| REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS. |
"SEASONED VETS CAN HELP PETS"With specialist veterinary clinics sprouting, man's best friend can easily get the best care
March 13, 2006 I walked out of my vet's office two
months ago with a bag of vitamins, a $250-credit card receipt and a very,
very sick dog. That's when I first considered getting a
second opinion. Although Bob – my darling, 2-year-old
soft-coated wheaten terrier – had been sick for most of his short life,
my veterinarian has been part of my family for decades. He cared for my
parents' dogs before mine, and he'd always done a good job. So I worried
about asking him for a referral to a veterinary specialist for Bob, whose
strange symptoms just didn't seem to match my vet's diagnosis.
Would my vet view my request as an act of treason? Would he be offended
that I'm questioning his judgment? According to Dr. Sandy Wright, a member
of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, the answer to
those questions involving any vet should always be no. "Most of us know that we don't know
everything," said the specialist from the Veterinary specialists have knowledge and
skills in treating problems that are outside a generalist's area of
expertise, and specialty care is better than ever. That improvement is
spurred by increasing customer demand and veterinary advances that
parallel human medical developments, experts say. Vet ophthalmologists are now able to
remove an animal's cataracts to prevent blindness, radiologists can treat
a cat's hyperthyroidism with radioactive iodine therapy, and veterinary
oncologists offer chemotherapy to combat cancer. The American Veterinary
Medical Association recognizes 37 specialties in all. Dr. Wright's group, which tests and
certifies vets who have an additional three to six years of training in
internal medicine, cardiology, neurology or oncology, has almost doubled
its size in the past four years. Most urban areas are seeing specialty
clinics multiply, she said. The Veterinary Referral Center of North
Texas, a facility that houses five veterinary specialist practices under
one roof, opened in "People now consider pets as part of
the family, like one of their children," Dr. Wright said. "We're
not going to treat your pet like it's a piece of property. We treat your
pet like a family member." Just as you wouldn't go to a neurologist
with a passing headache, a specialist vet isn't the place to go for your
pet's regular needs. Many specialists don't bother to carry vaccines or
flea treatments in their offices, and going to a specialist is normally
much more expensive. Most specialist vets will charge for their
consultation, although the office-visit fees vary. Dr. Bob Munger, a local veterinary
ophthalmologist, said specialists are happy to discuss the estimated costs
with pet owners up front. Specialists realize that your kid's
college tuition bill might be more pressing than Fluffy's endoscopy –
Bob's cost me close to $750 – and the vet will work with you to
prioritize and decide what can be done on your budget, he said. "It's the specialist's job to
explain what they would do ideally and what the alternatives might
be," he said. "Some conditions can be pretty expensive to
treat." Dr. Munger, as with many veterinary
specialists, asks for a referral from a general vet, but most specialists'
offices will work with pet owners if they call directly. Most will also
ask for the animal's health records, but that's so they won't have to
charge owners again for tests the general vet has already performed. Bob is now seeing a local internist,
who's determined he's got the canine version of inflammatory bowel
disease. I've spent more than $2,000 on tests and treatments, but he's
started wagging his tail again, which he hadn't done in months. For me, that's well worth the price. |