Juniper
If you’re a pet owner and you have a vet you’re really satisfied with, you’d never have a headache like me. From my experience of vets in KL, I want to stop having pets. There was this vet I featured last year who didn’t have the courtesy to inform me that my appointment to get a stray cat spayed was cancelled. As a result, I was stressed and the cat was even more stressed when I got to the vet and the clinic was closed. Worst thing is that vet was so unprofessional that even after I messaged her, there was no reply, let alone an apology.
Just after the MCO was imposed in March, my Juliet dog’s congestive heart failure became more acute leading to more coughing and difficulty breathing. I went to my regular vet for advise only to be faced with a dead end as he didn’t have any more medication that could be given. He advised me to get the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® to use with a metered dose inhaler so that my dog could breathe slightly better. Bought that but too bad it didn’t really help, dog was still breathless and coughing badly.
I was at my wit’s end so brought the dog to another vet for a second opinion beginning of September. That vet talked for 45 minutes, recommended blood test, ECG, x-ray, everything that would further stress the dog and my budget. After all that, he didn’t prescribe any medication.
Almost wanted to get the dog put down so I went to another vet and incidentally it was the first vet I brought Juliet to when I bought her from a squalid condition pet shop 16 long years ago. They still had her records/registration card. This clinic is manned by very young vets (all under 30). I asked one of them about euthanasia and was given details about the arrangement. Then I went home, looked at my dog who is still eating and drinking heartily despite her suffering and decided I couldn’t put her down yet.
On the same day, I went back to that vet and made an appointment to see the vet the day after since the vet said the next day was his day off. He asked whether I would like some medication for Juliet to which I gladly accepted. He gave 3 Pimobendan tablets and 3 doses of Bronchocardiac. I knew that these doses wouldn’t make much of an improvement to Juliet’s condition.
On Friday (yesterday) morning, I brought Juliet to the clinic and another young vet examined her with a stethoscope. At least she didn’t insist on a blood test, ECG, x-ray before prescribing meds. My poor dog was coughing badly at the clinic and feeling uncomfortable. It’s so distressing to see your beloved pet like that and you wish you could end her suffering there and then. However I can’t give up yet unless after taking the additional meds, she still can’t improve.
It isn’t easy finding a vet who has empathy and the right meds to help your pet. I think the main reason why pet owners find it so prohibitive to bring their pets to the vet is the cost of treatment. The cost can go on for months or in my case, for years. However if you truly treat your pet as a family member, then you have to seek treatment for your pet especially if you know your pet is suffering every day. If Juliet still can’t breathe properly and her coughing/breathing remains laboured, then I have no choice but to consider what I dread the most and something which no pet owner wants to do.
