I'd recently relocated from Massachusetts to North Carolina with my senior Jack Russell, Jazzy. I'd rescued Jazzy from an abusive home where she'd lived for about 10 years and was extremely fear aggressive when I rescued her for another rescue. When they saw how aggressive she was the rescue owner refused to take her which in the end was their loss and my gain because Jazzy was a sweet, intelligent, loving mischievous soul. I've never written a bad review for a service but feel I have to speak for Jazzy. I'd recently relocated from Massachusetts to North Carolina with my senior Jack Russell, Jazzy. I'd rescued Jazzy from an abusive home where she'd lived for about 10 years and was extremely fear aggressive when I rescued her for another rescue. When they saw how aggressive she was the rescue owner refused to take her, which ended up being their loss and my gain. Jazzy would stay with me for the rest of her life. Jazzy had had no vet care in the years she spent with her prior owner so we were working on trusting a vet as well as office situations with barking dogs, a lot of activity, etc and on top of that she needed an injection. Her vet in MA was very quiet and slow when doing things and even though it took 5 years the vet helped Jazzy make progress in calming down and trusting the staff in a vet's office, where Jazzy's aggression was still mainly directed toward veterinarians She had some medical issues and that along with her age prompted me to find a vet along with the fact she had not yet had any rabies shots.
After a lot of research and asking a few people with dogs it seemed Dr. Rachel Blackmer would be a good fit. When I called to make an appointment at Southpoint Animal Hospital and explained Jazzy's fears the staff member immediately said Dr. Blackmer would be the best fit since she had a lot of experience in calming dogs and was Fear Free certified. According to the MSPCA.org, "The Fear Free concept is based on recognizing and taking steps to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress...associated with visits to the veterinary hospital and requires good communication between the owner and veterinary team." Because of Jazzy's fears I asked if I could go in to help keep her calm because I'm experienced in working with these types of dogs but I was refused by the scheduler. I wrote up 3 pages of Jazzy's history, issues, medications she takes, diets. I've done this for many years, especially if the dog is complicated. When the nurse came to get Jazzy from the car I again asked, and again was refused, I again warned him how Jazzy's behavior issues come out full blown in a vet's office, although she's now become very social after a lot of work and Prozac during her first year to help her calm her fears. He asked about her diet and meds and I told him they are on the list and that Jazzy had Prozac 100 mgs as Dr. Blackmer instructed 2 hours before the appointment (I gave it 3 hours before because I know it wouldn't be effectively working otherwise, and I was told Dr. B. said that was fine, and again warned him of Jazzy's fears. He took Jazzy and the papers, said the doctor would read them, and left.
This is when things got really bad, and this is my #1 fear for vets not having clients in the exam room. Most vets are ethical and gentle, and in my experience will either back off and take time to reassure a dog such as Jazzy and/or allow the owner in. Nope, not with Dr. Blackmer. When I was called to come to the entryway to get Jazzy I sensed something was wrong, and when I saw Dr. Blackmer there with the same man who came to the car, and Jazzy trying frantically to scratch her way out I went into alert mode. I said Jazzy's name a few times, but she didn't seem to have heard me. I thought, this is even worse than I feared. I didn't even have the door behind me closed and Dr. Blackmer started her attack, and attack isn't even strong enough for what she did. She screamed the whole time, to the point all the staff was watching. I didn't think of this before hand, but perhaps she thought she could verbally abuse me after whatever she did to Jazzy because there were no clients in the waiting room. Screaming, continuously jabbing her finger at me, and leaning into my face I was told to "NEVER, EVER, BRING A DOG BACK WITHOUT TELLING THE STAFF ABOUT JAZZY!!!" I was stunned; things she said made me realized yes, they scanned Jazzy's information, but nobody took the time to read it because I again, in capital letters, reminded the staff about Jazzy's fears on top of the supposed documentation on her chart when I booked the appointment and telling the nurse that "cared" for Jazzy. I use the word cared loosely here because he neglected to remind Dr. Blackmer of Jazzy's fears. Her verbal abuse seemed to go on forever, but by this time I was focused on Jazzy. She was drooling and huffing, running around in circles in the tight space, and was whale-eyed. Then I became angry but decided to not stoop to her level. I made my voice low so that she'd have to stop yelling to hear me when I told her I HAD told her staff, first with the person who scheduled Jazzy's appt. and told me she would mark the chart, then also the nurse who had come to the car. I pointed at the nurse but he didn't admit it; he just began looking at the floor. Dr. Blackmer didn't stop, even when I suggested she talk with the nurse and scheduler, nor did she apologize after she knew. She didn't miss a beat, she kept on yelling until she decided she was done.
After we returned to the car both Jazzy and I were stunned. I had never been treated like that by a licensed veterinarian in the 35 years of sharing my life with dogs and parrots, but more importantly I could not imagine what Jazzy had endured. It took Jazzy 2 days to decompress from whatever it was they did to her to make her regress to her fearful place. I'm an animal communicator and she and I worked through the trauma together and during that time I asked if she had anything to tell me about her experience there. She didn't want to tell me, so I contacted my mentor who Jazzy knows. Jazzy's first statement was "DON'T EVER take me to that BITCH AGAIN!!!" We were both stunned, because Jazzy has never spoken like that to either of us. I assured Jazzy that we were never going back, not even to see another vet in the practice.
Jazzy never told either of us what happened that day, and I'll never know because she died a few months later from heart failure. She had a slight murmur that was found when I rescued her and again at her exam in the month we moved,but a couple of months after that she became very ill and when I brought her to the emergency room one heart valve had become almost non functioning.With her advanced age and other conditions her present vet and I decided it was more humane to keep her comfortable until she decided she wanted to leave her body. One big benefit of being an animal communicator is that animals can have a say in their treatments, and that's what Jazzy did. It's always been in the back of my mind if the stress of that visit started the process of her heart giving out. I'll never know.
I know this is long but I wanted to make sure Jazzy's experience was known to others, and to be vigilant with our companion's care. Veterinarians such as this are very rare,and Dr.Blackmer has many followers.But in deciding to write this article I also found many adverse reviews. In the end,I'll never know, and we as caregivers of our pets never know if our pet will be the one that will be abused at the hands of a vet. Jazzy's gone and it looks like Dr. Blackmer has again relocated to another veterinary clinic. I never received a note or a call of apology from Dr. Blackmer, and I wondered if they were less concerned about controlling her and if instead they followed the Fear Free concepts maybe her heart issue would have been diagnosed sooner before she ran into acute trouble.
On a good note, the staff and the vet at Blue Pearl Animal Hospital were wonderful and understanding when I brought Jazzy there for her acute episode. They thanked me for telling them ahead of time of Jazzy's issues, and they adjusted their procedures to make it as less stressful as possible for Jazzy. Dr. Heather Swanson cared for Jazzy that day along with the rest of the staff, and she told me Jazzy was still reactive but nothing like I described at her previous vet's office. She said they were especially concerned about the stress because of her heart, and they followed Jazzy's reactions while caring for her. Dr. Swanson told me they put a cone over Jazzy's head, then draped a towel over it so her face was covered like I've seen on wild animal shows when the staff wanted to lessen the fear of wild animals needing treatment. Then, a staff member sat with Jazzy, speaking to her and stroking her to keep her as calm as possible.
Jazzy's follow up appointment was with a new vet, Dr. Lauren Whitley at Park Veterinary Hospital and Urgent Care. Dr. Whitely treated Jazzy as Dr. Swanson had, and Jazzy was calm and relaxed when her visit was done. Dr. Whitley stated they'd followed what Dr. Swanson did to help Jazzy control her anxiety and fear, and again a staff member concentrated on soothing Jazzy. I was impressed with both of these practices that were so different in their approach from Dr. Blackmer. I did think to ask if either of these vets were Fear Free certified and neither were. On the other hand I'd asked if Dr. Blackmer was certified and told she was. She wasn't but I was told she follows those practices and is the vet they use for anxious dogs.In the end that doesn't matter.What matters is that a veterinarian or a doctor, a nurse for people or a nurse for animals,all should be able to adjust their approach and reexamine how procedures are done in a case like Jazzy's and not further traumatize the client/patient. Hopefully now that COVID restrictions are easing clients will no longer be forced to stay in the waiting room for something like routine visits, unless the veterinarian is one the pet knows and you trust.
As I finished this I wondered if veterinarians take an oath to do no harm, and they do. I found an article written by Dr. Judy Morgan titled "Veterinarian's Oath." The first paragraph reads "All veterinarians take this oath upon graduation from veterinary college, being admitted into the field of veterinary medicine to practice wisely, with compassion and concern for both human and animal welfare. We also generally adhere to the medical profession’s ethic of Primum non nocere, first do no harm." ed up being their loss and my gain Jazzy would stay with me for the rest of her life. Jazzy had had no vet care in the years she spent with her prior owner so we were working on trusting a vet as well as office situations with barking dogs, a lot of activity, etc. Her vet in MA was very quiet and slow when doing things and even though it took 5 years the vet helped Jazzy make progress in calming down and trusting the staff in a vet's office. toward veterinarians She had some medical issues and that along with her age prompted me to find a vet.
After a lot of research and asking a few people with dogs it seemed Dr. Rachel Blackmer would be a good fit. When I called to make an appointment at Southpoint Animal Hospital and explained Jazzy's fears the staff member immediately said Dr. Blackmer would be the best fit since she had a lot of experience in calming dogs and was Fear Free certified. According to the MSPCA.org, "The Fear Free concept is based on recognizing and taking steps to reduce fear, anxiety, and stress (from now on referred to as FAS in this article) associated with visits to the veterinary hospital and requires good communication between the owner and veterinary team." Because of Jazzy's fears I asked if I could go in to help keep her calm because I'm experienced in working with these types of dogs but I was refused by the scheduler. I wrote up 3 pages of Jazzy's history, issues, medications she takes, diets. I've done this for many years, especially if the dog is complicated. When the nurse came to get Jazzy from the car I again asked, and again was refused, I again warned him how Jazzy's behavior issues come out full blown in a vet's office, although she's now become very social after a lot of work and Prozac during her first year to help her calm her fears. He asked about her diet and meds and I told him they are on the list and that Jazzy had Prozac 100 mgs as Dr. Blackmer instructed 2 hours before the appointment (I gave it 3 hours before because I know it wouldn't be effectively working otherwise, and I was told Dr. B. said that was fine, and again warned him of Jazzy's fears. He took Jazzy and the papers, said the doctor would read them, and left.
This is when things got really bad, and this is my #1 fear for vets not having clients in the exam room. Most vets are ethical and gentle, and in my experience will either back off and take time to reassure a dog such as Jazzy and allow the owner in. Nope, not with Dr. Blackmer. When I was called to come to the entryway to get Jazzy I sensed something was wrong, and when I saw Dr. Blackmer there with the same man who came to the car, and Jazzy trying frantically to leave I went into alert mode. I didn't even have the door behind me closed and Dr. Blackmer started her attack, and attack isn't even strong enough for what she did. She screamed the whole time, to the point all the staff was watching. I didn't think of this before hand, but perhaps she thought she could verbally abuse me after whatever she did to Jazzy. Screaming, continuously jabbing her finger at me, and leaning into my face I was told to "NEVER,EVER, BRING A DOG BACK WITHOUT TELLING THE STAFF ABOUT JAZZY!!!" I was stunned; things she said made me realized yes, they scanned Jazzy's information, but nobody took the time to read it because I again, in capital letters, reminded the staff about Jazzy's fears. Her verbal abuse seemed to go on forever, but by this time I was focused on Jazzy. She was drooling and huffing, running around in circles in the tight space, and was whale-eyed. Then I became angry but decided to not stoop to her level. I made my voice low when I told her I HAD told her staff, first with the person who scheduled Jazzy's appt. and told me she would mark the chart, then also the nurse who had come to the car. I pointed at the nurse but he didn't admit it; he just bean looking at the floor. Dr. Blackmer didn't stop, even when I suggested she talk with the nurse and scheduler, nor did she apologize after she knew. She didn't miss a beat, she kept on yelling until she decided she was done.
After we returned to the car both Jazzy and I were stunned. I had never been treated like that by a licensed veterinarian in the 35 years of sharing my life with dogs, but more importantly I could not imagine what Jazzy had endured. It took Jazzy 2 days to decompress from whatever it was they did to her. I'm an animal communicator and she and I worked through the trauma together and during that time I asked if she had anything to tell me about her experience there. She didn't want to tell me, so I contacted my mentor. Jazzy's first statement was "DON'T EVER take me to that BITCH AGAIN!!!" We were both stunned, because Jazzy has never spoken like that to us. I assured Jazzy that we were never going back, not even to see another vet in the practice.
Jazzy never told either of us what happened that day, and I'll never know because she died a few months later from heart failure. She had a slight murmur that was found when I rescued her and in the month we moved,but a couple of months after that she became very ill and when I brought her to the emergency room one heart valve had become almost non functioning.With her advanced age and other conditions her present vet and I decided it was more humane and keep her comfortable until she decided she wanted to leave her body. One big benefit of being an animal communicator is that animals can have a say in their treatments, and that's what Jazzy did. It's always been in the back of my mind if the stress of that visit started the process of her heart giving out. I'll never know.
I know this is long but I wanted to make sure Jazzy's experience was known to others, and to be vigilant with our companion's care. Veterinarians such as this are very rare,and Dr.Blackmer has many followers.But in deciding to write this article I also found many adverse reviews. In the end,I'll never know. Jazzy's gone, it looks like Dr. Blackmer has again relocated to another veterinary clinic, and I never received a note or a call of apology from Dr. Blackmer, and I wondered if they were less concerned about controlling her and followed the Fear Free concepts maybe her heart issue would have been diagnosed sooner before she ran into acute trouble.
On a good note, the staff and the vet at Blue Pearl Animal Hospital were wonderful and understanding when I brought Jazzy there. They thanked me for telling them ahead of time, and they adjusted their procedures to make it as less stressful as possible for Jazzy. Dr. Heather Swanson cared for Jazzy that day along with the rest of the staff, and she told me Jazzy was still reactive but nothing like I described at her previous vet's office. She said they were especially concerned about her stress because of her heart, and they followed Jazzy's reactions while caring for her. Dr. Swanson told me they put a cone over Jazzy, then draped a towel over it so her face was covered,like I've seen on wild animal shows when the staff wanted to lessen the fear of wild animals needing treatment. Then, a staff member sat with Jazzy, speaking to her and stroking her to keep her as calm as possible.
Jazzy's follow up appointment was with a new vet, Dr. Lauren Whitley at Park Veterinary Hospital and Urgent Care. Dr. Whitely treated Jazzy as Dr. Swanson,and Jazzy was calm and relaxed when her visit was done. Dr. Whitley stated they'd followed what Dr. Swanson did to help Jazzy control her anxiety and fear, and again a staff member concentrated on soothing Jazzy. I was impressed with both of these practices that were so different in their approach from Dr. Blackmer's bullying. I did think to ask if either of these vets were Fear Free certified and neither were. On the other hand I'd asked if Dr. Blackmer was certified and told she was. She wasn't but I was told she follows those practices and is the vet they use for anxious dogs.In the end that doesn't matter.What matters is that a vet or a doctor, a nurse for people or a nurse for animals,all should be able to adjust their approach and reexamine how procedures are done in a case like Jazzy's and not further traumatize the client/patient. Hopefully now that COVID restrictions are easing clients will no longer be forced to stay in the waiting room for something like routine visits, unless the veterinarian is one the pet knows and you trust. Finally, I want to add that I was a nurse.I realize that not only can there be good and bad doctors, nurse, aides, etc. but we're all human and can have good and bad days. But this felt different. This was our first appointment with Dr. Blackmer, and that was enough to turn both of us away from that practice.
