COVID and Veterinarians (home, car, medical center)

[cleosmom]

Here in Idaho Falls, Countryside Vet, clients call upon arrival. One person, masked, can go in with the pet. Bonneville County is (still) under a mask mandate.

[wiseguy15]

The policy of taking your pet inside without you is just an excuse for laziness and poor service. This is based on 17 years in the veterinary business. Vets hate when an owner asks questions so with this new covid protocol they see the pet and avoid a million questions from a concerned owner. Kudos to those who moved on to vets that actually practice good medicine.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

My experience is it depends on the Vet. I was taking my dogs to Bannock Animal Med in Chubbuck and had no problem sitting in the lot waiting for monthly thyroid prescription; however, end of last month I made an appointment to "bring" my dog into the vet to show her something on the skin, and was told I would have to wait in the lot, they would take the dog in, and vet would call me via the phone and talk. I just said cancel the visit.
Called Hawthorne, they set me up a week later, took the dog in, they called for all his medical records, visit went good and the vet at Hawthorne found Bannock's policy was strange. No masks required, no one had masks....

Now I go next week with the female for a blood test since I will no longer be using Hawthorne.

Meant to say I will NO LONGER using Bannock Animal med.

As for an update, last week they do require masks now; not a problem, I carry one around, but they allow people to come in with their pets. And during my visit there were three dogs five adults in the waiting room.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

....... Many dogs do not react well to people wearing masks,.......

This should not be an issue at all. Responsible pet owners get their dogs accustomed to different situations. It's called socializing the dog.


My own dogs are quite accustomed to face masks because I wear one around them. They get to sit in parking lots and see lots of people wearing face masks walking around.



Anyone who has a dog that reacts badly to a face mask should maybe wear one around the dog and get family members to wear masks around the dog for a few days before the vet visit.


Your dog doesn't have any problem with you wearing a shirt, even though body posture and muscle tension is important to his understanding of what is going on.. He can quickly adjust to a face mask if given a small opportunity..

[Wulf335]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

...Your dog doesn't have any problem with you wearing a shirt, even though body posture and muscle tension is important to his understanding of what is going on...

I dont know about this. My dog hates it when I wear my Colts shirt, he's a Seahawks fan...

[BellaDL]

Originally Posted by wiseguy15

The policy of taking your pet inside without you is just an excuse for laziness and poor service. This is based on 17 years in the veterinary business. Vets hate when an owner asks questions so with this new covid protocol they see the pet and avoid a million questions from a concerned owner. Kudos to those who moved on to vets that actually practice good medicine.

What is or was your role in the veterinary business?

We have used veterinary services for many years in different states. This year is the first time that we have seen some veterinary practices implement the policy of taking pets inside without the owners. This policy is to protect everybody (pet's owner and vet office workers) and absolutely not '"an excuse for laziness and poor services"!!!

My daughter has been a vet for over 10 years. She works in a small vet clinic with small waiting & exam rooms.

She is immunocompromised because of her breast cancer treatment. She took 2 months off work in the beginning of the pandemic because the owner did not implement a mask policy.

She came back to work when mask policy was implemented and followed! The clinic has also implemented the policy of taking animals inside without the owners.

In spite of these precautions, my daughter caught the virus from one of her co-workers in spite of taking all the precaution. It is very difficult not to get infected when working closely with others in tight quarters and doing close contact work like surgeries!

My daughter and her co-workers are conscientious, dedicated, hard working people. Many of them including my daughter get into veterinary care because they love animals. They strive to provide excellent services.

I have seen my daughter spending many outside office hours (late at night, weekends, during vacations) talking to the owners, giving instructions or inquiring the care/health of the animals. Animals can not talk so a vet need to talk to the owners to get a more complete picture.

Your statements about vets hate it when owners asking questions and the Covid-induced policy of seeing animals without owners being just an excuse to 'laziness and poor services' is an affront to many dedicated vet office workers.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

This should not be an issue at all. Responsible pet owners get their dogs accustomed to different situations. It's called socializing the dog.


My own dogs are quite accustomed to face masks because I wear one around them. They get to sit in parking lots and see lots of people wearing face masks walking around.



Anyone who has a dog that reacts badly to a face mask should maybe wear one around the dog and get family members to wear masks around the dog for a few days before the vet visit.


Your dog doesn't have any problem with you wearing a shirt, even though body posture and muscle tension is important to his understanding of what is going on.. He can quickly adjust to a face mask if given a small opportunity..

While I see your point on conditioning, its meant for normality. Walkers, canes, wheelchairs, loud noises etc.

My dogs are extremely sensitive to people's emotions. So if you get someone who is forced to wear a mask that has them angered, frustrated or anxious most dogs will feed off of such and become unsettled.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by cleosmom

While I see your point on conditioning, its meant for normality. Walkers, canes, wheelchairs, loud noises etc.

My dogs are extremely sensitive to people's emotions. So if you get someone who is forced to wear a mask that has them angered, frustrated or anxious most dogs will feed off of such and become unsettled.

MOST DOGS, or just some dogs. Cause I have been seeing a lot of dogs at the dog park, at the vet last week, and other locations and have seen NO unsettled dogs. Granted I do not wear a mask at the dog park, but many do, but as usual I just keep my distance from most people.

I do believe, dogs reflect the personality of the owner. Just my opinion.

[wiseguy15]

BellaDL I am sorry your daughter caught the virus but clearly the policy of not letting owners in did not create her problem which was part of my point in pointing out the laziness of vet practicing drive by medicine. Most employees in vet practices are hard working and looking out for the best interest of the animals, many are there just to collect a paycheck and process animals and patients through the system. I worked in all facets of a large practice from kennels to technician to financial manager of the practice so I saw a very good picture of what goes into a practice.

In my experience and opinion an interaction between a vet and owner over the phone is not the same as the real time experience of talking directly with the animal present. That is what we should expect with our pets, if we are going to accept second class care than the charges should reflect that but I doubt they do. If masks are supposed to save us all then there is no reason to practice lesser quality care.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by wiseguy15

In my experience and opinion an interaction between a vet and owner over the phone is not the same as the real time experience of talking directly with the animal present. That is what we should expect with our pets, if we are going to accept second class care than the charges should reflect that but I doubt they do. If masks are supposed to save us all then there is no reason to practice lesser quality care.

Exactly!