10 Things Your Veterinarian
Won't Tell You
By Kelly Barron
87'
1. "Good thing you love Schatzi like a son. His care could
cost as much."
After a New York City taxi struck Jessica Malionek's dog, Mojo,
flinging him 30 feet in the air, she spent $4,000 for
veterinarians to perform emergency treatment and then
life-saving surgeries on her beloved dog. "It was like they were
treating a person," Malionek says. These days veterinary
medicine can be every bit as sophisticated as human health care
— and the costs reflect it. Animal lovers spent $19 billion on
veterinary care in 2001, the most recent figure available, up
from $7.2 billion a decade earlier, according to the American
Veterinary Medical Association. And per-visit costs are
skyrocketing: Between 1991 and 2001, the average cost of a
veterinary visit for a dog nearly doubled, from $50 to $99. For
cats, costs rose even more precipitously, jumping by 107%.
Why the steep price hikes? Chris Green, an attorney and member
of the American Veterinary Medical Law Association, says vets
are happily obliging owners who want to keep their pets alive at
all costs. That means paying up for the latest high-tech
procedures, such as feline kidney transplants and CAT scans.
There are also more aged pets today, which require more care.
2. "Vaccinating your pet may do more harm than good."
For years the primary reason for seeing a vet was to get your
pet vaccinated against a host of diseases ranging from distemper
to rabies — either with individual vaccinations or "combo wombo"
shots that could cover seven separate conditions.
Indeed, annual vaccinations have been an economic bulwark for
many vet practices, but some veterinarians say they're not only
unnecessary, but they can actually be harmful in some cases.
Marty Goldstein, a veterinarian in South Salem, N.Y., says he
sees a range of vaccination-related reactions in animals,
everything from cancerous sarcomas to epilepsy. Another reason
to think twice about certain vaccines: The immunity provided by
some of them can last well beyond a year, even as long as the
pet's lifetime, Goldstein says, negating the need for some
annual shots.
Both the AVMA and the American Animal Hospital Association now
say vaccinations should be assessed yearly and tailored to an
animal's age, health and lifestyle. For example, an indoor cat
with limited exposure to some diseases may not ever need certain
common vaccinations, says W. Jean Dodds, an immunologist and
veterinarian with Hemopet in Garden Grove, Calif.
3. "I have more complaints filed against me than a used-car
lot — not that you'll ever know about it."
When she picked up her kitten, Pumpkin, from the veterinarian
after a routine spaying, Mount Pleasant, S.C., resident Marcia
Rosenberg was stunned to find the cat nearly comatose. Soon
Pumpkin's body was wracked with seizures, and her stomach
swelled. Rosenberg rushed Pumpkin to another vet, who saved the
cat, but the distraught owner called her state's veterinary
board to complain. Told that the board had no procedure for
alerting consumers about disciplinary actions taken against
incompetent vets, Rosenberg mounted a successful campaign to
have such actions posted on the South Carolina veterinary
board's web site.
Tracking complaints against vets often requires a bit of
detective work. Some state veterinary boards list disciplinary
actions against vets, while others do not. And complaints
typically aren't disclosed until a board investigation and
judicial ruling have determined a case of wrongdoing. On her
own, Rosenberg says she was able to find that the vet had
previously had his license suspended in Ohio and since then had
more than a dozen complaints against him in South Carolina.
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4. "Sure, I can do root canal on your pup — real dentists are
for people."
When John James, an academic adviser in Los Angeles, took his
geriatric cockapoo, Amber, to his veterinarian for a chipped
tooth, the vet told him his dog needed a root canal and that he
could take care of it. Amber died during the procedure. James's
lawyer later learned the vet's canine dentistry training came
from a weekend course. What's more, elderly Amber should never
have been a candidate for the intensive procedure.
How do you know whether your pet is in the hands of a skilled
specialist? The AVMA lists 20 specialties for veterinarians,
ranging from anesthesiology to dermatology. Legitimate
specialists have done graduate work in their specialty and been
certified by an industry medical board. Some vets may claim a
"special interest" in an area, meaning they've taken some
continuing education, but they aren't necessarily certified
specialists, says Peter Weinstein, former medical director of
Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea, Calif.
If your pet needs a specialist, check the vet's educational
background and certification. Also, ask how many specialized
procedures he performs annually. Having a "special interest" may
be fine if the vet has enough experience.
5. "Surgery's a cinch. It's the overnight stay you should be
worried about."
If you think your pet will be tenderly nurtured through the
night after surgery at a veterinary office or hospital, think
again. Many vets don't staff their offices overnight, so it's
important to ask about what happens in the wee hours.
Laura Ireland Moore, an animal law attorney in Portland, Ore.,
says she represented a client who took her dog to the vet after
stitches from a routine spaying came undone. The veterinarian
repaired the stitches with metal sutures but neglected to put a
cone over the dog's head to protect the wound during an
overnight stay. The office was unattended through the night, and
by morning the animal had chewed through the sutures — as well
as 15 feet of its own intestines. The agonized dog had to be put
down. The moral of this unpleasant story: "You should definitely
check if anyone will be on the premises overnight," Moore says.
If the facility doesn't have a night attendant, or if you don't
trust his or her credentials — a late-shift babysitter may or
may not be a vet or even a vet technician — you should ideally
find a facility where a licensed vet stays over, Moore advises.
6. "Personally, I think declawing is inhumane. But,
hey, it's your dime."
Animal activists have long held that cosmetic and
so-called convenience surgeries, such as declawing a cat
or clipping the ears of a Doberman, are unnecessary and
cruel. That argument is gaining broader support, as
declawing, in particular, has come under fire. While the
surgery — which many vets say is the equivalent of toe
amputation — will usually keep a cat from scratching the
furniture, it may cause other physical and behavioral
problems, according to veterinarian Jean Hofve, ranging
from lameness and joint stiffness to behavioral issues
such as reclusiveness and biting. In keeping with these
concerns, the American Animal Hospital Association now
recommends that its members inform clients about the
risks of nonvital surgeries and the alternatives. "A lot
of vets still feel they should do what the client
wants," says Teri Barnato, national director of the
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights. Many
vets fear losing clients or having animals abandoned.
If you're considering a cosmetic or convenience
procedure, ask your vet if he'd perform the surgery on
his own pet. And weigh the alternatives — instead of
declawing, you could get a scratching post and keep your
cat's claws trimmed.
7. "Go ahead and sue — it'll hurt you more than it
hurts me."
When Marc Bluestone's dog Shane died after being treated
for seizures at All-Care Animal Referral Center in
Fountain Valley, Calif., Bluestone decided to sue. In a
precedent-setting ruling, a jury awarded him $39,000 for
malpractice, claiming he and his dog had a "special and
close relationship." (All-Care is appealing the ruling.)
But that's an exception — suing a veterinarian is at
best a dodgy financial undertaking. The reason is that
under the law pets are considered property, says Ireland
Moore, the animal lawyer in Portland, Ore. More often
than not, that means court awards are for the straight
market value of the pet, which could be as little as $10
for your beloved mutt. Meanwhile, suing a vet is likely
to be an expensive undertaking.
If your pet becomes the victim of a medical mishap, know
that your legal recourse is anything but guaranteed.
"It's not always the most economically smart thing to
do," Moore concedes.
8. "The key to my thriving practice? Location,
location, location."
While a referral is probably the best way to select a
veterinarian, many people pick one simply because the
office is around the corner. Indeed, according to the
AVMA, only 10% of cat and dog owners choose their
veterinarians through referral. That could be a mistake.
If you have an aging kitty and the neighborhood vet
doesn't have geriatric expertise, it won't be a good
fit, says Nancy Peterson, a registered veterinary
technician and a spokesperson for the Humane Society of
the United States. Peterson adds that in her experience
few pet emergencies happened during office hours anyway,
nullifying some of the benefits of geographic
convenience.
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Pets.
So how best to assess a vet? First, check out the
facility. Is the staff friendly? Is the place clean?
Look into the veterinarian's educational background,
board certification and record both with the state's
medical board and the local humane society. Beyond that,
veterinarian Elliot Katz, president and founder of In
Defense of Animals in Mill Valley, Calif., recommends
studying the veterinarian's body language with animals.
Make sure she greets animals in a friendly way,
approaching them slowly and touching them gently. And if
you have a special request, such as wanting to hold your
pet when it's vaccinated, make sure you and your vet are
on the same page.
9. "I haven't the foggiest idea why your dog's acting
crazy."
The study of animal behavior is a relatively new
specialty in veterinary medicine. In fact, the AVMA
lists only 36 board-certified animal behavior
specialists on its web site, compared with 1,500
internal medicine specialists. Yet many pet owners get
rid of their cats and dogs, or even put them to sleep,
for annoying behavior ranging from barking to eating
drywall. Daniel Aja, a veterinarian in Traverse City,
Mich., and president of the American Animal Hospital
Association, recalls one client who brought in a St.
Bernard to be euthanized because of severe separation
anxiety. Once when the owner left the house, the dog
jumped through a plate-glass window to chase after him.
Aja convinced the owner to treat the pup with
antidepressants and had behaviorists on his staff
counsel the client on how to work with his dog.
Not all vets will make the extra effort to diagnose a
behavioral problem, which entails taking a complete
medical and behavioral history and spending hours with a
pet. What do you do if Champ continues to chase his
tail? Ask your vet if he has experience with behavioral
issues. If not, request a referral. The International
Association of Animal Behavior Consultants' web site
lists professionals with varying experience in behavior
training, from vets to dog trainers.
10. "Our technology may be state of the art, but our
industry regulations are still in the Dark Ages."
While veterinarians and animal hospitals are
increasingly working with the same level of
sophistication as human doctors and hospitals, the
regulatory oversight within the field is far less
stringent. Under federal law, human hospitals must be
inspected, but it's possible for a veterinary hospital
to operate for years and never undergo an independent
inspection, Aja says.
The American Animal Hospital Association does accredit
animal hospitals, assessing them on more than 900
different standards ranging from organization of medical
records to diagnostic capabilities. But only roughly one
in seven pet hospitals in the U.S. and Canada have been
accredited by the organization. Some states, such as
California, perform inspections on vet hospitals,
checking them for everything from outdated drugs to
unsanitary conditions. Even seemingly petty requirements
can have lifesaving results: After a California mandate
required vets to have emergency lighting, one
veterinarian used a flashlight to finish surgery when a
blackout hit.
