oh my....how funny...LOL I hope they are doing well....hugs

lol. that's a pretty bad alternative! really proves your point.

I had a rottie who was very fearful of vets. I took her to get something done (prob fixed) and they had to give her 3 shots to get her knocked out! She was so on guard and had the vets both terrified and exhausted. Well, how do u think she must have felt?
She came from an abused and obvious violent history. I fell in love with her within the first day I fostered her. The previous abuse became evident the first time I told her "no" in a relatively stern and serious voice. Her response was heartbreaking as she not only dropped the tissue she had picked up from the coffee table, but she then, dropped to the ground, rolled over bearing her belly, and gritted her teeth and shut her eyes so tight, I probably cried. I told her right then, I would adopt her because no one ever again would have the opportunity to treat her badly. She was such a sweetheart. My "baby girl".

That is exactly how I feel about taking my dog to the vet. Last time due to the dog traffic coming and going we had to jump into the bathroom to avoid a dog confrontation! My neck got whiplash and has been hurting for a week.

Aww, just the thought of anyone mistreating an animal breaks my heart. Sounds like you are all so good at caring for your fur babies. :)

Both passed their exam. Pretty proud of Frosty for making it to her age after all she went through a few years ago. It is an hour drive for us. Our last vet misdiagnosed Frosty and told us she was in kidney failure (without doing the proper blood work) when it turned out all the poor dear had was abscessed teeth. So I quit her. And the vet we saw before that passed away in a fire after he went back in to save his dogs. it is hard to find a decent vet close by. Max is ok with traveling. Frosty gets herself very worked up..

I think my kitties have secret code, and warns the one going to the vet. the carrier is in the garage. but somehow, they know, someone is going. Amazes me. I only had one, Sophie, RIP, who was so scared she shook so bad. she was 18 1/2 when she passed, but each time for yearly check up, i hesitated, she would hide when we came home. So i know Diane what you mean...you would go thru the pain stress for them !! Me also. I cringe when i see animals abused or hurt or lost in a fire; what ever. AND what i want to do to the people who do this, i cannot print here. So glad to see most states now have tougher laws for these people who do this. I even hate to call them people. If you have to leave your dog tied out side, you do not need or deserve to have a dog. Now i am true cat lady, we have whole conversations !!!!! LOL

Diane, the four i lost in 2014, were 18 1/2 to 20 years old. healthy long lives. It is hard to find good vets these days. Does any of yours have after hours vets on call for emergencies??? none do here any more. to find emergency hosp, is over 1 1/2 hour in either direction. Shame these new young vets out of school, come right out and say, they need time for their lives...to have on call hours. If they all worked together, took turns, they could provide this service. If there is an emergency,,,you do not have time for your fur baby, to be able to drive that distance. the vet who retired, did have that service. these are the new young ones who took over his practice. what a big difference in compassion also. all business. ((and raised prices almost double))

The nearest 24 hour vet is an hour away. You're right. In a true emergency, that is too long of a distance...time is of the essence. Frosty was very annoyed with us yesterday...and refused to come out from under the bed (her usual napping place is on the sofa...LOL). But she did not bother to climb all the way under there....just her front half.. Cracked me up to see her back end and her tail sticking out.

Diane, I have one, Cody, he is 7 and a pistol and tease with his mama. He hides and just his tail is out. LOL
MY POOR Sophie i talked about, she shook so bad, i would not have taken her but some times had trouble going potty, so had no choice. I hated they had to give her some thing to calm her down just for routine exam. She was not like this as baby feeding her etc. Not sure any more when she got so bad, if she was in some time for teeth cleaning...or she just remembered smells etc..or sounds that frightened her. But these boys i have now, the carrier is high on a shelf. not like i even sit it down on the floor. I look around, to get the ''''victim''' ( the term cats use to go to vet), and there is not one cat to be seen. Unreal !!!!! Diane, I use to say , '' come on so-so, i hate to do this, but mama has to take you. Now i do not say a word. I mean for gosh sakes, i could be going for their food !!!! How do they know????? scary LOL. Do they also read my mind, i think of getting a kitten?????? LOL

I believe some cats know it's vet day the minute they wake up. Our last cat, Cinnamon, would go into hiding, or I would have to chase her. I actually to cancel her appointment at times because she was that difficult. Lol!!! My feeling is that cats can sense emotions...and on vet day I am always stressed out because I know the visit upsets then and I think they pick up on my stress Ps..Frosty is pretty annoyed with us.. She usually spends her time on her blanket on the couch, but since her appointment, she naps under the bed. Well part of her is under....her hind end and tail are showing. She does come out to eat and go potty, and to be tucked into bed beside her......ER.......my husband. Lol.l

Shep has to wear a party hat at the vets office....that is what they call a muzzle.....he cannot stand other people than me for the most part and it would be impossible to have the vet examine him without a party hat....

he is ok after it all is over but good God when he has to be up on the table they have to hold him still or he would bolt and run....his party hat protects everyone from sharp biting teeth that he normally shows anyone other than me that gives him attention...even though he will allow them to pet him..and will forcibly lift their hand up onto his head...but my friend Cecilia noticed if she looks at him he shows her teeth and if she is not looking at him no teeth being shown...LOL

Funny Diane, yes somehow they know. My Snook, 11 this summer, is not acting himself. I am thinking a vet check. OMG this is like a grown python going into a shoe box...this is NO EXAGGERATION either.

I have to being in full apparel, and fast. I am thinking of asking vet, if there is some thing, 'somehow' i can give him to calm him down to even try to get him in the carrier. He does have attitude, big time, since baby, he would act up, (spoiled) and i would carry him around the house...no less singing to him. did i say true cat lady here???

then the youngest, Cody, 7, a tad spoiled. A neighbor fed them while i was away for weekend, and I told her if Cody does not eat, you might have to feed him with a spoon. She thought i was joking. (I am not ). LOL. when he was a baby, this was so cute to do this. But the stinker likes it.

Have a good night.

Bill, I just read that you should never look a dog in his eyes. stand where he can see you move, but not right at his face. they will show teeth or even growl. Funny you just wrote about this.

Oh my goodness, there is a vet every six feet in my town! And I think they price collude, too. There is a veterinary medical school at Michigan State, so I guess that must be why. You would think that would drive the price down but, no, they are so expensive! My son wants to get a kitten. We will have to wait until our 16 year old dog Maggie passes. I just cannot afford to keep 3 pets. We have Morgan, a lab mix who is around 8 or 9. She is in great shape but poor Maggie is going down hill. She is so old I know it is only a matter of time with her. Stevie, my son, will be devastated, as will I, when she goes. She has been such a sweet girl.

we have plenty of vet offices, and most are good, what we do not have are after hr office times for emergencies. vet hospitals for emergencies are 1 1/2 plus hours drive in either direction. prices are about the same at most, but where i go, 3 new young out of school, took over practice of my vet who retired, his name still on the sign, so you know he still has investment there. we all think to pay him back, and their incomes personally, raised prices. doubled for some things. (like teeth cleaning)). office is good location along main highway, also why many still go there. The lump i found in my cody before christmas, i took him in right away, not knowing abscess tooth or what.... right away one new vet said well, it is cancer i will tell you right now of location, and we need to do xrays. which i agreed to. (thinking the worse now for sure). she said a spot on his lungs also.. means cancer has spread. ( no bi-op had been done for info)

i agree to do exploratory on gum line, they called me, remove 1-2 teeth, infected. i agreed to that. ( cody is only 7). well, when i took him back in follow up surgery, i had vet who use to be with my vet. a little different of opinion from her. she said gum area healed. nose not dripping, a good sign( if cancer in nasal passage, nose drips all the time). she had done his teeth surgery also. she said infection at root of one tooth for what ever reason there for some time, was really bad, and her opinion, lump, is scar tissue built up fighting in fection. had no idea anything wrong, til i noticed how he ate to one side. so i asked about spot on lung. again, she said she is not suspicious. she said if no nose drip or continue running, no weight lost, appetite change, she thinks we are safe. She explained still chance, but two months and no signs. she said we could do bi-op, but she wants to know how invasive treatment or removal of jaw bone i would want to do. she explained, if we have to do chemo, and this close to brain, to put cody thru all of this, and life expectancy is not much longer....(goes to brain and lung), she would not put him thru any thing. as his life would be not very good afterwards, with infection in area, drooling, trouble eating, . she said if lump any where else on his body, more options of survival, and quality life. So been four months, and he is still a pistol. Time will tell. But had i listened to new young vet,,, I realize they have to learn, but how they are with patients ( owners) make difference also. she went thru all the technical terms for this type of cancer, invasive, not knowing if it is cancer. explain all that once we know. Any one else have experience like this with new young vets....??????