We've been fostering a rescued golden retriever with a largley unknown history. As part of the forster process, the dogs need to be checked out by a vet and get microchipped. Since Cumberland vet supports the charity, we brought her here.
The office is lovely and the staff is friendly, but the dog seems to have a bad history with vets. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't get the dog to settle down enough to even touch her leg with a cotton swab.
Not wanting to "ruin her" for future vet visits, they sent us home with some sedatives and booked us an appointment for a few days later.
With sedatives on board, we went back to the vet. The sedatives didn't seem to have much of an effect, and the dog freaked out as soon as the doctor touched her with the stethoscope. She's an 11 year old golden retriever, but she snapped and snarled like an angry Doberman.
After we put her in a soft muzzle and held her still, the vet tech held her down with a towel over her head while the doctor waited outside the room so she wouldn't see him.
After a bit of struggle, they injected her with a different sedative and left us with her to wait for it to kick in. They checked in regularly to see how she was doing. After about 40 minutes it was clear she was still pretty anxious, so another dose had to be administered.
Once that kicked in, they were able to do the microchipping and check for what they thought was a heart murmur.
To be honest, I never thought they'd be able to get her chipped. They clearly knew what they were doing and kept the dog's needs in mind at every step. I could not be more impressed.
Since the rescue organization pays the bills, I don't know if this 2.5 hour ordeal cost more than a typical visit, but I'd happily pay it if she was my dog.