Vet Visit

[kendrafitz]

Today was Rosie's well visit at the vet. Rosie absolutely despises going to the vet, as I am sure many birds do. Her vet is located in an large emergency care center, so it is usually very busy.

As soon as we walked in the door, I heard the oohs and ahhs. As I am checking her in people are yelling what a beautiful bird she is from across the large room. Sounds nice, but it is not. Rosie is stressed as soon as we get there. I am trying to avoid any areas with large dogs and find a quiet spot. We sit down and I try to sweet talk my girl into calming down. And then it begins.... First one person comes over, which leads to four people asking questions and talking. One woman is close to the crate and is waving her arms as she talks which is stressing Rosie further. She is now panting slightly. Ugh. I brought my mom with me and fortunately, she is holding court with this group and I am able to focus on Rosie.

Finally, we go to a room. The vet comes in and towels her. She begins screaming and doesn't stop for the 5 minutes he has her. After she is back in her crate, she does her baby cries. My mom is shocked bc she never heard her do that before.

As we go to check out I avoid sitting to wait to be called near dogs and just put her right on the counter. Hoping to avoid any curious people. Doesn't matter, some people come over talking loudly to see the pretty red bird. Sigh...

This happens EVERY time we go to the vet. Usually I bring my son who gets snippy about people stressing her out. Today I had my mom so it was a bit easier. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy educating people normally. I can chat anyone's ear off answering questions and telling silly Rosie stories. But at the vet it's just so stressful to begin with, I just wish we could hide somewhere so she can stay calm.

Does anyone else deal with a similar situation at their vet?

By the way, the vet says she's all good and the blood work should come back this weekend. He thinks it will be fine. :)

[Mare]

Oh, wow! No I don't deal with that at the vet's office. My daughter had to take her dog to UCDavis vet clinic to have a chunk of his jaw removed, cancer. I went with her and it sounds like the same type of place.

[2birds]

Fortunately I found a vet where birds are common place and nobody even notices. Big red birds are probably more attractive than little green, white, and grey ones too.

[PlaxMacaws]

Hi Kendra...

When I take a bird to the vet clinic, I always try and find a corner in the waiting area with which to hide. I position the door side of the carrier toward the wall to obscure the contents of the carrier as much as possible. I remember once when I had Zaf there I overheard one of the vet assistants who was sitting behind the counter engaging in a personal phone conversation and looking toward the carrier. She began telling the party on the phone: "he's here right now... he's big and blue and beautiful... I've never seen one before!" I have to say that it bothered me, because someone working in the office area of a veterinary clinic presumably has access to client/patient information, including home addresses. And this was an especially uncomfortable feeling for me since this person was so eagerly volunteering information about Zaf's existence to someone I don't know and wasn't able to see.

The examinations are the worst! I've had a number of horrifying vet experiences through the years and not even the best visits have been pleasant. I typically feel about as stressed as the bird I've brought in. Unfortunately, we are lacking a viable selection of avian vets here. I truly wish there were some options available in my area :(

I'm happy to hear that Rosie is expected to receive a clean bill of health :D ... and I'm sure glad the stress is over for her for now :)

[spiritbird]

Does Rosie allow you to cover the carrier before you go in? With my avian vet its cats everywhere. They have 6 cats that live in the office and they are all curious. I usually ask them to remove the cats and they do.

[kendrafitz]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with issues. Those of you that don't are lucky! !

Rosie's carrying case broke when it fell in the garage. It was one of those big clear plexiglass ones. It was super heavy so I wasn't all that sad about it. I haven't replaced it yet so I use Teddy's night crate which is just the wire dog kind. I don't think she would want me to cover her as she wants to see me.

The cats would make me super nervous! The big dogs do as well but for some reason I fear cats more with Rosie.

I wouldn't like the vets employees talking about Zaf either. Is that the same vet you found him at? I am with you about it being just as stressful for me. My eye was twitching yesterday all afternoon, evening and now this morning. Poor Rosie was yelling so loud and so long that when we came out people from the front were asking if that was her. This place is like the size of a football field, so it was bad!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

First, I would discuss the situation with the manager at the vets and see if they can offer any help. Otherwise I would suggest you try for the first appointment of the day or a late evening next time and hopefully the place will not be so busy (the receptionist should be able to advise you on quieter times as for all I know mid afternoon may be quiet because everyone is at work).
Oh, and last time we went with Casper a woman came in with a racoon on her shoulders - not a common sight in England!

[PlaxMacaws]

I wouldn't like the vets employees talking about Zaf either. Is that the same vet you found him at?Nope. Zaf was being boarded at a veterinary clinic in Indiana when I first learned of his existence in 2005. The local vet clinic I've described in this thread is the same one were his broken leg was treated in 2013.