Wednesday, April 04, 2007

The Best Vet in the World

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I'm sure every animal owner LOVES their vet. I do not. Mainly because I live so far away from the best vet I've ever met... Dr. Dan Mooney of Baton Rouge.

Dr. Mooney is my brother-in-law's vet and therefore treats all of my nieces and nephews as my BIL is a professional show dog handler and occasional breeder. He became our family vet decades ago.

I adore Dr. Mooney for many reasons, one of which is that he clearly loves his job. He's not doing it to get rich as every California vet I've met is. Example: To have my girl's teeth cleaned here in Cali would cost me around $280 - $300. When Mabel visited Dr. Mooney at Christmas time, the bill was a whopping $81. AND, Mabel has always had a knot on her left shoulder. As Maggie died of cancer in her left shoulder, I am overly sensitive to this. I have asked my own vet about this knot on every visit since Mabel was four months old. My vet just nods as if it was a comment in passing.

As Dr. M was taking Mabel back to surgery, I casually mentioned it, expecting nothing. When I picked her up, he had aspirated it, checked it under a microscope and confirmed it was fatty tissue...4 1/2 years of worry gone in minutes.

In addition, Dr. Mooney has the best tableside manner of any vet. I have been there with dozens of animals over the years and I always feel as if he has all the time in the world to hear my concerns and that whatever animal he is treating is his most favorite.

Maggie May had one of the best days of her life at Dr. M's getting her teeth cleaned. I noticed the hospital had lots of animals running around and Dr. M asked me how friendly she was but, as the skittish mother of a rottweiler, I wasn't prone to letting her run around off leash.

Imagine my surprise when we walked in the hospital that evening and my sister told the receptionist we were there for Maggie. The lady turned around and yelled, "Maggie!"

My chin hit the counter, "You mean...she's loose?"

"Oh yeah, they all really just want to play."

At that time a big boxer came in to the reception area.

"That's not Maggie," my sister giggled.

The receptionist turned and looked at the boxer. "Oh, well her name is Maggie. That's why she came."

My sister pointed out, "Our girl is really a Maggie May."

"MAGGIE MAY..." yelled the receptionist.

And in trots the most rambunctious, deliriously happy Maggie May. The minute she saw us, her face just dropped into the best "Awwww Moooom! Do I have to go home nooooww??" looks you could ever imagine on a dog's face. Maggie usually hated the vet, but she had such a good time there.

But Miss Mabel's trip to see Dr. M was not as fun as Maggie's, mainly because Dr. M had a VERY special patient in the hospital who needed lots of room to roam ... which meant that Mabel spent her time in the surgery room alone. Have a look at Jane Doe:
It seems that Jane was hit by a truck just down the road from Dr. Mooney's. She was just a babe with spots on her coat. Someone picked her up and, knowing Dr. M's reputation, brought her to him. He did surgery on her leg and just allowed her to roam the hospital as therapy for her injury. She still had a severe limp when I was there.

Jane was quite a character. She loved petting and treats. But her most favorite thing was Mary Lee Donuts. It seems when those arrive as the hospital, she knows immediately and will do just about anything to get to them.

My BIL and I think that was how she was injured in the first place as there is a Mary Lee about where she was hit! Here she is getting an apple from one of the hospital workers. Oh - those cool kitties above were watching Jane when I took their picture.

PublishOf course a wild animal who now trusts humans and domestic animals can never be back in the wild. Dr. M had a few petting zoos that were interested in taking Jane in as soon as her hip is in good working order. But she's in good hands with such a good doctor taking care of her.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

What a great post! We have a wonderful country type vet here too. Very compassionate and honest about everything. We were worried we would only have 'livestock' vets available out here but Dr. Nelson is wonderful. Carmon

Unknown said...

What a great post! We have a wonderful country type vet here too. Very compassionate and honest about everything. We were worried we would only have 'livestock' vets available out here but Dr. Nelson is wonderful. Carmon

CreekHiker / HollysFolly said...

Carmon, Glad you liked it. Having a vet that you feel is truly concerned with your animal's well being makes all the difference.

I called my BIL and checked up on Jane... she's still mending and still at Dr. M's.

Linda@VS said...

What an interesting concept it is to let the animals roam free. I've never thought about it before, but it's bound to make them feel more relaxed.

Great post, Holly.

CreekHiker / HollysFolly said...

Velvet, they all act like they are at a great party. I think Mags would have voted it into her top three days ever.

Anonymous said...

This was so interesting! I can't imagine Spot ever having a great time at the vet's. And a deer! It would be great if the deer lived at the vet's but I bet she'll be too big for comfort soon.