VETS WHILE TRAVELING.

We are not full-timing yet, but if or when we do, I am concerned about vets.  What do full-timers do when it comes time for your fur kids to have their annual check ups.  Do you travel back to home base and have your regular vet do the checkup or do you use a vet local to where you are at?

We are only half-timers, so generally get routine stuff done when at our home base. However, we have used vets in various places when we travel and have mostly found them to be helpful. Many vets are small businesses and the owner & staff are often intrigued by having an itinerant RVer as a client, so we feel that the smaller vets are a better bet than the bigger operations at places like Petsmart.

As a vet, I've got to say it is nice to be able to see someone that knows you and your pet however we certainly like seeing the ones that are just traveling through too.  Just be sure to carry all their records with you.  It can be very frustrating trying to know what they have had or may  need.  Also, have any previous/recent test results, this would really help in figuring out what may be going on with them.  We know they are part of  your family

Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl, good advice from a pro.

Just be sure to carry all their records with you.

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Chris keeps all the doggie records in a rectangular Tupperware box. On one of our trips, she couldn't find that Tupperware box anywhere in the coach, and was convinced she'd left it at home, until ... I went in the fridge to get something and discovered the box. Chris uses an identical Tupperware box to store cheeses in the fridge at home; When we loaded the coach before the trip, she (or I) must have been on autopilot  ;D

I'm glad y'all brought up both the topics of vets and records while traveling.

I have a suggestion for records.  For people traveling with their pets I think online digital copies of your pets records would be a good plan.  Here is my ideas:

1 If the vet has the option to email your records to you then great.  For hard copies, you can easily digitize them by taking a picture of them with your phone/tablet camera.

2 Dropbox would be a great online service to use for stirring them.  With your Dropbox account and the app for your computer, tablet or phone it would be easy to manage, access, and add documents.

3 it would be easy to give them to a new vet even from your phone since all of the Dropbox apps make it easy to email documents or links to them.  In a pinch you could also log in at a local copy place or business center and print a copy.

Whatcha think?

Our vet happens to be an affiliate of VCA Animal Hospitals, which is a nationwide chain of both company owned and independent franchise operations.  Although I was never a great fan of this concept, our vet is wonderful and being with VCA, we are able to take a look at their web site to spot locations along our way.  They have access both your pet's records and your vet if the need should arise.

Our girl has chronic issues and therefore we frequent the vet and ran into some very questionable local places. We don't have a place that we always return to annually so we joined Banfields wellness program (in Petsmarts like Gary mentioned) and therefore regardless of what Banfield we visit, they have her records on file and we can also access her records online. To our surprise the vets and entire staff(s) have been absolutely wonderful at everyone that we have visited (7 different ones in 7 different states). We found this to be a very good resolve for us. She also has epilepsy and therefore requires narcotics in which we also acquire through Banfield's along our route.
Good luck with your decision
Dar

We also have an epi-dog so am glad to read of your luck with Banfields.

Here's my question for those that have experience in these matters......before this recent trip, we found a stray Mini-schnauzer(no chip, no collar and no tags)...so we waited the month for shots while checking for anyone looking for this puppy(8 months old)....no one was looking or came forward so we started the Puppy series of shots knowing that while we were on the road we'd have to get the second set of DHPP shots...we even had our Vet write out a letter indicating the same. Low and behold....everyone wants a 45 dollar office visit to go along with the 20 dollar shot. All I know is that our Vet in CA never charges an office visit when just administering annual shots. Maybe AZ is different? I guess if we went in "cold turkey" with No note from our Vet I might understand ......OK, rant over, I'll probably get it done anyways but just wondering?

We have both of our dogs on Banfield Wellness plans. It's only like 25-35 per dog, per month, and it has been well worth it. Our Golden Retriever has special needs, joint problems, a bad leg, and allergies. He requires constant medication, and we pick it up wherever we are. We moved around a lot when s/o was in the Army, and we always had a Banfield nearby. We never have to pay for office visits, and everything else is VASTLY discounted. We have saved thousands of dollars by using them.

I know this is old, but to answer InVogue's question:

In my experience, the practice that I worked for always charged an exam fee before administering vaccines. Only exception was if you brought in a puppy for a vaccine series. We would charge an initial exam fee with the first set, and then the 2 (or 3) successive vaccination sets did not have an exam fee.

Because you would be going to a new clinic, I can see why they would charge an exam fee since your pup has not been seen by them before. I know that in our practice, whether you were only going to come once or a hundred times, we still had to fill out the same paperwork and maintain a file. And, because your pup hadn't been seen by us before (even if you went to a vet previously), our vets still wanted to do an exam to make sure your dog was healthy enough to receive the vacc. Each annual vaccine set was always accompanied by an exam fee...I haven't heard of a vet not charging one with only the exception of what I said above and what I'm going to say below.

If you wanted vaccines without an exam, the only place I could think of who would do this is a "low-cost" vaccination clinic like the ones that are held by local vets.  We have several every year that are held in various places for the sole purpose of getting folks to have pets vaccinated against rabies, though they offer all kinds of other vaccines as well. Anyway, even I have used vaccine clinics for some of our dogs just because I honestly didn't want to pay an exam fee or the overhead expenses that must be charged when maintaining a vet practice. I can only do that for our large dog now, because our small dogs get reactions to rabies vaccines and all also do like for them to have a full exam.

I know by now your dog is fully vaccinated, but I was just going to throw in my 2 cents  

We live in Southeast AZ and our Vet charges $35.00 for office visit.