Uncaring vets

[Genia]

This is from one of the local newspapers. How awful. I wish a new the names of these vets. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/mad.gif I have been fortunate enough to have had wonderful vets and hope to never encounter anyone like this. I know that this a clinic which incurs expenses, but wouldn't you think that these people would have some compassion for this poor dog?
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20010210/opinion/263219.html

[This message has been edited by Genia (edited February 11, 2001).]

[sammi]

The lady brought up a very good point at the end of her letter - Ask your vet. how he would handle that type of situation. I beleive that mine would help. How sad for everyone involved esp. the poor dog.

[Angels3]

Genia, this is such an important issue you've brought up...pets that need vet treatment but there are problems with payment. The vet clinic at our university allows some people who do not have the ready money to pay off vet expenses over a period of time. This clinic also has a fund for what they call 'charity cases' where say a stray dog will be brought in for treatment. When our 22 year old dog died, we gave a contribution to this charity fund as her memorial. One way to help is to see if there are any vet clincs that accept donations for charity work they might do.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

I can tell from our experience with our Vet, how times have changed. We started with our Vet 30 years ago with ours and in the beginning it was a small practice with two Vets, they knew the animals they worked with by name, even the dogs loved to see them. It grew and it grew, now they have a number of Vets and its like you have a lottery number, whoever is available thats who you see, and it's always pay first no matter what then you are lucky if you see one of the Vets for five minutes with your dog. When we take our babies in they shake they are so scared to go in the examining room.
After the experience my daughter-in-law had with them this weekend we talked to a Schnauzer breeder in our area and we are going to stop in to see her Vet, hopefully he will take a little more interest in the animals. It's shame to say there is more interest in money than compassion in our area.

[carrie]

As you say, it is a sad sign of the times.
On all pet tags I have fitted to my animals I only put my phone number and "If found injured - vet bills will be paid." I have never had to test if this is heeded ... but it may just save one of their lives one day.
My husband has always said that of course anyone who found an injured animal would take it to a vet. I can now show him that even that is no garuntee of treatment. What a disturbing and appalling thing to happen.

[lhg0962]

What a sad statement that letter made. I know what I would do, and I truly believe that my vet would have handled this situation differently. I can certainly understand your anger, Genia.
All I can say is a cheer for the kids and their mom at least trying. And I'm sad for the poor dog that lost its life in the process.
I think Carrie's idea of a phone number and message that vet bills will be paid is a great one.

[wolflady]

Thanks, Genia for the letter. I agree with Sammi that asking your vet what they would do in a situation like this before choosing is a good one. I think it's really sad that they should refuse an injured animal. I'm sure the owners would have come and paid the bills. The vet for my childhood dog Misty was so great. He did know all the animals and was so kind. You can really tell a lot about a vet by how he interacts with the animals. I had a really bad situation while living in Cincinnati for a short period of time with a vet. Since I was new, I took my cat to a vet that was really close to where I lived. She was the most horrible person! I had seen my cat straining to go to the bathroom, so I brought him in immediately. Now, my Scooter isn't so pleasant when he's out of his environment(but he's perfectly fine at home!). He seems like a wild cat when he's brought to the vet, but most have handled it ok. Usually when a vet and a pet first meet, the vet talks to the animal and trys to get it comfortable. This lady didn't do that, and she didn't seem very sympathetic. AND, she made me hold my 'wild' acting cat while she tried to muzzle him! She was more concerned for herself than for my pet!!! I was so angry and at the verge of tears how she was behaving. After traumatizing my poor cat for awhile, she gave up and said she could call another vet. I listened while she made the call, and I heard her say that she had a lady with a really mean cat and asked if they would take him! That was pretty unprofessional. Also, I should have had an incling when I first walked in and saw how unsanitary the place looked. It was small, and there were 2 huge collies laying around on the floor (must have been the vet's 2 dogs) and there was just piles of hair on the floor. Disgusting. Well, I took my cat (both he and I trembling all the way) to the new vet, and he was great. He couldn't believe that this previous one made me try to hold a scared animal like she did. They said that some cats just get really scared out of their element and transform into these almost wild acting creatures. They said what they do is 'net them' and give them a sedative to relax them.

Anyhow, it really is a big decision anymore on where to bring your pet. I know I would want someone who cares. I like the fact that there are a lot of low cost locations in the San Jose area and even traveling vets that come to your home if you can't get to one. All of it is low cost. I have been working with a cat rescue shelter and one of the local vets (turns out it's the same one I decided to bring my 2 cats to) is on the stray/feral program. If you find a stray or feral cat, they will give shots and spay or neuter it for only $10. Now, I know they aren't making much of a profit on this, but it's out of the compassion for all the thousands of strays and ferals out there that they do this. They really want to help bring that population down.

Wow, I really rambled! Sorry about that http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif Just thought I would share my experience, and thanks for the article!

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb