I know there are good vets out there. I just have been suprised myself
as to not meeting any where I live now. I think it has to do with the
general over all poor quality of services in Arizona, due to the
transient nature of the population here and virtually no government
oversight.

We don't do this, nor do the vets we know. So I was wondering about others
and at a meeting yesterday, I asked several practice owners and managers. Of
the 9 others sitting at my table, 9 pair of eyes opened wide and 9 people
said they did not do this. That's 0% of my sampling who don't do this.

Perhaps your experience is the exception and not the norm. In any case, the
profession shouldn't be assumed to do this as a whole.

Please read the original post carefully. This has nothing to do with
making a diagnosis, but a simple inquiry as to whether or not a clinic
can or does do a certain procedure (not ear cropping declawing or other
bad procedures) What they are saying is we won't comment until you pay a
office call fee. Unprofessional an dishonest, no way around it. I have
even had them tell me yes, we may do it and then get to their office and
say, no way we can do that procedure, you need a specialist.

Why do vets and those in the profession automatically assume you are
ignorant of medical procedures? Having worked in orthopedics, I already
know all about this.

How many vets have you been to as a client? Maybe it's different in
Canada, but here in Arizona, there are many, many incompetent and
unprofessional veterinary services. The State Licensing Board was found
to be negligent in their oversight of AZ veterinarians by a State
Inspector General here.

It's very funny. The small, do nothing offices, frequently advertise
"complete" or "full-service" and are anything but. Don't they screen out
liars in veterinary schools?

Ya' know... I've never seen this happen. I've never heard of it happening
either (at least not the way you describe it). Can you give some details of
a case where you've seen this happen? Where you've called a vet and said 'do
you do procedure x', and have them tell you that you'll have to go elsewhere
when you're in the office. Note, this is entirely different than calling
with 'my dog is lame can you treat him?', which requires a diagnosis, time,
skills, possibly equipment and hence a charge.
Also, try to remember that it isn't uncommon to have a client call and say
'x' is wrong with my dog 'can you treat him', only to find out that 'x' is
not wrong with the dog, its in fact 'y'. 'x' might be something you can
treat for, but 'y' isn't. 'x' might be very, very, uncommon, but 'y' very
common (so you're confident that its not *in fact* 'x', but more likely 'y',
but the client thinks is 'x', so you might in theory elect to see a patient
where the client thinks 'x' is wrong, even though you can't treat for 'x'. I
recall a case the other day when a client came in and said 'my dog's leg is
broken' when in fact he'd pulled a muscle (although we could have treated
both cases)

Yes. They should, and in my experience do, but bear in mind, with something
like fracture repair, there are varying degrees of competence required to
repair a fracture. It may require looking at the animal to determine if the
fracture can be repaired using the techniques they have available (if not,
they may be forced to refer you).

The number one thing in choosing a vet, in my opinion is trust. You need to
find someone you can understand, and trust. If not, you're wasting your
money, and their time (as you won't likely be compliant with their
directions anyways).

I'd be leery of any vet practice that says they can do everything, unless
they have a rather large staff, and rather large facility. There are so many
specialties, that no one person can be an expert in all of them.

Dale

A word of advice to all pet owners out there.

If your pet is sick and requires more than simple vaccinations or special
food, do NOT go to a vet who refuses to tell you over the phone if he
generally can do such and such a procedure or operation.

Some vets play the "consult game" telling you that they cannot tell you if
they do such and such until they see your animal. Often you wind up paying a
consult fee only to be told "we cannot or will not do that here". This is
not simply a question of examining the animal, since the vet SHOULD be able
to tell you what procedures he/she can generally do. If they cannot, they
are not being honest and open with you and you should not patronize such a
veterinarian.

Many of these veterinarians advertise they are full or complete service
veterinarians when they are NOT.
Many can only do or only want to do simple stuff like vaccinations, special
foods, neutering, etc. These are fundamentally dishonest practitioners, in
my opinion.