Recommending Veterinarians?

[Kakesie]

Hi Everyone,

Under my post about Buddy, Carin wrote: "Also, I think the idea of keeping a list of vets that we can vouch for as being Cushing's-experienced is great. It would be particularly helpful for new members to have a sticky post they can go to right away without having to search archives to see if anyone has recommended a particular vet. Another forum I'm on for laryngeal paralysis keeps a database of surgeons experience in treating the disease, with contact info for the forum members who've had first-hand experience with that vet."

Our other dog has Mega-Esophagus Disease and I am on a support group for that disease as well. They keep a list of vets and it has been very helpful to many. I have an idea. I'm not sure how to set up a group like this, but I wonder if there are any groups of dog lovers specifically for the purpose of recommending veterinarians? I'm thinking if we gathered the good vets from the other site I'm on and from the other site Carin is on....in fact, if we somehow could poll all dog owners online, maybe we could get some valuable feedback about where to find the best veterinarians in any part of the country?

I know with the Mega-Espophagus, often, (especially here in Nebraska), it isn't so much a matter of finding someone who is an expert, or even a vet who has had much experience with the disease......as it is finding a vet who is willing to read about other owners' experiences on the forum and who is willing to do the extra research to help our doggies who have been diagnosed with a difficult disease.

Also I've seen some veterinarians who care more about how much money they can make than they do their patients. It would be nice to have some feedback from fellow pet owners available online for people to refer to if move to a new town or state, want to switch vets or need to find a vet with experience treating a specific disease.

Does anyone know if such a forum might exist?

Karen & Buddy

P.S. I just looked on the main "Diabetes in Dogs" page and found this post:

"This is one thread I hope no one needs to use, but in case it's ever needed, this is a link to the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society's database. You can search for an emergency care facility in your area no matter where in the world you are."

http://veccs.org/hospital_directory.php

[Kakesie]

Re: Recommending Veterinarians?

Me again.

I just Googled Veterinarians and put in my town and state. It came up with a list of the Veterinarians in our town and there were 5 reviews others had written about a couple of them. I would encourage everyone to post a review for your veterinarian so others in your town know you've found a good one, (or warn pet owners of any bad experiences you've had).

Thanks!
Karen & Buddy

[Carin]

Re: Recommending Veterinarians?

Karen, thanks for starting this. I'm not sure how helpful it would be to import the list from the laryngeal paralysis group, because that's a list of board-certified surgeons with experience in a particular surgical technique. But let's just jump in and recommend good vets. OK, me first!

Ithaca, NY: Brian Collins at Colonial Vet (http://colonialvet.com/). He is an amazing all-around vet, extremely conscientious and proactive about keeping up with current research. I believe he has or has had a cushdog himself. He has guided me through more than two years of treating Duncan with trilostane. He's very willing to call around to compounding pharmacies and troubleshoot when we have a hard time getting the drug, and has also called and interrogated pet food companies for me about the precise ingredients of their dog foods to help me find the best for Duncan and my other dogs. Brian is also very generous about communicating with other vets, which is important because I travel a lot with my dogs and sometimes need to have Duncan's stims done at out-of-town vets. Colonial is not the cheapest veterinary practice by a long shot, but their price for stims is lower than elsewhere I've tried and I get a lot of extra bang for the buck because Brian is willing to consult for free by email at all hours. Could not recommend him more highly.

Cleveland Heights, OH: My vet before I moved to Ithaca was Linda Mitchell at Rainbow Veterinary Clinic (http://www.rainbowvet.com/rainbow.html). She's the kind of vet I wish could be my own human doctor! I had moved to Ithaca by the time Duncan was diagnosed, but since Dunc's been on trilostane I had a period of several months of being back in Cleveland and Dr. Mitchell rose to the occasion and collaborated with Dr. Collins long-distance on Dunc's care.

[stardeb55]

Re: Recommending Veterinarians?

Before the old site crashed, we had a member's recommendations for vets thread in place. The moderators or administrators had to ok any posts to that thread, & you had to respond to a standard set of questions as to why you would recommend this particular vet. I would almost bet that something similar is being worked on, for when we move to our "new home".

Debbie

[Kakesie]

Re: Recommending Veterinarians?

Thanks Debbie and Carin!
Any help we can give each other is highly appreciated!
Karen