's pets, as she does her own pets I am sure.  My experiences with veterinarians are not all positive ones, I have been told by one vet that it is the law to have the annual booster shot and heartworm blood test, this is not true.  I had only questioned this "animal doctor" and he became very defensive to me and it became about the money.  Anyone who has pets knows it is not about the money.  When I question Dr. Taylor on these topics, she answers me honestly.  She agrees that I do not need the annual heartworm blood test if I give the heartworm pill on time throughout the year.  I usually am not exact on the dates so I usually get the test.  It is refreshing to know I have options.  After a certain age dogs do not need the annual booster vaccine and the doctor is fine with the choice I have made to not get it each year.  She also makes her recommendations known, such a Shadow's teeth situation.  They need cleaned badly and it could cause other health related issues but, she understands my hesitation of giving a dog who is nearly 15 years old anesthetic to do so.  She does not lay the guilt trip on me for not doing it, in fact, the procedure is not even something she will do and get paid for with her on the road operation.  It would be done at a clinic.  My preference, is the clinic at The Ohio State University where I have also been satisfied with the services.

Dr. Taylor and her staff are amazing.  A simple voice mail to confirm our appointment also made me feel good, Nicole said that she hopes Shadow felt better until the appointment and I felt as if she meant it.  The doctor is the one who typically calls with any test results.  From my experiences and observation this type of good service is just not the normal anymore and I am thankful to have good services from our veterinarian.  There is a trip fee, but in comparison, it is cheaper overall than many of the "clinics" I have tried.

Check out her website:  www.lessstressvet.net  and if you ever need a house call for the dog or cat in your life, I urge you to give this service a try.  Now why can't my doctor come to the house?