An old reputable practice in safe new hands
In 1968, a local vet, with a practice in Carnforth, the remarkable Bob Braithwaite (see Wikipedia), won a gold medal in trap shooting at the Mexico Olympic Games (famous for the Black Power salute), the highest of achievements at the highest of altitudes.
A few years later, in 1976, I had taken over caring for my older brother’s beautiful Alsatian-Rough Collie cross at my parents’ home in the West End of Morecambe. In that hot summer, distemper was rife and that lovely dog caught it, sadly not having been vaccinated. I contacted Bob Braithwaite to treat her. He did his best but, in the end, nothing could be done to save her. But what I will always remember was the day when he called unannounced at my parents’ home to see how Nina was doing, because he was in the area. Clearly a man who cared deeply for his patients.
His practice, like so many, is now part of a chain, and my impression of such chains is that profit takes priority over patients. Some of their prices are eye-wateringly high.
A few months ago, my current elderly dog, a Dalmatian, sustained an injury to her knee in her powerful back leg. She couldn’t put any weight on it and was clearly suffering. I contacted two practices, both parts of chains, to enquire about treatment. One made a very superficial examination that did not inspire confidence, during a brief expensive consultation, prescribed some expensive painkiller and casually quoted very high prices for X-rays and surgery. The second practice estimated even higher prices, I was told that they ring round to find the going rate for treatment.
So I hesitated, it just didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to lose my dog or see her suffer, but I didn’t want to pay absurdly high prices for treatment, potentially far in excess of what was covered by her insurance, with no certainty over its effectiveness. For some time, she had minimal exercise, pain relief and help from some Ortocanis support products (quickly and economically delivered direct from Barcelona), thinking that her injury might right itself, and being aware that some vets are reluctant to operate on an older dog.
But as time went on, it became clear that the injury was not going away. I had to act. A friend suggested going to a small independent local practice, A. P. Lee, in Carnforth, so one day I called in for a chat. I asked if they could spare me five minutes, we discussed my dog for 20+ minutes. I discovered that Alison Lee, whom I didn’t know but who has a very good reputation locally, had very recently retired and the practice was now being run by the new kid on the block, Joe Elliott.
After a couple of consultations, with great care taken to examine my dog and consider the various alternatives, and a much more reasonable estimate of cost and aftercare, I booked my dog in for surgery, it felt right. That is of course always a worry, but post-op I knew I had put my faith in safe caring hands. I was given a detailed account of what Joe found and how he had treated my dog, and the various steps we will take together on her road to recovery. She will never be a young dog again, but she should soon be able to progress to reasonably long pain-free walks, which is all I ask, and for which I am truly grateful.