The Vet Problem

-- The Vet Problem

My biggest problem is the dearth of ruminant vets. The closest one I have been able to find is an hour's drive away. A major university teaching veterinary hospital- it is really into traditional, invasive. One of my goats, Violet of course, the dominant one, decided she would snack on some little tiny azalea leaves that came up out of a stump. I wasn't careful enough (not monitoring that stump for new growth, and I paid for it. She way crying extremely loud, throwing up, practically in convulsions.

It was midnight. I went out to the pen. I only had a little LED lantern. Violet looks just like her sister. Neither of them is easily caught. It was hell. I grabbed her sister and put her in the dog crate and then went after her. She was so sick I managed to capture her, and then took her inside the house where she promptly threw up on my daughter's long gorgeous hair (she was, fortunately, trying to help). My husband was up in bed pretending to sleep.

I called the vet to see if miraculously there was something I could do for her myself, but no one would tell me anything except to bring her in. The last time I was there with Violet, she had pyloric acidosis, and it cost me $250.00. I jammed the crate in the back seat of my 1990 Volvo sedan and off I went. I forced my husband to come with me, knowing that there were major financial decisions down the pike.

When we got there the big, Australian, aristocratic male vet (who mostly sees thoroughbred race horses) told me that he highly recommended that I authorize him to do a ruminectomy- which is where they open up the little goatie's stomach, remove the contents and sew her back up. Oh, and yes it costs at least $800.00. Alternatively, you might get away with $500 for the emergency visit and a hospital stay, if you are lucky and there is no way to know what will happen, he says.

"Well, could you give her some charcoal?", I asked, knowing that there were only a few tiny leaves on that azalea, a fact which I relayed to him and which he ignored. We waited for the lab results to show how dehydrated she was, and she wasn't too bad. I begged them to please give her some charcoal.

He agreed reluctantly to treat her "medically" instead of "surgically", which is what they call it- two tracks for treating Azalea poisoning- medical and surgical. It is the most common reason for a visit to the vet for a female goat. For a male, it is urinary blockage. 90% of admissions are for male goats with blockage. Of the remaining 10%, 90% is for azalea poisoning. That got my attention and I will never, ever allow my goats near azaleas or rhododendrons.

I called the next day to talk to the vet. He didn't return my call. I took some time off from work and headed out to the clinic, determined to take Violet home. Her sister was crying pitifully that morning, and I knew that all that noise would not be popular with my next door neighbors who barely tolerate my presence. I arrived disheveled from driving my car (which has no air conditioning) with the windows wide open. It was a very hot day.

Rather dismayed at my arrival and my appearance, thinking me a total nutcase, asking why I hadn't called first (yes I did, but no one called me back), they admitted that Violet looked good, she was eating, drinking and pooping. I asked to take her home, and taken aback (as they expected to keep Violet over the weekend) they tried to be polite, asking me if I was unhappy with her treatment. I didn't want to say that I hate modern medicine for people and goats, and if I had my way, I would never consult a doctor for anything, and would never bring my goat to their center again.

So instead I just politely stated that I was very busy and had limited time, and would they please just disconnect her IV and let me bring her home?

I still haven't found a vet, and I'm not sure I would use one at this point. What do poor farmers do if their goats get sick?