Doggie Health

When we were living in Waterloo, we had an excellent veterinarian for Chana.

Among hundreds of vets, we chose Michelle because of her location and her website. It was certainly a practical choice rather than a logical one, but in the end we really lucked out. She was also an animal chiropractor, and most importantly she prescribed homeopathic medicines. Focusing on keeping Chana healthy by raw-food diet, we were really happy with Michelle's expertise in alternative medicines.

Here in Grenoble, there are also milliards of vets, and we again chose ours for the practical reason: 5 minutes walking distance. He has a very small practice; no receptionists, no vet techs nor vet assistants. His waiting room is usually busy, which I take it as a good sign. Using my fieldwork skills--i.e. visit as often as possible even for a minor thing, I established a fairly good rapport with him. He even let me leave without paying one time, as telling me to come back the following week for the paperwork.

For me being a mild case OCPD (self diagnosed), I had some difficulty at first to comprehend the veterinarian practice here. After all, it all comes down to the French laxness and individualism, and of course my excellent ability to imagine the worst case scenarios. Here are some case studies.

Q: Chana's rabies vaccination is valid until 2012. How does it work here in France?

A: In France, the rabies vaccination is administered annually, and it is the law. HOWEVER, it is the same vaccine as you get in Canada, so if you prefer not to give her, I guess that's okay too.

→Um, did he just say that I can ignore the law? For sure I prefer not to inoculate Chana unnecessarily, but does this mean that there are many people out there who do not care about the rabies vaccination? Maybe I should get vaccinated...

Q: In Canada, we had Chana on the heartworm prevention. How is the practice here?

A: You don't need it. HW is not common in this area, but in southern France. On the other hand, if you go to the mountains, you should probably use some tick prevention. It is up to you though.

→Um, where does "southern France" start? Do mosquitos (carriers of the disease) know not to cross the border line? Is this map just another marketing tool for the pharmaceutical companies? Mountains? Do I see a mountain 100m from our apartment? Why did I not study veterinarian medicine? Okay. I will choose a product which repel both mosquitos and ticks, and time for herbal and nutritional home remedies.

Q: Chana was using homeopathic nosodes for canine cough prevention. Do you have it?

A: No, but I have regular vaccines. Wait. You only have one dog. You don't need it unless you see other dogs regularly.

→Um, many dogs run loose in this country, and doggies like to greet each other. Those dogs probably don't have rabies vaccination, carry bugs, and who knows what. Chana! You have to get this one.

Well, I still trust this vet, and I will keep him as Chana's home doctor. I trust my doggie nose.