I have always wondered this...

If you witnessed something horrible happen to an animal..lets say a cat getting hit by a car...

You go to help the cat, who is in obvious distress...When you rush it into a vets office, would they help the cat automatically? Or would you have to pay them to help the cat?

I just fear that if I am ever in that situation, I hope that vets out there have enough compassion to help "mystery" cats in their time of need.

Any ideas what would happen in that case?

I saved a little bunny rabbit once, it was in the middle of the lane and was scared stiff. I pulled over and got out with a sweatshirt in my hands, and the poor thing didn't move.

I scooped it up and wrapped it in my shirt, and it looked like it had been nicked - had a little blood on its leg. It was in shock didn't bite, or make a peep. My roomie was with me and he held it while I drove.

I drove first to the police station, because I was freaking out for the poor little thing, and didn't know what to do. They told me to take it to the animal hospital located in front of the shelter - it was still early enough in the evening and they had late hours at the time.

So I brought it there and they took it, said it had nothing broken but was in shock, and that they'd keep it overnight nice and warm and then release it into the woods behind their building.

So I thanked them, much relieved, and off I went. No charge!

From my experience... (which may not be the case everywhere...) they charge. Up front. Even mine which is a really good nice place, but at some points they seem very greedy and money hungry. So I don't really know. Sorry!

It depends...if the animal is in distress I would probably call animal control or the police.

I don't know if the animal has had a anti-rabies shot and I don't think I want to risk finding out!!

Originally Posted by SillyJilly

From my experience... (which may not be the case everywhere...) they charge. Up front. Even mine which is a really good nice place, but at some points they seem very greedy and money hungry. So I don't really know. Sorry!

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Don't you think that is horrible...What if I had no money and no credit card...they would just watch a screaming cat suffering without helping when they have the means to help?

I'm sorry but that is inhumane..how could a vet even say they love animals if they could sit there an watch an animal suffer because they "aren't getting paid".

You are so right! I couldn't do it, and anyone who could probably shouldn't be a vet in the first place. I've heard of vets who keep a fund for the care of such animals, and give their regular patients the option of contributing a dollar or two or more when they pay their bills. But even if the fund is empty... mercy first, money somewhere down the line.

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

You are so right! I couldn't do it, and anyone who could probably shouldn't be a vet in the first place. I've heard of vets who keep a fund for the care of such animals, and give their regular patients the option of contributing a dollar or two or more when they pay their bills. But even if the fund is empty... mercy first, money somewhere down the line.

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I agree totally...I mean, it is lives we are talking about. You can always make more money.

I would take the poor creature to the vet and if I got the feeling that they did not want to care for it for free, I would get a little crazy and tell them, ok, I will take matters in my own hands and somehow put it out of it's misery and then bury the poor creature. (saying this just to get their reaction)

Then I would go to another vet and try there. Must be a vet on every corner where I live.

Trouts Mom, why are you thinking such things, they may never happen! Think positive!

I did once pick up a 2 month old kitten in THE MIDDLE OF A 4-WAY intersection near WalMart. It's a miracle the kitten was alive with cars coming in all directons. I witnessed a miracle! I found a nice farm home for the kitten.

It is sad but I too must report that in my experience yes they do require the person bringing in the animals to pay.

I have taken in at least 15 animals in the last 2 years that I watched get hit by cars, wandering the streets hurt etc. I rushed each animal to my vet. He quickly treated them asap but I did have to sign that I would be responsible for the charges. In my case I found every owner except for one.

1 case that really sticks out in my mind is that of a cat. I watched a black and white male cat be ran over on PURPOSE by the truck in front of me. I couldnt believe my eyes. I stopped and found the guy trying to get up and walk away. Half of his head was raw, NO hair on it. He was bleeding from his ears and nose and had several gaping wounds on his body. I took him to my vet immediatly. I signed to accept the charges and then after waiting until the got the old boy stable I went back to the neighborhood I got him at and went DOOR to DOOR. After about 12 houses I finally came upon one with some hope. There was a cat statue on the front porch so I was hopeful that I had finally found the cats home. Every house I went to before that one had dogs but no cats.

A teenage girl came to the door. I asked her if they owned a cat and she said yes. I asked her what her cat looked like and she started crying. She said she had let out her mothers cat by accident. I let her know what had happened and asked her to contact her mother and have her call me asap. I got a call from the mother about 35 minutes later. She was at the vets office. The cat was her mothers cat who had passed away. He was 9 years old and she was crying about the whole incident. She had signed the paperwork over and I didnt have to pay a single dime of the bill but she was so happy that I had picked him up and brought him in. She offered me money but I declined. A week later she called me to thank me again. She said she doesnt know what she would have did if she had lost him. The poor guy had lost sight in one eye and had some other problems but was otherwise okay.

The next week to my suprise there was a HUGE banner thanking me for picking her "Ingram" up and saving his life.

Another incident I found a chow chow puppy in the middle of the road gurgling on his own blood. Everyone just drove around him. I stopped and got the little fellow. Went DOOR to DOOR again until I found his owners. He was a birthday gift for a 5 yr old little girl. His name was Buddy. They were very happy I picked him up. He was fine other than some bruising and a broken leg.

Its sad that people who are susposed to LOVE animals turn them away for inability to pay. My vet has worked with me for several years and will even allow me to come in and WORK off my bill if need be. He has explained to me that if they did not charge then everyone would drop off every stray, even their own pets when they cannot pay for their care etc at his doorstep. He does help out when a patient brings in a pet and they cannot pay right away. Does payment plans etc. He would never turn an animal in severe need away but said he couldnt let it become habit because he couldnt afford to run his clinic if so.

WHile it is sad I do understand. I couldnt be a vet because I would be BROKE. I would care for any animal in need regardless of pay.

1. One of the reasons why the doctor at our clincs likes credit care is that so she wont' have to tell a possible client no. Good vets got into the business for the animals, they do care.
2. Keep in mind the cost some small vet clincs might have to face.
3. There are good vets and bad vets. Like there are good doctors, bad doctors. Good mcDonald emps. and bad one that will not wash their hands after unrolling that toilet paper. (I just wrote myself out of going to mcD for a while)

I can tell you from experience that where I work the vet did not even mention medical costs for a client that got bad terminal news about her cat. She felt that it was bad enough to go home w/those kinda news w/out thinking of the bill.

A previous vet I went to was out for money. this is is not and tells me what the animal in question might not need or need.

And lastly. Keep in mind that we have people coming in thinking that a vet should not really be paid or charge as much becouse it is an animal or just a short visit. Never mind the vets' time. We had that today too. A woman who wanted to put a cat to sleep for peeing outside the box.

Our vet won't do that. Won't kill the pet for the convinience of the owner as oposite of need or mercy.

I picked up a cat last week from the side of the road, the vet treated him and checked for a microchip, there was one so they were going to hold the cat there and have the owners pay the bill.

we don't have such an emergency fund. I will bring it up when I go to work next.
Thanks!

We brought a dog that got hit and left at the side of the road to the animal control shelter where they have a vet (it just happened to be the closest and my vet is cats only), they didn't charge us anything and asked us if we wanted to keep him before they adopted him out

If it's an Emergency Vet- they charge up front around here. IF it's a regular vet- they all know me and know i'm work for the shelter- they never charge me- they always try to get the animal back to health then i usually take it in and nurse it back to health and try to rehome it or if it's wild- get it to a wildlife rescue or release it when it's better. If it's well enough for me to take to the shelter though and it's badly injured- i will work on it myself- run blood tests and bandage or sew them up if they need it if they don't require a vet visit. I guess it's different for each situation though. That being said though i would advise everyone to please not pick up an animal that you are not sure about- even if it's domestic- if you can get it into a box or other container without touching it- then do that- if not- it is best to call animal control and let them handle the situation after you move them out of the way of traffic. The reason for this is the animal could be rabid/etc. The ONLY reason i will move animals/ pick up injured ones is because i'm a trained animal control officer. Even then, accidents always happen- so be sure that you go to the ER and have a rabies test done should you ever be bit or injured by an unfamiliar animal

I stopped and got a cat I saw drag itself out of the road (had been hit previously, and other cars kept going right over him, between the wheels!) . I had a cardboard box in the back of the car, so I got a stick and rolled him into it, as it appeared that his back was broken. I took him to my vet, and they took him back with only an admonishment to me about being careful about picking up injured animals ). I went back and contacted the few neighbors there were, and one of the neighbors said they thought they knew who he belonged to, contacted them and they contacted the vet. It was their cat, and he didn't make it, but I felt better at least that they knew what happened to him, and were able to make the decision for him to be pts, instead of him dying in the ditch all alone.

My vet never asked me about payment .

I have never had to take a Domestic animal to the vets, that wasnt mine. But this past fall, I got a call from my Neighbor, saying that she thought one of my ducks had been hit by a car, and was sitting beside her mailbox. So I rushed over, and realized it wasnt one of my ducks, it was a wild duck. So I picked it up, brought it home. I checked the bird over, and noticed he had a broken leg, way up, by the pelvis region. So I contacted all local vets that I could think of, and they all wanted to charge me a horrendous amount, just to look at the duck, not even sure if they could fix it. Then i would also have to pay to have it foxed, if it could be done. So I then called all local Wildlife Rehabilitators, I either got no response, or no one was willing to take the duck in. Getting very frustrated at the lack of care, I then called the Local DEC, once again no one seemed to care! I finally got ahold of one Rehabilitator after a week, who gave me advice on how to care for the duck myself. So that is what I did! Unfortunately, even as hard as I tried, The poor guy did not make it. He passed on after spending 2 1/2 weeks in my care. He had the best of everything, but obviously that was just not enough!
Here is a pic of the Duck, He was a White winged Scotter, gorgeous bird!

I was and still am ver dissapointed in the lack of care and compassion that was shown towards this poor duck! I cant even imagine if I had shown up with a stray cat that had been hit! It amazes me just how much people dont care!

Originally Posted by SillyJilly

From my experience... (which may not be the case everywhere...) they charge. Up front. Even mine which is a really good nice place, but at some points they seem very greedy and money hungry. So I don't really know. Sorry!

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same here, they wanted a ton of money for dog that i saved on the highway