Forum Replies Created
Vally, can you tell me which “reply” you clicked to post with?
If you click on the “reply” button on the post you want to respond to it will place your reply there, like I did when I replied to you. This way you can respond directly to someone when they make a comment or ask a question.
If you want to reply in general to the main topic, you would reply on the first page of the topic (which is now 4 pages) by scrolling to the bottom of the page and using the “reply” form. This will put the reply at the very bottom of all the replies that have been made. In this case it would go to the bottom of page 4.
You can tell the difference by looking where the “reply” is in your post. A reply to a specific post will show the “reply” in the lower right hand corner. A reply to the main topic will show the “reply” on the upper left hand side of the post.
my best, patrice
Rick,
My heart goes out to you. Nico was such a special little guy.
I think the world of all that you have done for him and I am sure that you did everything in your power to make sure he knew he was loved.
Please come here when you feel up to talking with us.
my best, patrice
Oh Megan
I’ve just read about the bruising – this is extremely urgent – I totally agree that this cannot wait, Please, please please, see a vet at a hospital urgently. Your “God” vet needs a good telling off for her bad attitude. These people make life so difficult & this is NOT your fault.
Sheena & Worzel
Megan,
I have seen this on Chance. This is serious and needs to be attended to today. Please do this now.
my best, patrice
IMMUNE-MEDIATED THROMBOCYTOPENIA (IMTP) (Immune Destruction of Blood Platelets)
“Spontaneous bruising is the major clinical sign. The gums and oral surfaces or on the whites of the eyes are a obvious areas to check as is the hairless area of the belly. Small spots of bruising in large conglomerations called “petecchiae” (“pet-TEEK-ee-a”) are the hallmark sign. A large, purple expansive bruise might also be seen. This is called “ecchymosis.”
Megan,
I am very concerned about your description of the bruises on her belly. Please take her to an emergency vet if you can today. Her platelets may be very low and she may be unable to stop internal bleeding. If so, this is an emergency.
Inappropriate clotting is an emergency but if you are in a clinic that handles these types of emergencies, they will know what to do.
If this ends up not being an emergency then you can say that I am the nut and an idiot for worrying.
You are in contact by phone with Vally or Linda? Let them know what happens after Sophie gets treatment.
my best
patrice
Brigitte,
We’ll have lots of links. But I need to try to contact most of the links we use to make sure that who we are linking to will allow us to do that. Now-a-days people place links all the time in posts and no one thinks anything of it. But putting a link on a permanent page may be a little different. I’ll find out more when I start asking. In general, most websites post a copyright somewhere prohibiting the use of any material on the website without permission. One more thing I need to research….
Meant to post this over the weekend. ABC is the network our station is affiliated with so I watched some of this story.
or
Some Veterinarians Sell Unnecessary Shots, Tests to Make Extra Money, Says
Former Vet
Nov. 22, 2013
By JOSEPH RHEE, GERRY WAGSCHAL and KIMBERLY LAUNIER via 20/20
For most pet owners, man’s best friend is another member of the family and
deserves the best care, but a former veterinarian says that some vets, out to
make an extra buck, will pad the bill with unnecessary shots, tests and
procedures.
Andrew Jones worked as a veterinarian for 17 years. He left the industry
after a dispute with his medical board over marketing issues, and wrote a
book called, “Veterinary Secrets: Revealed.”
“I’m clearly not making friends within the veterinarian industry, but I feel
I’m saying things that need to be said, that aren’t being said,” Jones said.
Watch the full story on “20/20” tonight at 10 p.m. ET
As a young veterinarian working at a clinic in British Columbia, Jones said
he got an early lesson about upselling after telling a pet owner whose dog
had a lump to just monitor it. At the time, Jones said he was fairly certain
the dog’s lump was a benign fatty tumor, but said the clinic owner quickly
clued him in on the effectiveness of using the dreaded “c” word: cancer.
“The practice owner… said, ‘no, that’s not how you do it… what you need
to do is get that dog back in… It’s going to be much more profitable for
the practice,'” Jones said. “He said that it might be cancer. And it’s–
usually the ‘c’ word, pet owners get really concerned and they say, ‘do
whatever you need to make sure it’s not serious.'”
Throughout his career, Jones said he discovered a dark reality about some
veterinarians in the United States and Canada, including himself.
“They feel that pressure of, ‘I’ve got these overhead costs to make,’ and
that’s where your judgment gets caught,” he said.
Jones said that, under pressure from bosses, he ordered services that were
not needed. He said “no question” he would have been fired if he hadn’t done
as his bosses asked.
“If I didn’t meet this certain target, then yeah, my employment was at threat.”
But Jones said even after he owned his own clinic, at times, he continued
upselling.
“There are things… that I did as a practice owner, where in hindsight,
probably didn’t need to be done,” he said. “For instance, seeing a dog that
has a little bit of tartar… then I might say, ‘I think your dog should have
a dental cleaning’… It’s obviously more profitable for the practice.”
To see if other veterinarians pushed unneeded services, as Jones claimed, ABC
News conducted an undercover investigation at vet clinics in New York and New
Jersey, using two different dogs, Maeby, a 5-year-old mutt, and Honey, a
5-year-old pitbull.
To make sure Maeby and Honey were healthy canines, their owners brought them
to Dr. Rebecca Campbell, a well-respected Manhattan veterinarian, for
thorough exams. After Campbell gave the dogs a clean bill of health, they
were taken to other vet clinics for a routine check-up to see if further
tests or treatments were recommended.
Most places found Maeby to be healthy. One New York vet said that except for
a “tiny bit of tartar” on her teeth, everything else checked out. But a
veterinarian at one New Jersey clinic also noticed that bit of tartar and
recommended the pet owner have Maeby come in for an annual teeth cleaning —
for dogs that means it is performed under general anesthesia.
“She could have a lot of worse stuff going on and I’d never see it unless she
was under anesthesia,” the vet told Maeby’s owner.
Then on Maeby’s exam report, the vet had indicated she had “dental disease.”
The cost of that recommended teeth cleaning under general anesthesia was $250.
Jones said animal dental treatments are “the big upsell.”
“Very much on the McDonalds’ equation of, ‘would you like fries with that,'”
he said.
The New Jersey vet later told ABC News that she stood by her recommendation,
saying that some larger dogs over the age of four can benefit from an annual
cleaning and risks posed by anesthesia are minimal.
But, in offering another perspective, Dr. Marty Becker, one of the country’s
leading experts in veterinary care, said he wouldn’t recommend a cleaning
“unless [the dog] needed it” and that putting the dog under anesthesia can be
dangerous.
“If it does not have periodontal disease, there’s no use putting it through
the risk of anesthesia,” Becker said.
Another big ticket item on vets’ bills, Jones said, are vaccination costs,
and he said some vets can be quick to push the shots.
Every year, pet owners are reminded that their animals are due for their
annual vaccinations, but what many vets apparently fail to disclose is that,
according to the latest guidelines from the American Animal Hospital
Association (AAHA), some of the vaccines only need to be given once every
three years.
According to the AAHA, an annual revaccination “booster,” which includes
multiple vaccines, is commonly recommended and most state and local laws
mandate an annual rabies vaccine. But for other viral diseases, such as
canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine parvovirus (CDV-2), the AAHA
guidelines say that after dogs receive their 1-year-old booster vaccinations,
then vaccines for those viral diseases can be administered every three or
more years.
“A lot of people are still into giving them every year,” Becker said. “But
that is not the recommended protocol by the American Veterinary Medical
Association.”
It’s important to note that vaccine guidelines differ for puppies, dogs with
diagnosed immune or vitamin deficiencies and animals who have been in
shelters or boarding facilities.
To find out what some vets recommend for vaccines, ABC News went undercover
with Honey, the pitbull, who was up-to-date on her shots.
But at a New York clinic, the vet ordered Honey, who had the distemper
vaccine two years ago, a new round of shots without asking about Honey’s
vaccination status, and then told Honey’s owner that distemper was “typically
an annual vaccine.”
The New York clinic later told ABC News that a vet’s individual judgment is
just as important as the AAHA guidelines.
At another clinic, Honey was also told she had “dental disease” and was
recommended for a $300 teeth cleaning under general anesthesia. That clinic
didn’t respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In the end, both undercover dog owners could have incurred hundreds of
dollars for potentially unnecessary treatments.
When asked about upselling allegations in the industry, the American
Veterinary Medical Association said in a statement to ABC News that its up to
pet owners to decide whether to follow a vet’s recommendations.
Jones said the majority of vets are ethical and try to do the right thing.
Still, he cautioned pet owners to walk into their vet clinics with eyes wide
open.
“One thing they should keep in mind is knowing that they’re not going to be a
veterinarian clinic, they’re going to a business … which is there to make a
profit,” he said. “You have, obviously, ultimate control over your dog or cat
… take charge of your own pet’s health.”
Sheena,
Hey, great news! Wow, those Sight-hounds with their revved up circulatory system: PVC 60%.
I can’t even imagine what the therapeutic value of 1 x 50mg azathioprine per week would be, what did you vet say? Is can’t possibly be immunosuppressive at this dose? I don’t know that much about aza, except to say it is often used in chemotherapy so it has strong cytotoxic effects to quickly developing cells (like WBC, RBC) that is why it is used to knock down the lymphocyte population.
No, you don’t need to keep renewing the core vaccinations. But you may want to satisfy yourself and your vet by having Jean Dodds do a vaccine titer panel. I do that for my dogs. It can’t tell you if your dog could actually mount a defense if exposed, but it can tell you whether the titers fall into a general accepted value.
I don’t know what your laws are in France and your locality for rabies, but you need to find out. Here in Western NYS where I am there is just no way I can avoid that one, the legal fallout from a reported bite or tangle with wildlife would lead to any un-vaccinated dog (rabies) to be immediately removed from the owner and either destroyed to examine the brain (for rabies) or to be put in strict quarantine for about 6 months. That is approximately how long it can take for rabies to develop in the brain.
In NYS, as is the case in many states, a dog that has lapsed in their rabies vaccination is considered “un-vaccinated” the day after the lapse, no exceptions, not even for dogs with waivers from their vet. So please check carefully in your locality with your vet about the application of the rabies law where you live.
Babesiosis is more prevalent and potent in European countries. But here is the skinny, the spleen is known to be a strong fighter against this disease. A healthy animal or human can probably fight off babesiosis solely in the spleen. It’s not so much contact with other dogs with this disease, this is a blood borne disease and can be transmitted by ticks.
my best, patrice
![bingo-14-5_1200x775](https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/wp-content/gallery/aiha-dogs_2/bingo-14-5_1200x775.jpg "Vally\'s Bingo \\"Smile\\"")
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