The Veterinarian's Disease

The veterinarian's client is our companion animal not us. As guardian's of our animal companions we need to be vigilant for the greedy veterinarian who has a tendency to over treat an animal for financial profit. There are many great veterinarians, mine is one of them. The best vets just do what is right for the client. That brings the client's guardian (us) back again and again. That is where the profit is.

The poorer vets let their motivation for financial profit get the better of them. They think short term. They will find ways to get you back to the clinic for "check ups" or for booster vaccinations even though your cat is full-time indoors and 14 years of age!

One veterinary clinic, American Animal Hospital, 8135 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego, CA 92126(858) 586-7387, appears to have fallen into the habit of prioritizing their income over their client's health. This assessment comes from the comments left by disgruntled animal guardians. The vet referred to on more than one occasion is Dr. Gill. Things may have changed as the comments are fairly old. If so, so much the better.

"Veterinarian's disease" affects the brain. It turns a good, caring vet into a greedy vet. I think they catch it from the toxoplasmosis gondii protozoan which is currently in the news as affecting the human brain causing a change in a person's character! A greedy vet will never be a good vet. Neither will a vet who declaws cats, as declawing is a very clear sign that the vet puts financial profit before the client's health.

The difficulty in trying to be vigilant is that you are possibly a bit stressed at a veterinary clinic as is your companion animal and you might not have sufficient knowledge to gently challenge the vet. Most people tend to take what a vet says on face value. They will agree with him or her automatically. They are pillars of society aren't they? Think about that for a bit.

One obvious sign of overselling is when a vet starts to behave like a shoe salesman, offering you products or treatments for sale that you had never considered. Automatically question the need for continued booster vaccinations or regular checkups, the bread and butter earners for Mr Veterinarian.

Questioning does no harm and puts the vet on the alert that you are not a pushover. In fact any single question by you that has merit will help to put the brakes on the vet who suffers "veterinarian's disease".