# I was so mad last week...



## Krimmyk (Dec 7, 2006)

On total accident I found a fully engorged tick feeding on Sully. I was at my in-laws and had to remove it with a pair of pliers, since it was 1am and they were not up to steer us toward tweezers. I fully removed the said tick and used the alcohol wipes from my first aid kit on Sully. He laid there and didn't even whimper.

So what's the big deal right, a tick. Well I may over 70 bucks for Advantix, originally advised from my vet. Why on earth did this happen. With the coming and goings in the days before the discovery, I hadn't noticed that Sully had basically stopped eating. In total it was 5 days. He suffered a horrid allergic reaction to the tick. Fever, no food, more lethargic than usual. And we are not sure if it was necrosis or just a sever reaction from the tick but there was a sore adjacent to the ticks location. I called the vet first thing monday morning to ask for guidance, should I bring him in? I kid you not in what I am about to tell you next. I was told since the Advantix was not purchased at the clinic all questions need to be asked to those who we purchased the product from. :jaw: Talk about a shake down! That lady at the front desk is flat out VILE!

I was assisted by the vet that lived about a mile from our home. He encouraged to push fluids. And I did. I also called Bayer and talked to the customer no-service. The first lady said well 2% of ticks can superseded the product. Fine, whatever, but the laps in the product made my dog sick. What are you going to do about it? Nothing, in case you were wondering. i was then forward to a "vet tech" who was kinder and gave me an address to send the products back for a refund. It's not the money you putzes, help my darn dog! Sully started to come around Tuesday night AFTER I called the vet clinic back and refused to get off the phone till I spoke with the head vet. Who tried to "suggest" I purchase the Frontline from them, but it was wrong for his front desk to shrug off Sully's condition. No, I will be buying from Heartland Vet Supply, it was them who helped my fur-baby, and we had never brought him in there to see the vets before. I was so mad, I missed my weekly Ticks Me Off Tuesday blog post since it all came to a head that day. This will likely be cut and pasted for next weeks post. I will no longer be using Advantix. I understand nothing is 100% but come on, my dog was very sick due to a failure of that product.


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

Poor little Sully!! I'm very glad he's on the mend. Ticks are absolutely revolting, and the vet's office-I'd be furious too. 
Hope the frontline does the trick.


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

Krimsin, I do hope Sully is much better and has no lasting effects from the tick bite. We live in an area of the Country with ticks and our property is covered with trees and deer. Our girls are on Frontline Plus and we still have pulled several ticks off them, most were very small.

If any vet’s staff gave me that attitude when my dog was sick I’d make sure the vet(s) in that office knew what had been said and that it had cost them a client. I did hear one vet say if you want prescriptions to order medications then call that place when you have an emergency. I would never use that vet but it did make me think how good my vet has always been to meet me day, night or weekends.

Friday my new little rescue had to have an eye rechecked so I took her back to the vet that had been treating her at the shelter. This was the first time ever I saw posted on the door of the exam room a notice that in GA a vet must give prescriptions when requested. It stated also that the vet was not liable for the quality of any medications from any source other than their office (and lots of other disclaimer and warning stuff).


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Gee! I am blessed with the same Vet for the 30 years we have lived in Paris. He and my husband are great friends and he has never asked me about where I got anything or refused treatment. However he is near retirement and has a new one in now and I do not like this vet. Doesn't seem to care about the dog or its owner. When my vet retires I will likely change. I ask now which vet is in before I take Rosie in. He told us a long time ago that his real patients are the humans--so true. Most of the thngs we run to the vet about are harmless to the dog but scare the life out of the human. So, he never has laughed at me or treated anything that I have taken my animals in for as trivial. Well he did laugh the first time I saw him. I took in a runt piglet to have a hernia fixed. He had never done that. most farmers just kill the little piglet--no money in fixings hernias. The piglet came from the Univ of Tenn Vet school where my daughter was attending and she couldn't let the little piglet be put down, so she brought it to me in the middle of the night and put it in the bed with me. That pig grew up to be a big one and family pet.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> He told us a long time ago that his real patients are the humans--so true. Most of the thngs we run to the vet about are harmless to the dog but scare the life out of the human. So, he never has laughed at me or treated anything that I have taken my animals in for as trivial.


So true! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful vet. She loves my babies, and actually lives across the street from me, so we see her out on walks and such! Lots of times I have called the office after it's "closed", she sees my number and picks up.


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## Gizmo'sMom (Jul 9, 2010)

That's horrible, who cares where you got what, vets are suppose to solve the issue  I like my vet, I drive him crazy but he says he doesn't mind  (First time puppy owner I tend to bring her in with questions a lot)


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## michi715 (Apr 8, 2008)

Ugh! I must say that I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my dogs' health and I would never tolerate such a response from a vet!!

We pay an awful lot for our vet, but she's wonderful with our dogs!


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

SMARTY said:


> Krimsin, I do hope Sully is much better and has no lasting effects from the tick bite. We live in an area of the Country with ticks and our property is covered with trees and deer. Our girls are on Frontline Plus and we still have pulled several ticks off them, most were very small.
> 
> If any vet's staff gave me that attitude when my dog was sick I'd make sure the vet(s) in that office knew what had been said and that it had cost them a client. I did hear one vet say if you want prescriptions to order medications then call that place when you have an emergency. I would never use that vet but it did make me think how good my vet has always been to meet me day, night or weekends.
> 
> Friday my new little rescue had to have an eye rechecked so I took her back to the vet that had been treating her at the shelter. This was the first time ever I saw posted on the door of the exam room a notice that in GA a vet must give prescriptions when requested. It stated also that the vet was not liable for the quality of any medications from any source other than their office (and lots of other disclaimer and warning stuff).


Not only that Sandy, but in GA, at least in my area, if you have not gotten all the medication, shots, etc., from the vet, or have records from another vet, you cannot board your dog at the vets, or take him in for surgery unless they re-do those things and run tests..Think about heartworm. If you are buying the preventative from another source, nope..the vet will check to see if the dog is negative. I guess I can see their points in someways, but like everything else the prices at the vet have gone up 3 times more than they were 2 years ago. What I buy from the vet is not working, Comfortis, and the tick preventative..about 2 weeks after comfortis, Bailey has little fleas, he is on a wood floor, not carpet, but we walk along wooded ares..


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

michi715 said:


> Ugh! I must say that I'm a hypochondriac when it comes to my dogs' health and I would never tolerate such a response from a vet!!
> 
> We pay an awful lot for our vet, but she's wonderful with our dogs!


If you ask your vet what their policies are I think you will find out they will react the same to that same situation. Call and talk, you will be surprised I think


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## Gizmo'sMom (Jul 9, 2010)

That sounds odd, it's not like you are expecting them to refund you something. I would think if a dog is having an issue no matter what you did the vet would take care of it. Seems like mine does. Guess I hit it lucky


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

The problem is that there are so many counterfeit pet medications sold online. Some of them are stolen, some are totally fake and some cause reactions. By buying the medications from your veterinarian, you are demanding s/he be responsible for the medications they have provided you straight from the manufacturer - and they have recourse with the manufacturer if there is a problem. Yes, it is nice if they can help you and they should - afterall, they aren't doing it for free, but the big problem is that they really don't know what they are dealing with either - who knows what was in that vial you put on your dog. If they have further complications due to the vet's treatment, the client gets angry at the vet for not fixing it, so it's a lose-lose situation.

This analogy doesn't fit as well as I'd like, but it's the only comparison that comes to mind at the moment. Think of banking. If you take money to the bank and the teller determines it is counterfeit, they are not going to fix it. It is your loss. You have to go back to the source of those bills to rectify it. The problem is that most non-veterinary clinics that sell these medications will not fix the problem. They are strictly turning over product for money.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Kimberly I agree about the fake meds. That is why I refuse to buy them online from anyone--even the one advertized by "Betty White". But still I think that any Vet would treat a dog for a tick bite even though the meds didn't come from him. After all, he is supposed to treat sick animals within his area of expertize. Many years ago, I had a dog get hit by a car. My Vet was on vacation so we took the dog to another one here in town. I had never gone anywhere else with my animals. The other vet treated my dog. But I never went back to him and my Vet did the follow-up care.

But that being said, our former family Doctor, kicked all of my family out of his practice because I took my Mother to a neurosurgen without asking his permission. Mother had brain surgery the next day. I always figured that the family Doctor was afraid that we would sue him for malpractice. Anyway, it was hard to find another family practioner that would take all of us as many limit their practice.


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## Krimmyk (Dec 7, 2006)

Flynn Gentry-Taylor said:


> If you ask your vet what their policies are I think you will find out they will react the same to that same situation. Call and talk, you will be surprised I think


I did follow up the next day and refused to get off the phone until the head vet took my call. I was still livid. He said it shouldn''t have mattered where the flea and tick came from, if Sully was sick, she should have said come in, not hang up on me. I had to deal with the same lady today in person. I tried so hard to be nice. It was not easy. We have something called Pet Portal, a health record you and your vet can access from any computer. So they darn well knew that he was on Advantix. She was just being (is) a crotchety hag, who needs to learn customer service is what will retain her job. She rides on the coattails of the fabulous vets they have at the facility.


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