my vet left.

[Beka27]

she just went away…

i went in for a nail trim yesterday and the vet tech (my fav one!  she’s very sweet and knowledgable!) said “oh did you hear, Dr. ____ left to go to her previous practice (with another Dr.)  She sold this one to the new vet.”

i met the new vet once at the last visit.  she came out and introduced herself while i was finishing up with the receptionist.  she seems very nice, but of course my first question to the vet tech was, “uh.  is she good with rabbits?”  her response was, “yes, she’s knowledgable about rabbits, but not as much as Dr. ____ .”  she also said that if it was something she was not comfortable in handling, she’d refer me back to Dr. ____ .

 

has anyone ever dealth with this?  what did you do?  i loved the vet, i loved the location (with traffic, only 10 minutes from me).  but i went there primarily for the vet.  every vet listing i ever found on rabbits had her listed prominently as the utmost authority in my area.

i’m not even sure where the other office is… should i try and track her down, so i at least have her new info?  should i do an interview type thing with the new vet?

[BunnyMuffin]

I would probably try to track down the old vet first. You already know she’s very knowledgeable, so it would be nice if you could keep seeing her. Once you know where the new office is located, you can decide if it’s too far to keep going and then interview the new Dr. at your current location. Although it might be good to interview her anyway in case there’s an emergency and you need to get a vet quickly!

For my dog in Calgary, we drive full across town to get to our vet (from the SE all the up to the NW end of town, a good half our drive without traffic). We used to go to one that was closer, but the care wasn’t as good and their prices were outrageous – so a family friend referred us to this one and it’s definitely worth the trip!

[babybunsmum]

oh that would suck!  i’d track down where your vet went too.  you could still goto your fav vet tech for nail trims but knowing where your rabbit-knowledgeable vet is would be a relief for those ‘just-in-case’ moments that we all hope never happen.

[Beka27]

yeah, i like how you guys think. we go for monthly nail trims and *i think* her new office is about a half hour away. a half hour is a long way forme to go just for a nail trim. so i’d have to either keep going to the close location, or bite the bullet and do them myself (eeek!)

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

UGH!! Try to track down your vet -that sucks!! I had a doctor leave, still haven’t found a good one since Hopefully she’s still in the area though!

[BinkyBunny]

This DID happen to me. I love my vet, Dr. Harvey, and I followed her to her new practice, however, the old place that I used to go has a knowledgeable staff, but in my opinion – to a point. I mean I feel like they would know how to save my bunnies life in a pinch, and they know the types of things to look for, and what treatments to offer, but when it comes to more complicated stuff, like what Rucy brings to the table with all of her dental issues, they refer me over to Dr. Harvey anyway.

Here’s also another example of why it’s important to stay with a vet you really know is good – one of the best you can find:

Because the original place is open late hours and weekends, I have that as my emergency vet place. Not too long ago, I brought Rucy in an emergency. She was breathing heavy and just didn’t look right. I feel they saved her life. They did xrays and leaned towards pneumonia as being the diagnosis. I then had Dr. Harvey check her out, and she came up with a different diagnosis: it was a growth or chest hernia, with an respiratory infection being secondary (only a risky surgery would be able to tell for sure mass vs hernia) and this makes a big big difference in Rucy’s future. IF she ever has to go under anethesia (and she usually does for her teeth), then this is much more risky because of how the mass/hernia presses on her lungs. If another vet didn’t know this, Rucy would be in big trouble just getting her regular tooth trim.

So, I say, of course for nail trims and stuff, no problem, but for any health issues that arise, if it’s possible, follow your more knowledgeable vet.  I actually have both offices keep and share records. 

EDITED:  It wasn’t quite the same because my vet notified me..she just didn’t go away like yours did.

[Beka27]

another good idea. i do think that for now… i’m going to stay where i am at… with the new vet, but i will find out the new location that the vet moved too and call them, get their hours and days of operation. i like that she’ll refer me if she is unsure, or i can go for a second opinion on my own… it just totally threw me for a loop…

[MimzMum]

That doesn’t sound very responsible, even if your vet was the best with rabbits. My word, she just picks up and leaves with no forewarning?? Even my (human) doctor doesn’t do anything like that without giving patients the heads-up.

Geez, what a letdown. I’m sorry to hear this, and I hope you can find your old vet close to you somewhere.

[kralspace]

Since the vet sold the business, it could have been part of the contract for her to not advertise that she was leaving. You know, try to take all the accounts with her. But since you now know where she is you can always go to her new business when you’re not comfortable with the new vet.

[Beka27]

i was surprised to not have a head’s up at first, but i know when a practice is sold, the clients or patients go with it. she even “sold” her staff to the new vet… i have been thinking about it since friday, and i feel like i should give the new vet a chance. i know some about rabbit health, so i think if she suggested something really off the wall, i would hopefully pick up on it.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You’re right, since your not clueless you’d easily pick up if the new vet wasn’t ok, plus why give your money to a vet who couldn’t be bothered telling you they were leaving!?!?!

[Sarita]

They may give you the phone number and address of where she went…you should ask.

[MooBunnay]

That stinks I lost a good vet when I was living in California and its a pain to find a new one. I think it is probably worth the trip to stick with your normal vet, or maybe try the new vet for nail trims – and just use your old vet for any illnesses. When I lost my vet in California, we just went to another rescue recommended vet in the area, and he was actually quite good.

[RabbitPam]

This just happened to me last week with my dentist. No notice, just called for an appt. with her and was told that she’d left the practice and I could see the new one. (She’s all of 1.5 years out of dental school. Which may not be bad, actually.) They wouldn’t give out the other dentist’s new location or phone number.

So I found her by dialing 411 and asking for her name. Found her too. She’s a bit too far, so am trying the new dentist.

I suggest calling information if you have even a vague idea what city she might have moved to. I really think two vets on call is better than one.

[skunklionshow]

When I lived in Chgo, I lost a vet that had saved my cat’s life.  I LOVED her!  I located her online and found that she had opened her own practice in a very far away suburb.  I maintained contact w/ her for a few years.  So I’m thinking you could google her.  That’s what I did back in the day.

My current practice has about 6 vets and one of my favs left w/ only 1 week notice.  Apparently she had to go on an emergency medical leave, so not much notice.  She suggested 2 other vets in the practice and they have been great!  One is more bunny savy than the other, but they are both bunny experienced vets.  So I go to one of them.  I miss my old vet, but I’m ok w/ the transition.

As a side bar….I once left a behavioral health practice VERY suddenly.  I hated that I did it in the way I did b/c my clients didn’t get proper notification or closure w/ me.  My (then) husband had announced he was moving out and wanted a divorce.  I couldn’t deal w/ work when that happened.  That’s just to say that sometimes things happen and it makes appropriate closure very difficult.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m concerned the same thing may happen with my vet clinic. There are two vets I see who are knowledgeable about rabbits, the owner and another vet. I prefer the non-owner vet as she is much more knowledgeable with rabbits. I’m worried about the clinic (and of course, the owner) since the owner was recently diagnosed with cancer. These are the only 2 vets in my entire city who know anything about rabbits (other than the after hours emergency vet clinic!) I don’t know what I would do if this clinic shut down.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Puffy, I’d get your vet’s contact info, like an email address and tell her you’re concerned if the clinic closed you’d still want to see her. You could give her your contact info too. If it were to close she may just go to another clinic in the city?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good idea. I’ll go on the clinic’s website and see if I can find her e-mail address to keep handy.

[MimzMum]

Oh dear, LPT. I am sorry to hear about your vet (the owner) having cancer. My prayers go out to him/her.

I would hope in a case like this, that there would be advance notice if the practice were to be closed. But cancer really turns lives upside down. It’s good to be prepared.

[Beka27]

oh no! that is very upsetting.

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