[NAGDU] Veterinarian Advocacy

[susan jones]

Rachel, I would definitely start by emailing the doctor. When you explain your situation, she may reconsider her position. If she does not, then I would suggest either finding a different vet or taking some other action of your choosing. Kind regards, susan and TOPHER.

> On Jul 10, 2023, at 1:32 PM, Rachel Grider via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello, everyone:
> 
> First of all, thank you to those of you who responded to my previous question about taking my guide dog to convention soon after surgery. I did take her, and she did well.
> 
> The results from her biopsy came back about two weeks ago, and one of the masses removed was a mast cell tumor. It was low-grade cancer, but the doctor is confident that all of it was removed. She did say, however, that I need to be extra vigilant to check for lumps on Demi and to get them examined and tested as early as possible.
> 
> On Saturday morning, I found another lump under one of Demi’s legs, and I called the vet to make an appointment. I was told that I would not be able to go into the examining room with Demi, but the doctor would come out to talk with me about what she finds. I asked why this policy was in place, especially since they allowed me to go in for her last exam, and I was told that they didn’t have enough staff (whatever that means). I explained that Demi is my guide dog, and I don’t feel comfortable having the doctor examine her without me, and I was told that there was a possibility that I could go in.
> 
> I have only been going to this vet for about a month, and while I really like the doctor, I am very upset and frustrated by this ridiculous policy. What adds to this frustration is that the doctor left the message about the biopsy results the day before Demi’s stitches came out, but when I brought Demi in, they wouldn’t let me talk to the doctor because she was supposedly too busy. Who wouldn’t have questions after hearing that their dog had cancer? I was able to email the doctor, but it wasn’t the same.
> 
> This pattern is very concerning to me. Demi has a lot of anxiety about the vet, and she was very resistant when they took her back for the surgery and for the stitches without me. I don’t want this anxiety to cause problems with her work later on, and it just isn’t efficient for the doctor to have to examine her and then come out to talk about her results, especially since the lump I found is hard to find and would probably need to be shown to the doctor.
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions of how to go about dealing with this situation? I thought about emailing the doctor directly, but she isn’t the one who created this policy, so I don’t know if that is the best strategy. I am already considering another vet, but I really do like this doctor and don’t want to change because of this.
> 
> Thank you, and all best,
> 
> Rachel
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