by Christy Caplan|
April 21, 2021
Shermie has early renal disease. This is heartbreaking, but he is almost 15-years-old.
We recently needed to switch his diet from kibble to a fresh food diet. Honestly, Sherm has a sensitive stomach, and I’ve been feeding a GI hi-fiber diet for years which really helps him maintain solid stool. That said, I really should have put him on a fresh food diet years ago, but that’s another blog post.
I was concerned this diet transition would not go smoothly, and I was right! Instead of reaching out to my vet, who I was planning to contact first thing in the morning, I decided to try AskVet’s service, and by the way… this was all at 10 p.m.
If you haven’t heard of AskVet before, check out the testimonials on the home page.
(FYI: There are many 24/7 types of vet service apps available to pet parents. I knew about AskVet, and I felt comfortable with the price to sign up. Here’s how it all went down).
About AskVet
photo credit: Christine Caplan, this is a pic of their welcome kit, which I received a week later.
I have an Android. Here are the steps I went through.
- I downloaded the app from the play store.
- The fee is $29/month, so I provided my debit.
- This app is text-based, so I quickly had my question ready and typed it into an email. This is before I launched the app. My question was related to Sherm’s diet transition, which I’ll expand on in this list.
- I only waited a few minutes for a vet to pop into the chat. They managed my expectation by explaining that the minimum wait time maybe five minutes.
The vet was awesome.
My question:
Me: We are transitioning from kibble to just for foods, a moderate renal diet. And the transition wasn’t smooth as he hates the kibble and only wanted to eat the new diet.
Doc asked about symptoms: Thanks for reaching out! I’m sorry to hear that Sherman hasn’t been feeling well. How long has the transition been going on? Has Sherman had any vomiting or lethargy?
Me: So diarrhea. No vomiting or lethargy — the transition was much faster than it should have been 3 days vs. 7-10. So I think we may need metronidazole (a drug used to manage diarrhea).
______
Our dialogue went back and forth for another minute or two, and it was short and efficient. I received a chat summary via email after we were done.
Overall, we decided that metronidazole made sense, and since my vet was already engaged, I could likely get a script without Sherm needing an appointment. This is how it all played out, and I appreciated her help, especially at 10 p.m.
The Welcome Kit
I love the Welcome Kit AskVet sent me after the first consult. The components are in the feature pic, and the products are tailored to Sherman. Here’s what they sent:
- Adorable tote bag
- Urine sample test kit with test strips
- Dog treats which I gave to Walter
- DoggyStat for diarrhea
Let’s talk about DoggyStat
This is a natural supplement to help your dog with possible GI issues, including diarrhea. With this in mind, this is not medication, and if your dog is having an issue, you need to take him to the vet for medication and a fecal exam. If your dog has loose stool and you want to try DoggyStat, then I don’t think it can hurt but be prepared that you may need to give him medication prescribed by your regular vet.
What’s up with the urine test?
Is this only for nerds like me? Do I have to test my pet’s urine? Urine tests are essential for pet parents. The urine collection kit helps you get a urine sample. The test strips are similar to the test strips you use if you have a fish tank! There are 50 strips included and ten parameters you look for, including protein, pH, and glucose. The test provides information the vet may use to help diagnose a health condition, and pet parents can drop off the sample at a vet’s office so they can send it out to a lab or review the sample in-house.
Do I Recommend a 24/7 Vet App?
Yes! It’s an absolute no-brainer. As a CVT, I know too much, and my vet consults can be short as a result! My recommendation is to keep your question or health issue concise for the vet. Your vet can advise you on managing a situation and will help you decide what your next steps may be – and be prepared that this may mean you need to take your pet to the vet that day or the next morning.
Let me know if you’ve tried a similar service and what you thought!
