Medical Issues and Questions

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Comment by Andrea Schneider on November 4, 2009 at 7:13pm

Really important article for us to know about...Prosthetics Keep Animals Active, Even When Injured in USA Today "Paw Print"

Comment by Tes Pretonsl on October 30, 2009 at 1:50pm

My husband, and as I found later, one other person, experienced repeated serious problems with Dr. Ron Earp (Laurelwood Animal Hospital, Beaverton Hwy). We all became aware of the full extent of his poor medical care months down the line. We all went to other vets for assessments (Dove Lewis emergency, and elsewhere) and were told Dr. Earp did a very poor job with (1) early assessment, (2) ordering the rights tests and xrays, or ordering them at all, (3) doing simple physical exams correctly (eg, anal palpating exam), (4) he prescribed medicine over the phone without any exam, (5) often diagnosed over the phone, (6) we all gave him clear descriptions of our dog's symptoms and he worked hard to explain-them-away with "I'm not worried", (7) he said he likes to avoid xrays to "avoid the dog having unnecessary xray radiation"; consulting doctors said xrays were NECESSARY for all of us, and Dr. Earp's explanation is unacceptable, (8) by not doing xrays, our dog's got worse and worse; he waited to the last minute, literally, to do xrays, which showed grave problems, (9) when he gave us the bad news, he spoke to us as if he found the news interesting (like an interesting case); he had a look of enthusiasm and interest, and even a little smile, as he told us the grave news; he told us while he looked away in the room (he has a lot of trouble with simple eye contact). (10) We told him of symptoms 6+ months before, as well, and he failed, then, and later, to detect an anal gland tumor with a simple inner palpation of the area; on the same day as our other consultations, he found nothing; the other consulting doctors, on the SAME DAY, immediately found the anal gland tumor, immediately, and easily, they all said. (11) We kept telling Dr. Earp of worsening symptoms, and he kept diagnosing and prescribing via phone. (12) Finally, when doing in-office exams, this is when he failed to do competent tests, and we had to turn the case over to another veterinarian, who immediately and quickly found everything. (13) It was too late for all of us, though. Our dogs died unnecessarily.
(14) The consensus from the consulting vets is Dr. Ronald Earp did an extremely poor, sub-standard, job handling our cases. We came to him with presentations of our dog's symptoms, and he misdiagnosed, avoided diagnosing, rushed us, did careless in-office exams, avoided in-office exams at many points, avoided xrays, and outright failed to do competent physical exams (rectal exams, etc).
(15) We all made a point to look at our dog's medical records, and were baffled by the illegibility of Dr. Earp's writing. I mean, very illegible; mostly scribble-like words. To us, this is just another showing of his carelessness. Written medical records should be done with care and thoroughly. It's reflection of the quality of care provided. When done hastily and without care, this reflects poor care. And yes, Dr. Earp's care was poor.
(16) I found he is being, or was, investigated by the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examiners Board http://www.ronearp.blogspot.com and I believe he was sent notice by the OVMEB of "requiring additional training" "peer review" and "letters of concern."
Note: even very very poor vets, if caught, will usually only get fined $1000-1500, and have some additional training required. Given the bad state of veterinary care and accountability, rarely does any vet loose their license, especially in Oregon.

Comment by Emma on October 15, 2009 at 2:18pm

Ok, I'll look into them. Thanks!

Comment by Andrea Schneider on October 15, 2009 at 10:59am

Dolitter does a great daily newsletter, I agree with Holland. I don't see an RSS feed capability for her site, but you can sign up for her daily email subscription.

Comment by Andrea Schneider on October 15, 2009 at 10:01am

I use Pets Best Insurance for Ellie. I learned about them through Pearl Animal Hospital.

Comment by Emma on October 15, 2009 at 12:49am

I'm with Christine--looking for good pet insurance. Good/bad experiences? Thanks!

Comment by Christine Chambers on September 8, 2009 at 6:21pm

Does anyone have suggestions for good pet insurance companies. I am looking for one that covers allergy-related issues, and there are so many to choose from! Any information would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Comment by Andrea Schneider on August 15, 2009 at 6:40pm

I just checked the blog out, it looks good. Here's a live link, thanks Holland.
The vet is very talented and has a cool education.

Comment by Holland VanDieren on August 15, 2009 at 2:55pm

Whoops, the link in my comment didn't take. Here's the vet blog I recommend: www.dolittler.com

Comment by Holland VanDieren on August 15, 2009 at 2:52pm

Hi, new here. I recently subscribed to a very thoughtful, informative and often wittily off-beat daily blog written by a vet. I've learned a lot in just a few weeks and recommend giving it a look-see:

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