The Long and Winding Road to Finding the Right Vet
When we first adopted Lady Priscilla, we chose her vet the way a lot of people do—based on convenience. The clinic was just down the street, open late, and even offered boarding. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time, but finding the right vet is rarely that easy.
We weren’t exactly wowed by the care, but we stuck it out. That changed after her first (and only) overnight boarding stay, when she came home coughing. We took her back a couple of days later, and they confirmed it was kennel cough.
Still, we tried to give them the benefit of the doubt—dogs get sick sometimes, right?
But things really fell apart the day she ate a latex glove.
We rushed her in for emergency X-rays, terrified. They told us they’d review the scans and get back to us right away. We waited. And waited. Late that night, we made the trek to an emergency vet hospital to make sure she was okay. Thankfully, she was, but it took a full three days to get the report from the original vet. That experience shook our trust.
Then we found out they’d been giving her the wrong heartworm dose—one intended for dogs ten pounds lighter than she was. That was the final straw.
Vet #2: A Promising Start…Until It Wasn’t
Our second clinic came highly recommended, and the first appointment felt like a breath of fresh air. The vet and tech sat on the floor with Lady Priscilla, gently drew blood for a heartworm test, performed a relaxed exam, and prescribed the correct medication. I left hopeful. Maybe this was our forever clinic.
Months later, needing help with her anxiety, we booked their in-house behaviorist. Things started out rocky when the tech insisted on taking her leash and dragging her onto the lobby scale, tightly squeezed into a group of strangers and right in front of three barking dogs. She barked impressively, but we managed to calm her down after he gave back the leash, by walking her down a quiet hallway. Then it was time for the actual consult. Lady Priscilla lay quietly at our feet, calm and unfazed, while we chatted with the doctor.
The doctor wanted to do a quick exam at the end. But the tech, who had been standing there for the entire calm consult, snapped, “No muzzle, no exam.”
No explanation. No calm getting to know her. Just a muzzle and a raised voice. When we hesitated, he began shouting, dragged her across the floor, and Lady Priscilla swiftly let him know exactly what she thought of that. His shoes probably still smell to this day.
That day I learned: a kind vet doesn’t guarantee a kind team, and no credentials outweigh listening to the dog in front of you.
Vet #3: Fear Free…in Theory
By now we’d discovered the Fear Free movement and chose a chain clinic that advertised it. The first visit looked promising: living-room décor, text check-in, quick meet-and-greet. Finally…or so we thought.
A month later, needing a heartworm refill (the previous clinic had given us only one month), we returned. Only to step into chaos. The clinic texted us and two other dogs simultaneously. All three collided at the door, barking excitedly. We settled into an exam room to regroup.
Then a tech stormed in and began berating me for not having Lady Priscilla on heartworm prevention. I pulled up the very records I’d previously emailed, clearly listing the prescription. She wouldn’t look. She began yelling, accused me of lying, and I broke into tears. Dad hustled Lady Priscilla and me back into the car as quickly as possible.
Vet #4: Finding the Right Vet at Last
Still crying in the car, I searched again, determined to find someplace that was truly Fear Free. I landed on Shaffer Animal Hospital, a full-service vet hospital with an impeccable reputation and a legitimate Fear Free certification. It was forty minutes away, but distance no longer mattered.
My dad called immediately. Ash, the receptionist, listened to our story, apologized “on behalf of the veterinary profession,” and invited us in.
Her First Happy Visit
Lady Priscilla didn’t need another exam after all she’d endured. She needed trust.
They texted when the lobby was clear, and a tech escorted us from the car. Inside, the vet and tech sat on the floor with whipped cream…a treat she had never experienced before. Lady Priscilla lapped up the sweet surprise, but she politely backed away from touch…totally understandable at this point. They never pressured her. After a few calm minutes, Ash checked us out inside the exam room and scheduled victory visits every other week. This time, I walked out crying tears of relief.
Months later, Lady Priscilla now stands calmly for injections and is about to graduate from cooperative care for paw handling—things I never imagined after those early disasters.
What Lady Priscilla Taught Us About Vet Care
1. Consent Matters—Even for Dogs
Cooperative care isn’t coddling. It’s trust-building. Your dog deserves the chance to opt in whenever possible. This is even more true if you have a rescue dog, who may never have seen a vet before and may have suffered trauma at human hands.
2. Vets Aren’t Gods. Advocate for Your Dog
If something feels off, speak up or walk out. Don’t allow yourself, or worse your dog, to be intimidated. The right team will explain things before they happen, give you options, and welcome your questions and concerns.
3. Know Your Dog
My childhood dog, Trapper, thought the vet’s office was the best place ever. He’d walk in proudly, tail wagging, politely greet the other dogs in the waiting room, and put his paws up on the check-in desk to say hello. Lady Priscilla thinks traditional vet offices are the ninth circle of hell. She prefers concierge service: a tech to escort her through an empty lobby to an exam room, and plenty of whipped cream during the visit. Finding the right vet is a matter of knowing your dog’s temperament, history, and preferences.
4. Fear Free Isn’t a Buzzword—It’s a Lifeline
When practiced correctly, Fear Free transforms visits from panic to partnership. Ideas of dominance and pack leadership have been thoroughly debunked. The Fear Free movement recognizes animals as thinking, feeling creatures that deserve to be part of their own care.
5. Victory Visits Are Worth the Time
No-pressure appointments build positive associations. Lady Priscilla’s bi-weekly appointments started with “just treats” and rapidly progressed through a series of ever more complicated holds and positioning, readying her for any potential emergency care in the future. Now she’s a willing partner in her own care, who absolutely adores going to visit “her people.” And sometimes, she goes even further — asking for full-body hugs not out of fear or stress, but because she understands what love means now. And she wants to feel it.
6. Balance Convenience with Compassion
Location, hours, and cost matter. But not at the expense of your dog’s emotional health. Also be wary of vets who want to give you a “quick fix” with a bunch of pills. Some dogs absolutely need a short-acting mild sedative to handle even the most careful vet visit. But too often, vets and well-meaning pet parents turn to medications rather than putting in the work to build a genuine partnership.
7. Money Talk Belongs Here, Too
Compassionate care isn’t always the priciest. In fact, our Fear Free vet is incredibly reasonable. Pet insurance and payment plans are always worth looking into as well. We’ll dive deeper into financing in a future post.
Lady Priscilla didn’t choose her rough start, but she chose to keep trying—to trust again, to stand still for shots, even to allow paw handling. And I chose to believe her when she told me something wasn’t right.
Want to know what Fear Free really means for dogs like Lady Priscilla? We’re building a whole series on it. Stay tuned!
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