Everyone...

I had a rather bad experience with the oncologist I am (was) using and thought I'd pass it on. I have noticed that the veterinarian community here in Los Angeles can be very jealous, bitter and back-stabbing. It has been a very alarming and disquieting experience. I may some where on this forum mentioned about the several mis-diagnosis of my regular vet's, which was bad enough.

Then recently last week, my oncologist told me I was asking too many questions, more than most people and I said I don't have a problem with that, you said questions are welcome and how else am I to make decisions? And she said she had a problem with it, as it took away time from her other clients (?) and I did it more than everyone else. (There will always be people that ask more questions than others....I'm sure when she was treating my dog she had questions from other clients, but that was never mentioned. And most of the time I asked to speak to the techs anyway). But if I wanted to ask her questions personally, I had to sign up on her schedule and I would be charged a fee. I said fine. But when she walked in to the appt. the first thing she said was "I don't have much time" . And I said, "yes but I have an appt and am paying you money and time was set aside specifically for this". This happened twice. She didn't like that I spoke out.

Well, needless to say, I was shocked. The questions were important, like the amount of times my dog was throwing up seemed excessive and how to balance the 2 different meds she gave me for this, so as to not overdose him; what to do about an extremely high temperature; what to do if he's peeing in his bed when he never did before. You know, things you are learning about. I am a very detailed person and am only doing this for my pet.

She basically told me she could refer me to another oncologists if I preferred. To me this meant 'you aren't welcome here'. I said but then I'd have to start all over with high initial fees, etc, and she said yes, that's right. I can't tell you how dismayed I was,- I was speechless and decided to bite my tongue for the reasons to follow.

Now, mind you, all the techs and office personnel said call anytime you have questions...this was said many times to me. It's even in the letter from the oncology dept. that explains the procedures, etc, that I am a very important part of the treatment plan, etc. and ask away.

I felt very shamed and angry, as her words said one thing and her body language another. I was going to report her to the owner, the surgeon who operated on my dog, but since I'm close to this clinic, the nearest other one being over 25 mi. one way and I was considering the 2 hrs. driving stress on my dog, as he doesn't do well in the car for long distances and it's so hot, etc., that it was too much in one day. And this clinic is the nearest and most specialized emergency clinic around, I didn't want to burn any bridges.

I am having a phone consult with another clinic, one that only works with cancer, as the Dr. will have all the reports, I can at least see if she concurs with the protocol set up. And I may switch. But this isn't going to be free.

It is very hard not to report this Dr. And I will eventually, maybe when Buster is gone. I spoke with another client while waiting for treatment, and he didn't like her bedside manner either, so I know it's not just me. She has a real problem. As I have a new regular, holistic vet, I told her what happened she said she also had had a professional problem with her too, so it seems the oncologist is really threatened maybe thinking I was questioning her, instead of getting information.

A friend of mine said maybe some vets go into that business because they can relate to animals better than people but don't realize that once they get into business, dealing with distraught owners requires good people skills. Ironic. Drs don't realize there are a lot of forums out there that discuss the quality of their services in a very open way. 

One would think that in a large metropolitan area such as Los Angeles, one could find many good vets. But it has been difficult to find competency. 

Thanks for listening to this long diatribe..it was just very disappointing along with all the other stresses involved.