My eight-year old mini dachsund named Otto battled a cough in the days before I left Syracuse for a week on Cape Cod and instead of getting better here, he got worse. I recalled my Cape friend Teresa telling me about a great veterinarian who makes house calls, so I telephoned to make an appointment.
If I was unsure whether I had the option of an office visit or a house call, I quickly got my answer when Dr. Joan Goffi asked me for directions to my house.
Help for Otto arrives
There she was, at noon today, with her two black canvas bags and a kindly smile that told me Otto was going to be OK. She asked me about symptoms, listened to his heart and lungs with a stethoscope, and advised me that he might indeed need to go to the veterinary hospital in town if the antibiotics for his lungs don’t work.
All the while, Otto’s big sister Eika the German Shepherd was uncharacteristically concerned. She sat up very close to the doctor, and sometimes leaned right into her. She interrupted conversation by extending her paw. Twice she attempted to jump onto the sofa where I was sitting, though she knows that is strictly forbidden.
What upset her so? Dr. Goffi was confident and reassuring. I was at ease. Otto wasn’t particularly thrilled at getting prodded, but he didn’t appear to send out any canine distress signals. I remain stumped at what freaked out the big dog.
Then it came time for a blood draw and Otto’s fortunes quickly changed. Maybe that’s what spooked Eika. She’s clairvoyant.
Declaring the counter-height kitchen peninsula exactly the right level for the task, Doctor Goffi asked for a towel for the table and a towel to swaddle Otto. In these circumstances, the pet owner becomes a vet tech, the person responsible for holding down the patient while his vein gets pricked. It was over in a flash, well at least for the doctor and me. It was a little different for Otto who had a needle in his jugular vein. Doctor Goffi will phone me with the results in the morning. Could it be any easier?
In the meantime, I was handed some doggy antibiotics and an itemized bill that sweemed equivalent to what I would pay at the vet’s office in Syracuse and yet I never had to leave my house. Aside from Eika’s odd anxiety, it was a very relaxing and comfortable experience.
Doctor Goffi told me she used to be part of a large veterinary practice where appointments were scheduled roughly 20 minutes apart. Now that she’s independent and conducting medical business by car, she allows an hour for each visit. She also saves money on office rent, phone and machines and technicians. The doctor doesn’t hesitate to send sick animals for X-rays and ultrasounds at the animal hospitals, but most of the care can be done as it was today; in the home, with a stethoscope, vast experience, a sweet bedside manner and an occasional blood catheter.
If this seems delightfully old-fashioned, consider that Dr. Goffi says house-calls are the largest growing segment of veterinary medicine. Young new graduates handle just about anything with a smart phone or tablet, so it makes sense that a decent car and someone’s kitchen table will be more than adequate to replace customary office space.
What do you think about this trend? Are you ready for veterinary house calls? Or is it best to bring our pets to a more clinical setting? Please weigh in.
Thank you Dr. Goffi. Otto doesn't mind you came to the kitchen and took blood out of his neck.
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I knew that many vets would provide this service for euthanasia, so that your dog, cat, or other pet could be in the comfort and peace of his/her home (as could the owner), during an extremely stressful time. I always thought that to be a wonderful option.
I wasn’t as familiar with routine vet house calls, but I think it’s great – what’s not to like? Many otherwise social dogs become scared or anxious the second they arrive in the parking lot of the vet’s office. They learn quickly. I know our old guy did. We’d get into the waiting room, and he’d pull on the leash trying to escape out the front door. When he resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck there, and we sat in the waiting room, he’d scoot his 55 lb body under the chair we were sitting in, backing up inch by inch, assuming that if he couldn’t see us, no one could see him. He’d do the same in the exam room – find the corner with the chair and hide under it. It was both pitiful and hilarious to see the big brown eyes of an English bulldog peeking out from under a chair like that. Still makes me smile.
I think it’s great. Glad Otto made it through okay. Maybe Eika sensed Dr. Goffi’s kindness and wanted some of the attention that his little “brother” was getting. Hope Otto is on the mend soon.
Good Mornin Maureen, Where I was brought up in the Berkshires Ma. the vet and the human Doc both came to your place. The horses and cows medicines ,along with Gramps own cough medicine, that had three roses on the label, cured most ailments and was kept in the barn med cabinets. I believe the vet and Gramp use to have cough problems after each call. None of the animals or Gramp left the farm or home.Home remedies took good care of business on the farm especially coughs ! You are lucky to have found Dr. Goffi . Hope Otto is doing fine also .
Maureen,
I think it’s a great idea. Kind of a throw back to an earlier era. Reminds me of the series of books that I read years ago by James Herriot , “All creatures great and small”. A home visit would be better when it comes time to put a pet down, less stressful for the animal, than taking it to the office or clinic. With all the smells and sounds. It’s a very good idea.
I love the idea! I live in Oswego County, and our local vet used to do house calls. When our dog had to be put down, two years after major surgery and a long stay at Cornell, it was so comforting to have it done here in the place she loved. They no longer do house calls, and when we had to bring our cat in to be put down it was not at all the same. I hope the antibiotics work quickl and your dog starts feeling better soon!
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr Goffi. I’m moved by her James Herriot demeanor. She has an uncanny rapport with animals, which makes her a unique vet. Cape Cod is lucky to have a caring, intelligent person who is truly an animal lover, and even more important a sincere Dr of animal medicine
Hello Roomie, thanks for your kind comment about wonderful Dr. Goffi. but we had better stop here or she’ll become too popular and in demand! LOL. Cheers, Maureen