Has anyone ever called a vet to make an appointment for euthanizing their very old and wonderful but suffering pet, only to be told that they would have to have a rabies vaccination first because the pet was 6 months overdue for the shot? I only ask because this is the conversation I just had on the phone about my cat, who is indoors only by the way and is one of their existing patients. When I said that doing such a thing didn't make any sense, she told me that it is "the law." Huh?

Yes, yes, I know some of you think I should let nature take its course, which might happen this weekend anyway as I wait for another, more reputable vet to be open on Monday.

3/13/2010 7:53:58 PM

fuck them. go to a real vet.

3/13/2010 7:54:41 PM

that is interesting. i'd be interested in hearing from any reputable tww authorities on this subject.

3/13/2010 8:02:25 PM

^^that's the plan.

3/13/2010 8:26:04 PM

Banfield is the Wal-mart of Vets. It's all about the money. They do so many unnecessary things to your pets and most people just fork over the money because they don't know any better.

3/13/2010 8:58:26 PM

People who say let nature take its course are pure idiots. By simply adopting a pet and bringing it into your house you have already interfered with nature. You have pampered your pet in an unnatural environment, got it used to not having to earn its own food, given it climatized shelter when it otherwise would have none, and provided medicines it would have otherwise not had. By keeping your pet alive (ie not getting it put to sleep) you are torturing the poor thing, because nature would already have taken its course and it should (and would) have been dead months ago. Keeping a pet alive like that is pure selfishness by the owners, yet most of them rationalize it as if they are doing the pet a favor when in reality they are doing it because they can't let the pet go.

I am sorry I kind of got off on a tangent but this topic really pisses me off. I am happy to see you are doing the smart and humane thing.

3/13/2010 9:19:31 PM

^ya know. i never thought of it that way. hmmmm

3/13/2010 9:20:30 PM

fuck them. go to a real vet.

http://www.vshcarolinas.com/
They're good and they're open 24/7.

3/13/2010 9:46:16 PM

It is the law that your pet be kept up to date with their rabies shot and vets will not board your animal unless they're up to date with all of their shots. However, it makes absolutely no sense to vaccinate an animal that is going to be immediately put to sleep.

From my experience, a reputable vet will treat an ailing animal with kindness without regard to its previous history. I had an old cat that had belonged to my mother that I did not have records for because the cat had previously resided with my mom in another town. The cat became very ill and I took it to a local veterinarian. The vet was perfectly willing to treat the sick cat without his records or (re)vaccinating the cat. Treatment ended up not being an option and the vet put our cat down. It was a very difficult experience and I'm glad that we did not have to deal with the difficulty you're getting at Banfield.

3/13/2010 9:48:16 PM

^^We took our dog to the one on Tryon Rd when he had serious health problems, and I agree that the care there seemed excellent. Mr. Geriatic Kitty here ate some dinner and seems to be doing a little better tonight in terms of his mood even though he pretty much has no bladder control left, so I'll wait until Monday unless he takes a dramatic turn for the worse.

The more I think about this bizarre phone conversation today, the more I find it unbelievable. I will certainly never take another pet to Banfield, and in fact I stopped taking him there for his care there last year when he started to have some real health problems and I didn't sense general competence from the vets there. Our new "real" vet mentioned that his rabies was due (last shot was near the end of 2006) but felt that he was failing healthwise (kidneys and liver) due to his age and therefore was not in good shape for vaccination. So, they kind of discouraged us from getting him the shot, and now it's just weird to call Banfield (where he got his 2006 rabies shot) and be told they'd have to give him a shot before they put him to sleep today. Mind boggling. I definitely will not be taking my other cat there ever again.

Is there any "vet" medical board where you can bring complaints? I know there is such a place to lodge complaints against physicians.

[Edited on March 13, 2010 at 10:19 PM. Reason : .]

3/13/2010 10:17:12 PM

did you just talk to one person on the phone there? I would have asked to speak to a supervisor.

3/13/2010 10:24:33 PM

I agree with FeebleMinded and everyone who says screw Banfield.

3/14/2010 9:21:39 AM

i used banfield for 3 years and never had a problem...i never had to do anything outside of the regular shot schedule and their monthly plan came out cheaper than any other vet in the area

the raleigh/cary area is so ridiculously overpriced it's not even funny...my fiancée's hometown vet is in carthage and so we make the drive down there when our dogs need their shots or a checkup...the price is 25% what it is around here and i love the vet...i had some small surgery for my dog that was done for less than $100 where i was quoted $500-750 EVERYWHERE around this area

screw ALL vets in raleigh/cary

3/14/2010 10:02:10 AM

Holy cow, I'd be pretty mad if my vet told me that (were they at least nice about it?). I don't see how that's the case. What if there's a traumatic injury, does the vet wait to check up on all the animal's shots before they put it down? If it turns out that your cat will have to get a rabies shot first then go ahead and do it, but I would DEFINITELY take it to a more sensitive and understanding vet then Banfield. Pretty much anywhere else.

3/14/2010 10:10:42 AM

I took a cat to be put to sleep at Swift Creek Vet a few years ago. They had never seen her before and didn't ask any questions about history, records, etc.

It was a lot sadder than I thought it would be



I couldn't imagine walking out of PetSmart with a dead animal.

3/14/2010 10:53:36 AM

I don't know much about Banfield. However, what the receptionist is required to tell you, (as rabies is governed by law) and what the Vet will actually do for you, are likely to be two different things once you get there. Vets don't really have a lot of say when it comes to Rabies because it is under control by the State. However once you are in the exam room they are more likely to work around this, than just a conversation over the phone.

3/14/2010 12:41:46 PM

for complaints: http://www.ncvmb.org/


and as with others...never take a pet to banfield. the doctors there aren't required to think as they just use a computer program that you plug things into to get an answer (i.e. if the pet is vomiting they put that in and it pulls up a list of possible diagnoses, etc). their vaccination policies are ridiculous, and being corporate medicine they only care about the buck. /end rant.

3/14/2010 1:20:01 PM

^thank you for that link.

Quote :

"screw ALL vets in raleigh/cary"

I agree that the prices around here have escalated tremendously even in the past 5 years. I understand that it takes a lot of time and money to become a DVM, though.

3/14/2010 5:45:48 PM

Quote :

"I understand that it takes a lot of time and money to become a DVM, though."

That doesn't explain price discrepancies between Wake County and just one county over.

3/14/2010 7:57:41 PM

Quote :

"I understand that it takes a lot of time and money to become a DVM, though."

Quote :

"That doesn't explain price discrepancies between Wake County and just one county over."

true...i assume the discrepancy has mostly to do with the cost of running the business in this area versus podunk, and the level of competition here

i'm sure a fair amount of it also has to do with the fact that they know they can charge more here since the average income is higher

3/14/2010 8:28:58 PM

Quote :

"i'm sure a fair amount of it also has to do with the fact that they know they can charge more here since the average income is higher"

this

though i'd have to say

Quote :

"and the level of competition here"

is usually a good price dampener.. either way, i've been taking my dog to Banfield for several months now.. they push services and such but i've otherwise not had any real problems with them.. the only time they pissed me off was that they had me drop him off one day and i didn't know what they were going to charge me, but in all honesty my ignorance was my fault on that one

3/14/2010 8:37:59 PM

Quote :

"they had me drop him off one day and i didn't know what they were going to charge me"

I worked at an animal hospital that did not charge for drop-offs as long as the client picked their pet up the same day. VSH never charged me to drop off my dog and she would be there from like 6:30 am until about 6:00 pm. Brentwood has never charged me for drop off either. It makes it very easy for the vet because they can "work in" your pet. Unless it's a holiday when their kennels are full they shouldn't or at the very least let you know ahead of time, especially since they require that you pay when you pick up.

3/14/2010 8:48:12 PM