Completely Mistaken

I guess I was mistaken. I thought if one wants to be a veterinarian, they have a huge heart for the well being of all animals.

I am a delivery driver for FedEx and I was delivering to a veterinarian office this morning so I decided to ask them that in the case of an emergency would they be willing to see Reno as the closest avian vet is over 2 hours away, and they laughed at me as if that was the most absurd thing that they have ever heard! Then they said no we wouldn't even consider working on a bird! I am so unbelievably mad right now. How disrespectful for one and for 2, what kinds of "vet" would say that!

Their manners may be poor, but I think that turning away an animal that is outside of their skills and their understanding is probably the right thing to do.

You don't want them basically experimenting on your bird.

No I don't, but there is a way of communicating that and I was just talking on a absolute emergency basis.

Maybe he meant that a bird is above his knowledge. The vets where I work would say the same thing (maybe word it differently though).
They took in a quaker parrot last week because the owner clipped it's beak and it wouldn't stop bleeding. The vets there don't see birds, so they called me back and we got it to stop with styptic powder. That's about the extent of their knowledge, so it's good they don't see birds at all. They will send you to my vet or the emergency vet.

I understand that, but where I live there isn't an emergency vet. Just the vet that has an after hours number so I wanted to have a plan if something were to happen and time was of the essence. I worked for a veterinarian for 5 years and she never turned anything away. Usually people spoke to her ahead of time and she did her research so if anything was to happen she could help. Or she would consult a different vet and stabilize for transfer. She saved so many lives by caring.

The rudeness of this vet and the lack of empathy was incredible to say the least.

Even some Vets don't have a great bed-side manner. I wouldn't take it personal, I guess i would prefer their honesty rather than they try & it turns out a disaster & my bird died because of their lack of knowledge.

That's a very good point Pedro. I guess what upset me the most was that it felt like they were downing birds in general. I will just have to keep looking. It makes me nervous to think of a doctor being so far away. Not that I anticipate anything happening, but you just never know. I am actually not feeling so hostile now! Lol!

Yeah I wouldn't try to take it personal. Even if they agreed to see it in an emergency situation, not only would they not be able to adequately treat the bird (probable poor outcome) but they are also liable for the treatment of the bird since they agreed to see it. If they agree to see it on any terms they are accepting that it is within their scope of practice to treat birds and since it is not if something goes wrong they can be sued for going outside of their scope of practice. Plus you need special equipment to treat birds and also need handling knowledge in order to just restrain the bird safely. I would talk to your avian vet and see what kind of emergency kit you should have on hand just in case something should happen, since they are so far away.

Oh, and I don't think that they are downing birds in general, but more thinking about treating a sick one. Sick birds are very unstable and critical (and can die very quickly), which is something that most regular vets cant properly treat.

Haha! Thanks Molcan2! I laugh because asking my veterinarian would be the smartest thing and yet I never once thought of it! Boy I need a vacation! Thank you!!

When I first got my OWA, I searched for the closest vet with avian experience with 24/7 care. Then I set up an appt. so he would be considered an established patient & thus qualify for emergency care.

Did you speak to the vet in person or just the receptionist? I worked for a vet for 6 years & while we didn't see birds, we did have spe******ts lined up to refer to. It's good that you know ahead of time & not in the case of an emergency.

Out of curiosity, is the vet a VMD or a DVM? VMD is reserved solely for vets that graduated from U of Penn Vet School whereas any other Vet School in the country is a DVM. I have generally found that VMD's are preferable but that could be me as I was raised in Phila.

I don't trust any vet 100%....I trust my instinct and my own research! I always question my vet when they do something differently or when it doesn't make sense to me. I haven't yet find a vet I trust 100%...I could have taken a vet clinic to court before when they destroy my dog's belongings after autopsy, her collar and tags were gone. All I got back was a stupid rock that killed her. It wasn't my usual vet as my friend did not listen to me at all by bringing her body to a different vet clinic. Im still mad til this day.....

JensFlock said:

Maybe he meant that a bird is above his knowledge. The vets where I work would say the same thing (maybe word it differently though).
They took in a quaker parrot last week because the owner clipped it's beak and it wouldn't stop bleeding. The vets there don't see birds, so they called me back and we got it to stop with styptic powder. That's about the extent of their knowledge, so it's good they don't see birds at all. They will send you to my vet or the emergency vet.

Click to expand...

OMG why would someone clip a bird's beak? Poor thing!

Tammy said:

Out of curiosity, is the vet a VMD or a DVM? VMD is reserved solely for vets that graduated from U of Penn Vet School whereas any other Vet School in the country is a DVM. I have generally found that VMD's are preferable but that could be me as I was raised in Phila.

Click to expand...

Is the only difference because of where they attended school or are their qualifications different? I never noticed that there are VMDs and DVMs. It's something to look into that's for sure. I'm not sure which one my vet is.

MikeyTN is right on target in this subject. Most avian vets I have dealt with have done some "stupid" things to birds... I surpervise everything including surgeries and every aspect had better be carefully explained to me.... I am bitter though... I get a lot of birds on deaths door that got that way while an avian vet tried to test and guess at the problem. The only vet I have that hasn't made a fatal error yet is my equine vet.... God bless him!

NEVER take a vets opnion over your own instinct without getting a thorough explaination! (You would question your doctor wouldn't you?)

Liability seems to be the problem here (as already mentioned)

Though manners would be nice, but I have yet to meet a vet rreceptionist that has any.

Let me put it this way...

Aside from some very famous vets at some very famous clinics.... Avian vets are a joke, and still have years to go before they reach a profession that I would take their opinions seriously. My honest recomendation is spend $200 to $600 buy a set of avian vet books... read them and be prepared to be shocked at the moronic stuff that comes out of the average avian vets mouth... There was recently a very tragic event involving a zoo, 100 birds, and a so called avian vet expert.... I am not allowed to share yet, but it is currently the subject of a lawsuit.

So, call me jaded, call me "witchy", but I've seen too many owners sent home with an antibiotic to be mixed in water, and no antifungal prescribed to have any respect for the average avian vet.

Or no sensitivity test, but "let's throw Baytril or (my personal favorite *sarcasm*) oral Ciproflaxin and let's err on the safe side and prescribe 0.2cc (of 2.27%) twice daily for seven days) on a 1000 gram bird, Which is just enough to make the bacteria resistant to the drug and without some Diflucan will cause a hellacious Canidae infection to boot.... UGH!

Or "hey while the bird is under let's flush it's sinuses and not pay attention to the fact that we filled the poor creature's lungs with fluid and cause the worse case of avian pnuemonia while we're at it.

Or "let's not set the broken leg until 3 days later.... oops the bone healed crooked"

Or "all these birds have psittacosis, let's euthanize them and then when the necropsy shows Giardia let's just say that must have been secondary.... even though wwe never tested for Psittacosis"

Or,or, or.... The list goes on sadly

Don't get me wrong.... I don't want to do their jobs.... I just wish they would learn how to.

It is tough to find a spe******t... good to call around at local vets offices and find who would be able to see your 'too in case of emergency. Many people don't have a developed taste for parrots. I work as a canine instructor and one of my coworkers is a vet tech. They don't have an avian spe******t but they do beak/wings/nails. She has a bad taste in her mouth when it comes to birds... especially 'toos. She admits it's based on the fact that her ONLY experiences are with terrified angry birds, and she's a true animal lover and a superb trainer. While she knows there is far more to them, she's the first to share horror stories. With that said, she's professional with clients and no PROFESSIONAL should laugh at potential clients. Look at it this way, good thing they did! Now you know for sure to never even bother trying to bring your fluff there, or any other animal.

I realize this is an old thread, but, it brings up a good point. Avian Vets, GOOD Avian Vets, are few & far between. There are many young people here. If you really love birds...become an Avian Veterinarian!! The world needs more of them. The field is wide open. You could work with pets. You could do research. You can go into Behavioral Research. So many options. Young people...think about it. We need you! Our birds need you!

Sorry to hear you had a negative experience but it is probably for the best that you had that now and not in an emergency.

I agree good vets are hard to come by and good avian vets even harder. I am very lucky to have a good avian vet she actually only sees birds and other exotic animals she does not do dogs or cats.

I know its not bird related but we have a cat who we took in as a foster and then later adopted he has a problem with his eyes that he has had since birth and will never be cured of. It is a form of herpes and so it only flares up occasionally. Well a few months ago the poor cat had the worst flare up we have ever seen so we took him to the vet (our normal vet was away for a few weeks so we saw a different one) and we knew what it was and how to treat it. We have dealt with it for close to 10 years so we know what helps and what does'nt well this vet was ready to remove the poor cats eye right there and was not very willing to accept what we had to say. My boyfriend was very firm and made sure the cat got the right medications and did not let the vet remove the eye. Well today the cat is better than ever after having the proper meds we requested and can see great. Poor guy did not need to have an eye removed he just needed antiviral meds to clear up the infection from the herpes.

So definitely trust your instincts if you dont feel something is right about a vet make sure you question it. Stand your ground and fight for your animal they need us to advocate for them since they cant voice the problem themselves. We are the ones who know them best and cant let "experts" experiment on our babies.

Why did it black out special ist, spe******t... I don't get it.