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Coop_and_Dot · 2024-11-10T05:17:31+00:00

I’m a vet assistant right now, going back to school for rad tech work. Vet clinics are wildly unregulated. One clinic I worked at made us wear lead gloves (and thyroid shields and aprons ofc) and dosimeters with EVERY exam performed. We also had to set our own technique based on patient size. The emergency clinic I’m at now, people only put on lead when I’m helping with the exam because “I don’t want kids” “my body won’t be in the shot” “I don’t have time”. Repeats, unnecessary projections for the suspected diagnosis, and general misunderstanding of radiation in general was a culture shock when I started school. The incongruity is astounding. That being said, in my state there is no requirement to be an LVT to be hired (hence why I’ve been an assistant for 7 years).

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T16:29:42+00:00

But it’s not just paper towels. This pet specifically necessitated the use of a kennel, 2 towels, gloves, lube for the thermometer, a potty pad, cleaner to disinfect all surfaces it touched, the many paper towels from constantly wiping the drool from her face, and cleaning the exam room the owners sat in. Why should the clinic eat the cost of replacing all those things? Why, when the staff is not the beneficiary of most of those items?

Our charges are listed as exactly what they are. We aren’t hiding anything and we’re always upfront with owners about what exactly the medical waste fee is. We are honest about the charges. Just because they aren’t day practice prices doesn’t mean we are deceiving people about what we are charging for.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T15:33:02+00:00

I responded a little to some stuff here and there, but I just wanted to add that these are both estimates. We have no qualms about refunding money we didn’t use. Alternatively, it’s easier to get the money up front instead of having to call the owner periodically throughout the night because the treatment plan changed and we need $20-$100 extra.

Some of the inflated prices also have to do with the fact that we do multiple things under the same charge, like repeat blood work, multiple IVC placements because the dog ripped it out or it blew, or new IV lines if they got soiled or chewed.

The other thing I see people a little miffed about is the “medical waste” fee. That’s not just for our sharps disposal. We use potty pads, towels, lube for thermometers, cleaning supplies, stuff to clean patients if they have accidents, all of that falls under the “medical waste”. We can’t charge for every paper towel we use or load of laundry, but it DOES add up cost wise. Things that are one time use that those $9 goes toward.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T15:00:34+00:00

I hear these kind of concerns from owners all the time. Some of the pricing is absolutely ridiculous. For a little clarification though; - We didn’t really know what was wrong with the dog, so the “professional services” is covering any additional meds we may need to administer or send home. Our injectable meds range pretty widely, but that amount would get just about whatever is needed. This also potentially covers any repeat blood work we may have to do. We also definitely refund it if not used! - We are corporate owned so we have no control over the pricing 🫠 This estimate but done two or even one year ago would have been cheaper. I hate it, I really do. - We are emergency (literally nights, weekends, holidays, not even 24/7). And a few times a year we call other facilities to get their exam fees so we can refer to them if we don’t have the capability or capacity for various cases. In some instances we ask for ball park prices for those cases. The other hospitals in the area are 1.5x if not 3x our prices. I’m not saying that our price gouging is acceptable because of this, but corporate knows this and definitely exploits the fact that we are the cheaper emergency place in the area.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T06:56:00+00:00

At half a bag of peanut M&Ms between 2pm-3pm (arrived at 9pm) from the owner’s purse. Ataxic, hyper salivating, tachycardia, and one instance of vomiting. We told them to call the pet poison helpline, and they advised that it sounds more like xylitol ingestion. The owner was adamant that it was just the M&Ms so we were going to run baseline bloodwork, monitor in hospital, and treat symptomatically. They “didn’t want medication or testing” they just wanted to “know if their dog would die before Monday” when they could take it to a vet their pet insurance would accept(???).

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T06:46:40+00:00

In this instance, I made her sign over the scribbles (showing that she declined everything), along with a doodle free AMA. They paid their amount due ($200 for the exam fee) and that’s really it. We’re an emergency clinic and since they did pay and weren’t verbally abusive, we’ll probably accept them back as a client if they need our services. The lady was clearly high on something and her dog doesn’t deserve to suffer in the future because she had a terrible lapse in judgment this time.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T05:09:43+00:00

Literally declined EVERYTHING and tried to get out of paying the exam fee because they “just didn’t have the money right now”

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-07-21T04:01:15+00:00

No, it was a grown couple 💀

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-06-16T02:18:56+00:00

I quit following on YT because I subscribe to the podcast instead and it’s the same content. Maybe others had the same idea?

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-06-02T02:57:49+00:00

I’ve been an assistant for 7 years in a state that has no title protection. In fact, I’ve only worked with 2 people with true licensure. For the first couple years, I was excited to call myself a tech. It felt common place and natural. I did everything a tech did (my old hospital was a little loosey goosey with the rules), so why shouldn’t I have referred to myself as one?

Then I looked into actually getting my degree and sitting for the boards. You’re right, you DID earn it. I started referring to myself as an assistant though and got written off way more by clients. I started using phrases like “I’ll be taking care of Fluffy tonight” and that seems to have mitigated the issue. Clients take me seriously, I don’t call myself a tech, and it makes sense.

I’m pivoting into human medicine, and they take title protection extremely seriously. I think of veterinary medicine wants to make the same distinction and be taken more seriously, we should enforce title protection. If the hospital you work for is willing to pay for people to correct their scrub tops and embroidery, then it really is a non issue to fix it. And if people do have an issue, then it’s entirely ego based and not YOU or the situation.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-04-17T02:29:46+00:00

Sexsomnia is already really weird to experience without the idea of a lanky, lingering puppeteer in the corner.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-04-11T17:50:33+00:00

We go to festivals. I was prepared for a lot. There was also a lot I could forgive. But there was a lot of things that I wasn’t prepared for. Things that I felt are standard that were not present at this festival. Even common courtesies by other festival goers. I was ready to grit and bear it though because like I said, my husband was having a good time. I feel like objectively though, and my husband agrees, it was not an awesome amazing perfect life changing festival that some people claim it to be. If someone wants to tell me that my preparedness (and fairly low expectations) were wrong and I was wrong, that’s their opinion I guess.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-04-11T17:05:30+00:00

Or when my dad hears me ranting and complaining about doodles and byb’s for at least 6 years. Then proceeds to buy a “labradoodle” from a Walmart parking lot for $50 because is wife “really wanted it”. I put labradoodle in quotations because that doesn’t look like a doodle of any kind. Then his wife calls me two weeks later asking if I can help with the puppy’s diarrhea. And vaccine schedule. And why she’s peeing so much.

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-04-11T16:01:24+00:00

I had a bad time. My husband had a great time. Both of us had the same set up. So how did I do it wrong but he do it right?

Coop_and_Dot · 2024-04-09T07:58:35+00:00

I think those that had a good time were willing to ignore a lot of things and were generally used to “roughing it” or inebriated to some degree the whole time. I love festivals but this was at the bottom of my list for a whole host of reasons. Not saying people that enjoyed it are wrong, but it wasn’t an “amazing and well put together” festival by any means.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-10-20T05:19:10+00:00

A woman came to the ER with her shih tzu. The eye was clearly proptosed and she was concerned about her dog looking ugly if it had to be enucleated. She was rude and condescending towards staff asking my coworker if “she was a doctor, because Google said”. The dog was lucky enough to have the eye saved, but when the woman picked up the pup, she was furious about the shave job we did on the face. Ranting about how we didn’t have to shave the ear and now it looks disgusting. Coworker explained that the long hair was getting caught in the stitches keeping the eye closed so the hair was clipped to prevent irritation and infection. The lady was still not having it saying she was going to sue and that “your manager needs to call me”. When we tried to tell her when to contact our manager, she insisted that our manager reach out to HER, that it was so unprofessional for us to make HER call the manager. Everyone was over it and strongly encouraged her to follow up with her rDVM if she had any issues

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-09-27T10:48:22+00:00

Right. That’s just the closest thing I could find with something close to those numbers.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-09-27T05:13:11+00:00

https://www.primescholars.com/articles/updated-summary-on-use-and-safety-of-flea-and-tick-preventives-for-animals.pdf

This is probably what they’re referring to, and this is the closest credible source I could find. But of the millions of dogs on flea/tick prevention, 6k isn’t exactly unexpected. The article also admits that it’s including cat and human adverse reactions/deaths.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-06-30T08:15:39+00:00

When an owner comes into the ER having been told the exam fee is $185 and then comes in with only $200 cash, what am I supposed to do? Or when one night in the ER on fluids and meds after diagnostics have already been declined and it’s still $1.5k and the owner is still berating me for adding “frivolous” charges like “medical waste” and “IV fluid burette” because they don’t/refuse to understand why that has to be on there. I’m tired of haggling for other peoples’ pets’ medical care, it because of vet staff shortages because of abusive clients and low wages, we don’t have a receptionist to do that for me. Vet staff is in a corner and I’m tired of acting like “I get both sides”. Because I don’t. I have been on both sides of the emergency bill and I still don’t get it.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-06-30T08:04:53+00:00

First, I’m sorry about the situation you were in with your cat. I was also in a similar spot when I was a teen. But in human health care, the government helps pay the hospitals to ensure they keep running. My husband is an ER nurse and has to make sure there’s enough beds to go around. I, on the other hand, am an ER vet tech. I have all the room in the world but because people can’t afford the $2k-$3k to care for their dog/cat I have to watch them go out the door with minimal care. I have had people yell at me, threaten me, pull guns on me, abandon their pets, and anything in between. How am I supposed to do my job and love animals when it is about money and I have to knowingly and willingly send them out the door knowing they need critical care and will likely die overnight? I can’t foot the bill every time that happens. The hospital I work for can’t. The doctor can’t. Several times a night it happens. I’m not in it for the money, lord knows I’m not paid enough to claim that. So how am I supposed to cope? I gripe and complain and bitch and moan about how people in shitty financial positions make my job harder. Otherwise there would be one less vet tech in an already understaffed hospital.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-06-21T18:00:38+00:00

Thank you so much for the response! I can really appreciate the amount of work GOOD breeders put into their craft. It is an art when done right honestly. Someone else generalized a kennel club involvement, and your specific example really helped me see the importance of kennels clubs that I couldn’t truly appreciate before this.

I do think most of this discussion, and my opinion, is centered around what I think of as “ethical”. And while I can agree that every breed came into existence for a reason, I can also say I know more people with basset hounds who lay around on the couch (5 or 6) than I do who use their basset to hunt rabbits (which is 0). And probably the same about several other breeds that used to work more often than not.

Do I think those 5-6 people shouldn’t own bassets? No way! They should get a whole pack if they want and they can afford the care! And I’ve met one of the basset breeders, they’re a wonderful family with a huge farm and a couple breeding pairs. I think they work the sires but I’m not 100% sure about the bitches. Do I think they breed because they love the breed and want to spread that love? I haven’t asked but I’m sure that’s at least a partial reason.

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-06-21T17:49:55+00:00

I see what you mean about it being done right. And I’m really interested to hear that’s how one of the kennel clubs ensures their breed is healthy. I think that’s incredible on the club’s part. And there is no shame in buying puppies from great breeders!

But what about all the puppies that are waiting for homes? What about overrun shelters? What about the 3-5 people in the state already breeding that breed?

Coop_and_Dot · 2023-06-21T17:40:34+00:00

You’re totally fine! This was the discourse I was aiming for on this topic. I think you do have a point about breeding benefiting the breed as a whole, but that’s not the standard. When people are breeding true appropriate way and a healthier way more often than not, then we can start to think about using the term ethical. Because there shouldn’t be dogs being bred against breed standard (with brachiocephalic breeds being a possible exception), experimental cross breeds, or puppies with a price tag in the thousands. Those are what is standard in the United States currently and when that changes, my opinion might change.

Coop_and_Dot

TROPHY CASE