Picking a vet was very hard. I live in a small town, and I had a very limited choice. The first vet office I went to was a state office, not a private one. And it was enough for me just to go in to know I would never go there again. The examination table was bent, everything was old and dirty and the vet was very uninterested about giving me advice even when I was asking very specific question. The worst thing is, the vet was recommended for me by a family friend, who was taking her dog there for years and talked about how the vet was such a nice person. It seems to me that the woman just liked having a vet she could chat with, not a vet that would treat her dog properly. The second vet I went to is pretty far away from me, and was also recommended. It's the vet I'm going to now. He is a nice man, and more importantly, a really good vet. He currently earns in donations, so check-ups and a lot of smaller treatments are free for now, which is really lucky. The only problem I have is that he is a really, really busy man. He would probably come right away in an emergency, but it's a bit hard getting an appointment for regular stuff. He also doesn't explain a lot unless I ask him (I figure that the average person isn't very interested in the treatments, so he doesn't bother anymore). I really hope that in the future I will find someone who is a good mix of availability and expertise.
I guess I'm really lucky I don't own a more exotic pet. I would hate to hold more knowledge about treating my pets that my vet does. :/
