Finding a New Veterinarian: We Have Picked A Vet At Our New Location

We have concluded our search and decided which of the vets at our new location is most likely worthy of taking care of our dogs!

Of course, while everything looks good on paper, you don’t really know what you got until things get tough. But, hopefully, things will never get as tough as they did with Jasmine. And if they do, our new vet will step up to the plate.

Having to look for a new vet has caused me quite a bit of anguish but I feel good about our final choice.

Finding a New Veterinarian: We Have Picked A Vet At Our New Location

How I made the selection

The hospital is one of the very few around here which are AAHA accredited, so that should guarantee a certain level of standards.

More importantly, they lived through my list of 35 questions!

They were happy to answer all of them and all the answers were perfect, except two which were satisfactory.

They generally don’t have a body in the hospital during the night to watch overnight patients but they are willing to have somebody in there on request. Yes, it would cost a bit more but depending on the situation it might or might not be a good thing to do.

They don’t use web-based records but are perfectly happy to provide a copy of everything.

They don’t offer health plans but they are thinking about it.

I also asked whether I could have a little preliminary phone call with the specific vet we wanted to work with.

We wanted her in particular because she practices integrative veterinary medicine. It almost looked like that was not going to happen as she was very busy. But eventually, I got to talk to her and she made a very good impression.

So that is it. We have made our choice.

It’s a major load off my back. Here is hoping that my first impressions are correct.

Learn how my choice stood up to the test of time here.

Related articles:
Working with Veterinarians: A Reflection on a Year of Working with Our New Vet
Looking For A New Veterinarian: Our List Of Questions 
What Makes a Good Veterinarian: Veterinarians Are People First

Further reading:
Picking The Right Vet: A Cheat Sheet

Categories: Dog health advocacy • Working with Veterinarians

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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