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WHICH VET?
The choice of which you use is a crucial one as they vary so greatly both in terms of both cost and ability.
Although we cannot recommend any one veterinary practice to use we can give broad guidelines for you to follow. Hopefully this will allow you to make a more informed choice.
Always use a local veterinary practice...
You will usually find you receive a much better all round service and they will take the time to get to know both you and your pet.
In terms of cost, you may find them slightly more expensive than the franchised groups for inoculations but far less expensive for everything else such as absesses and accidents etc. You are far more likely to get a fair deal from your local vet.
24 hour emergency cover...
Always ensure that the vet you choose has 24 hour emergency cover as animals fall ill and have accidents at all times of day and night and you need that cover available even if you never have to use it.
Franchise group vets...
These groups of franchised vets have sprung up in recent years all around the country and will offer a 'hook' to gain your business such as below cost rates for inoculations - a loss leader.
But please beware that you tend not to change your vets once registered so that when an emergency occurs you will automatically go to the one where the inoculations were carried out. This is where the sting in the tail is!
At a time like this when your pet has been involved in a car accident or has an illness your emotions are all over the place and you are certainly not going to bother asking about the cost are you? You just want your little pet to be okay.
This is where the costs are likely to be substantially higher than your well established local veterinary practice would charge.
In fact these groups of franchised vets even, allegedly, have a 'bible' that sets out just how many consultations, injections, antibiotics etc. should be generated irrespective of the seriousness or otherwise of the condition being treated.
So, for example, a simple easy to treat abscess that would normally generate one consultation, one injection and a course of antibiotics with your local vet would probably generate many more with a franchised vet as their 'bible' dictates. Every case is treated in exactly the same way whether it be a simple or complicated condition to treat. This really does substantially push up the costs - so beware!
The other factor to consider is that giving your pet the possible unnecessary additional drugs and visits to the vet is certainly not good for the animal. Less is more!
At the end of the day the choice is yours - but please choose your vet very carefully!
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