Vet & Boarding Recommendations

We HIGHLY RECOMMEND these 2 Vets:  

PAWS, the Modern Spay Neuter Clinic.  

Not only are they very affordable, the quality of care and the staff is outstanding!! 

https://www.azpaws.org/  

20635 N CAVE CREEK ROAD PHOENIX, AZ 85024 

602-795-7297

Sunburst Animal Hospital in Glendale

They are very affordable and HONEST.

13807 N 51st Ave Ste A, Glendale, AZ 85306

(602) 938-1860

https://sunburstanimalhospital.com/

Check out Nextdoor.com.  

It's free to use.  Nextdoor.com connects you to your 3 closest neighborhoods.  You can make a post for vet &/or boarding recommendations.  You will get plenty of recommendations and most importantly the reason why they are so great!!    

Not all Vets are Created Equal 

I'll briefly describe 5 incidences we have come across as a fair warning to you of what to look for and be aware of as you find a good vet.  We have come across a lot of bad vets in our day (and some really great ones too - all of which no longer take new clients - they are full).  There are far most incidences, but these are the ones that come to mind at the time of this writing. 

1) Our 1st Vet took our pup (who slept with me at the time) to the back room and inserted fresh fleas onto his fur in an attempt to sell us a prescription.  We were there for a wellness visit, there were no signs of fleas before the visit and I had looked him over head to toe so I knew better.  Because I was confident that the now very large and visible fleas were freshly inserted onto him, I took him home and washed them right off never to see any fleas again (this is wehn we lived in Scottsdale, AZ.  Fleas are not common in Arizona).  Lesson learned:  Never let a Vet take your pup to a back room without your presence.  Always observe what goes on.   

2)  One of my client's Vet told her that her pup has "scarring" on her belly from a severe rash (referring to the pup's dark belly pigment that is a normal occurrence for Labs with eeBB allele (this pup never had a rash and I had weekly photos to prove it.  All of our True Yellows' (excluding dudley's - they are albino), underbellies are dark.  A dark underbelly is normal for true yellow labs, but not all yellows will have this either).  A "True" Yellow lab (no hidden chocolate gene) with the eeBB color/nose coat allele are actually Black Labs with the addition of 2 recessive genes that remove the black pigment (instead of EE, Yellows carry ee, causing of varying shades and lightness), but black pigment remains in the skin, lips, and paw pads.  Tummies can have black pigment, producing mottled or grainy appearance.   

3)  In another case we had a Vet tell a client that their pup had Clostridium (a very serious bacterial infection).  After the client spent about $1,000 and several rounds of antibiotics with no relief (the pup had continuous diarrhea), they sought out my opinion (I don't know why they waited to get me in on the loop!).  I asked them to change to a grain free food and that solved the problem.   

4)  Probably the most frequent sign of what we consider to be a bad Vet is one that will tell you your pup has Coccidia when they have no bowel issues.  Virtually all dogs carry the single cell protozoa responsible for Coccidiosis in their intestines.  Coccidia is found everywhere on the natural earth - it is the simplest form of life.  Most healthy pups will become immune to Coccida before they go home.  There is no way to kill Coccidia, antibiotics only stops Coccidia from reproducing long enough for your pup to gain immunity to it.  Stress causes the protozoa to multiply rapidly and can overwhelm their intestines, causing diarrhea.  If your pup has normal bowels and your Vet tries to prescribe you antibiotics, this is a red flag.  These antibiotics prescribed are also really hard on your pup's immune system, so unless your pup has liquid diarrhea or blood in their stool, we recommend that you let them overcome it on their own and try to reduce their stress if possible.   

5)  There are some Vets that will tell you that early Spay/Neuter is bad for your pup.  There is no legitimate medical evidence or studies to back any such claim.  In fact, the American Veterinary Medical Association and many more widely recognized and respected organizations support early spay/neuter.  Their opinion is a reflection of their practice.  As you can read on our Spay/Neuter page with links of reference, the Major Veterinary organizations that have taken a position either 

1)  Support Early Spay /Neuter, or 

2) Don't take a position at all citing "not enough scientific evidence" or 

3) Acknowledge that there is no scientific evidence indicating an advantage to waiting till after puberty to spay/neuter.