Good Vet Found in Bariloche

September 18th, 2008 Posted in culture, day to day

Written by Shanie

Life has been interesting around here lately. Bergen had a tumor removed from his lip and we were waiting to hear if it was benign or malignant. We were told the news we didn’t want to hear. But one great thing came out of the experience.

We found a fantastic vet, Dr Spoturno…

He is one of the more modern veterinarians we have met in Argentina, despite the basic housing of his small clinic. He makes house calls, which for Bergen is awesome (at the mere smell of a vet hospital, he begins to shake violently and tries to get out of dodge). And the good doctor brought tears to my eyes yesterday when he called our house the day after our “bad news” visit to his office.

You see, Bergen is on a special diet of antioxidants, DMG, vitamins, etc. Some of the supplements can’t be found here in Argentina. Unfortunately aduanas (customs) is pretty tight here in Argentina. Anything that is mailed into the country from abroad larger than a normal envelope has to go through Aduanas. This usually entails a long line, rude customs officials that make you feel like you are a criminal and normally at least an hour of your time. 

All of that I can deal with for my boy.

The issue is, is they don’t allow any supplements for animals to be shipped into Argentina. So, we have had to smuggle it in on our infrequent trips back home or depend on visitors.

During our “bad news” appointment I decided to ask Dr Spoturno if I could have them sent to him.

The following day I received a phone call. He had done some research with Aduanas and if the product does not exist in Argentina we can have it imported. Just send him the paperwork on the products and he will investigate to see if it is truly not available in Argentina. If not, Aduanas here I come.

It really meant a lot to me that this busy doctor that charged us close to nothing for his time, researched a solution to getting Bergen’s vitamins.

Argentines can be pretty darn thoughtful sometimes.

Thanks Dr Spoturno!

Bergen on top of Cerro Carbon last week, waiting for his dad.

  1. 4 Responses to “Good Vet Found in Bariloche”

  2. By Katie on Sep 19, 2008

    I’m hoping for the best possible outcome for Bergen. It’s always difficult to receive bad news about our pets, but I’m glad you found a vet you trust and that’s willing to go the extra mile. Best of luck.

  3. By James on Sep 19, 2008

    Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.

  4. By Patagonia on Sep 19, 2008

    Kaite, thanks for the kind words, muy amable.

    We took Bergen backcountry skiing today, and he was on fire.

    James, welcome to LIP.

    Suerte, Jamie

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