i have just got to get this off my chest. whilst i know that vets are human beings and have their own lives to lead but i feel very disgruntled about our vet. 7 years ago she saved my boys life [diabeti ketoacidosis] and we wil be ever greatful to her. up untill last summer i would not have a wrong word said about her and indeed made many recommendations for the practice[her and 1 senior partner] up untill she made partner eary last year we had no complaints what so ever then she had an unbelievable 10 month maternity leave leaving our old boy in the middle of an uexplained crisis. we saw so many locums of varing competence that we had to demand a referal to a hospital and the fantastic vet there sorted him out. unfortunatly she could not take over his general health care and i had to muddle on myself with intermitant locum help[or hinderence] luckily i have a lot of experience with canine diabetes and indeed holistic medicine.he got really sick again at xmas with the horrible bug that was doing its rounds and once again a locum gave us some pills[did not work well]and i had to do my best with holistic meds. she finaly came back after easter and i am sorry to say her attitude has changed from being a young [thinking outside the box] open minded try new and old. to a very rigid thinking stick to the same old things vet. we made the the 7 mile trip for anappointment yesterday only to be told she was off sick and they didnt know when she would be back, and would we like to see the LOCUM. we declined . my problem is do i changed vets at this late stage [my boy is 14] or muddle on. i am al for equal rights but if you choose a vocation like this children are bound to eat away at your commitment so if in the future i have the need for a vet i will make sure that it is a man or at least a woman past child bearing years. sorry for my un pc outburst but there it is.

But today the vet herself is off sick! Men and older women can get ill too!

I'm sure you're worried about your dog, but an ill prson is more likely to make a mistake (plus might pass the illness on to you!), so I'm sure you'd rather your dog was treated by someone in full health.

So female vets aren't allowed to have children, does this apply to female doctors, nurses and dentists too??
Frankly i can't believe you said this....

While i sympathise with your situation with regard to your pet, you do have alternatives and can make a relatively easy decision to change your vet - i think a woman choosing NOT to have children is a slightly more difficult decision to make.

This world and life id full of GIVE and TAKE - this being just one of many examples.

Sharon

When you say she had an unbelievable 10 months maternity leave and left your boy in a unexplained crisis you make her sound like the worst person in the world. Remember that you are not her only client and she has the right to have children and she probably got pregnant BEFORE you had this crisis.

You may be feeling let down by the practice but don't let this make you think all womens vets are bad. I used to see a fantastic male vet and I trusted him 100% but he left to go back to new zeland, he was at the time treating my 5 month old puppy for a bad limp. When my puppy got to 9 months he was really bad and we took him to see a women vet, she took x rays and severe hip dysplasia was obvious and on seeing the plates i burst into tears, he was destined to be a gundog and here he was hardly able to walk, we made the decision to put him to sleep. The vet disgreed and we had a huge argument, she wanted £80 amonth for drugs but openly admitted it was the worse case she had seen in her career and he was unliky to have a good quaility of life but she wanted to try, i said no i didn't want him to suffer anymore and it was a harder enough decision as it was. She turn to me and said "well if you are going to do it then we will have to hurry up and get on with it as I'm late for a home visit" I was digusted at her attitude and so was the nurses. After this every time  she saw me in the waiting room she would give me dirty looks and I nearly left the practice, BUT I stayed and now she another women vet and she is FANTASTIC, so don't think they are all bad.

Kerry

What's so unbelieveable about 10 months' maternity leave?

I haven't had children but most of the people i know including my sister, has had at least10 months and more.

Am I really reading this? Perhaps you should suggest your vet puts her entire life on hold to tend to you and your dog?

"woman past childbearing years"...I've heard it all now.

Ouch!  So are you saying women shouldn't have a career and a family?  I think that's a little harsh, the poor woman can't be expected to have her family 'around' her patients!

Maybe your dog should of had it's 'crisis' once she came back from her maternity leave ;-)   JOKE!!

I agree, it is completely shocking that anyone should consider having time off after having a baby in order to spend time with it, bonding and probably breast feed when there is absolutely no reason at all that she could not have sent it to a day nursery for 12 hours 4 days after giving birth, employing a wet nurse and/or nanny or put it into a crate (I mean playpen) all day.  Shocking really. I reel in horror.

As for being sick, well there is absolutely no excuse for ill health in humans is there?  Only dogs are allowed to be ill............

Pru, do you actually live in the real world? :rolleyes:

As for being past child rearing years, according to the latest newspapers is there any such thing nowadays?

Pru, after reading, then re-reading your post, I think you would have had more sympathetic replies if you had left  the 'unbelievable' bit and the last paragraph " I'm all for equal rights..." etc. out :(
I'm feeling depressed with my vet at the moment as the one I see regularly has gone on holiday, and Maddie chose his time to be really ill. Also the senior vet I saw on Tuesday has now gone away till Tuesday next week and so we are seeing a younger, less experienced vet. BUT I know he is doing what he can for her and now we know its not Addisons' disease, got results today, he is doing more blood tests and possibly an exploratory op next Tuesday. I will be picking her up later today so she can be home for the weekend. But I was initially upset when my vet went away but soon realised it wasn't his fault :)
My daughter had 6 months maternity leave and they offered her another 6 and a teach at the school I work had 10 months so its really not her fault, just her right.
Dee

Hope your dog gets better soon, missie.

Thanks Labs, Hoping to pick her up soon :)

Dee

lol...not quite the response you were looking for was it Pru :p

Maybe you just needed to get it off your chest, eh? :-)

LOL

When it comes down to it, vets are just doing a job. Some are good, some are bad - yes, it's lovely if they really care, but it is just a job and if you don't like the vet - then use another one.

Daisy

my problem is do i changed vets at this late stage

I would change vets  if your not happy with this one,as obviously she cant put in the time that you expect that she did prior to having her child.I know some female vets who lived and breathed their work,but once they had kids their career just had to take a back seat,i'm afraid this is usually unavoidable,as their whole priorities change and their families come first :)
I dont think it matters how old your dog is,your old vet can send his file to the new one,and most likely you will be getting another dog in the future??

Maybe find a practice where there are lots vets in the same place,so when one is off you can easily see another.

no I don't think that was the response that was expected ((waves at colliesrus)) I have three vets at my practice that I like to see but in an "unexpected crisis" I will see whoever is available, eventually I will get to see my own preferred vet and they soon catch up with what's going on. If you don't trust the vets at your practice then don't go there :-) We all have a preferences with vets but if I didn't think that all the vets at my practice were good enough regardless of who I went to see I WOULDN'T GO THERE!! I have seen some very good locum vets in an emergency, just because they are locum doesn't mean they aren't good and I had no problem changing over to my usual vet afterwards.

The locum vet at our practice is the most excellent senior partner who's taken early retirement. I always hope to see the locum!
:)

Joking here but maybe just maybe we as women should have our children out in the fields and return to work almost at once like the women do in most third world countries lol.I have a lovely vet and if i can when needs be i do try and make the appointements when she is doing a surgery, but if she isnt and one of my dogs needed a vet well i would see whichever vet is in and doing a surgery.at the end of the day my dogs health and well being doesnt depend on one vet.

i cant believe you have a problem with your vet having her own life!,as for not having a vet of childbearing age...its people like you that make us mums have trouble finding jobs because people see us as unreliable. i would ALWAYS put  my child first and i bet most mums would.quite frankly i think your attitude is disgusting.im not up for a slanging match,but i really am shocked at your discrimination.

it was just the reponse i was expecting. i still think 10 months is way to long. i am a senior surgical registrar.and i have two loved and well adjusted children ,we are bonded  and very close yet i was expected in theatre just 6 weeks after each birth. my real compaint and several other clients was that no adequate cover was provided.no notes were made as to the difficult situation we were in at the time. it is true not all female vets are bad as i pointed out the consultant vet at the local hospital was and still is fantastic she has 4 children] but if my mind was not on the job and indeed one step ahead all the time even after chidbirth anyone of you in my theatre would be in danger.i am sorry to have generalised perhaps i was angry at one particular vet. i am now about to embark on a veterinary degree, so in future i will have to vent my spleen at myself

How do you no that your vet didn't have a problem arise during her pregnancy being the reason why she did not leave any kind of notes about your dog....

I personally think that mothers should have more then a year to spend with their child, I think a mother should be able to stay home till school age. I would much rather raise and bond with my child then have some one else do it....

Since you knew the vet was pregnant why did you not ask her to refer you to someone else on her time of leave? I think here this is up to you as well as her and she should not be at fault for it all.  Not only that Iam sure you have a file for your pet at the vet clinic and who ever is covering for this particular vet should have all the information needed to care for your dog. At least if my vet is not in someone else will deal with my dog and before they offer anything they look over their file first. My vet is also female and even tho I don't go in very often I can call her when in need and she always calls me back.

Do hope your dog is doing better :)

You may think 10 months is too long however surely it is personal choice?

The fact that you were "expected" in theatre just 6 weeks after each birth is again down to personal choice.

If it works for you, fine, but for others this would not be suitable.

Personally I did not have children so that I could leave them with someone else to raise whilst I went back to work.

I took 18 years maternity leave ... !
:)

disgusting ? interesting, picture this  i am scrubbed for theatre a young woman is preped for life changing op, but 2 of my team [female] have not turned up because of child/pregnancy problems,so yes unreliable is a good description .i hope you are never in this poor womans position.well done jeangenie stay at home mom good for you.

Then perhaps you should ensure you have suitable cover and back up in order to NOT be in this position in the first place. Would you be whinging if they were off with an unrelated medical problem? No.

I would be interested to know what YOU do pru when your children are ill etc etc?

Jeangenie. I took 16 years child leave. Now Im back at work just 3 hours a night. The kids are on the phone every night at work I consider myself STILL a full time mum even though they are not babies aged 10-17.
Infact if anyone tells you raising kids is time out they are surely wrong. Its a tough stressfull job with NO time off at all.
I go to work for the break.

In this case, Chloe, pru is indeed whinging because the vet was off sick - having had the effrontery to look after her own baby for 10 months. You can't get the staff nowadays ... ;)

Pru - just to give you some support here. I understand your reaction completely. Although women have fought for equality in the workplace there is no doubt that, once they have children, their priorities take a major shift. 
On the other hand you don't normally see the same kind of change in men who become fathers - their commitment to their career remains more or less the same.
What I really take exception to is women who have a full time job but expect the same job to be changed to part-time to suit their family needs when they return from maternity leave.  It happens all the time where I work.

Yup, and thats exactly whats happening with mine when I have baby Archie next month. I am going back part time. Why? Because I am good at my job, and last time I went back part time after Zack I produced exactly the same sales results as my MALE counterparts who were working full time.

Please do not tar all working mothers with the same brush.

Hear hear! ChloeH

"once they have children, their priorities take a major shift."

Of course they bloody do.  NO job or anything else for that matter is more important than one's children!

(Although looking at some of the stories you see in papers today no doubt there are those who take their responsibilities a little less seriously than the rest of us).
 
"On the other hand you don't normally see the same kind of change in men who become fathers - their commitment to their career remains more or less the same."

No because generally speaking they have a wife .................

Commitment to children should ALWAYS outweigh the commitment to the job IMHO

What I really take exception to is women who have a full time job but expect the same job to be changed to part-time to suit their family needs when they return from maternity leave.  It happens all the time where I work.

Jeez why dont you all take a step back and actually read your replies and have a good hard  look at how you are coming accross :( put yourself in pru's position,all she wanted was an innocent vent,i'm sure she expected a little controversy BUT how would you all like it if you had a strong opinion about something and then you were attacked from all sides and made to feel a complete fool???

Just for example i know some members use crates and others house their dogs outside,to me,these 2 things are deplorable but to some they make absolute sense,would you like to be bashed because of it?? I think not!

The point is some of you are coming accross as nasty,holier than thou pack of *******.

So pru has an opinion on maternity leave,so what,not once did she ever launch a personal attack on any of you or your views. I personally couldnt care less what Pru thinks of her vet or her family life,she has her opinion which should be accepted just as you have yours.Why is this dead horse still being flogged? I think Pru's views are being taken a tad to personally.

I just hate seeing anyone backed up against the wall like this :( And if it were happening to any one of you i would no doubt stick up for you too.

Most of you have had your say on more than one occasion,let it be and if you havnt got anything nice or constructive to say,dont say it at all,some of you should really practice what you preach :D

Well said, Frodo :)

personally i think saying 10 months maternity leave is too long is silly.i took a year off to spend with my son and work comes second,whilst i remain commited to my job as much as i can.my son comes first and always will....as  for the comment about using crates for dogs,i have a husky and being the destuctive type dog,i have to use one if im out(which is only for a few hours).my dog seems happy in it and its big enough for her to be comfortable.i cannot afford damage to my house as its rented.

If someone has a strong, controversial opinion about something that may affect most of this boards membership at some point in their lives, they can hardly expect to post it and it go unchallenged. To make such a statement as ten month maternity leave being too long and that women shouldn't be vets until they are past "child bearing age" is too controversial to be ignored.

Exactly ChloeH..............

It is not "personal" it is just a "right to reply" and the right to air the other side of the coin, just, as in fact, you have Frodo. ;)

Chloe - if you read pru's post again you will see she said that in future she would make sure she either chose a man or a woman who was past child bearing age - and that's surely her prerogative.

That is classed as discrimination ;)

Lucy
xx

Frodo, reread pru's post. Note how angry she is that the vet was off sick - perhaps the vet ought to book her illnesses in advance? I notice the dog wasn't ill enough to see the locum, but the regular vet should have struggled in regardless ...

Also a woman willing to go part time offers up a position to someone else for the rest of the hours, after all it isn't as if the woman going part time still expects full time pay, even if as is often the case pro rata she is producing more per hour than when doing full time.

Why is job sharing and part time availability seen as negative.  If that was all that was available then yes as not many peopole can survive on part time wages alone.

Such flexible work practices actually allow employers to retain expereinced and productive staff rather than loosing them completely.  Then when their circumstances allow they can be full time again, and in the mean time they ahve had the benefit of getting a new mwmber of staff up to scratch for when there is a full time position available.

She had a 10 month marternity?  Personally I'm with the group of a mother should bring up her children in it's early years.  So taking a long merternatiy, good for her!  With any working mother the child should ALWAYS come first, not the patients.  I no it sounds harsh but thats the way it is.   OK I don't have kids and I'm no-where near that stage in my life but I think your judgements are harsh, and in todays society with the "new man" how can you relie on a male?  More of the father are staying at home with the kids then there used to be many years ago.  Also about her having the day off sick was uncalled for, EVERYONE get sick and has to take days off work.  Vets arn't super humans.

pru obviously thinks she is! going back to work arter 6 weeks to do surgery.if she was at home with her children(personal choice) then someone else just a capable as her would have done the surgery.after all,shes not the only surgeon in the world,and the world will not fall apart if she stayed at home with her kids(i am not knocking her career as they are life-savers)but at the same time,if i needed surgery urgently and the person who was going to do it was with their child.i would totally understand!

>and the right to air the other side of the coin, just, as in fact, you have Frodo. ;-)<

Tohme as you may have noticed i didnt give my opinion on maternity leave one way or the other.

It just strikes me as very ironic some of the replies Pru has recieved

Where are the 2 regulars who constantly pop up  reminding (mostly the newbies) of the TOS? ;) Whats good for one should be the good for the other :)

There's no need to remind anyone about the ToS because they haven't been breached. ;) Nobody's made any personal remarks - politely disagreeing with someone's point of view isn't a personal attack! :)

Exactly my point jeangenie,one persons personal attack is anothers disagreement ;)

A disagreement is only a challenge to someone's opinion, not the person themselves! Even best buddies who love each other dearly can disagree without it being considered a personal attack. ;)

True. Thats what I keep telling my best mate when I critisize, that I'm doing it because I care :D :D

Dee

Love you Helen! (just in case your'e lurkin')  :D

True. Thats what I keep telling my best mate when I critisize, that I'm doing it because I care :-D :-D

Dee
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Lol Thats a good one :D