Went to the Vet today

[Zumie05]

Gary was supposed to be x-rayed at our vet today, but after the doctor saw the way Gary hobbled around he immediately referred me to a specialist. The vet said that Gary most likely has a developmental bone problem (so HD) because he is too young to have a torn ligament (although not impossible) and if it were a muscle problem it would have healed by now since he has been limping and walking funny for months.

I am more than happy to go to the specialist, but I am wondering if the vet was being lazy? Should my vet have done x-rays for me anyways and THEN refer me to the specialist? I'm not too unhappy because I didn't get charged anything for the visit today...but I do know that the specialist services are going to be way more expensive. By having x-rays done somewhere else couldn't I bring them to the specialist center and then end up saving money that way?

Grr I am frustrated and also fear for Gary. I know he has a problem, we are just going to soon find out. I called the specialty center and left a message so I haven't been able to make an appointment yet.

[Nishasmom]

Poor Gary...is the swimming helping him at all?

I know how you feel...I hate waiting for results/ x-rays .

I think the vet was trying to save you money. If he did the x-rays, he would have made a nice profit....maybe you have found an honest vet!

Let us know what the specialist says; I am sorry you have to go through this.

[Zumie05]

You know, Gary has gone swimming twice now and yesterday we tried him on the treadmill for the first time and I am not sure if I am seeing any improvements. I don't think this is supposed to help him become more flexible, but as far as building up muscle I think his back legs still look really scrawny. Whatever though, he has fun swimming and he did great with the treadmill. We still have 7 sessions left.

The specialty center called me back and Gary will finally have x-rays done next Thursday at 11am. I wish we could have gone in today.

[tla0126]

I would think the specialist will want to do x-rays regardless of whether the vet did them or not, so I think I agree with Nishasmom that the Vet was trying to help you out a bit...

I'm sorry sorry to hear about Gary, hopefully you will find a good specialist and they will help with the problems ASAP!!

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Zumie05

I am more than happy to go to the specialist, but I am wondering if the vet was being lazy?

I think you need to give your vet a bit more credit. He did you a favor by not incurring unecessary expense in his office, only to refer you to a specialist. Many times the xray equipment a specialist has will far exceed the quality a general vet's office can afford. Better xrays, more accurate diagnosis.

I'd thank him!

I hope Gary will be okay!