Wednesday, January 15, 2014

One Reason Local Business Matters

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Diesel in happier days

You may have noticed that I've been posting a lot less over the past two weeks. I have two Trinidad alley cats from the same litter. One of them has been sick. Like, very sick. Deathly sick, and today she died. So that has been tough. I've been giving her fluids from a bag, feeding her from a syringe, & and giving her all manner of meds. I initially took her to Union Vet (they are great) because I have a have a previous relationship with the (now deceased) Vet Julie Giles, and I had an older cat that I adopted through them, and they were open later than Atlas Vet on the day I took Diesel in to be seen.



For subsequent visits, I have seen Dr. Cartlidge, and Dr. Miller at Atlas Vet. Both have been amazing. It was unclear what happened with my cat, but they ran all types of tests, & were super sensitive about everything that I was feeling. I was a major emailer+, and they got back to me quickly every single time. The support staff was great too. My sister-in-law is a vet tech in Chicago, & they were happy to send all of Diesel's info over. I live super close to the office, (about 1.5 blocks away), they actually had a staff member help me carry her body back to my house after we had to put her down.  I have NEVER had a vet do for me even close to what the folks at Atlas Vet did. They did everything they could do to both save my cat's life, & put me at ease. I THIS is why having a local vet matters.

Please excuse any typos, I'm not %100 right now. But I can say that these guys are animal rock stars. I will never take my pets to anyone other than Atlas Vet except for an an actual animal hospital. We are truly blessed to have these guys around here.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about your kitty. Hang tough!

Anonymous said...

Hugs to you.

suicide_blond said...

xoxoxo

pat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris said...

I'm so, so sorry.

Our experiences with Atlas Vet may not have come under such serious circumstances, but we're very happy with them as well. When our dog joined our family as a ~3 1/2 month old puppy, we took her to Union Vet and saw Dr. Cartlidge there, not long before she left DC. When she did, we didn't have anyone at Union that we were particularly attached to; and Atlas had just opened and was within a brief walk, so we switched. We had no complaints whatsoever about Union, none at all; but we do love Atlas. Dr. Miller and Dr. Antkowiak have been great with our dog (now almost three); and now Dr. Cartlidge is back in town, and at Atlas. I'm so glad we have them in our neighborhood.

Nicky Lowry said...

So sorry to hear of you loss, but glad that your vet was there for you. I've been in your shoes, and it's a horrible space to be in. Sending love.

Anonymous said...

So very sorry to hear about your loss. Losing a pet is a horrible feeling. :-(

And I have to echo the statements of support for Atlas Vet. They're wonderful to our pets! So glad to have them in the neighborhood!

Michael said...

Our cat Walter is a member of the family, and we'd be devastated if anything happened to him. I'm so sorry about Diesel.

I think we're even closer to Atlas Vet (around the corner on I St.) and we're so thankful to have them in the neighborhood. They're great.

Anonymous said...

So sorry for your loss. And I couldn't agree with you more about Atlas Vet! It's wonderful to have a vet we can walk to. Hang in there.

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about your loss! The loss of a family member is devastating.

I second everything that has said about AtlasVet. Nothing but positives from them.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It's truly the worst part about having a furry companion :(

I have been taking my dogs to Union for the past five years and I have wondered about Atlas. Since I haven't had any complaints with Union, I never considered switching. Your comments have me thinking I should give them a try!

food chick said...

The kitties are pretty. Sorry for your loss.

Mr Shakur said...

sorry for your loss! I have had good luck with Atlas - its nice that they try so hard when they really don't have to, as theyve got the area market covered.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear of your lost.I too lost my beloved Polo this past Monday. She was wonderful dog that was a great companion for 5 years. She was a lovable Weiranier (spelling). I feel your pain,stay strong.


5th street

pat said...

All cats go to heaven

Elaine said...

LOVE Atlas Vet. They helped us get through the very difficult weeks before our 14 year old dog (my 1st kid) passed away last year. I think they were also willing to come to our house to put him to sleep. Unfortunately he got so bad, we had to take him to a 24 hour vet in the middle of the night, across town. Atlas Vet called and STILL sent us a condolence card. We continue to see them for our other animals :)

Anonymous said...

When a cat gets even kinda sick, ya gotta put it down. It's senseless to spend that much money on an alley cat.

curmudgeon said...

Another reminder of why allowing anonymous posting is a mistake.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for your loss.

Atlas Vet has been very good to us. I had questions whether a particular vaccination was risky for my dog. They went above and beyond to research stats on both the risk of catching the disease in our area and the risk of adverse reactions to the vaccine. My dog is in love with all the vets and staff.

alizadk said...

Oh, Inked, I'm so sorry for your loss. I have three kitties (one of whom I got through your blog three years ago yesterday) and one dog. I'd be distraught if something were to happen to any of them.

I take my cats to Dr. Knight at City Paws, and I love her. My cats do too. But my dog gets extremely car sick, so there was no way I was driving her to Logan Circle, if she gets sick going to Metro Mutts. I take her to Atlas, and I really like them.