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Now
Hear This!
Clients
Speak Their Minds...
Clients
Speak Their Minds - Part II
The Veterinarian/Client relationship is a unique one in the field of medicine.
Not only does the pet owner need to trust and relate to the attending
doctor, the pet does too!
Pet owners
choose
Veterinarians in a variety of ways -- the most common way being a
personal recommendation from a friend, family member, or current client.
Other people select a Veterinarian based on location, clinic facilities/equipment,
hours of operation, boarding availability, cool phone book ad, and the
like.
This article
is the second in a series aimed at opening up line of communication between
Veterinarians and clients to facilitate better understanding and increased
awareness. The first article in the series
appeared in July of 1999. We revisit this topic again
in 2001, also adding in comments from veterinary staff regarding their
feelings about clients.
This week,
Ingrid Gordon answers the question:
what has my vet done that was exceptional?
My husband
had let our cat GC outside and gone to do some errands. When he returned
he discovered that we our firewood had been delivered and that GC was
lying on the ground in obvious distress, short of breath and foaming
at the mouth and unable to move her hind legs. Fearing she had been
hit by the wood he rushed her to Dr. Erdman's clinic which was about
a half mile away. She performed a thoracocentesis and got foam, not
blood and determined that this was not trauma but most likely pulmonary
edema. She told Paul that he needed to take her to the Dove Lewis emergency
hospital (which is downtown) for the specialized care she needed. My
husband was totally in shock - this was his 14 year old kitty - and
it was obvious that he was in no condition to drive, nor did he know
where the facility was. Dr. Erdman put my husband and GC in her car
and drove them there. Unfortunately GC had thrown a blood clot and was
diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy/CHF
and we were unable to save her.
Dr. Erdman
was also incredible supportive when my beloved 18+ year old cat Jeremy
was in end stage renal failure and came to my house to euthanize him
to spare him (and me) any further trauma.
Dr. Erdman
has since moved her practice and is now a 20-30 minute ride away (which
seems much longer with 5 howling cats in the car) but we will continue
to make the drive as she is worth it.
Ingrid
Gordon and the 5 fabulous felines
Vet is Dr. Lynn Erdman
Groves Lake Oswego Vet Clinic
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Thank you
to Ingrid for letting me share her story.
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