#19 Dealing With Vet Hazing


This week’s episode is in response to a plea from a dog owner on Facebook. She was finding the vets around her intent on selling her “drugs” (read: pesticides) and vaccines when she didn’t want either. She called it “literally PUSHING” her to get these unwanted treatments.

While she’s been avoiding them for a few years as her dog has been doing well since a switch to a raw food diet three years ago, she still would like to avail herself of veterinary services from time to time:

— Worm checks
— HW tests
— Titers

How to get that diagnostic work done without being pressured into unwanted poisons and vaccines she knows are not necessary?

Can you relate to Shanna’s difficult position?

Would you like to have better control over what you consume at a vet’s office without being pushed (or worse, shamed) for your “knowing better” than to partake in dangerous drugs?

I’ve got some answers for Shanna, and share an even more egregious pressuring by a vet whose motto seemed to be “My way or YOU’LL PAY.” When I wrote about this on my blog some years back, the conventional veterinary community shrieked fowl. No matter, as my readership could relate and shared similar stories and appreciation.

Perhaps these examples and answers will help empower you to be a wiser consumer and get only the services and products you choose from my profession.

Links for this episode

How to choose a well-qualified homeopathic vet: Recommended Resources, and scroll down to AVH list with its accompanying video.

The blog post mentioned: Are You a Victim of Veterinary Abuse?

Shanna’s page on Facebook, “Dogs were never meant to live on kibble and drugs

Want negative heartworm tests yearly without risking the monthly pesticides? Click here to see what’s been working for decades, from Florida to Hawaii.

Thanks for listening!

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[fusebox_transcript]
Coming soon: What does a homeopathic consult look like? And feline homeopathic vet Dr. Andrea Tasi will be rejoining us!

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19 Comments

  1. Sandy Grannis on January 19, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    Thank you so much, Dr Falconer for the invaluable information and support you offer. I feel like I’ve found a home!
    We were seeing a conventional vet with my previous dog, a rescued Husky. He was well liked by most but I found him arrogant and soldiered on. I could never tell him that I fed raw because he was not on board and was sure to blame the food for any ailment (hardly any). The deal breaker came when Blaney dislocated his shoulder and was on prednisone. Dose was gradually reduced until it was time to stop & at that visit (it was 3 months since the event) the vet said he wanted to keep him on it for the rest of his life (8 at the time)!! He said the dose was so low it was piss water!!! I was gob smacked & speechless. I know how damaging steroids are & this was killing me. I found a PT who evaluated Blaney, no radial nerve damage, and said he can go and act like a normal health husky. The vet still wasn’t buying it. So I said bye-bye (really just never returned). Wish I had the courage to fire him and explain why.
    Was so relieved with the new intergrative vet I actually welled up at the 1st visit. I finally felt heard & respected.
    Thank you again !!
    Sandy Grannis

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 19, 2021 at 10:03 pm

      Wow, good for you, Sandy. Pred for life, for an injury? You were aware enough to see that was not a winning prescription and would in fact damage your dog! Bravo. It’s really fulfilling to “be heard,” isn’t it? Why don’t all doctors listen to their clients? So glad you’ve moved on. Maybe a letter some day to explain to the former vet why you’re no longer coming. He needs to know, whether you confront him in person or not.

      As I mentioned, the sympathetic vet’s practice needs to be spread widely, where ever you have influence. These folks need encouragement and word of mouth is a powerful thing.

  2. MissB on January 6, 2021 at 6:54 pm

    I have had a vet tell me she won’t give my senior 6lb dog any treatment until I have her up to date on shots… mainly the rabies. I told her my dog has had serious allergic reactions to the rabies both time she had it (the first time was a mild reaction, the second scared me (big swollen bump, itching, vomiting, and lethargy) and that I refuse her to go through that. The vet said it doesn’t matter, no rabies no treatment… had to go to another vet that respected me and my dog and ignored her vaccination status. Which is great because now I am not afraid to take my dog in for her annual wellness exams due to fear of being harassed about vaccinating her.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 6, 2021 at 8:07 pm

      Bravo, B! Tell everyone about both vets, if they are interested. One should be shunned, the other showered with business.

  3. Michele on January 5, 2021 at 9:16 pm

    Thank you for giving us the courage to stand up to our local vets who insist theirs is the only path. I have been searching for a homeopathic vet for a long time and your suggestions are great on how to do this in an area where none are to be found. We have fed a raw diet for 15 years and have had no vaccinations for at least that long except for the initial singles. I’m fighting the legal rabies vaccination issue in our area, but still can’t bring myself to administer them. I learn so much with every issue. We appreciate you!

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:44 pm

      Glad you’re finding resonance, Michele. If you are taking on the legal battle over rabies, be sure to use Delaware’s example, widely available I’m pretty sure. They now allow a vet’s letter and a rabies titer to stop the madness of repeated vaccination, no illness necessary.

      Contact others who’ve successfully changed their state’s laws and keep us posted. If you write me via my Contact page, I’ll give you a woman’s name who’s helped many get properly organized and knows legislative workings.

  4. Joy Metcalf on January 5, 2021 at 8:42 pm

    A few years ago, I had a local vet that I would take my Fox Terrier to, and she was great, never hassled me about vaccines, worked with my homeopathic vet. Then she got married, the practice she worked for was sold to her and her husband (also a vet), and her husband took over. I continued to take my dog there for diagnosis only until one day the vet tried pushing me into a drug therapy and I steadfastly refused. A few days later I got a letter in the mail telling me I needed to find another veterinarian because they wanted their clients to be “cooperative”.

    Outraged, I sent a reply to him saying, “I always thought ‘cooperation’ meant two minds working together. What you are talking about is dictatorial.”

    I then found a TCM vet that will work with me and a homeopath, should I pull one in.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:40 pm

      Excellent, Joy. Pediatricians have been doing the same thing for “vaccine hesitant” parents for some time now. How far we’ve come from doctors being educators and nurturers of health.

      So glad you’ve found a good one. Spread the word in your area. These vets who listen and respect animal owners need to be rewarded with more business.

  5. Lesley Dolby on January 5, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    Thanks Dr. Falconer for this very valuable podcast.

    It’s incredible to me how difficult it is to find homeopathic and even holistic vets, even in some larger metropolitan areas. It is often a tedious job for us to find someone sympathetic to our cause, so thank you for your great information.

    For those of us who believe the way you do, it’s also unbelievable how many of us have friends and family members who think we are at best crazy, or at worst abusive, when it comes to wanting our animals to be free of toxic medications/vaccinations/monthly preventitive treatments. The conventional medical system we have here in the US, both for humans and animals, really has everyone brainwashed into thinking people like us, who desire a more natural lifestyle, are wackos.

    Thank you for all you do and for getting the message out to as many people as you do. You are very much appreciated. :- )

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:37 pm

      We need to choose our friends carefully and associate with those who’ve dared to open their minds and see our current “religion of medicine” for what it is: a wildly misinformed system that’s driven by profit first and foremost. With family members, we may just have to be more patient and not try to push, only suggest, that there might be a better, more insightful way to view health and disease than the flawed military “at war” scenario main stream medicine seems so enamored with.

      The “war on cancer,” for example: how many casualties to date? Are we any closer to “victory,” as we ignore the ecosystem we’re destroying and we slash and burn cancer cells? Obviously not.

      Thanks, Leslie.

  6. Sherri on January 5, 2021 at 11:56 am

    I have had to fire a few vets before I finally found the right one. I was bullied relentlessly by a previous office where I’d been a client for over 20 years when I made the decision not to continue to revaccinate my dogs every three years. I had one pompous vet tech even tell me that they could “force me” to vaccinate for rabies!! Absolutely unbelievable and they lost all my business. I view my vet as someone I’ve hired and am paying for the services that I CHOOSE and need, most of them don’t view it that way at all. My current vet is a really great person. He knows where I stand on vaccinations and is fine with my decision. He is always ready to help with anything I need and doesn’t try to push anything else. I totally agree with Kenzie’s post about treating a first visit with a new vet as a job interview! I took my healthy senior dog to my new vet for a general check-up so I could see how he handled her, ran her labs, and we discussed what we would and would not be doing with my animals. He and his office passed with flying colors and I do feel very lucky to have him on board.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:30 pm

      Excellent, Sherri, and just as we should “share” our good experiences with vets (tell everyone about this vet!!), we need to call out the bad actors as well (warn everyone, based on your experiences, so no one else is damaged).

      It’s really not hard to learn enough, through my site and many others, how to “call the shots,” i.e. decide what you will and will not allow in and on your animals. You don’t need a degree in vet medicine to learn about things most conventional vets ignore, like duration of immunity. Or why you are advised not to get the flea “control” poisons on YOU, but admonished to put them on your dog or cat. You can hire a vet to get a clear diagnosis when needed, but that in no way locks you into accepting treatments from them.

      Bravo for how far you’ve come. I WANT this for all my readers and podcast subscribers!!

  7. kenzie rhodes on January 5, 2021 at 10:56 am

    The Medical Police State is alive and well, and is trying very hard to gain total control. I’m so gratified that Dr. Will is calling attention to it from the lens of veterinary Pet parents everywhere; if you haven’t already guessed (or experienced it first hand), medical bullying of human children…and increasingly of adults…..is an absolutely obscene reality that must be confronted and rejected collectively by all of us. This is the Pharmaceutical Religion, and its high priests are doctors, dentists and veterinarians….tirelessly pushing their faith on the masses. If you speak up, even dare to question the accepted dogma, they threaten to report you to child protective services or animal control. Taking back your power, refusing to give these people your money, is absolutely essential.
    – I have found that farm vets seem to be typically more down-to-earth and much more “old school” than commercial vets who are so burdened by debt and overhead that they feel they have no choice other than to push and push the control narrative. You really have to look, and have tough conversations right up front with any vet or doctor that you’re considering– and walk away immediately if what you’re hearing is not in alignment with your values. Immediately. This should be treated like a job interview — and YOU own the business. You hire who you want. You. Are. Not. A. Victim.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:24 pm

      Beautifully said, Kenzie. That’s been my focus for 2 decades, once I noticed that the ever increasing load of chronically ill pets was coming from, ironically, “prevention” in its current form: gross over-vaccination, poisons for every pest, and lifeless, toxic processed food made by huge corporations intent on using least cost ingredients and maximizing profit.

      The parallels between human med systems and vet med systems are obvious and consumers of either need to be well informed to prevent harm to themselves or those innocents in their care.

  8. Lorraine on January 5, 2021 at 8:15 am

    Hi Dr. Falconer,
    I would like to mention one other awful thing that many people are having a problem with. Vets are denying pet parents request for a vial of their dogs blood in order for them to send it out through “Protect the Pets” for a titer. As I’m sure you know, Dr. John Robb will assist anyone in getting a titer for rabies, Parvo, Distemper & Hep. In order to do so the dog parent has to obtain a spun vial of blood. This seems like a very easy task especially when a dog is at the Vets for a yearly checkup and full blood panel. There is always blood left over from a draw done on a yearly exam. I normally recommended titers through Protect the Pets and dog parents are coming back with tales of their vet refusing the request for a vial of blood. Other Vets say the titer has to be done by them, they cannot just give a vial of blood to the pet parent (titers through a Vet’s office is an outrageous cost). A titer is important to anyone who has stopped allowing their dog to be vaccinated. People who board their dogs for any reason, people who take their dogs to training, take them to a doggy day care ect. These places will usually require proof of vaccination but will accept a titer showing immunity. So how do dog parents get around this new obstacle?

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:37 am

      You simply get out the two word solution: YOU’RE FIRED. And move on, giving your money to someone honest and sympathetic to your needs.

      Now, that doesn’t speak to the unnecessary over use of titer testing, nor the simplicity of getting a letter from a sympathetic vet to have on file saying your dog is a patient, already immunized, and won’t be getting any further vaccines. I had a 99% acceptance rate for those when I wrote them. If the groomers and kennels start demanding titers, that’s just more foolishness, as I’m guessing the owners of those establishments have missed the memo on DOI (duration of immunity, another useful term to look up in the search box over there in the right hand column).

  9. Jennifer on January 5, 2021 at 7:43 am

    Thank you Dr. Falconer,
    We went through that too.

    Would you weigh in on Ivermectin for Covid? I’ve listed side effects, explained its an insecticide and stated the nutrients that are effective to treat it. I’m immune compromised, 60, and had it. Obviously, I recovered. People are so terrified they’re grasping at poisons to treat something that is 99.95% recoverable from.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 5, 2021 at 9:31 am

      Ivermectin? First hand experience: I used to paste deworm horses with it in my first 7 years in practice. I always wore rubber gloves, carefully disposed of the empty tube in my truck’s waste basket, washed my hands thoroughly, and inevitably, on the drive to my next farm, I’d start to feel nauseous and dizzy.

      Then, when I studied it more closely as I wrote up my drug free HW prevention protocol, I learned it was also a significant immune system risk — known to trigger autoimmune disease.

      Taking that to prevent or treat COVID-19? Far worse risk than just getting the virus, in my mind. It was a mild two day flu in my body, back in March. Search this site for “nux vomica” if you want a far better solution.

      And way to “survive” the virus — even immune compromised, I expect you rank it as a pretty mild “foe” as well, am I right?

      • Jennifer on January 6, 2021 at 8:31 am

        Thank you Dr Falconer. My grand kids got it first. They were limp for a day, slept a lot and had boogie noses. It was a little worse for my daughter and milder for my son-in-law. I’d been assaulted with pesticide 6 months earlier. It caused me to lose 120 lbs from being unable to get food in or retain it. There were a lot of other life threatening symptoms including MCAS. So while COVID was the worst flu I’ve ever had, it was not worse than the symptoms of pesticide poisoning. My husband was also poisoned when he came to get me. He didn’t lose his ability to eat or get sick at that time but he had the same level of COVID as I had. We were both extremely immune compromised.

        I appreciate the info on the immune compropising side effects of Ivermevtin. Thats important especially as pesticide bioaccumulates, and is known to cause adverse effects that surface decades after exposures.

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