Fuming with my vets - rightly so or not, some advice before I call today

foreign_correspondent

sometimes they have to try one course of treatment, eg. antibiotics to rule out the most likely cause of the symptoms..

Also, a vets is not the NHS - they dont have to have all the equipment or perform all the proceedures - you can ask them to refer you elsewhere and see if there is any possibility of it being done sooner.

tux900

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Also, a vets is not the NHS

I think that's the key issue here.

Bluemonkey, you have to realise that vets operate as a business, not a government-provided health service which you can all-but-demand service from. So yes, like it or not, your dog requiring treatment is a completely different situation to your child.

Your situation is more like Argos not having the TV you want in stock. You would not expect them to refer you to Comet but you are completely free to go to Comet yourself if you don't want to wait.

I would suggest getting your dog sorted out elsewhere and dealing with the issue of costs incurred so far afterwards.

You've clearly got your dog's interest at heart so put your efforts into getting him sorted - this will involve taking him elsewhere if your current practice does not have the right equipment.

Good luck, and do let us know how it all turns out.

Mathew

blue_monkey_2

Right, have spoken to the vets, they have the scope back (typical!!) and wanted me to bring her there amd then but she has eaten (I gave her food as they cancelled the appointment) she she is going in on Monday now to have it done.

While she was sitting on me sleeping I noticed she had a lump at the side of her nose on the hair, not the actual nose, that was literally getting bigger the more I looked and the area around it swelling. That was weird. On parting the hair to get a better look it broke and bloody pus oozed out and she went mental got off and ran outside and would not let me near it to have another look. I thought I would wait until she was next asleep to have another look. So, I mentioned this to the vets when I was on the phone and they think it is probably the grass seed coming out of her face but they want her in on Monday to do the scope and check that no other damage has been caused by it. I have tried to look but all I can see if a lump with a white speck in the middle so I'll look now when she is sleeping next.

All I want is for my pet to be better, I can't see what is wrong with that. It would be cruel for me to let her get worse.

I guess I have learned something today though. I still cannot fathom how a vets cannot have the equipment to make your pet better if they are sick, nor have the equipment to see what is wrong in an emergency. I understand they are a business but no business can run without the tools to make it work operationally. That would be like a dentist, who is also a business, not having a drilling machine for fillings, surely? Most bizarre.

I guess I have been truly spoilt by my last vets, who was my vet for around 15 years all the time I have owed and been responsible for animals, then as they did everything there no matter what they needed doing. it was not a huge practice like this is, it was just a tiny vets really but you could call at any time in an emergency and as the vet lived next to the practice she would be there to see you 24/7. She saw my cat in her pyjamas with her scrubs over the top when it got run over. It was 'open surgery' for most of the day, you would turn up and be seen before 7pm. I've not found anything like it since we have moved to this area and was quite shocked at having to wait for an appointment the first time I went!!

But, it is getting done on Monday - now I just hope that the seed has not caused too much other damage inside her nose now and she will get better.

blue_monkey_2

Ooh, I just wanted to add that I would have been more than happy to go off elsewhere, I even considered driving her to the vets I mentioned above even though it is a long way away, but I thought she would be checked again and it would be more waiting to get the op and thought they would have to speak to the other vets. I was prepared to do this though but got ranting about stuff in general. Fingers crossed for Monday though.

I still cannot believe that it is coming out of her skin though. I've taken a look and it is still a pus filled lump so not out yet. Surely it must hurt?

lowis

i guess when such a specialist piece of equipment breaks down, it is nigh on impossible to get a replacement arranged so quickly. you are lucky that your vet can afford to hold these in stock. i agree that they shouldn't have fobbed you off, and i can see why you would 'hold out' for your vet to get the equipment back, it doesn't feel right taking your pet to an 'unfamiliar' practice if they have a medical history elsewhere...but maybe in future just call another vet as soon as a problem like this arises.

keep an eye on your dog's wound over the weekend, keep it clean if you can with warm water wipe downs.

hope you have an uneventful weekend and things get sorted out on Monday x

tux900

blue_monkey wrote: »

I still cannot believe that it is coming out of her skin though. I've taken a look and it is still a pus filled lump so not out yet.

It is highly unlikely that it is. Seed germination requires very particular conditions and inside an animal's body tends to fail them on numerous counts.

If you (or rather your vet) truly believe your dog has a plant growing out of his face then may I suggest you take him to another vet today? I don't wish to scaremonger but speaking in a non-qualified capacity it sounds rather too serious a situation to be leaving over the weekend.

What makes you certain there is something inside her nose, and it is not an external infection?

Mathew

suki1964

MJNewton wrote: »

It is highly unlikely that it is. Seed germination requires very particular conditions and inside an animal's body tends to fail them on numerous counts.

If you (or rather your vet) truly believe your dog has a plant growing out of his face then may I suggest you take him to another vet today? I don't wish to scaremonger but speaking in a non-qualified capacity it sounds rather too serious a situation to be leaving over the weekend.

Mathew

Actually grass seeds can spend weeks and longer inside a animals body and often they travel and can pop out in the most unrelated places.

There are recorded cases of dogs paralysis being caused by grass seeds travelling and lodging in the spine.

Im sure theres not a cocker owner about who couldnt tell you a tale or two of !!!!! lumps developing somewhere and a grass seed being the root cause. This lad I have now was a grass seed hoover and in one week along had three ops, one out of the nose and two from ears.

The worse place for a dog to get one is in the ears as they do become incredibly distressed, off balance and in a lot of pain. They are an emergency. The rest, usually end up with big !!!!! lumps somewhere which burst and then the pet needs to go in for the seed to be removed.

There are over the counter treatments that will draw the seed out(in cases like the ops) - but Im not a vet so cant advise

tux900

I think you may have misread my post. I was talking about seed germination (i.e. growing into a plant) as the OP posited. The symptoms you describe are due to infection or body rejection.

If you can point me towards a reported case of seed emerging from dormancy inside an animal then I shall stand corrected.

Notwithstanding the debate it still sounds like something that ought to be addressed as a matter of some urgency.

Mathew

suki1964

MJNewton wrote: »

I think you may have misread my post. I was talking about seed germination (i.e. growing into a plant) as the OP posited. The symptoms you describe are due to infection or body rejection.

If you can point me towards a reported case of seed emerging from dormancy inside an animal then I shall stand corrected.

Notwithstanding the debate it still sounds like something that ought to be addressed as a matter of some urgency.

Mathew

Where do I say in my post that seeds "grow"?

I said they have a tendency to migrate around the body - often coming out in unexpected places. I also said they unless they are in the ear ( or eye come to think of it) they arent seen to be a medical emergency as they often work themselves out, as it sounds to be the case here.

tux900

suki1964 wrote: »

Where do I say in my post that seeds "grow"?

I was disputing the likelihood that a seed could germinate as the OP thought. I took your apparent disagreement with me to mean you too thought they could.

My apologies for the confusion.

Mathew