I'm wondering how you shop for your vet? I sort of just lucked into finding my vet. She's really fabulous and loves animals and spends extended time during her vet appointments with the animals but the best part is her vet bills are so affordable. Again, I lucked in with my vet picking her out of the phonebook without any reviews or anything. How did you decide on a vet?
There are quite a few vets in our town so I chose the one closest to where I live. I have a feeling that they are a bit more expensive than the other vets but I have been so happy with their service that I am prepared to pay a little extra.
I had to do the whole search online thing and then trial and error. Luckily it only took me 2 tries. But when you find the right one that cares about your pet as their own you've got a winner.
I got lucky. My daughter's friend that she met in second grade had parents that were both vet assistant's. That was over 15 years ago and now the dad is a vet himself. He is a great vet and we would never think of going to anyone else.
A lot of times it's word of mouth. I'd ask as many people as I can, but you still end up making your best guess and then taking a pet in for an exam to see how well you all mesh. One thing I look for is whether the vet is on 24 hour call. There's no replacement for that. I wouldn't use it unless it was an emergency, but when it is - I don't have time to find another vet and drive there and hope I know where they are.
I basically went with the one that was closest to my house. But it turned out to be a good choice so I guess I got lucky. The people there are really great and the prices are affordable. There's also various discounts offered at different times and I like the fact that they offer 50% off discounts for vaccinations every month.
It is not easy to find a good vet. Sometimes you just luck out with a good one. Some people go on line and read reviews to find the vet they are looking for. I think that the best way to find a good vet is word of mouth. Ask people you know who they use.
I found my dog a vet through a friend of mine who also has 3 pet dogs. This vet is a sweetheart..not only does she love animals, they seem to love her too. I've recommended her to all my other friends who have pets. Not only does this vet have approximately 12 years of experience in her field of work, she is also not expensive.
The internet makes this sort of task a lot easier. If you live in a big city, there are bound to be reviews. Keep in mind that you'll usually find more negative reviews than good ones, just by default of how people prefer to complain than praise. It should still give you a good idea of prices and reliability, though.
I think that the search starts with location and price. I want a vet that is close to home and that isn't outrageously expensive. Then I begin to form an opinion about them as I start bringing my animals to them. I worked in a veterinary hospital before, so I know what I should be hearing from my vet and what is total hogwash, which helps me, but as with your own personal doctors, if it sounds fishy, it probably is....also word of mouth is a good place to get started.
I think the best way to find a vet is to ask family members, friends and neighbors. That's how we found the vet we use, who I think is the best bet in the world. Too often the vets we used would push services on us we weren't interested in and their prices were more expensive than a human doctor. Sometimes even with the expense, the vets were great, but it was hit and miss. Our current vet is a down to earth country vet who treats livestock, horses and the family dog. He's not pushy and his prices are great.
We're quite lucky, our closest vet has a 24hour hospital, the only one in the area. They are more expensive than most, but the service is excellent, they have access to all the latest information/treatment etc and even do some of their own blood testing in-house. I don't think I would ever go for the cheapest, sometimes you get what you pay for!
