I was scrolling through postings on this forum and another, and noticed threads about vets not being sure of sicknesses in rabbits,..where I live there are only a few clinics that will see any animals besides dogs and cats...so most of the time it is guesswork,,,,
I took some animal courses last yr and out of 9 months of subjects, dogs,cats, horses, cows and pigs were covered in detail for months. For rabbits and guinea pigs and reptiles,,there was less than a chapter per animal, and covered in a day or so. I don\'t really understand this,,rabbits and guinea pigs are owned by so many pet people,,,why aren\'t there more clinics that will see them and that are knowledgeable about the diseases etc????
My guess as to why is that dogs and cats are pets that people spend tons of money on. Horses, cows and pigs are the more expensive livestock that farmers spend money on. Rabbits and poultry in the past were less expensive livestock that farmers would slaughter when there were problems, and they would not be seen by a vet. If you bought a pet rabbit for $5 and it cost $20 to take it to the vet when it got sick, dad or big brother would just take it out back and shoot it, and then you would get another one, because the vet bill cost more than the value of the animal.
Things have changed over the past 20 years or so, and now people take animals to the vet no matter what it costs, because the thinking has gone from animals being property, to animals being part of the family. I think the educational system just hasn\'t caught up with the times yet.
At the school I go to, there is a vet tech program. On campus, they have pet animals; dogs, cats and rabbits, and lab animals; guinea pigs, rats and mice. I think dogs and cats are the main focus for first year students.
I can understand the farm animals,,,if you are going to work for a country vet,,and the old attitudes about shooting the rabbit that you mentioned.......but I think it doesn\'t make sense in the city..it costs me as much to have a vet see my dog as it does to take a rabbit in.
I\'ve seen people spend thousands on surgeries for dogs, and I\'ve seen people spending hundreds on smaller animals. I know most people are cat or dog people, but it\'s frustrating trying to find a knowlegable vet for exotics.
I know what you mean. It would be interesting to know what kind of politics goes on when it comes to setting the curriculum at schools and universities where Veterinary medicine is taught.
Well, I know with my course,,the insstructor basically picked what she wanted to teach,,though she had to have some compp time in it,,,which she did\'t like
Vets are nice to have around but sometimes (like now) you don\'t particularly like their diagnosis. I posted a thread about my bunnys\' diapearing nose a little while back and charcies advice was to see a vet.
I did, and he said it was cancer and there was nothing that could be done for the bunny. He also said it was a mixed blessing because it could have been contagious and spred through the rest of my bunnys.
He offered to put the bunny to sleep but i\'m going to put it off because he\'s in no pain at present. I\'ll have it done when needed.
Very sorry to hear about your bunny\'s diagnosis.
Sorry about your bunny, and thank you for sharing your bunny\'s story.
Garden Flowers Rabbitry Wrote:Well, I know with my course,,the insstructor basically picked what she wanted to teach,,though she had to have some compp time in it,,,which she did\'t like
I can understand that happening in a few classes, but not the whole curriculum. I think that either the demand for people who are trained in rabbits and exotics isn\'t as great as we think it should be, or there are special interests groups that have some influence on the curriculum, or both. I suspect that the majority pets that do not have to get annual vaccinations almost never see a vet.
Tim:
Sorry to hear about your bunny\'s diagnosis.
As long as your rabbit is responsive and as you say, not suffering, I think it is OK to put off the inevitable. Once you notice a drop in appetite or listless appearance though, I would take him back.
Again, so sorry...
Charlcie