Registered vs Unregistered Technicians

[Catlady711]

And then you get the lovely people who know something is really wrong, but avoid treating the pet at all costs. Like today, we had a young woman come in with an 8 week old lab mix puppy. The dog was extremely bloated, and even vomited, much to my friends digust, roundworms into the trashcan. She got the dog for free outside of a Winco. She was telling me how tomorrow she is going to donate plasma to earn 45 bucks, as she has no money. If you have no money why would you adopt a puppy? It's just beyond me. Now, that poor dog is probably going to sit there for months with worms, or get some deadly disease like distemper or parvo all because she took the dog in knowing she couldn't care for it. In fact, earlier she tried taking the puppy to the pound, but she said the pound wouldn't take it because they were full. The truth is, she couldn't take the dog to the pound because they charge a $45 dollar fee to surrender an animal, as the shelters here are very full this time of year. It's very sad.

Yup, that's probably why she was donating blood for the $45, to give to the pound. We've had a rash of people lately who get a new puppy then gripe about the fact we have to charge for vacc. etc (we are reasonably priced!) then explain that one of the family is out of work, or they are on a fixed SS income. Uh, I noticed you said you got the puppy AFTER that happened. Doesn't make sense to me. There is no such thing as a 'free' pet.

As far as I know, my dentist is a "registered" dentist..he he he, and he makes us sign a waiver if we elect NOT to have xrays done before our teeth cleaning. I go to the dentist twice a year! And, while he only does xrays on a yearly basis, it certainly makes sense to xray a pet's mouth before cleaning, when you consider the cleanings are done much further apart than ours.

How can an xray on a 4 year old dog's mouth, before the dog undergoes anesthesia for a dental cleaning be ridiculous? Sounds kind of good to me.

ALOT of people don't even understand the need for ANY dental cleanings etc. You and I understand the importance of it, and the benefits to the health of the animal but many people do not. Unfortunately some have to learn when their young pet dies from a massive infection from the teeth/gums, or some never learn at all and think that 5 years old is a long life for a dog/cat. I think I'll scream the next time I hear a client say 'well we've had dogs for 30 years and never had no dental cleaning done on them and they lived a long time, old Blue lived the longest and died at a ripe old age of 7 (not talking about no great dane either).

I don't have a problem with xrays or lab work before surgery or dental work, but then again I understand why it's necessary, plus I get an employee discount. Even if I didn't have a discount if the vet thought something was necessary I'd go ahead and do it.

[luckies4me]

As far as I know, my dentist is a "registered" dentist..he he he, and he makes us sign a waiver if we elect NOT to have xrays done before our teeth cleaning. I go to the dentist twice a year! And, while he only does xrays on a yearly basis, it certainly makes sense to xray a pet's mouth before cleaning, when you consider the cleanings are done much further apart than ours.

How can an xray on a 4 year old dog's mouth, before the dog undergoes anesthesia for a dental cleaning be ridiculous? Sounds kind of good to me.

On certain dogs it would be a great idea, but on every pet? It's absurd. Human dentistry and canine/feline dentistry is totally different. How often do you see dogs and cats getting cavities filled, or root canals? Dentists do x-rays on us to check for cavities, bone infection etc. This would make sense on a pet who has never had their teeth cleaned, with lots of tartar build up etc. but on an otherwise healthy 2 year old lab, it's uneccesary. If it made sense I'm sure her idea would have flyed, but it didn't.

Or for instance, dogs prone to dental disease, such as doxies, chis, etc. Thanksfully we have the new P3 vaccine, which is awesome in way of dental care for dogs! Now if we could only get a vaccine like that for cats, we'd be all set.

[luckies4me]

Off topic, but as far as the puppy goes the lady called me yesterday morning and about twenty minutes later brought the pup back in and gave her to my friend Stephanie. We dewormed her right away and about an hour later she had a nice lovely bowel movement full of roundworms. She's been put on a puppy plan and received her first set of vaccines yesterday.

Also, she failed to mention the pup fell from her two story balcony about a week ago because she left her sliding glass door open a nudge. Nice. But, she is in good hands now and being completely spoiled, and will be the sister to an overly friendly rottie named Jackson.

Here are a couple of pictures of her. Oh ya, they were feeding her Old Roy. She has very dry skin, but hopefully after being on a more nutricious diet for awhile she will look better. These were taken with my cell phone so sorry if they are not all that great. And please forgive me for my ugly face.

[Catlady711]

I'm glad to hear the puppy was brought back in and now has people that will give him the proper care!!!

Your face isn't ugly at all!

BTW, I LOVE that smock pattern!! I have a hard time finding ones that fit me with animals on them instead of kids. The place I buy mine at are really cheap but they cater to human nurses in their patterns.

[luckies4me]

LOL, it's so funny, because people always say how much they love our smocks, but I think they are hideous. OK, well maybe not that bad, but they are made by Cintas and are Banfields scrubs, so we have to wear them. I really wish they would let us wear our own scrub tops, or at least come up with a better design.

Have you tried looking online for scrubs?

[Catlady711]

Have you tried looking online for scrubs?

No actually I haven't. Where I go I usually can get mine for about $12-15, but I always assumed that with shipping, anyplace online would cost more total.

Do you tear your pockets alot when dogs like to stick their feet in them while squirming around alot? lol I either have that happen or I catch on the door jamb from walking too close to it to keep an animal from getting out the door and tear the side seams of my tops.

[luckies4me]

I used to tear them all the time, but now that I work mainly up front I don't do as much handling as I used to, so haven't torn in quite a bit. However, when I first started I would tear them constantly. I remember the first week working there I tore my pocket and they didn't want to get me another top, so I had to walk around with a torn pocket.