I've got a chip on my shoulder about vets though. Keep in mind I was raised in the country. There is just a different attitude about dogs in the country. More utilitarian maybe. For years, I went to the feed store, bought a 7 in 1 puppy vaccine, and wormers and treated my own dog to everything but rabies. Thanks to my govt that one has to be registered. Usually spent under $10 on the vaccine and wormer pills. (Dogs breath would smell like gasoline.) My neighbor recently spent $5K recently on hip surgery for her 12 year old Husky (in the south). Um. That dog only lived one more year. No me. Asprin till its too much and you look miserable, then time to do the right thing and put the dog down. Lady made it 12 years, which is great for a Boxer. When it was her time, I called around. $130 to put her down and dispose of the body everywhere but at my vet. $30 at my vet. The drawback, and the reason for the calls is that at my vet, you have to wait. No appointments. Also, no new clients for over 7 years. Packed, but fair. Of course, I walked into the place, obviously tore up, and they let me back without the wait. I was glad. Its harder to loose dogs than people sometimes.
You go to the vet. They force a heartworm check on you. Then, if your dog has heartworms, what gets prescribed? The damn pills that prevent and treat heartworms. Whats the exam for?
Don't even get me started on boarding dogs at the vet.
