RANT HERE thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Virginia Medical Board, thank you for being SO helpful.......ARRGHHHH:mad::bang:

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Mini rant but the frame on my glasses broke. I have no idea how or when because they're like the thick plastic black frames but now my one lens is just barely hanging in there and the break is right on my nose so its irritating me. Just a constant annoyance today and frustrating.
 
heartworm prevention, people.

so your very sweet, very pitiful, barely able to breathe dog doesn't end up dead in our ER at 1am, heart full of worms.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Boyfriend decides he probably won't buy a house now because the cost freaks him out. Boyfriend then calls me later and asks if I want to go on a week-long cruise for spring break. o_O


The cruise part isn't a rant...:p
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I'm so over passive aggressiveness and the pettiness in the back rooms of veterinary clinics. I've noticed that it exists in practically all work places where more than 5 people are working together at the same time. Here's my story:

I started working at a new clinic 4 months ago. The owner has a dog that is dog aggressive and poorly behaved, but he brings the dog to work with him every day and has assistants take the dog to work with them when he is away and they are dog-sitting for him. In any case, he goes out of town for 2 weeks and comes back this past Wednesday. While he was away the assistants and receptionists were especially catty, using their cellphones more, talking more unprofessionally, and generally "acting up" more around myself and the other associate. Sometimes they would talk back to me about doing something for a case and one time an assistant refused to get something I asked of her because "there was no time left and she had to leave work" right when we are scheduled to close despite us not having finished the last appointment. I tried my best to get them to keep their voices down, use their cellphones less, and stay focused on work. I believe they are used to getting away with a lot of bad behavior because overall they get the job done well and we're always busy so business is good.

So, today I get a text message from the owner because he is upset that I put his dog in a cage (he is working today; I am off). This happened over a month ago that I put the dog in a cage while dealing with another aggressive dog during an appointment. The assistants had told me that his dog was worse in cages and would urinate/defecate out of anxiety, so we took him out and I never put him in a cage again. My suspicion is that someone told him this out of retaliation for me being stricter with them while he was away. Out of all the places I have worked, this clinic is my favorite due to the clients, staff and supportive environment, but it is also the least professional work place I have ever experienced.

Phew, I feel much better venting this out!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I'm so over passive aggressiveness and the pettiness in the back rooms of veterinary clinics. I've noticed that it exists in practically all work places where more than 5 people are working together at the same time. Here's my story:

I started working at a new clinic 4 months ago. The owner has a dog that is dog aggressive and poorly behaved, but he brings the dog to work with him every day and has assistants take the dog to work with them when he is away and they are dog-sitting for him. In any case, he goes out of town for 2 weeks and comes back this past Wednesday. While he was away the assistants and receptionists were especially catty, using their cellphones more, talking more unprofessionally, and generally "acting up" more around myself and the other associate. Sometimes they would talk back to me about doing something for a case and one time an assistant refused to get something I asked of her because "there was no time left and she had to leave work" right when we are scheduled to close despite us not having finished the last appointment. I tried my best to get them to keep their voices down, use their cellphones less, and stay focused on work. I believe they are used to getting away with a lot of bad behavior because overall they get the job done well and we're always busy so business is good.

So, today I get a text message from the owner because he is upset that I put his dog in a cage (he is working today; I am off). This happened over a month ago that I put the dog in a cage while dealing with another aggressive dog during an appointment. The assistants had told me that his dog was worse in cages and would urinate/defecate out of anxiety, so we took him out and I never put him in a cage again. My suspicion is that someone told him this out of retaliation for me being stricter with them while he was away. Out of all the places I have worked, this clinic is my favorite due to the clients, staff and supportive environment, but it is also the least professional work place I have ever experienced.

Phew, I feel much better venting this out!
Where is the dog normally at all day if not in a cage? It doesn't seem very safe to have an aggressive dog loose in the clinic.
 
Started filling out my taxes, but it looks like I'm going to owe over $800 between the federal and state this year. :( This was my first time attempting to file them on my own online, so I quit in hopes I did something wrong and I'm going to have my parents get them done by a professional. Sadly, I probably really do owe that much. I can afford it, but I also just spent $140 on a new battery for my car today. Grumble.

ETA: Oh, and after replacing my battery, turns out Honda has some anti-theft feature that requires me to put in a code for the radio to work. There's supposed to be a little card or sticker in the glovebox with said code, but it's nowhere to be found. My car has been broken into and my glovebox rifled through twice (perks of living downtown...), so there's a good chance that got stolen or just lost at some point. There's a website to look up your code, but it requires the serial number from the radio, which I also don't have and couldn't get to come up on the radio with the instructions online. :sour: I know it's rather trivial to have to go without the radio temporarily, and I'm off work Monday morning so I can go to the dealership to hopefully get it sorted out, but it's annoying. I'm one of those people who NEVER drives with the radio off.
 
Last edited:
Where is the dog normally at all day if not in a cage? It doesn't seem very safe to have an aggressive dog loose in the clinic.

We have baby gates separating the very back of the clinic where the dental suite, radiology room, dental table, and OR are located. In front of there is the treatment area and pharmacy. The dog usually hangs out in the way back until he whines so much that we let him out to roam in the treatment area as well. When clients have dogs coming in, he goes in the way back behind a baby gate and if we have to get to radiology, he gets put in another room, like the OR. This shuffle happens about 20 times a day. If we have a cat or little dog coming into the treatment area, we can carry them to a treatment table and the dog won't go after them up there.
 
We have baby gates separating the very back of the clinic where the dental suite, radiology room, dental table, and OR are located. In front of there is the treatment area and pharmacy. The dog usually hangs out in the way back until he whines so much that we let him out to roam in the treatment area as well. When clients have dogs coming in, he goes in the way back behind a baby gate and if we have to get to radiology, he gets put in another room, like the OR. This shuffle happens about 20 times a day. If we have a cat or little dog coming into the treatment area, we can carry them to a treatment table and the dog won't go after them up there.

Sounds like a giant liability having an aggressive dog roaming around. I know it isn't you, I just feel bad for you being in the given situation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
We have baby gates separating the very back of the clinic where the dental suite, radiology room, dental table, and OR are located. In front of there is the treatment area and pharmacy. The dog usually hangs out in the way back until he whines so much that we let him out to roam in the treatment area as well. When clients have dogs coming in, he goes in the way back behind a baby gate and if we have to get to radiology, he gets put in another room, like the OR. This shuffle happens about 20 times a day. If we have a cat or little dog coming into the treatment area, we can carry them to a treatment table and the dog won't go after them up there.
How often does the dog get toes stepped on, or people tripping over him? Sounds like the owner is just plain foolish, even if the dog wasn't aggressive.
 
How often does the dog get toes stepped on, or people tripping over him? Sounds like the owner is just plain foolish, even if the dog wasn't aggressive.

It's a nuisance and inconvenience. The dog gets in the way a lot but I get to bring my dog with me on some days (although he usually hangs out in the office because I don't want him to get bit by the other dog) and I'm fairly new so I can't really do anything about it. When I tried putting the other dog in the office, I was told that it does terribly when confined and would destroy the room trying to get out, so we accommodate to the owner's dog's needs. Not the way I would run things, but not my clinic.

I've calmed down a lot since earlier today when I was seething mad because I've been very lucky not to have gotten into any workplace drama for as long as I have despite the tremendous amount of gossip at this place. I'm just going to be more careful about who might have a grudge or whatever and be quiet and do my job. I tried to address it before but haven't really been heard. Other than this, the job has been great and I love my hours, the clients, and most of the staff. No workplace is perfect, but I was naive and in a bit of a honeymoon period here so I didn't see this hiccup coming.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Got woken up at 2:30 last night by our downstairs neighbors blasting '80s music. Specifically I was woken up by "Xanadu." Ugh. My boyfriend called the cops on them, and they did quiet down after the officer came by, so that was nice. But then it took me probably an hour to fall back asleep, and I had to wake up at 5:45 to be at work at 6:45 for an 8-hour shift. Awesome. :mad:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Housing search.....o_O Trying to find a place that is on the bus route so my boyfriend can get to the hospital....is turning out to be pretty difficult. And I really don't want to live in an apartment (mostly for reasons stated by @LyraGardenia), so that's complicating the matter further...
 
Headed to Children's in the blizzard... yeah....:confused:

I'm more likely to update Facebook than here until this is done (for the family) but I'll let you know when it's over if we can fix her or what all happened in the OR.

I'm dreading them not finding anything. I want some freaking sleep sometime this century! And I want her to breath. And this new (very minor) Brady isn't cool either.

I'm so done adulting for a bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Headed to Children's in the blizzard... yeah....:confused:

I'm more likely to update Facebook than here until this is done (for the family) but I'll let you know when it's over if we can fix her or what all happened in the OR.

I'm dreading them not finding anything. I want some freaking sleep sometime this century! And I want her to breath. And this new (very minor) Brady isn't cool either.

I'm so done adulting for a bit.
I'll be keeping you in my thoughts, hope everything goes well :xf:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
She has several spots she is potentially obstructing in her upper airway. They attempted minor repairs on 2 of them and are hoping they offer significant improvement. She did scare the living **** out of them once they got her to sleep with how poorly she breathed once out.

So far it looks like she is snoring less and has less strider, minor wheezing and has mostly kept herself above 90% sat on room air. The test is once she's in deep sleep. To see if her sats plummet like normal into the low 80s and 70s.

Fingers crossed. She'll still need CPAP and likely will need another surgery or several... but if this is a significant improvement, we still win.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
I'm dreading them not finding anything. I want some freaking sleep sometime this century! And I want her to breath. And this new (very minor) Brady isn't cool either.
This is the most frustrating thing. Mostly because doctors in human med lean heavily on tests (I have found)
 
Comment on a video of a cat having a sneezing fit.

"My cat used to do this all the time. It turned out that it was being caused by a tumor in her nasal passage that caused her to have a stroke. We had to put her down."

*Insert responses to this comment by several kitty owners panicking about their sneezing cats*

Guy responds to worried owners: "It's probably an upper respiratory infection. I've heard feline herpes causes an unrestrained sneezing attack. Buy some antibiotics off of Amazon and see if that helps or just take him to vet and pay more for the antibiotics. Just do the research online for something that vets use and buy it."

Why am I even getting this degree if people already know how to treat sick animals? I wish someone would have told me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Comment on a video of a cat having a sneezing fit.

"My cat used to do this all the time. It turned out that it was being caused by a tumor in her nasal passage that caused her to have a stroke. We had to put her down."

*Insert responses to this comment by several kitty owners panicking about their sneezing cats*

Guy responds to worried owners: "It's probably an upper respiratory infection. I've heard feline herpes causes an unrestrained sneezing attack. Buy some antibiotics off of Amazon and see if that helps or just take him to vet and pay more for the antibiotics. Just do the research online for something that vets use and buy it."

Why am I even getting this degree if people already know how to treat sick animals? I wish someone would have told me.

Saw a similar post yesterday on a cat Facebook page my friend added me to. "[Cat's name] is feeling a bit under the weather today... Decided to give him 9cc's of kitty antibiotics (azithromycin) and 30 cc's of fluids..." I was like, why do you just have azithromycin lying around your house? Did you not finish an antibiotic protocol in the past? And can we not be giving antibiotics left and right just because we feel like it? Resistance is becoming a very real and scary thing... Ugh.
 
Saw a similar post yesterday on a cat Facebook page my friend added me to. "[Cat's name] is feeling a bit under the weather today... Decided to give him 9cc's of kitty antibiotics (azithromycin) and 30 cc's of fluids..." I was like, why do you just have azithromycin lying around your house? Did you not finish an antibiotic protocol in the past? And can we not be giving antibiotics left and right just because we feel like it? Resistance is becoming a very real and scary thing... Ugh.
Like, SQ fluids? Do they also have fluid bags lying around? Or did they give them orally? So many questions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Saw a similar post yesterday on a cat Facebook page my friend added me to. "[Cat's name] is feeling a bit under the weather today... Decided to give him 9cc's of kitty antibiotics (azithromycin) and 30 cc's of fluids..." I was like, why do you just have azithromycin lying around your house? Did you not finish an antibiotic protocol in the past? And can we not be giving antibiotics left and right just because we feel like it? Resistance is becoming a very real and scary thing... Ugh.

I might be calculating things wrong and without knowing cat's weight or the concentration of azithromycin she has... that seems like one hell of a dose for a cat. Estimating that an average adult cat is ~10 pounds and looking at veterinary azithromycin on the internet to see that there are concentrations of 100mg/5mL or 200mg/5mL.... with a 10mg/kg dosing (a range of 5-10mg/kg)... 10 pound kitty needs 45mg... 9mLs of the lower concentration is 180mg... or 40mg/kg.... 4x the dose...... That is assuming quite a few things, but yup, just goes to show how easily lay people can really feck things up for their animals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Like, SQ fluids? Do they also have fluid bags lying around? Or did they give them orally? So many questions.

I googled "buy iv fluids" and the very first hit was for some site that would sell me NaCl 0.9% and an iv administration set for $11.

Trivial to get.

You would be surprised how many clients give fluids to their cat without veterinary guidance (as opposed to all the renal cats being given fluids at home as directed by their vet - totally different). I see it quite regularly. The only thing that always surprises me is how open they are about it - it clearly isn't some 'sneaky' thing....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I googled "buy iv fluids" and the very first hit was for some site that would sell me NaCl 0.9% and an iv administration set for $11.

Trivial to get.

You would be surprised how many clients give fluids to their cat without veterinary guidance (as opposed to all the renal cats being given fluids at home as directed by their vet - totally different). I see it quite regularly. The only thing that always surprises me is how open they are about it - it clearly isn't some 'sneaky' thing....

Yeah, the fluids actually doesn't surprise me... the 30cc is like... meh, ok, if your cat is actually dehydrated that really probably didn't do anything. If it wasn't dehydrated was really probably was no harm, just no help either.
 
I googled "buy iv fluids" and the very first hit was for some site that would sell me NaCl 0.9% and an iv administration set for $11.

Trivial to get.

You would be surprised how many clients give fluids to their cat without veterinary guidance (as opposed to all the renal cats being given fluids at home as directed by their vet - totally different). I see it quite regularly. The only thing that always surprises me is how open they are about it - it clearly isn't some 'sneaky' thing....
It costs me $6.70 per bag of fluids. Not including the lines and needles. fluid admin sets usually run like $1-2. so...yeah. $11 is dirt cheap with very little margin. Makes me wonder if they are quick-dated
 
I googled "buy iv fluids" and the very first hit was for some site that would sell me NaCl 0.9% and an iv administration set for $11.

Trivial to get.

You would be surprised how many clients give fluids to their cat without veterinary guidance (as opposed to all the renal cats being given fluids at home as directed by their vet - totally different). I see it quite regularly. The only thing that always surprises me is how open they are about it - it clearly isn't some 'sneaky' thing....
Craziness. I'd be surprised if the clientele I've worked with did that but you never know. Better hope kitty isn't "under the weather " because of heart failure. Or something? Idk, someone take the cardio portion of my midterm for me please :p
 
It costs me $6.70 per bag of fluids. Not including the lines and needles. fluid admin sets usually run like $1-2. so...yeah. $11 is dirt cheap with very little margin. Makes me wonder if they are quick-dated
Really? I was told that fluids are crazy expensive and that NaCl is really hard to get right now. Maybe it's different for different parts of the country?
 
It costs me $6.70 per bag of fluids. Not including the lines and needles. fluid admin sets usually run like $1-2. so...yeah. $11 is dirt cheap with very little margin. Makes me wonder if they are quick-dated

No clue. And I easily found a website selling vet concentration zithromax without a prescription. *shrug*
 
Reputable website? Or is this like the website that gets meds from Mexico/China for dirt cheap that may or may not actually be what they claim them to be...

Well. Since they didn't require a script I would say not reputable. But it appeared U.S. based, which surprised me.

But I don't think most clients worry about that. At least not the ones prescribing their own meds to their animals. So I'm not sure reputability matters, yanno? I mean, beyond the whole issue of not knowing what is going in the animal.
 
Well. Since they didn't require a script I would say not reputable. But it appeared U.S. based, which surprised me.

But I don't think most clients worry about that. At least not the ones prescribing their own meds to their animals. So I'm not sure reputability matters, yanno? I mean, beyond the whole issue of not knowing what is going in the animal.

Oh yeah, that teensy little matter. No worries, ha. :rolleyes:

Although I know humans who've ordered fish antibiotics for themselves when uninsured, so it doesn't surprise me at all to see people doing it for their pets.
 
Well. Since they didn't require a script I would say not reputable. But it appeared U.S. based, which surprised me.

But I don't think most clients worry about that. At least not the ones prescribing their own meds to their animals. So I'm not sure reputability matters, yanno? I mean, beyond the whole issue of not knowing what is going in the animal.

Yeah, I get what you mean.

I just know where I worked prior to vet school that we would try to educate clients on the difference between online veterinary pharmacies and how to tell the good from the bad. If they are going to get their medications from an online pharmacy, might as well provide some guidance to them.

Obviously there will be those that just don't give a damn and you just hope that what they do doesn't harm their pet. Surely you will be blamed if it does..
 
Oh yeah, that teensy little matter. No worries, ha. :rolleyes:

Although I know humans who've ordered fish antibiotics for themselves when uninsured, so it doesn't surprise me at all to see people doing it for their pets.


Yeah, but my point is: people who will just arbitrarily give their animal a prescription medication without veterinary counsel aren't going to worry too much about the reputability of a website........ What the substance actually IS is only something the likes of you or I would think about. It isn't a compelling reason for these types of owners.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Yeah, but my point is: people who will just arbitrarily give their animal a prescription medication without veterinary counsel aren't going to worry too much about the reputability of a website........ What the substance actually IS is only something the likes of you or I would think about. It isn't a compelling reason for these types of owners.
Oh no worries, I totally got you. just laughing a bit about it.
 
Really? I was told that fluids are crazy expensive and that NaCl is really hard to get right now. Maybe it's different for different parts of the country?

There was a point, like, two years ago where fluids got super expensive for us to get for the stores. So I would assume that was a point when it was sold out so to speak.
 
Client "I only give heartworm prevention in the summer months"
DVM "Ma'am, its 80 degrees out, this is Florida"
:uhno::slap::smack::eyebrow::bang:
"Oh, but they're inside dogs"
Really? Your two 100 pound dogs never go outside? And your house is an impenetrable fortress that even a mosquito could never enter? :rolleyes:
 
Oh yeah, that teensy little matter. No worries, ha. :rolleyes:

Although I know humans who've ordered fish antibiotics for themselves when uninsured, so it doesn't surprise me at all to see people doing it for their pets.
Not saying it's ok, but some of those fish antibiotics are literally the same drug, by the same manufacturer, just in a different bottle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not saying it's ok, but some of those fish antibiotics are literally the same drug, by the same manufacturer, just in a different bottle.
"same" to what degree? Suppliers and buyers do this with airlines parts too for example. You have a part that's flight critical...if it breaks/fails it would result in loss of life/aircraft. Simply put, let's say you have 1 giant bolt holding on the wing. Well the company that makes that bolt may also sell that bolt to other buyers who don't use it in a critical location. They might not care as much if it fails. So once said bolt is deemed super important by company 1, the supplier has to make it to a certain special set of crazy high standards (which makes it more expensive), but they also want to still produce the billy joe priced bolt too. Would be hard to tell the difference between the two, but you better be darn sure I want the fancy expensive bolt on my airplane.

Does the same occur for medicine? Do companies make the "same" drug but market it differently because the different market is too dumb to know or is willing to pay it, or are the standards to which the drug is held are different (higher in human, less in fish for example)?
 
re: HW Prev; I always say, I don't live outside, but I get bitten by mosquitoes, so even if your pets are indoors, it could easily happen! Most people nod their head and have that, "yeah.... I get mosquito bites too!" look.
 
That moment one of your RAs has gotten you sick after you give them birthday cake. Thanks RAs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
On the topic of treating with prescription drugs without the prescription or vet guidance ...
I missed an employee lunch at my engineering job because my cat with an abx resistant UTI had an appt with an internist. First they were like meh, just reschedule the appt. No. This internist books out 2-3 months in advance and she was squeezing him in so I was damn well sure I was going to be there when she said she could see him. THEN one engineer suggested I talk to another coworker engineer because she 'knows a lot about cats' and probably has some antibiotics :smack: Seriously people? :slap:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
On the topic of treating with prescription drugs without the prescription or vet guidance ...
I missed an employee lunch at my engineering job because my cat with an abx resistant UTI had an appt with an internist. First they were like meh, just reschedule the appt. No. This internist books out 2-3 months in advance and she was squeezing him in so I was damn well sure I was going to be there when she said she could see him. THEN one engineer suggested I talk to another coworker engineer because she 'knows a lot about cats' and probably has some antibiotics :smack: Seriously people? :slap:
Hahaha I hear all kinds of insanely stupid stuff come out of engineers mouths about animals. I overheard a lady talking about putting down a dog with chronic back pain. I recommended they try a chiropractor first. Dog is doing great after a handful of chiro and acupuncture treatments. Gotta wonder what their previous vet had tried that the dog hadn't gotten better and was still in pain. :-(
I also got a grainy picture from a friend last night that said, "is this infected"?? How the heck should I know? I can't even see what that is, but yeah something is bad, the pad is sideways. Go to vet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
On the topic of treating with prescription drugs without the prescription or vet guidance ...
I missed an employee lunch at my engineering job because my cat with an abx resistant UTI had an appt with an internist. First they were like meh, just reschedule the appt. No. This internist books out 2-3 months in advance and she was squeezing him in so I was damn well sure I was going to be there when she said she could see him. THEN one engineer suggested I talk to another coworker engineer because she 'knows a lot about cats' and probably has some antibiotics :smack: Seriously people? :slap:
you know what's the worst? I have a tech who decided that her toothache was from an abscessed tooth and called her doctor demanding ciprofloxacin. Without an exam. And then did the same for a "UTI". She should know better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
"same" to what degree? Suppliers and buyers do this with airlines parts too for example. You have a part that's flight critical...if it breaks/fails it would result in loss of life/aircraft. Simply put, let's say you have 1 giant bolt holding on the wing. Well the company that makes that bolt may also sell that bolt to other buyers who don't use it in a critical location. They might not care as much if it fails. So once said bolt is deemed super important by company 1, the supplier has to make it to a certain special set of crazy high standards (which makes it more expensive), but they also want to still produce the billy joe priced bolt too. Would be hard to tell the difference between the two, but you better be darn sure I want the fancy expensive bolt on my airplane.
I want to get in a crazy argument with you over this post for so many reasons, but I won't, cause it isn't really germane to your point in this forum.. but still. <tearing my hair out>
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
you know what's the worst? I have a tech who decided that her toothache was from an abscessed tooth and called her doctor demanding ciprofloxacin. Without an exam. And then did the same for a "UTI". She should know better.
Did she get it? That would scare me more.

I can't call my doc and even get a referral without an exam despite prior records indicating a condition that warrants it. My insurance doesn't even require a referral...the docs do...despite having been seen by the same specialty under a previous insurance.
 
On the topic of treating with prescription drugs without the prescription or vet guidance ...
I missed an employee lunch at my engineering job because my cat with an abx resistant UTI had an appt with an internist. First they were like meh, just reschedule the appt. No. This internist books out 2-3 months in advance and she was squeezing him in so I was damn well sure I was going to be there when she said she could see him. THEN one engineer suggested I talk to another coworker engineer because she 'knows a lot about cats' and probably has some antibiotics :smack: Seriously people? :slap:
I saw a client on Christmas eve for emergency lameness (day had been lame for MONTHS) because her co-worker said oh your dog is limping? Its probably bone cancer. ?? Yes, it could, or it more likely could be a bunch of other orthpedic stuff since its a young dog...merry Christmas coworker. This poor lady was in years on arrival. She already had an appointment with her vet r days from then, and had already been receiving treatments for lamenes...
 
Top