Very disturbing

Scouty girl said:

I live on a very tight budget, and from what some people have written I shouldn't even be allowed to have a dog. Even if I went to the pound and rescued a dog I still wouldn't have money if there was an emergency, I would just do that best that I could. Charge card, borrow money, anything to help the dog, and believe me I have done it.

Both of my dogs are very healthy and I take excellent everyday care of them. Routine vet visits, food and exercise oh yes and lots of love and attention. It just kind of upsets me that some people think that if you don't have enough money for $1,000-$2,000 surgeries that you are irresponsible and shouldn't own a dog. Wow!!!!

I'm not comparing dog to children, but lots of people have children, more than one and absoutely no health care insurance.

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I think people were upset that she stated something like IF I don't hear from you in an hour-- I may have to put the puppy down. Would you call a stranger for help at 7:00am like that. I understand that she was probably freaking out-- but I'd call my vet at home to discuss a lot of things before taking the emergency vets 1-2 grand estimate.
I truly believe that people should have a contingency plan for emergencies: either insurance, a nest egg or a credit card. This may be a wake up call for some. I mean, the dog ate an object he should have/// happens all the time.

No one is going to put a child down if they need healthcare. Illinois covers all kids- no matter what.

OK! Lets look at this from another angle, that of the vet. You have all seen the pics of Tasha's spay wound and many commented on what a great surgeon the vet who did that was, Yes he is, Dave is a great vet and a wonderful surgeon. I have been with this practice for 10 years now and the one factor I insisted on when my parents took on Tasha was that she stayed under the care of my own vet. I have for many years now had an agreement with 2 of the 3 senior partners there, they have 3 different surgeries and each are responsible for one of them. At my 2 more local surgeries the rule is that I pay what I can, when I can, so when Princess's eye needed attention I took her to the most local one, no problem! I was referred to the more outlying surgery as the senior partner has a passionate interest in opthalmology, sadly he does NOT share Roger and John's agreement with me, "I don't operate accounts" I was told in no uncertain terms when I first took Princess to see him. Basically I was told that if I wanted her treated by him I would have to clear my account with the OTHER surgery first!! :yikes: As it happens this was a minimal amount of money and was easily paid off. BUT this has left me wondering just how dedicated this particular vet, good as he is in his field of work is, when he appears to care more about balancing his books at the end of the day than getting his patients cured?
Today I had to get more of her eyedrops, sadly not available at the other surgeries as Ian is more specialised than they are, "Don't worry about it" said Roger as usual, yet when I got to Ian's surgery the attitude was "Where's your money?" no "How's Princess doing?" whatsoever! I was straight onto Roger when I got back, he is the most senior of the 3 partners and I know him best, as ever it was "Don't worry about it, I'll have a word", I also spoke to John at the other surgery and was told the same, but I do wonder should the day come when the mortgage and every other bill has just gone out and I have no cash to take out (most places here won't take a cheque now, since chip and pin came in) what would happen if Princess needed attention and I hadn't the money to deal with it??

The moral of this story really is that there are, most sadly I'm afraid to say, vets out there who only want to balance their books, their first question is "How are you going to pay?", personnally I am good for the money within a very few days, but I do live in fear of the day coming when I am flat broke temporarily and a vet refusing to treat my dog because I had no way to pay for 3-4 days!!

I respect and admore my vet very much and I know that of there were ever a tight situation, she would let me do a payment plan. I know that to Fran, my vet, it is about the animal more than anything else. I think its very sad that a vet would put an otherwise healthy dog down before trying to work something out with the owner.

Perhaps that was what was meant by this woman saying she did not like the emergency vet - maybe it was him who gave her that ultimatum.

I really wouldn't be surprised if it was the vet that gave the ultimatum...sadly, that has happened here in the city I live, a friend of mine worked for a local vet and saw something very much like that actually happen. The vet basically refused to treat the dog because as the vet put it, "Did you see that woman, she obviously would not have been able to afford it..." My friend was so upset she followed the vet back to the office and talked to her about it, and offered to pay for the dog's vet bill herself, and the vet actually refused to let her do that. Needless to say my friend quit her job with that vet. And while I have a very experienced vet that I trust, he is the same way...even tho I have been going there for over 20 years and have always paid my bill in full, every time. He will not do payments either, and that worries me now that I make less money at my new job.

At our local animal er facility they have an entire department devoted to financial assistance. They have cubicles where you can sit and talk with a financial assistant who will help you make a decision and arrange financing if that's what you need to do. They also have an open fund that accepts donations and donates portions of the fund to help those who need it.

When Shelby had her knee surgery and Jake had has carcinoma surgery three weeks later I was faced with over $4000 in medical bills. No way in heck was it ever an option to put one of them down. I found a way to make it happen. Believe me....I DID NOT have $4000 just sitting in an account waiting for an emergency.

It's not whether you have the money set aside for an emergency...it's a matter of whether you will find a way to make it happen or will you foist your problems off on someone else. Even then....sometimes that's the only option. Many times dogs come into rescue because their owners are unable to accept financial responsibility for their medical concerns. While I hate to see that happen...I would much rather see that than have a dog pts.