Obviously this is a man that has compassion only for animals and not people. Upon seeing my dog wearing a choke collar he waited a minute or two before asking if I was aware of the gentle leader and I said that I was but that I didn't like them. He looked at me for a solid ten seconds, no blinking, and no smile, just pure disgust in his eyes. He said nothing until asking 20 or 30 seconds later if I just bought the gentle leader at a store. I said yes and then he said well, I didn't get correct instruction like from a vet. Okay. I get that he thought the gentle leader was the way to go and that a choke collar is considered abusive by some. But if he really wanted to change my practice wouldn't a better approach have been one of compassionate education rather than what I received. The disgusting look he gave me just made me feel that I had made a horrible mistake by coming. Here is a man that judged me as a bad dog owner and treated me with disdain and uncaring for the rest of the visit. I wish I would have left right then, instinct told me to, but I thought I should just stay since we were already there and they had taken the stool sample and I wanted help. \r
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I went to the clinic on rather short notice after having moved to Elk River recently and not wanting to drive to the old clinic (big mistake). Our dog has been having some difficulties adjusting to the move and having mishaps in the house. Although I thought it was most likely stress I wanted to rule out a physical problem. This has been a stressful situation for the whole family so the appointment was made the same day - I had no time for a babysitter, that's how urgent I considered the situation. But I really wish I had saved myself the indignity of ever encountering this clinic or this man. \r
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I have however learned a valuable lesson in that I will ask ahead of time the practices of the clinic as I think that might have influenced my decision. The philosophy of the clinic is to have the animal on the table facing a wall, not seeing who is doing the exam while everyone remains silent. I believe at the end his assistant gave my dog a prolonged hug but I can't be sure. It was all very compassionate toward my dog. However, there was none for me. I didn't feel I could question him after a while because of the first long, silent, ""you're a disgusting dog owner"" look he gave me and continued to give me. Eventually I just started crying not because he was and is a bastard but because it was a complete waste of my time, energy, $. Do not go! If you are doing anything at all that they disagree with they will not gently explain another way, but force feed their condemnation of you through the whole visit. Even when I broke down crying and said he had been horrible he had nothing of compassion or apology to say to me, but gave my dog a hug like he felt sorry the dog had to go home with me! It really was one of the most humiliating and degrading experiences of my life because I was looking for help. He owns the place so no one else could offer me compassion either. There are definitely people out there that loathe humans and he is one of them.
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