A Small Practice Does Not A Lesser Veterinarian Make

Last time when Jasmine was in for her physical therapy and chiropractic treatment, the client before us was a big-time veterinarian, from a big-time clinic chain, from a big city, who was there with his dog for post-operative rehabilitation.

They met Jasmine and got to hear her story; her chiropractor loves telling her story. 

When the big time vet heard of her stem cell treatment, he was curious and asked who's done it. Clearly, he was expecting a name of a fellow big shot.

The chiropractor told him. He raised his eyebrows. “He is still around?” he asked.

My hackles went straight up and so did the chiropractor's, and she got very defensive of our vet. She was fired hot.

Here is the thing. Nobody, who really knows our vet, will stand for the slightest hint of disrespect toward him. We will defend him fiercely.

You say a bad word about him, and I promise you, feathers will fly.

Yes, he runs a small clinic in a small town. In fact, he runs a one-man-clinic and he did so for over twenty years. And yes, he is still around.

Over the years, we worked with a number of veterinarians and hospitals, including the biggest of them all—the teaching hospital.

Our small town vet stands out among them all.

We've been seeing him for over three calendar years now. Which, calculated from an average number of vet visits per year by a standard client, and the number of times Jasmine has been in to see him, makes  18 dog-care-years!

We know him very well. And anybody can touch him only over our dead bodies.

But back to what actually started all this—Jasmine's stem cell treatment.

This small town vet did the treatment for Jasmine three years ago. Today, you can see signs advertising stem cell treatment on almost every clinic around.

He was three years ahead of everybody else!

He is an awesome diagnostician but he won't hesitate to seek a second opinion.

He is an excellent surgeon. He did both Jasmine's knees. I also know a story where he performed a toe-saving microsurgery for a dog who's got his foot stepped on by a horse.

He is using state-of-the-art web-based medical records system.

He was using custom-made lift tables before anybody else even dreamt of them.

The list could go on.

He did more for Jasmine than all the rest combined.

He is that good because he truly cares. He has a sharp mind but a soft touch. He goes out of his way for his patients.

And he's even survived me for three years!

Yes, there are advantages to using a large clinic. And I know there are other great vets out there.

But a small practice does not a lesser veterinarian make!

He runs a small clinic for his own good reasons. It is his choice. (And I know that some of my veterinary friends if they're reading this, can fully appreciate some of the reasons he has)

Bottom line is, that he is the best veterinarian we've ever worked with, hands down.

He doesn't have a fancy lobby and doesn't drive a fancy car. But he provides state-of-the-art care.

What is the moral of my rant? Remember David and Goliath!


Related articles:
Veterinarians Are People First 
Emailing With Your Vet And The Miracle Of Web-based Medical Records
A Word On Second Opinions
Finding Dr. Wonderful And Your Mutt's Mayo Clinic: Getting Started
Making Tough Medical Decisions For Your Dog
It's Your Dog's Health
Does Your Vet Listen To You?
Help! My Dog Is Purple!
Veterinary Drive-Thru: Coming Soon To A Veterinary Hospital Near You!

Comments

  1. If you're happy with the vet that's all that matters!

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  2. Hi Rumpydog! This is much more than just being happy with him. In our ignorance, we were happy with some of the vets in the past also. Until things got serious and we learned they were no good.

    Today, we've had vast experience with vets. I heard a lot of stories from our people and I know much more about taking care of dog's health.

    Yes, we are happy with him. But I also objectively appreciate how good he really is.

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  3. Great post! You are as fortunate to have him, as he is you...

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  4. Thank you :-) We are very thankful to have found him--and that is a whole other story how that happened. Destiny ...?

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  5. Hi Y'all!

    Oh I love my vets, especially the lady here in the mountains. They are both rural small town vets who practice alone. We've gone to large clinics a couple of times and the Humans prefer the small where I always get to see my own vet.

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  6. Hi Hawk, nice of you to drop by. Small practice vets rule! :-)

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  7. Great post. It's not the size of the clinic that determines how good a vet is. We used to go to a big clinic near us, and honestly, they didn't seem to do much to help us. We were just one of many. Now we go to a smaller practice and they really give us personal attention and seem to care about doing the best for our pup.

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