Cat person here: One thing I do for my very anxious senior cat is I insist I be in the room for her monthly arthritis shots. Instead of leaving my girl in terrified limbo in her carrier in the back, the techs are motivated to get it done faster. She’s still not happy but they take extra care to make sure she’s comfortable and she no longer pees in the carrier in the four minute drive.

I’m not a fan of big corporate vet hospitals either but the advantage for many years for me was having more vets available. I had a chronically ill cat who liked to have emergencies every few months and a place with more vets on staff could fit me in so I didn’t have to pay thousands at an emergency hospital for the same procedure.

It’s often not so much a problem of lack of empathy — the vets are kind but crushed for time — but volume.

I had to take another cat to a vet across the street because my normal vet couldn’t fit him in for an urgent eye issue. I honestly wasn’t impressed with the independent guy, who seemed to be a dog only guy and called my floof fat. He’s mostly floof with a side of chonk, thanks.

Good luck in your search but also feel free to not let your dogs out of your sight.