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Choosing the Best Veterinarian for Your Family? Consider the Vet’s Philosophy

April 20th, 2016 by Cherished Companions Animal Clinic

An adorable labradoodle puppy sits in a red wagon.

When choosing the best veterinarian for your family, ask about the vet’s philosophy for providing care.

It can play a huge role in shaping the experience that you and your furry friend have at the veterinarian.

We’d like to share a story we recently heard from Lillie, a first-time puppy parent.

Lillie was about to get a new puppy: a labradoodle!

To find a good veterinarian, she did what a lot of people do:

  • She asked her neighbors for vet recommendations.
  • She visited each of the vet’s websites.

Ultimately, she decided on a local veterinary clinic because it had a lot of positive reviews online. The clinic was within a few minutes of her house. And it looked modern in the photos.

Excited and nervous, Lillie picked up her puppy from the breeder.

As part of the breeder’s agreement, Lillie’s new puppy had to visit a vet for a wellness exam to make sure the puppy was healthy.

The breeder’s veterinarian had completed the pup’s first set of shots.

This visit was simply supposed to be a checkup.

That’s when things got… complicated.

Lillie had all her puppy’s vaccination paperwork.

However, the veterinary clinic called into question what had been done.

They told her the puppy was missing a rare shot.

They needed to re-vaccinate the puppy with the entire first set of shots again.

When Lillie got home and did a little research, she learned that the rare vaccination is almost never given in Colorado.

She called the veterinary clinic back to ask about it.

They told her, in their experience, breeders often don’t vaccinate properly, so they decided to give the dog the first set of vaccinations again.

Lillie was upset…

The veterinarian hadn’t asked her questions.

They’d made assumptions that her breeder wasn’t reputable. (Not the case!)

And she felt like she’d been misled.

Her puppy had been given shots unnecessarily, and the visit ended up costing significantly more than was initially quoted.

That was Lillie’s first and last trip to this veterinarian.

And all of this brings us back to philosophy.

When choosing a veterinarian, recommendations from neighbors, online reviews and photos are useful.

But it’s also important to explore the veterinary clinic’s philosophy.

  • Does the clinic treat each animal as a unique individual? Or, do they tend to generalize — treating every dog and every cat the same?
  • Does the clinic tailor health recommendations to your pet? Or, do they tend to recommend one-size-fits-all treatment plans?
  • Does the clinic ask questions and listen to you as the pet parent? Or, do they make assumptions?
  • Does the clinic run targeted diagnostic tests based on your pet’s symptoms? Or do they have to run all diagnostic tests — regardless of your pet’s symptoms — because it’s their policy?

At Cherished Companions, we don’t believe that “one size fits all.”

We believe you and your furry friend deserve personal care that makes sense for your pet family.

We aren’t the right fit for every family, but that’s the beauty of asking about your veterinarian’s care philosophy.

You can find what’s right for you!

Looking for the best Castle Rock veterinarian for your family?

We welcome new patients, and we’re happy to share more about our philosophy.

Call us at 303-688-3757 or:

Book your visit here

Cherished Companions Animal Clinic is a veterinary clinic in Castle Rock, Colorado. Specializing in the care of cats and dogs, our goal is to help you and your pet feel more comfortable, keeping your stress to a minimum.

© 2016, Cherished Companions Animal Clinic

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