got the second opinion today

So we went to the practice that Jeff went to when he had his lab. It's a small place with three vets. The office staff was so friendly and the vet tech was great.

The vet we saw was a woman who isn't a part of the practice but fills in. She looked at Murphy's bumps and I mentioned Duke had two now. She's sure it's warts. She gave the boys a dose of a homeopathic remedy she said she's had success with. And she suggested the pledglets, which we bought and will use to clean the boys.

She looked in Murphy's mouth and she said she couldn't tell if his tooth had to come out. And while Murphy does have tarter, she wasn't alarmed like the vet tech at my vet was. They are going to get me an estimate for the dental.

There is another vet in the practice that believes in alternative medicine. The vet we saw thought we may like her since we gave he boys a raw diet. This alternative vet reccommends it. This vet also does accupuncture!

I really like that this vet wasn't a corporation like my vet sold his practice to. I think I may switch, particularly for the alternative med doc.
Oh, and she did a thorough exam of Murphy and said he has a luxating patella. She said it was between a 1.5 and 2. (My vet's never mentioned this.) She said keeping him lean will help. She said both pugs looked great. Duke could stand to gain a pound, but to keep doing what I'm doing.

I have some serious thinking to do. The only drawback is that it's about 25 minutes away, in Jeff's hometown (the current vet is 5). But we're there a lot to see Jeff's parents and sister, so it's not that out of the way.

One more thing, one of the receptionists greeted the boys as we paid and she has a pug. She's also active in pug rescue!

You know, I'd be inclined to switch. I have a 20 minute drive to get Penny to her dogtor, and I think it is worth the drive. She likes it there, too - marches in there like the Queen of the World and demands scratchies from everyone. Too funny. But seriously, it sounds like you got good vibes from the place and the people. I'd trust my instincts. And hugs to Murph Man and my Duke of Twirl.

I agree with Nancy. Trust your instincts.

It sounds like a wonderful place! My vet is 20-25 minutes away, and there are 2 or 3 other vets closer, but I totally trust him.

Sounds like a great place - I'd switch! It's good to know you have one 5 mins away for emergencies, but for planned visits and the big stuff, this other place sounds spot on. I have probably have 5 or 6 vet practices within 5 - 10 mins, but I go across the harbour and two tolls to get to mine.

I'd meet the regular vet that she'd thought you'd like and then switch. I drive 45 minutes to take my kids to the pediatrician. There's a ton of them closer, but I trust this one.

Hmmm, new parents interview doctors before selecting a pediatrician for their baby. How come I never hear of interviewing a veterinarian to see if your philosophies mesh together.

I have a vet about 2 minutes away but I took Betty there 10 years ago and when we went back for a recheck, she totally freaked out and wanted out of there.

I now go to a vet that is 25-30 min. away and we use her for most of the PugSaver pugs. I trust her because she will always include us in the decision making of treatment and she has pugs of her own. To me, it is worth the gas and the hassle to have someone that I trust.

akc0104 wrote:Hmmm, new parents interview doctors before selecting a pediatrician for their baby. How come I never hear of interviewing a veterinarian to see if your philosophies mesh together.

Lisa, you should read "Speaking for Spot".

Sounds like a positive visit. I know that it is not an easy decision and you don't have to declare it from the mountain tops, but maybe you will just slowly chance over. I am with everyone else, it takes me about 30minutes to get to the SEPRA/my vet, but she and her staff are worth it.

I do want to at least talk to the other vet. I think a friend of mine may have worked with her before so I'll pick her brain about it, too. Murphy and Duke are worth the gas money.

Sam,

In Illinois, I drove over an hour and a half to go to the vet. I did have one closer (45 minutes) that I would use for small issues like possible ear infections. I would always tell my regular vet if I had taken one of them to the closer doctor so she could put everything in their files.

Now that we are in TN, I also have two vets that I use. One is only about 7-8 minutes from my house and the other is about 40 minutes. I like them both, and there are different things that I like about them so it just depends on what is going on with my guys as to whom I will go and see.

I'd probably switch if you like the new one better. I drive 30 minutes to our vet because I love her even though there are several others between here and there.

It sounds like a really good practice. Our vet is 15-20 minutes away and we drive past a a good half dozen vet clinics to get there. Totally worth the extra gas money for the peace of mind.

Bruno had warts before. PITA!!!

We're in the same boat - we drive 20 minutes or so to get to our vet. Sure, there are vets closer - there is one that is literally less than 5 minutes away from our house - but we love our "dogtor" & the staff at the clinic that we go to. We've been going there for almost 7 years now and both my sister & sister-in-law use them too.

Did he have them on his face? Murphy has two more now! What did the vet give you?

smoochieface wrote:It sounds like a really good practice. Our vet is 15-20 minutes away and we drive past a a good half dozen vet clinics to get there. Totally worth the extra gas money for the peace of mind.

Bruno had warts before. PITA!!!

Newsie96 wrote:Did he have them on his face? Murphy has two more now! What did the vet give you?

smoochieface wrote:It sounds like a really good practice. Our vet is 15-20 minutes away and we drive past a a good half dozen vet clinics to get there. Totally worth the extra gas money for the peace of mind.

Bruno had warts before. PITA!!!

The vet gave Bruno a shot (I don't remember what type of shot). He said to bring Bruno back if it didn't fall off on its own in two weeks, and he would consider trying to freeze it off. It eventually fell off. Bruno's was on his face, a huge one near his lip.

Bruno got another wart a year or two after the first one. That time, we just left it alone and it went away.

It's viral so no hard and fast treatment, if I remember correctly. We were so lucky that Chester seemed impervious to the virus because he never caught it from Bruno.

Bella gets them around her butt and they fall off. She had one between her toes we had to remove, but only because it bothered her to walk with it.