Why I Hate Vets!~

bobd

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Messages
3
Purraise
0
Location
I am now back home in New England - SE New Hampshi
Thank you to everyone who has responded to me and my questions about my remaining kitty Wizard after the loss of his wonderful step-brother Demon on Sunday morning.

Since Demon's passing, Wizard had't pooped until just a little while ago and I was concerned. People responded with ideas and hep and I thank you! However, many mentioned taking him to the vets.

As for seeing my vet, I don't have a regular vet since I moved here (Southeast New Hampshire) a few years ago. My cats have been incredibly healthy and are house cats. I lost a good job a while back and have been changing my lifestyle and trying to get myself out of debt since. Then, not long ago, I was injured at my current work and have had a couple surgeries myself. So, being out of work, fighting with workman's comp, I'm behind on a few things and basically broke until my "adjusted" checks get here.

This is what broke my heart! When I lived out west, 99% of the time, paying the Vet was no problem, but when/if it was, I was always asked, "If you can't afford it, we can set up a payment plan."

Here, I called 11 Vets, even one that advertised in big bold letters, "The Needs of Your Pet ALWAYS Come First." I told them, I think my cat is dieing... he has a sore in his mouth and he's aweful week and I don't know how much, if anything, he's been eating (since I have another cat that shares the food). I told them, I don't think he'll make it through the weekend unless we can get some food or fluids into him. I said, I get a check on Monday and can pay whatever you want, you can varify it through my work. I was told, I'm really sorry and sorry for your cat, but without payment in full up front, we can't see him."

So, I HATE the money hungry Vets in this area that would rather my kitty starve to death than to let me pay them within 48 hrs - even if it meant holding the cat and charging me a late fee! They would rather it die than have the 1% Possibility of not getting their $38 to $60 up front!

So, even though all the vets in this area send pets to the same place to be cremated, I drove to a different state to drop off Demon to be cremated and returned to me rather than giving a vet within 50 miles of my house a dime of my money.

Sorry for the novel, but whenever someone mentions vets now, I tend to spout off because I feel they deliberately killed my cat because they refused to see him or give him treatment.

If there is anyone in the Southeast New Hampshire are that knows a good vet that is great with cats and more concerned about saving a kitty in an emergency situation that making sure I can pay in advance, please let me know! I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for listening.

Bob D
Epping, NH
 

dawnofsierra

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 24, 2004
Messages
16,678
Purraise
24
Location
Loving my beautiful baby girl
I'm so sorry you're going through this, Bob, and have had such a difficult experience with the Vets in your area. How frustrating to not be able to get your little one the help he needed. Losing Demon has been so very painful for you and Wizard. You must feel absolutely devastated.
 

charmed654321

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Messages
673
Purraise
1
I am so sorry to hear what happened. I have been in similar situations and know how frurstrating and scary it can be, and how horrible the feeling of helplessness is.

One thing I could suggest that helped me in the past was contacting local animal welfare and rescue groups. They may know someone, or be willing to help in some way.
 

chichismom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
2,576
Purraise
13
Location
STL
Bob, I am soo sorry to hear of the passing of Demon. Those kind of vets really get to me too. I'm sure there is a loving and compassionate vet in your area, who is actually in practice for the animals welfare and not his/her pocketbook. I'm glad Wizard finally, you know
There are a lot of members her from the New England area, I'm sure they can reccomend a great vet
good luck, many hugs to you and Wizard.
 

solaritybengals

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
2,359
Purraise
5
Location
Raleigh, NC
I don't know exactly where you are so this might be a bit of a drive but I used to go to a great vet in south Concord called Cilley's. Of course I don't know if they do payments or not
. I'm really surprised no one would work with you. When I had an emergency with one of my cats they needed the lab money up front because they had to pay that much but the rest they let me pay later (down here though). That is to bad no one was willing to work with you
.
 

enigma

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
291
Purraise
2
Location
Georgia
how frustrating and I cna understand, had a problem with a very sick kitten and no one would see him because they needed money up front, it was wednesday and i get paid fridays, no one would hold a check, (and one place did ONLY if you were there previously, which I never was.) the kitten died, (although I think he would have died anyways but still, I wanted to give every chance possible.) there was alot going on at the moment where my husband and i got short on money and stuff.
 

Anne

Site Owner
Staff Member
Admin
Joined
Oct 23, 2000
Messages
40,207
Purraise
6,095
Location
On TCS
That is so sad. Over here, it's quite the opposite. My vet would often treat animals for free. It's only when someone repeatatively fails to pay that they might refuse treatment. Even then, they refer him to the local animal shelter and advise on giving them the pet, rather than prevent medical attention. And as I said, they would never refuse treatment if you tell them you were to pay in a few days. Actually, come to think of it, they don't charge anything until after the treatment.

I hope you can find a vet you can work with Bob. I think asking at animal shetlers is a good idea. Let us know how it goes. It is important to take the time now and find a vet you feel comfortable with, just in case...
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
I'm so sorry for you baby. That's awful. Hopefully you were dealing with someone working reception and not the actual vet? If I were you, I would find out the vets's home addresses and write them a letter detailing exactly what happened, from the beginning of Demon's illness through calling their office and being told to screw off and then to having him put to rest far away. If nothing else it will help you gain closure, and at best will help vets train their staff (or themselves!) to care about the animals first and the pay second, if they know you can pay in the near future!
 

lucinda

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
61
Purraise
0
Location
Santa Rosa
The vets in my area will not take payments unless you have been going to then either. I receintly had to take a cat to emergency 'cause a scrape with a dog put her in a coma. I learned about Care Credit. IT IS WONDERFULL. The bill was over $600.00. They payed the vet, I pay them $12.00 a month! There is no interest if you pay it off within a certain amount of time too. I tell you, if I can get it, ANYONE can! They send you a credit card with a limit on it (I have a $1,000.00 limit), you can use it for any kind of health stuff and if where you go does not take it, they say to let them know and they will talk to them about it.

www.carecredit.com
 

luvmy4cats

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
88
Purraise
1
I would like to give my opinion on a few things from the other side (as someone who works as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic). First, Bob stated that he "hadn't had his cats to a vet since he moved a few years ago". Every pet should have an exam at least once a year (twice a year for seniors). Pets can look healthy on the outside but have underlying medical conditions that only a vet can find (from examining the pet and/or running blood work and other tests). So many people never take their pets to the vet for anything unless it's an emergency. There also is a rabies vaccine law in nearly every state (even for indoor only cats). Second, if a receptionist tells you that a clinic does not take payments you can be sure it's because she was instructed to do so by the Veterinarian. At the clinic that I work at (and several others in our area) even though we do not take payments from new clients we will take them from established clients if it's for an unplanned emergency visit. We do, however, hold checks until Fridays (because most people get paid of Fridays). It's just not something we advertise. If someone's dog/cat gets hit by a car and it's a long standing Client their pet will be treated as long as payment arrangements are agreed on ahead of time. Does our clinic treat a pet that we've never seen in this case? No, we tell them to go elsewhere. It takes a lot of money to keep a clinic running: vets, techs and receptionists salaries, mortgage, utilities, medical supplies (a huge expense). If the clinic doesn't get paid the employees can't be paid. How many people here would be willing to work every day for free? I know I can't afford to. I think it's irresponsible to own pets if you don't have some type of a plan in place if one of them gets sick or has an emergency. Blaming the vet for not trusting someone he's never met to make payments is absurd. When our clinic first opened they did take payments. According to the business manager they spent so much time at the local magistrates office trying to collect on bad accounts that it was taking time away from treating patients. The clinic is in business to treat sick/injured animals not spend time collecting on overdue accounts. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I have to deal with people every day who think that our clinic is just horrible not to accept payments from total strangers. I'm betting if you got yourself established at a clinic that they would be willing to work with you if one of your animals needed treatment and you couldn't afford it at the moment.
 

cearbhaill

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
824
Purraise
6
Location
Podunk USA
Blaming the vet for not trusting someone he's never met to make payments is absurd.
Totally agree.

And lest someone counter with "but don't they love animals?" etc., I remind you that veterinary medicine is a business like any other and as such has basic requirements. In what other business setting could you appear out of nowhere and ask for delayed payments for services or goods?

Try taking starving children into a grocery store and asking for food with no money and only a promise to pay next week.

Try wearing tattered clothing into any K-Mart and asking for clothing with no money.

Try calling a heating oil company in the dead of winter as your family is freezing and ask them to deliver oil without payment.

And these are basic human needs- a pet is a voluntary assumption of responsibility.

I could go on for pages about what I believe to be the responsibilities inherent in accepting an animal into your home, but provisions for necessary medical care would be right up there with quality food.
I am not saying that you need to have loads of money under your mattress- only that things like this should be considered and dealt with before an emergency occurrs.

luvmy4cats makes an excellent point- If you have a regular vet who sees your animals at least annually then in all likelihood you will have zero problems getting care for them when that emergency happens. It is primarily those folks with no regular veterinarian who run into problems when they turn up on a doorstep with a sick animal and no money.

It is sad that the pet in question died- I am not trivializing the loss of a pet. But to blame veterinarians while at the same time saying "As for seeing my vet, I don't have a regular vet since I moved here (Southeast New Hampshire) a few years ago" is IMO placing blame incorrectly.

I do of course realize that this sounds harsh and I fully expect to get slammed because of my opinion.
But pet ownership is 100% voluntary. If you cannot afford to care for a pet fully, then perhaps the time is not right for you to own one.

If you already have assumed responsibility for a pet and have no money then I would suggest that you closely examine where your money goes. Coffee every morning? CD's every week? Song downloads? Put that money aside- it adds up remarkably fast. Even $5 a week is over $500 after two years, and I know of no veterinarians who would not accept this as a down payment.

It is all about foresight and accepting the responsibilities of pet ownership.
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Totally agree.

And lest someone counter with "but don't they love animals?" etc., I remind you that veterinary medicine is a business like any other and as such has basic requirements. In what other business setting could you appear out of nowhere and ask for delayed payments for services or goods?

Try taking starving children into a grocery store and asking for food with no money and only a promise to pay next week.

Try wearing tattered clothing into any K-Mart and asking for clothing with no money.

Try calling a heating oil company in the dead of winter as your family is freezing and ask them to deliver oil without payment.

And these are basic human needs- a pet is a voluntary assumption of responsibility.

I could go on for pages about what I believe to be the responsibilities inherent in accepting an animal into your home, but provisions for necessary medical care would be right up there with quality food.
I am not saying that you need to have loads of money under your mattress- only that things like this should be considered and dealt with before an emergency occurrs.

luvmy4cats makes an excellent point- If you have a regular vet who sees your animals at least annually then in all likelihood you will have zero problems getting care for them when that emergency happens. It is primarily those folks with no regular veterinarian who run into problems when they turn up on a doorstep with a sick animal and no money.

It is sad that the pet in question died- I am not trivializing the loss of a pet. But to blame veterinarians while at the same time saying "As for seeing my vet, I don't have a regular vet since I moved here (Southeast New Hampshire) a few years ago" is IMO placing blame incorrectly.

I do of course realize that this sounds harsh and I fully expect to get slammed because of my opinion.
But pet ownership is 100% voluntary. If you cannot afford to care for a pet fully, then perhaps the time is not right for you to own one.

If you already have assumed responsibility for a pet and have no money then I would suggest that you closely examine where your money goes. Coffee every morning? CD's every week? Song downloads? Put that money aside- it adds up remarkably fast. Even $5 a week is over $500 after two years, and I know of no veterinarians who would not accept this as a down payment.

It is all about foresight and accepting the responsibilities of pet ownership.
I just have to add here that I fully agree. It's terrible that the kitty died, but as much as I love animals, I could not afford to pay for my education, rent/mortgage on a vet clinic, staff, medications and insurance and give free service to any stranger walking in off the street. I'd soon be out of business and unable to treat anybody's animal.

Your examples about grocery stores, etc. are perfect comparisons. Why should we expect vets to work for free and give free service and no other professional? Doesn't seem right to me.

I'd love to have a horse - I don't because I couldn't afford the boarding, food, ferrier fees, vet fees, etc. It's all about responsibility, yes.
 

commonoddity042

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Messages
2,405
Purraise
3
Location
Under a stack of blueberry waffles.
Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Totally agree.

And lest someone counter with "but don't they love animals?" etc., I remind you that veterinary medicine is a business like any other and as such has basic requirements. In what other business setting could you appear out of nowhere and ask for delayed payments for services or goods?

Try taking starving children into a grocery store and asking for food with no money and only a promise to pay next week.

Try wearing tattered clothing into any K-Mart and asking for clothing with no money.

Try calling a heating oil company in the dead of winter as your family is freezing and ask them to deliver oil without payment.

And these are basic human needs- a pet is a voluntary assumption of responsibility.

I could go on for pages about what I believe to be the responsibilities inherent in accepting an animal into your home, but provisions for necessary medical care would be right up there with quality food.
I am not saying that you need to have loads of money under your mattress- only that things like this should be considered and dealt with before an emergency occurrs.

luvmy4cats makes an excellent point- If you have a regular vet who sees your animals at least annually then in all likelihood you will have zero problems getting care for them when that emergency happens. It is primarily those folks with no regular veterinarian who run into problems when they turn up on a doorstep with a sick animal and no money.

It is sad that the pet in question died- I am not trivializing the loss of a pet. But to blame veterinarians while at the same time saying "As for seeing my vet, I don't have a regular vet since I moved here (Southeast New Hampshire) a few years ago" is IMO placing blame incorrectly.

I do of course realize that this sounds harsh and I fully expect to get slammed because of my opinion.
But pet ownership is 100% voluntary. If you cannot afford to care for a pet fully, then perhaps the time is not right for you to own one.

If you already have assumed responsibility for a pet and have no money then I would suggest that you closely examine where your money goes. Coffee every morning? CD's every week? Song downloads? Put that money aside- it adds up remarkably fast. Even $5 a week is over $500 after two years, and I know of no veterinarians who would not accept this as a down payment.

It is all about foresight and accepting the responsibilities of pet ownership.
I must say that while I'm sad that the cat is sick, I agree with you and lovemy4cats as well. I don't see how the vet is at fault when the OP didn't take them for checkups for years or build any form of relationship with one of the local vets.

HE might actually intend to pay a vet bill in installments, but it's so common for people to say "I'll pay later" and skip out on the payment/ give a fake address and telephone# that it's just not practical to give strangers payment plans anymore.

It sucks, but it's the fault of dishonest people who scam vets for free care, not the vet's fault.
 

tourmaline

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
172
Purraise
2
Location
Ontario, Canada
I also agree with the others above about not blaming the vet. My vet happens to be an old friend of mine so I hear a lot of behind the scenes type of stuff. MANY people come into the animal hospital with no money and a sick animal. She says that she feels very bad but the clinic just can't function if they are doing free cases. There are a lot of people who say they will pay and then don't. It costs even more money to go after those people. The do however let people pay later when they are previous clients.

My friend (the vet) got an emergency a few months ago: a kitten had fallen two stories and had broken its hip and front leg. The owner couldn't pay. For some reason, my friend decided that she just couldn't put this poor cat down so she gave the option of signing the cat over the vet. They operated on the cat a couple of times and saved its life. Now my friend has a very cute, but additional, cat at home with her other animals. They can't do that for every case.

I totally understand how hard financial stuff is. I'm a student and have spent over $1500 on my cats in the last year. They have had a rough year health wise. I'm in debt now and eat a lot of beans and potatoes! But I don't believe it is my vets responsibility to pay for my pets. My only advice is to develop a relationship with a vet and they will be a lot more understanding.
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Originally Posted by tourmaline

I also agree with the others above about not blaming the vet. My vet happens to be an old friend of mine so I hear a lot of behind the scenes type of stuff. MANY people come into the animal hospital with no money and a sick animal. She says that she feels very bad but the clinic just can't function if they are doing free cases. There are a lot of people who say they will pay and then don't. It costs even more money to go after those people. The do however let people pay later when they are previous clients.

My friend (the vet) got an emergency a few months ago: a kitten had fallen two stories and had broken its hip and front leg. The owner couldn't pay. For some reason, my friend decided that she just couldn't put this poor cat down so she gave the option of signing the cat over the vet. They operated on the cat a couple of times and saved its life. Now my friend has a very cute, but additional, cat at home with her other animals. They can't do that for every case.

I totally understand how hard financial stuff is. I'm a student and have spent over $1500 on my cats in the last year. They have had a rough year health wise. I'm in debt now and eat a lot of beans and potatoes! But I don't believe it is my vets responsibility to pay for my pets. My only advice is to develop a relationship with a vet and they will be a lot more understanding.
I just wanted to say I love your kitties. They are so beautiful.
 

reddicequeen

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 16, 2005
Messages
365
Purraise
10
Location
SE Michigan
I dont want to make this into a novella, but , I worked in the medical field for 30 years. (Surgical tech with a marketing degree turned Medical Adminstrator) When I started the whole point was treatment of patients and their care came first. By the time i left the hospitals, *now for profit* everything had changed. The HMO's and insurance companies decided what type of treatment could be given to a patient. The doctors who worried about law suits over ordered tests and gave unnecessary antibiotics, creating super bugs. The outbreak of MRSA in virtually every state is a direct result of this.
The cost and treatment of a pet isnt any different. I believe that having a pet is a responsibility, just like having children. BUT, you can't anticipate problems like unemployment or other financial losses. The answer isnt giving up your pet any more than giving up a child.
The real trick is finding a doctor for yourself or your pet that still has the idea that they began in the field to treat the sick...not become millionaires.
I understand firsthand the cost it takes to run a medical center, however, I also have never seen a doctor worried about his next meal or buying new clothes. It takes very little to treat a patient for simple problems. Not much other than a few minutes of their time. A few minutes off the golf course? An hour away from a trip to the Bahamas?
I am not bitter. I find it sad that this is where we are in health care. I know there are a few good men and women still out there...the trick is finding them.
Thanks for listening
 

lionessrampant

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
4,161
Purraise
6
Location
Windy City Kitty :)
WHile I don't think the vet necessarily WRONG for refusing to treat someone who couldn't pay up front, I DO think that there should be a referral system for rescue groups or animal care funds or Doctors With a Heart-type programs for people who can't say, so the vet can say "Ok, well, I can't give you services because you're broke and not an established client, but here are people who can give you what you are looking for". These programs are surprisingly widespread and accessible and easy to get involved with. I don't think anyone who is in the business of animal health and welfare has ANY business completely brushing an animal off that needs care. These programs exist for a very good reason, and it's to help people who have fallen upon financial hard times. I think it's partly the responsibility of the vets to refer people to these programs rather than just outright refusing care.
 

commonoddity042

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Messages
2,405
Purraise
3
Location
Under a stack of blueberry waffles.
Originally Posted by reddicequeen

I dont want to make this into a novella, but , I worked in the medical field for 30 years. (Surgical tech with a marketing degree turned Medical Adminstrator) When I started the whole point was treatment of patients and their care came first. By the time i left the hospitals, *now for profit* everything had changed. The HMO's and insurance companies decided what type of treatment could be given to a patient. The doctors who worried about law suits over ordered tests and gave unnecessary antibiotics, creating super bugs. The outbreak of MRSA in virtually every state is a direct result of this.
The cost and treatment of a pet isnt any different. I believe that having a pet is a responsibility, just like having children. BUT, you can't anticipate problems like unemployment or other financial losses. The answer isnt giving up your pet any more than giving up a child.
The real trick is finding a doctor for yourself or your pet that still has the idea that they began in the field to treat the sick...not become millionaires.
I understand firsthand the cost it takes to run a medical center, however, I also have never seen a doctor worried about his next meal or buying new clothes. It takes very little to treat a patient for simple problems. Not much other than a few minutes of their time. A few minutes off the golf course? An hour away from a trip to the Bahamas?
I am not bitter. I find it sad that this is where we are in health care. I know there are a few good men and women still out there...the trick is finding them.
Thanks for listening
You can't anticipate unemployment, etc., but this is not the case here. A vet you've established a relationship and trust with (and he had "years" to do so) would have no problem working out a payment plan with you, and so many have been burned numerous times by people rushing a pet in, having all of the surgery done, then saying "Oh, btw, I have no money. Does this cost anything?" , then providing a false address/phone number or simply being given wrong info by strangers after offering payment plans that they've become wary.

It does not matter that they are not starving (btw, it's fairly rare for a vet to become a millionaire, although there ARE price gougers out there). It matters that they would be very naive to trust every single stranger, and most likely end up going out of business if they did. A relationship built during good times will do wonders to help during rough ones. Most vets are not "trying to become millionaires". They're trying to not get ripped off by scam artists.

You most likely are not starving. Would you do your job for free for two people? What happens when those two tell friends and thirty show up whining that "you did it for him...why not me?" and turn hostile?

If you have a preexisting relationship with one or more vets in the past, most would have no problem putting a good word in for you, and their actual existence can be verified.

There are things like www.carecredit.com which will help with vet bills and general medical bills.
 

commonoddity042

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Messages
2,405
Purraise
3
Location
Under a stack of blueberry waffles.
Originally Posted by lionessrampant

WHile I don't think the vet necessarily WRONG for refusing to treat someone who couldn't pay up front, I DO think that there should be a referral system for rescue groups or animal care funds or Doctors With a Heart-type programs for people who can't say, so the vet can say "Ok, well, I can't give you services because you're broke and not an established client, but here are people who can give you what you are looking for". These programs are surprisingly widespread and accessible and easy to get involved with. I don't think anyone who is in the business of animal health and welfare has ANY business completely brushing an animal off that needs care. These programs exist for a very good reason, and it's to help people who have fallen upon financial hard times. I think it's partly the responsibility of the vets to refer people to these programs rather than just outright refusing care.
A referral service is an excellent idea. On a side note, I wonder if OP called any rescues/shelters besides the 11 vets...they could point him in the direction of low-cost clinics in his area, if they don't have them themselves.
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
I would never expect a vet to treat my cat for free, but I would expect them to try to work with me. Then again, I like to think that everyone is good, and most vets probably start off thinking they'll help everyone and then they get screwed too many times and realize they can't.
I don't know. This is the exact reason I got a credit card, so that if I were short on cash and she got sick, I could still take her to the vet.
Please keep in mind that Bob just lost two cats, and blame is a well-established part of the grieving process.
 
Top