Today we sent three of our patients to referral doctors.  Back when my dad was actively practicing veterinary medicine, he would have probably worked up the cases and have done the surgery himself.  Now my dad was a great practitioner and I still rely on his remarkable diagnostic skills to help me when I am stumped, but so are the four associate veterinarians who work with me.  In the ten years that I have been in practice, Savannah has become home to a Board Certified surgeon, ophthalmologist, and oncologist.  We have several more specialists within a two hour drive to our north or to our south.  We also have two fine veterinary schools to refer to within a four hour drive.  Our hospital employs an ultrasonographer who is not Boarded but has had advanced training in ultrasound technology.  Most local veterinary hospitals take advantage of her expertise and send their patients who need ultrasounds to Dr. Dasher for diagnostic purposes. 

Clients who move here from  larger cities like Atlanta are often amazed at the resources we as veterinarians have here in our “small” town.   Flash back to ten years ago when I started my career working with my dad at Case Veterinary Hospital.  None of these specialists were readily available and the general practitioner had to perform the surgery to the best of his/her ability.  They might have to do an orthopedic surgery that they had only performed twice in their career.  Quite often, they had the choice of either doing the surgery or having to let the pet go.  General practitioners did not have the variety of equipment and diagnostic tools that they do today (although, I must say, the generations of veterinarians in my family have always taken pride in having the best available).   As pet owners in Savannah in 2010, you should feel at ease knowing that you can choose from so many general practioners to be your pet’s primary physician.  When we see our patients twice a year for a thorough wellness physical exam from puppyhood/kittenhood to senior citizens, we are able to know them as individuals.  When an occasion comes up where we feel they would be better served by a specialist, we refer.  Clients then have the confidence that we will manage all the care and information the specialist recommends for your pet’s and your individual needs. 

It is exciting to be a veterinarian with such wonderful resources.  I have local specialists, my colleagues in our own hospital,   my subscription to a “world” of specialists through veterinary internet connections, and, of great importance to me, my dad who relies on the two generations of Case veterinarians before him.  There is a reason our pets’ life expectancies are increasing!  Veterinary medicine and wonderful, caring parents like yourself.