UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE SEEM TO BE MORE RESOURCES TO WATCH OUT FOR THAN THE ONES TO RECOMMEND.
WE TRY TO GIVE YOU SOME BRIEF COMMENTS AS TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, OR WARNINGS.
ULTIMATELY YOU MAY NEED TO EXPERIENCE EACH RESOURCE FOR YOURSELF.
The BEST recommendation is your local, private, one or two Veterinarian practice - the ones that are their for the animals, and not for themselves or for making a name. The ones NOT affiliated with any larger corporation, school, or similar.
RECOMMENDED:
Alta Sierra Veterinary Clinic -
Animal Medical Center - 1525 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, CA 95603-2888 (530) 823-5166 amcauburn.com
Drs. Foster and Smith (drsfosterandsmith.com) - fairly reasonable with pricing, and they have just about everything you could want for your pet.
PetSmart / PetCo - good for your local source of most pet products. Watch out for their pricing though - many times other local sources will be cheaper - they seem to have lost their "big box" pricing on many things. Their dog training appears to be fairly good, but may vary from store to store - private training, with other dogs, is the best recommendation.
Heartworm Resources - unfortunately I must recommend NOT to get your heartworm from the Vet. Generally it is "Heartguard"; and, generally it is very expensive along with the Vet usually wanting to do, or have a record of a heartworm test, before they will even sell it to you. Following are several online sites that have generic (ValueHeart, NuHeart, etc.) heartworm medication which is EXACTLY the same as Heartguard; and, they do NOT require a Vet's prescription. However, do make sure the quantities are the same; and, if in doubt, double check with who you are buying it from, or with your Vet.
http://www.totalpetsupply.com/
"IFFY" - probably NOT Recommended:
Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic - 3901 Sierra College Boulevard, Loomis, CA 95650-7943 (916) 652-5816 loomisbasinvet.com - They have lots of "expertise" and generally provide the primary emergency pet medical care for the foothill area including Placer and Nevada County's. HOWEVER, beware - they are EXPENSIVE; and, have "overly" diagnosed, perhaps even wrongly in several instances.
VCA Animal Hospitals or their affiliates - unfortunately these are rampant across the country. Basically a "chain" concerned mostly with the "bottom line". See "complaintsboard.com" and "ripoffreport.com" for their story.
U.C. Davis Vets and their affiliates - this is a tricky one. While the Vets at these offices are generally highly qualified; they are also unnecessarily highly priced; and, they have been known to "find things wrong" or make adverse assumptions about a pet's health because of their focus on dealing with the more extreme health problems. They tend to have school interns / apprentices that are zealous about finding that "exciting" case; and, tend to treat a pet as a potential "test" "victim". This is not to say that there may be a very good reason to take your pet there - just be wary.
PetSmart's in-house "Banfield" Veterinary services - same reasoning as VCA above; lots of lawsuits for prescribing unnecessary drugs and services
© the Golden Mouss