Sunday, February 19, 2012

New Rabbit Vet Zen

A short while back this month, I brought a bunny in for a pre-neuter physical because the other vet office we used had raised their prices astronomically, were pushing services and other things not pushed before (and that weren't necessary), and didn't seem to be as rabbit savvy in as they were when we started going there. The old vet's office people couldn't handle the bunny who had come in for his physical. Four people couldn't control him or calm him enough. He was so frightened and anxious, he was ricocheting off of walls and people, so it seemed. This experience, along with the vet telling me she was nervous because she just lost a rabbit during a neuter surgery took away all my last bit of confidence.

The new vet's office was less convenient to get to, about a 25 minute ride on some country back roads. They did have a great reputation though! I went into a much larger building that had two separate directions you could go in- the Emergency Hospital and the routine visit side. The feel of the building (for a reason that I still can't figure) was much calmer and soothing. The smell was clean, like a hospital. There were glass display cases that held very old veterinary tools, books and products. Some of those went back to the day of being used by the founder of the hospital. Somehow, they gave me comfort instead of thinking of them being great props for a horror flick.

When I talked to the staff, I just gave the Bunny's name and they were calm, pulled up all the info right away. They didn't seem to have one bit of feeling of chaos and urgency the other place did. The costs were reasonable, but they were well-staffed. They were up front about everything.

When the Bunny and I went in, the vet tech, who did some in-take & weighed him, didn't seem alarmed about my warnings of how four people had difficulty with calming & controlling him. She said, I have bunnies at home. Then a bit later, it turned out she told me she runs a rabbit rescue. I was overjoyed.  Although the Bunny was nervous, he was pretty cooperative with this tech.

When the doctor came in, I warned him about the bunny too. He immediately told me that he had bunnies also and started telling me about his long-earred friends. There were actually three rabbit doctors at this place that all owned rabbits he also told me.  The bunny was very calm for him, with just a couple of typical squirmy bunny type moments that quickly subsided.
Bunny in Car at Vet



The vet answered all my questions. Checking out was easy.   The bunny and I couldn't have had a better experience. I actually felt a sense of calm- a zen-like moment when I was leaving there. I thought about it after, there were no animals making those noises that frightened animals would normally make going to a vet. The dogs on leashes were calm and quiet, the cats in carriers and other animals that I couldn't see in carriers were all calm. The humans with them were calm and didn't seem to need to reassure their animal pals that everything would be okay.  The energy of the place was amazing.

Soon there will be a post on this bunny's surgery. I just thought I would share this separately. The message in this is that you can and should shop around. Don't do it when you have an emergency.  It could not only save your bunny's life,but also your nerves and sanity.


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