Impressed with my vet..

I have to say, my vet really impressed me when I took Bella last week for her check up. On her last visit, several months ago, I had mentioned to her that I had a serious concern with SM and Bella showing some slight symptoms recently. She had not had any experience with SM, so I printed out the info from this forum and took it by for her to read. She went above and beyond what I expected. The local veterinarians get together once a month and discuss a topic of concern. My vet was the speaker last month and she chose to do her "talk" on SM. She did more research on the symptoms and treatments available and shared it with them. As well as the two partners in the clinic I go to. So, now I feel much more comfortable with taking her there! Bella has been on Rimadyl for a year and a half for her hips, which will eventually need to be replaced. We had run out of Rimadyl and she was without it for several days. I noticed her doing the scratching at the back of her neck, and whining more than usual, rubbing her face on her bed, etc. I picked up the Rimadyl the next day, and started her back on it immediatly. The symptoms pretty much resolved. So I discussed it at the last visit a few months ago, that is what prompted my vet to do more research. She feels vets often overlook the symptoms, or say they are allergies, ear infections, or other benign issues, much more than she realized. So now she has opened the eyes of many local vets to be more aware of the possibility of SM. There is no MRI available anywhere near my state, so the vets feel if she shows the symptoms, we should treat them accordingly. If they become severe, then we will search the universities in surrounding states for an MRI.
I just really thankful to have vets that care enough to research things they are not familiar with rather than just brushing me off!
Thanks so much for having the information available to print out for them. They appreciated it!
Hopefully, Bella will continue to have the mildest of symptoms. She is the sweetest baby girl!

That is wonderful. Not all dogs can be so lucky to have such good vet carers! And well done on you for bringing in the info and educating someone else on this disease, down the road, that move might save a cavalier from unnecessary suffering. Well done.

I'm also lucky with my vets - I think they're all doing their homework on SM after dealing with my two! I took Aled in last week to have a grass seed in his ear seen to, and the vet commented how happy Cavaliers always are. I mentioned their higher levels of seratonin, and the young vet very sweetly said 'You know, every time I see you I learn something new about Cavaliers. It's so good.'

Your vet really did do a good job of educating other vets - top marks to her!

Kate, Oliver and Aled