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Vets do a good job handling emergencies

Katherine Backes

Dear Editor,

I think that every person in the Valley has gone through the grief of feeling the vets do not respond in an emergency situation as Lynda Field did.

I, too, called numerous vets when I had a horse down and bleeding out so fast that I could not get the wound to stop.



However, in defense of the vets in this area, I know there are so many situations that arise in a vet’s daily schedule that emergencies are hard to cover.

Since moving from one end of the Valley to the other, I have used various vets. I found out after an emergency situation that Dr. Hamilton in Rifle and Dr. Kauffman in Glenwood Springs are the best.



I called my vet’s office numerous times and was beginning to get very stressed when I started calling every office in the Valley trying to get someone on the phone to help. After leaving voice mail and my number, I only received two calls back. They both helped in different ways.

Dr. Kauffman helped with talking me through stopping the bleeding and explaining a method of wrapping the leg that enabled me to wait until Dr. Hamilton could finish with his current appointment (yet another emergency call) and come by to make sure everything was OK.

Neither Dr. Hamilton nor Dr. Kauffman was my vet at the time, but they both made time for me that day. That day I learned a lot. Now I can appreciate how busy a vet can be. I make sure when scheduling appointments that there is plenty of time for unexpected situations and don’t get angry if my appointment gets canceled or the vet is late due to an unknown emergency. I am happy knowing that these vets put emergency situations in front of their daily calls.

Katherine Backes

Double B Ranch


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