Traveling with pets....

[Kirk W]

In a thread currently running on the fulltime forum, one of our newer forum members, LiiveWorkDream has given some information that to me is so important that it needs to be shared where it will be read by as many members as possible.  I am quoting the information he has shared below.

Quote

I work with the veterinary industry, and you really want to look for an AAHA-accredited vet clinic. These clinics are the only ones guaranteed to follow the highest standards of care available (unlike human hospitals, vet practices are not required to undergo any inspections from an accreditation organization. Only AAHA clinics voluntarily go through it to ensure that pets get the highest and safest levels of care).

I may be the only reader who didn't know this but since I suspect that it isn't common knowledge, am repeating it here as I believe that it is important for us to know. We are not currently traveling but we have traveled with a dog on most of our RV travels as well as when traveling by car. I also just checked to see if the vet clinic we use at present is so accredited and it is!  😊

[Chalkie]

In Texas all veterinarian clinics have to be certified by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners which sets standards that seem to me to be very similar to AAHA. Clinics are subject to no notice inspection for compliance. In our time in Texas we have had vet care at 3 different clinics, none of which are AAHA. In Colorado we had one vet for over 20 years which is AAHA. Quite honestly I don't see that our pets have had a different level of care between the AAHA and non-AAHA clinics. 

One thing that I found interesting was the AAHA seems only to deal with vets that are solely in the dog and cat realm which leaves a large swath of outstanding veterinarians that also deal with large animals and exotic animals out of the picture entirely. Which I suppose is why there isn't a single AAHA vet within a 50 mile radius of my sister because a rural vet can't afford to only treat cats and dogs. 

Edited April 30 by Chalkie

[Darryl&Rita]

And honestly, in a crisis situation, I'm not shopping vets based on how many alphabet letters are behind their name. More likely I'm looking for one that even has exam room availability, as vets are very busy, and can shop their clients vs. clients shopping their vet.

[Kirk W]

Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

I must admit that I don't remember ever checking for a veterinarian's license or any type of clinic accreditation when choosing a vet. I can say that not all vet clinics look the same here in Texas or probably any other state. On the occasions that we needed a veterinarian when we were on the road we did always get a recommendation for someone locally and the same has been true even here in Texas. Our current vet clinic was recommended by 3 of our neighbors who also have dogs and 2 of them went there after being less that satisfied at another clinic. The cost of veterinarian services has risen markedly over the years and very often the cost of needed medical care is such that a pet is put-down (a nicer way to say killed) because one can't afford necessary care. As a result, the level of care and of veterinary clinics varies widely in an effort to make such care affordable. I remember back when our youngest son spent a day with a vet as part of a HS career day, the vet he was with told him that the reason vets weren't making what medical doctors do is because of health insurance. The rise of pet insurance may well be part of the current prices. 

Just over a year ago we adopted a dog who needed to be rehomed at 7 years old. He had not had regular health care and the owners had only occasionally visited a vet shot clinic in a parking lot and nothing else. Tyson (our dog) was taken to our current vet care facility and we had him completely examined which resulting in him having 14 teeth removed, 7 of which were impacted, for a cost of $2800. He did much better after that and so things went well for the next several months. One evening when I took him out before bed he would try to pee and start crying in obvious pain. After several attempts he did finally relieve himself but the next morning he was back to see the vet. X-rays showed that he had 3 bladder stones in his urethra and several more in the bladder. Our vet said that the needed emergency surgery was more than his facility could do and that our choice was an emergency surgery clinic or put Tyson down. He recommended MedVet, Dallas and cautioned that the cost would be at least $3500, possibly more. I swallowed hard but he was a significant part of Pam's happiness and even I had become attached so off we went to get emergency surgery. The cost turned out to be $6000 but while I didn't really want to spend that much, how can you say no if you can afford to do otherwise? MedVet Dallas is an emergency hospital that is on a par with most hospitals for humans. There is at least 1 vet and 2 licensed vet techs on duty there 24/7 and they have a staff of about 20 vets or pretty much every specialty that there is. The recovery room after surgery has a vet tech for every 4 patients and the facility has all of the same equipment for pets that you find in any major hospital. They do not do routine care and are emergency or veterinarian referral only.  Had I known a year ago what Tyson was going to cost, I'd never have agreed to adopt him but what do you do once his is in the family? If you ever need emergency care for a dog or cat in the Dallas area there is none better than MedVet but it is probably also the most expensive. Tyson has turned out to be by far the most expensive pet we have ever had, and he was given to us free!

Edited April 30 by Kirk W
correct typo

[Chalkie]

I fully understand taking a deep breath and then telling a vet to go ahead with whatever treatment is needed. Our previous dog, which was a rescue, we got as a puppy and had her for 14 years before cancer took her. She was mixed breed and part Shar Pei which was the cause of a lot of vet visits, that breed has thin or fragile skin so she easily found things to test that and I lost count of how many stitches she required over the years. But she was a member of the family and and an excellent traveling companion so we could do no less. When we got our current little rescue I debated getting pet insurance but I could not find a policy that covered more than routine office visits without costing considerably more. So we are again rolling the dice on vet care costs and so far have been on the winning side.