I am rather surprised by the number of responses that seem to indicate that the OP should have more trust in her vet and accept that the animal be taken to the back.
I work in a pediatric hospital, and I feel as absolutely confident as I can that our patients are treated carefully and well, yet it surprises me and even concerns me when parents choose to leave their children during minor medical procedures. I do understand if the parent is unable to handle it due to sensitivity to blood, fainting, etc, but otherwise I really don’t…and in this case I am talking about patients that can talk.
That said, I understand pets are not children, but for many of us, they a very important and critical part of our lives and their well-being in of utmost importance. My father is a small animal vet, and he is very comfortable with the care of every animal in his multi-vet practice, but even he is uncomfortable with his pets being “taken to the back” if he is at an out of state specialist…vacation, etc where vet care is needed. Luckily, he is usually invited to the back since he is a vet.
My understanding of this practice (taking to the back) is that it allows many vets to use less staff (staff don’t have to come to the room), use less space, and move faster which are all valid explanations. I also understand that there are certainly some difficult clients (the people) when it is probably easier to have the pet separated from the owner. And definitely some cases where the owner would prefer not to be present.
That said, not being able to be with my pet at the vet even when I think I trust them is a huge concern for me. I am pretty easy to please, don’t speak up unless someone has really done something wrong, and follow directions well. But, like the OP, I interview my vets and find out what they are comfortable doing in the room and what they are not since I do not have the luxury of living in the same town as my father anymore.
I don’t buy the previous posts that state that restraining is fine and looks terrible so they don’t want owners to see it. I think any vet should be comfortable with the owner knowing and seeing everything that is done to the pet (despite knowing that practicality reasons of space, time, staffing make this not possible for some vets). If they are not comfortable with the client knowing what is happening with the pet (exactly), that raises a HUGE red flag for me.
In my father’s practice (of many vets), each vet has a tech that is available to assist them in the room with pets. They do not allow the owner to restrain his/her own pet due to insurance and liability reasons. But, they do allow the owner to be present and do blood draws, vaccines, etc in the room, unless it makes the owner uncomfortable. They strongly believe that in most cases pets do better when they are with their owners and having pets be comfortable is part of the experience they want their patients to have.
They too, need to frequently take animals to the treatment area for other procedures. But, they allow owners to come back with their pets and watch…again, not allowed to restrain, etc. They believe in a transparent model of care. They have actually talked about putting everything on video camera and
making it available for clients to see from the waiting room and exam rooms (to address the concerns about space and time management (I think all have that). They believe that if they are doing anything they are not comfortable with others seeing, they should not be doing it that way. By the same token, their surgery and dental areas have big windows open to the main street. They would prefer these would be open (with people able to see in) during surgeries, unless it is trauma with a lot of blood, etc. From their perspective, there are no liability issues with having owners “in the back” as long as they do not restrain. Of course no owners can be present for x-rays and chemo (which can be watched through a window). Of course, all of the above said, there are many owners that don’t care to come with their pet to the treatment area or can’t handle it…which is of course fine.
At my father’s practice, there is not a lot of noise, cats are separated from dogs and the stress level is kept down. It is a rare event to hear barking, whining, or crying dogs due to the management practices they use and of course very good pain management for pets that are hurting.
From this perspective, I now live in another city with multiple supposedly great vets (based on hospital certifications, trainings, etc which are standards I am familiar with). I still find it very concerning when I take my pet/s somewhere and here loud voices, barking dogs, and meowing cats from the exam rooms. I am even more concerned if I hear that from any of my pets as I know this is not their norm (from past experience) when treated compassionately and with their stress in mind.
We have a specialty clinic where I live now that is renowned, certified, brand new, clean, etc. that I only take my pets to under extreme duress which is something I have some mixed feelings about as I want my animals to have the best trained, quality, and compassionate care and I want the vets to have the staff and equipment to do the best job.
Not taking my pets there is not about the price (which is a lot more and is a huge chunk of my budget…but vet care is one of the things I value and budget for most). It is because even though I do “in theory” trust them and believe they do a good job, they are not transparent with what they do. They, like my father, have techs that follow each vet. They will not do ANY procedures in the room under any circumstances. They cannot give a reasonable rational why (i.e. it is not liability). They will not do shots, pill a cat, draw blood, take temp, etc.). They also will not allow you to visit your (in their case since they are specialty, always extremely sick pet for than 30 minutes between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM if they are hospitalized…regardless of if you have to work or not. They only provide one phone update a day even for very critical pets…unless you pet has updated lab work or is about to die…etc. That said, out of all of the vet shopping and interviewing I have done…this is where I would believe my pets would get the best medical treatment. My father believes the same but even he feels that I should look elsewhere unless their super specialty equipment is needed as they are not at all transparent in this regard are not owner focused. I don’t imagine for one second they are hurting or abusing animals in the back (not that I would know), but I do know that for at least one of my pets, my presence in the room (again, I don’t expect to restrain, pet, baby talk) is helpful and I WANT to be there, at minimum during routine things like blood draws, temperature taking, etc. I would rather be there for everything, but I do understand that some hospitals are not set up for that.
The place mentioned above also happen to be one of the only 24 hour emergency groups nearby. When I needed to have my cat put to sleep at 2:00 on the morning (luckily I had called ahead in expectation of this in the preceding weeks), I did not go to them, even though they would have otherwise been my top choice, as they would not allow me to be present when the IV was placed. I went to a much lower quality emergency care center where they were comfortable placing the IV in the room so that I did not have to leave my cat at all in his last hour.
More recently, I took another cat for emergency care, to yet another clinic where the equipment is less good, the staff is less knowledgeable…but willing to discuss when they have reached the end of their competence and make recommendations…again because I was not comfortable with the policies of not being around during medical procedures.
I pay a lot when I pay for vet care, and I don’t think it is unreasonable to be privy to what is happening to my pets. I want to be there. It matters to me. I think it should matter to more people…much in the same what that I am present when my horse is treated by the vet or held for the farrier. I trust my equine vet completely and there have been times when she comes out with her assistant when it is not possible for me to be there (i.e. her schedule and my work schedule) but it is appropriate for me to be there, it helps me to know what is going on, it allows me to ask treatment related questions, etc). It helps me to observe changes in my horse’s behavior. I would be very concerned if I was told I could NOT be present in this situation, and I feel the same with small animal vets.
That said, I try to be extremely respectful of space, time, staff considerations (which are valid if not ideal reasons for “going to the back”) but I don’t like these reasons either and realize that in lieu of them I pay more. This is one of the reasons I often find myself driving hours for my “pets” to visit my father’s clinic. I know I get special treatment, but it is in line with the special treatment that I see every pet there get.
If people can be quiet, respectful, calm, and unobtrusive, I see no reason why at least all routine care for the average pet cannot be done in their presence. Clearly, I am in minority on this board and in my city that believe that BUT I do. I know a lot of it is because I was brought up in an ideal model of vet practice and my standards are high. I am always on the look out for a better fit for more of my ideal vet in my city, but for right now I pick transparency and low stress and compassion for my animals even over what I perceive to higher quality medicine which is VERY important to me. I do think if people expected more from their vets it might change this practice.
But yes…I understand that you LIKE being with them 
