Our Trip to the Wadsworth Veterinary Hospital

Recently, we brought a new puppy into our home. We named her "Lady" after "Lady and the Tramp" because she almost took a trip to the pound. Our friends' dog had gotten pregnant by accident and they couldn't afford to keep all of the puppies. She was only a few weeks old when we took her in. We wanted to give her a good home because our friends were considering dropping her off at a shelter. While we had good intentions and wanted to take care of her, we simply couldn't afford to take her to a vet right away. So I bought a 7-in-one vaccine and decided to give her the first set of shots myself. I was a little afraid of hurting her so I did some research on the internet about giving shots to pets. Finally, I muscled up the courage and stuck her with the needle. It was really easy after all! I watched for an allergic reaction, and there was none, so I gave her a booster a couple weeks later.

So far so good; Lady was healthy and doing well. But time was passing by so quickly and she was growing rapidly. Before we knew it, she was 5 months old. It was time to start thinking about spaying her. After all, we didn't want an accident like our friends had. We couldn't afford more puppies, and we couldn't bare the thought of giving them away to a shelter if we couldn't find homes for them. As I called around to local vets, I felt sick to my stomach. It was going to cost us anywhere from $150 to $200 for her to have the surgery, not including her Rabies shot and pain medication. My boyfriend suggested calling the Animal Protection Guild to find out about low cost spay/neuter programs for dogs. Unfortunately, they didn't have one, but it gave me a start.

Again, I did some research on the internet, and I found a site that would help. AlterPet is a nonprofit organization with a mission to combat cat/dog overpopulation and euthanasia through their low cost spay/neuter program. They want to educate the community on animal-related issues, especially population control via spay/neuter. They only help low income families or farmers who can't afford to spay/neuter their animals. For $50, they mailed a coupon to me that would cover the cost of the surgery for Lady. The catch: I had to choose from a list of approved vets I knew nothing about.

I called a few places on the list that were relatively close to us. I would still have to travel 30-40 minutes out of town, but it was cheaper than paying for a local vet. I chose Wadsworth Veterinary Hospital only because the staff was interested in Lady, and seemed to genuinely want to help. The other places gave me a "bad vibe" because the staff seemed to be in a hurry to end our call. Perhaps they were busy, but I wanted to be sure Lady was going to get quality care. Wadsworth Vet. Hosp. gave me the feeling that she would be well taken care of there. So I made her an appointment for an initial exam before her surgery.

I think I called them about 5 times to ask them questions before her appointment, and they took their time answering every one. They obviously knew I was concerned because the veterinarin wasn't my regular vet, and I had absolutely no idea who she was. It was like I was taking my child to a pediatrician I had never met to have surgery. It was a little scary. But Lady had to be spayed and this was the only way I could afford it.

Wadsworth Vet. Hosp. was about 35 minutes away from where I live in Canton. I had a dilemma. Lady absolutely does not like car rides. She becomes nervous and gets motion sickness, and vomits in the car. I thought maybe if I took her in the car a few times before her long car ride, she might get used to the feeling of the car. Unfortunately, she didn't, and I had to clean my car every time we took a ride. So I bought her some supplements that were supposed to calm her during travel, but they weren't working for her. Poor Lady, how was she going to stand 35 minutes in the car to and from the vet twice?

I decided to call the vet and ask if we could do her exam and the surgery in one visit. She said normally they don't do that, but she understood it would be a long car ride for Lady so it was ok. I was glad I wouldn't have to put Lady through 2 hours of misery in the car. And I felt more relaxed about her visit to Wadsworth Veterinary Hospital because it was obvious they cared. When we arrived, Lady was more than ready to jump out of the car. She hadn't been allowed to eat anything except to drink water and take her supplements for the car ride. She was whining and dry heaving the entire car ride there. So she was overly excited to be out and she wanted to examine the new people that greeted her. I watched them take her away, and they reassured me they would call as soon as she was out of surgery to tell me how she was doing.

They called hours later, but it seemed like days to me. Lady was doing well and I could pick her up. I hurried to go get her because she's never been away from us before and I thought she might feel a little scared. When I arrived, I was excited to see her, and I must've looked like a kid getting her first puppy because I was trying to look around the corner to get a glimpse of her. As they walked her out, she didn't see me or my 2 year old daughter right away, and I could tell she was comfortable with the staff and happy. But as soon as she saw us, she was ready to come home. She wagged her tail and gave my daughter a kiss, almost knocking her over. Then she squatted and urinated all over the floor; she must've felt very relieved! I thanked the staff and we went home.

The first night home, Lady retreated to her crate. She was uncomfortable and couldn't keep food down. I gave her some of the pain medication the vet sent home with us, and she slept out the night. The next day, she still wasn't eating much, but she was playing and beginning to be her rambunctious self again. Ten days later, her belly is healing, and she's back to normal activity. And we're happy to have her back.

But the most extraordinary thing about the Wadsworth Veterinary Hospital that my regular vet didn't even do is this: they sent me a card. At first, when I saw it was from them, I thought maybe something was wrong, and I hurried to open the letter. But it was just a card that said, "Welcome to Our Clinic". And printed on the inside was, "Thank you for choosing us to care for your pet. Please feel free to call on us whenever the need arises". In addition to this, one of the staff members took the time to handwrite, "We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your recent visit to our hospital. It was a pleasure to meet you and Lady. Hopefully Lady is doing well! Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your pet's care". And honestly, I never expected to see or hear from them again. But receiving this card in the mail just a little over a week after Lady's surgery tells me they remembered to think about her. That kind of caring is genuine, and even though the Wadsworth Veterinary Hospital is an hour trip for us, it's well worth the care we receive there.