There is absolutely no better diagnostic tool than starting with a good physical exam. Which means a veterinarian needs to put hands on your pet. If you are concerned about your pet enough to ask advise of friends, social media or Dr. Google, just take your fur baby to the vet.
Maybe nothing is wrong, maybe its something minor that could have waited until pay day. Or maybe its something that 12-24 hours later leaves you with an empty hole in your heart.
I don’t mean to come off rude, but please do not confuse your Google search or friends’ advice who “my pet had the same thing, I swear” with my nearly $400k dollar veterinary medical degree. I owe this much money because I want to make a difference in the lives of creatures that can’t speak for them selves. And to do that, I NEED to see them in person. Not because I want your money to pay of my loan (I do need that, not going to lie), but because I can see, smell, feel, hear things wrong that you might not and won’t be able to tell me. Sometimes the physical doesn’t tell me what’s wrong, however this still rules things out. Then we move on to bloodwork, x-rays, ultrasound, etc. to try to rule in or out other causes.
For the love of your pet, please stop seeking advice online or with people not in the veterinary field. Will I try to help if you contact me on the phone or internet? Yes. What’s my first suggestion? Take your pet to your vet, every single time; and maybe I’ll give a few suggestions as to what could be wrong.
Side note, your vet examining your pet does not benefit me financially in anyway. Because again it is not about the money, it’s about using every tool at our disposal, within reason, to find out what is wrong with your fur baby and fix the problem, if possible, before it is too late. That’s why I chose a field in which I knew going in I would be in debt until my children are well out of high school, unable to afford to take them on fancy fun trips or even have enough time off to spend with them at home. I want to make a difference in one pets life at a time, not live a luxurious life.
Dr. Bri