I am sorry you have had such a negative experience with the veterinary profession. I have been in the business as an animal care provider, apprentice dog trainer, receptionist, veterinary technician, and mostly as a veterinarian, and I can honestly say that I have only had the displeasure of working with one veterinarian who seemed to be all about the money. And yes, there are an awful lot of vets in my state (CT) that are less than willing to work with people. My only comment would be that by law, in CT (I obviously cannot speak for other states other than CO) by signing a rabies certificate, I am putting my license on the line and am saying that this said animal is HEALTHY enough to warrant getting a rabies vaccine. If you were to believe all these posts, you would come to the conclusion that vaccines are not to be given arbritrarily. They absolutely can be dangerous. And I would want a veterinarian to throroughly examine my animal before administering it or any injection. If the mobile vet can do all of that for $5, so be it. I am glad he can provide a service like that for people who either chose to or cannot afford it otherwsie. If he is just popping the vaccine into the animal, like is done with some vaccine clinics, then they are part of the problem, not the solution. As far as doing your own vaccines, more power to you.
You sound more than qualified (I would say that the AVERAGE pet owner is not). I have lots of clients that do that. As a side note, I had three or four that had severe vaccine reactions. And when they called the company to report it,as should be done with every reaction otherwise we cannot learn from our practices, they said that had the vaccine been given by a licensed veterinarian, they would have not only supported them medically (which they did anyway), but financially as well. In other words, because it wasn't done at a hospital under "controlled" circumstances, they couldn't speak to the condition of the vaccine, the way it was administered, etc. Right or wrong, that is what they said.
Instead of attacking the profession, why not direct the energy into something constructive like mandating more continuing education for veterinarians (my state, CT, has ZERO requirements, by the way... but I grew up and went to Colorado State University and they have much higher standards for vets... a coincidence that those are the vets I had the privilege to work with? I doubt it). How is labeling a profession doing any good? Because I have had a few nasty German Shepherds, does that mean I should be ranting and raving about them all being bad? Because I have had a few rescue groups that have done some pretty unscrupulous and unethical acts, do they all deserve that wrath? Out of the 1,000's and 1,000's of vets that are practicing in the United States, should a select few (even 20) that you have unfortunately been exposed to, be the poster children for the profession? Of course not. Some people would call that discrimination.
I'm not trying to change yours, or anyone else's opinion. That is why we live in this great country of ours, because we have freedom of speech and are allowed to agree to disagree. But, instead of directing anger and misdirected information at the profession, why not direct it at those that deserve it?
And, although I believe it is not only the right, but absolute repsonsibility of animal owners to be informed and advocates for their pet's health, taking out of context what other's publish, and then criticizing veterinarians for disagreeing with said abstracts, is not going to anyone any good. I am not saying that anyone is doing that, but diplomacy would work wonders there. It should be a team of health care providers for pets. Not just the vet, not just the owner, but both communicating and discussing what options are available.
Just my thoughts. Good luck to you and your rescue group. It sounds like you have had a lot of success in finding good forever homes, and that is a hard thing to do!
