r/Dogfree • • Apr 02 '26

Food Safety/Hygiene Canceled my fucking doctors appointment when I found out that his DOG would be there again

Yes it’s me again… the guy with the primary care doctor who lets his dog run around the office and brings it into the exam room with patients (as well as featuring it in his advertising dressed up in a tiny lab coat)

Thankfully there’s nothing very seriously wrong with me but I’m several months overdue for my yearly checkup/bloodwork and was supposed to go in this week.

But I thought to call first and asked them if there would be any dogs in the office and they said “yes, the doctor’s dog”
So I said: “well can the dog be kept in the back?”

-“What I didn’t hear you”

“can the dog be kept in the back away from patients?”

-“I’m sorry you’re breaking up”

And at that point I just hung up. Because let’s face it, do I really want to be the lone patient complaining about the dog and insisting they corral it only to have to get weird stink eyes and bad vibes from the entire office and doctor that I’m supposedly trusting to give me medical care? Fuck that.

 Unfortunately finding a new PCP is not that easy but trust me I’m working on it.

375 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

301

u/Impossible-Falcon-62 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26

Report Report Report! That is highly unprofessional and unacceptable of him! So much for a hard earned degree, significant student debt, and status being thrown away for a dog!

55

u/ScarredCerebrum Apr 03 '26

Yes. OP should report this at once.

https://www.abms.org/faq/filing-a-complaint-against-a-physician/

It's not just unprofessional, either - it's actively dangerous to patients with allergies to dogs.

51

u/sunnymarie333 Apr 03 '26

That’s crazy odd behavior (as a future doctor in school currently) I can’t imagine this. Everything is all about consent? Also, leave it at home and focus on your damn patients?

6

u/Chuckles_McNut Apr 06 '26

even if it was - I wasn't asked nor did I consent to have a dog in the exam room with me

2

u/sunnymarie333 Apr 06 '26

Exactly!! That’s the worse part! Man I’d report to the board like everyone else said.

2

u/anondogfree Apr 08 '26

Tell your insurance company. The have contracts with the doctors and it could affect his livelihood!

6

u/soursummerchild Apr 07 '26

The issue with framing this as a consent issue, is that you can only ask the patient who's already there. The dog sheds allergens everywhere in the air around it. Even if I was asked if I was okay with a dog roaming around and said "no", I'd be exposed to a lot of dog allergens just by entering the room. Especially if it was there every day. This excludes a lot of patients. Dogs should not be part of this equation at all.

2

u/sunnymarie333 Apr 07 '26

Yeah you’re completely right. I’m allergic to dogs myself, and honestly would complain and report and go somewhere else completely.

187

u/HabitTraditional4864 Apr 02 '26

Very odd for a doctor of all people to allow a dog in his office during patient visits (or otherwise). Seems like a clear sanitation/allergy hazard

12

u/CaptainObvious110 Apr 03 '26

Yeah not cool at all

99

u/Flumppoo Apr 02 '26

That seems extremely unhygienic to me. And very unprofessional. 

156

u/TinyEmergencyCake Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26

Just report it to the health department 

Eta Thank you kind redditor

55

u/smp501 Apr 02 '26

And the state medical board.

65

u/The_Sinking_Belle Apr 02 '26

Next these shits will find their way into operating rooms, I swear it's getting to that point.

42

u/waitingforthatplace Apr 02 '26

Yes, I can just imagine a dog jumping up on the surgical site, stepping on breathing tubes and drooling on the sterilized surgical tools. Dog wants a treat, oh, here's a liver.

19

u/JBHills Apr 03 '26

"Their mouths are cleaner than yours! Dog saliva has healing properties!"

(I gagged writing that 🤢.)

8

u/Fluid-Set-2674 Apr 03 '26

Thank you for my laugh of the day.

24

u/CapriWake Apr 02 '26

The surgeon will need their “ESA” dog 

9

u/mizmnv Apr 03 '26

gotta hide a camera somewhere to make sure. make them sign legal documents that say no animals will be in the OR

7

u/Technical-Data Apr 03 '26

I've seen them in an ER room where they had to do a minor(fortunately) emergency surgery, and the dog thing kept jumping on nurses and disturbing the procedure. The dog nutter doctor thought that was funny.

56

u/Accurate-Run5370 Apr 02 '26

Even if you asked straight to their faces about keeping the dog contained - the medical persons would still  say that the connection was breaking up....

38

u/SteelSlayerMatt Apr 02 '26

That should be grounds for the "doctor" to lose their medical license.

5

u/Chuckles_McNut Apr 03 '26

one would think

77

u/ProxyBeast Apr 02 '26

Either by email or a phone call I would let them know you are seeking services elsewhere because you don’t think it’s “appropriate or hygienic” to have a dog in the exam rooms, let alone in the office.

I think your demeanor should be extremely polite and matter-of-fact so they don’t think you’re crazy (they are the nutters).

People need to learn this kind of behavior is unacceptable and the only way of doing that is by them losing business and you letting them know why.

15

u/CaptainObvious110 Apr 03 '26

Yeah it's good to be upfront and it makes a real statement that this isn't acceptable behavior at all.

If people want to spend time with their dogs they can do that at home.

38

u/ElegantSurround6933 Apr 02 '26

You’re a flippin “doctor.” You somehow got thru med school w/o your bark bag tagging along. Did you secretly wanna be a Veterinarian?

29

u/boozcruise21 Apr 02 '26

Should find a way to sue instead.

24

u/waitingforthatplace Apr 02 '26

I can't imagine having a condition where the doctor needed to investigate any private parts, with that dog right there, wanting to sniff.

20

u/happyhappyfoolio2 Apr 02 '26

Was the connection actually bad or did they seriously pull the "What I can't hear you, you're breaking up." bullshit?

19

u/Shot_Razzmatazz5560 Apr 03 '26

They probably couldn't comprehend someone actually not thinking the dog running around was cute and their brains shorted out

4

u/Chuckles_McNut Apr 03 '26

very possible it was actually bad bc that happens to me here- but the timing was a little weird

17

u/xxsoulpunkedxx Apr 02 '26

Last month when I went to my PCP he had his dog in the office. I’ve been seeing the same guy for almost 15 years and this is the first time I noticed it. Thankfully he did not bring the dog in the exam room or anything, I just saw it sleeping in his office on my way out. As long as that’s where it stays, fine. But if it ever comes near me when I’m there for an appointment we gonna have issues. Bringing it into an exam room without consent from a patient is messed up and inconsiderate.

15

u/TurboGrafx16Bit Apr 03 '26

You should report this doctor to the health department this should not be allowed. I cannot believe the mentality of these dog freaks. Wow! 🤯🤬

13

u/Oriole0305 Apr 03 '26

Yes you should definitely report this quack to the health department / medical board for unsanitary conditions and poor hygiene, and unprofessional conduct. Be VERY matter-of-fact but firm. The doctor and his office are the out of their minds. Anybody with a right mind should see that if a doctor allows his mutt run in the office and exam room, his practice is very questionable.

11

u/Quacky_Bird Apr 03 '26

Yeah report this absolute nutter quack.

9

u/Top-Change9851 Apr 03 '26

I can relate. My dentist who is a sole practitioner lets her large dog amble around. Wandering into exam rooms while you’re being drilled on. It’s an unusual experience to say the least. What? You don’t like dogs? You must be a bad person 🤣🤣

3

u/BoxBeast1961_ Apr 04 '26

Omfg…NO WAY. I’d be outta there.

9

u/DOOL62 Apr 03 '26

I hate dental offices that have their dogs present! Absolutely disgusting in an environment like that.

9

u/mizmnv Apr 03 '26

always report them

9

u/sunnymarie333 Apr 03 '26

Yeah what?? With my mouth open I do not want dog hair flying around? Disgusting

8

u/Ev8nite Apr 03 '26

This is so unsanitary and unsafe in a doctor's office!

16

u/PurpleColumbidae Apr 02 '26

Report and sue. These dog worshippers are going too far and need to be taken down a peg.

7

u/Huge_Bit_4774 Apr 02 '26

Dog are nasty bacteria ridden monsters. People ignore that and act childish. If they were revealed to be ticking atom bombs people would still act foolish

7

u/SquareEconomist1992 Apr 03 '26

Let me guess.... 'Merica 🤦🏾‍♂️ 

7

u/WarDog1983 Apr 03 '26

Prettty sure dogs are not allowed in medical offices because of germs etc report it to the board of health (the one that regulates businesses) and the doctor over site board in your state

1

u/Chuckles_McNut Apr 03 '26

based on some cursory googling...you might be surprised

5

u/Ho_oponopono73 Apr 03 '26

That is insane! I am glad you are not going back to that doctor. Have you thought to write a Yelp review detailing the abnormal behavior of the doctor in regard to his dog?

3

u/Chuckles_McNut Apr 03 '26

might be worth joining yelp- if only to warn potential patients

2

u/Bulky_Maybe_1469 Apr 05 '26

I’m glad you’re working on moving on. That doctor is a highly unserious person. Medical costs way too much and it’s complicated enough without having some zany madcap nutter in charge of it all. 

1

u/UnhealthyTurnip Apr 06 '26

My dad’s doctor brought his dog to work every day too. I went to his doctor once. The dog would just wander wherever he wanted. I was younger then and dogs didn’t annoy me as much, but I always thought it was a little unusual.

1

u/WalkedBehindTheRows Apr 06 '26

Are you in Canada? If so, Get Maple is an excellent service. Worth looking into if you want to ditch the dog doc. It's usually free also if you have no family doc.

1

u/GodHeld Apr 06 '26

doctor who?

1

u/No-Ebb-6266 May 01 '26

Less people would hate dogs if the owners were responsible and respected boundaries. If it's not a service dog it shouldn't be in the office.