Comments on: Dog Released From Veterinarian After Good Samaritan Pays Owner’s Bill

By: anna_2007

anna_2007 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:22:48 +0000

In the Pet Food example above, when a pet medical situation is not in the normal course of owning pets, i.e. a force majeure sort of thing, like Katrina or the pet food terror attack, any responsible vet outfit would make exceptions e.g., in the $2,000 bill issue. But you’re asking The Establishment to make humane reasonable decisions en masse, and fly in the face of the dollar. That vet hospital - should have been ***metaphorically*** burnt to the ground in this sort of situation denying care when the entire community so to speak was hit. And refusing to make reasonable alternative arrangements. This new breed seems to be born with dollar signs imprinted on their retinas… and in my mind is the source of real terror - esp. to pet owners who don’t know where the next Pet disaster will hit us… and we give up on owning pets for good.

By: anna_2007

anna_2007 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:08:49 +0000

Dr. Innocent? Dr. GUILTY. Who would want their pet in the hands of someone who would kill a pet over money? Until it’s seen as that black and white, someone else’s family will get hurt at Dr. Guilty’s hands. Anyone doing business knows there are ways of identifying a deadbeat and dealing with them ahead of time… vs. someone who had no idea it would be so expensive. I have my wits about me and STILL get taken for sticker shock - not at the auto repair place where traditionally this happens - but ONLY AT THE VET’s. Perhaps there should be a similar procedure, and estimate given in WRITING with signatures - that would stop this practice because IMHO it ain’t the owners as much as a certain new breed of vets.

By: anna_2007

anna_2007 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:01:08 +0000

By: LearnAlesson

LearnAlesson — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:26:50 +0000

Here’s an idea.

Investigate the costs of pet ownership before becoming a pet owner.
Initiate a relationship with a vet before or immediately after becoming a pet owner.
Locate emergency services before….
Locate vets before that DO take payments plans when you have ZERO money (he borrowed 100% of the charge, not part).
Get an adult dog that is not as succeptable to the millions of challenges that puppies are. “I want” should not come before what “I can do”.
Save money before becoming a pet owner.
If you have no money (again, 100% of bill was borrowed, not part of bill), consider fostering a dog/puppy or visiting with friends with pets.

Pet ownership is not a right, it is a privelege. Flimsy excuses about “things happen” are not acceptable when we have oodles of options for investigating information BEFORE impulse pet acquisition.

As for the vet, he wanted to “dispose” of the dog. That does not mean kill for those of you leaping to conclusions, it means many, many things. Our local vets have to “dispose” of 2-5 dogs PER WEEK thanks to lousy owners…and yes, he does payment plans.

Substitute your job title for “vet” and see if it is acceptable to you. Do you want 50% of your paycheck and that is okey dokey? What shall the vet pay his bills with? Vets are rapidly raising prices to pay for deadbeats, supporting them continuing to do so only impacts YOU who are responsible pet owners who pay bills.

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:12:31 +0000

Vaccines,are not 100% effective. Vaccines do fail.Never count on anything to be fool proof.Medicine,human and animal is only a practice.Blessings to the lady that help the pup and the owner.She is a hero !

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:53:52 +0000

It’s people like Carol that restore your faith in human beings.

My wife and I are in the business of trying to save dogs from Parvo, and it’s rewarding when you achieve this goal, but heartbreaking when you can’t get to the dog in time.

The Parvo problem seems to be getting worse, and the latest 2c strain is the most aggressive yet - so much so that, as somebody has said, most vaccines do not offer complete protection, which is why there are in increasing number of stories hitting the news about dogs that have been fully vaccinated still dying from Parvo.

The only vaccine we’re aware of that has been 100% challenge-tested against the 2c strain is PROGARD, from Intervet, which is the only one we recommend to our customers. Intervet even offer a monetary guarantee on their product, although most vets seem not to use this brand.

We also came across one vet who was reported as saying that 75% of his clients opt to have their dogs put down because they can’t afford the treatment.

So, the message we’re trying to get across to dog owners is “be prepared”. Yes, you should still vaccinate your dog, but there are other steps you can take to be ready should the worst happen, and there are also more cost-effective ways of treating Parvo, at home, that offer a 90% chance of success (which is much better than the 50:50 odds quoted by most vets).

If nothing else, please eheck out our free book, Parvo Treatment 101, and pass it on to other dog owners - the more people that are educated about this nasty virus, the fewer dogs will die needless and painful deaths.

By: shibadiva

shibadiva — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:44:45 +0000

Lynn, I hope Josh got the message, and will get Pilot checked out and put aside some money to take care of him regularly. It has been a blessing for him, not only that Ms. Diamantis generously helped him out, but that he went through this crisis as an opportunity to understand the responsibilities of petcare.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:01:32 +0000

I still think we’re not getting all the facts.

Maybe I want to believe that all vets are guardian angels. But I’m troubled that after her very kind deed, Carol may later hear that Pilot is still not neutered and still unvaccinated…..and in short, just not taken care of properly.

Spread the word: Pets cost money.

By: A Noun (is a person place or thing)

A Noun (is a person place or thing) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:04:38 +0000

What recourse do you have for an unpaid vet bill? Send the bill to collections.

Holding a pet hostage is detrimental to both the owner and the pet. I hope the owner sues, and gets back 100 times more than the bill was.

Worst. Vet. Ever.

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:03:06 +0000

I say all’s well that ends well. Let’s just be happy the dog received veterinary care, and is now safe; the clinic got paid what it was entitled to for services rendered; and we have seen evidence that there are some really good people in the world willing to step in and help someone in trouble. We all make assumptions about this story based on our worldview and personal experiences. None of us posting here can know all that happened, or what all transpired, or what kind of people the owner or vet are just from a couple articles in the paper.

By: KimS

KimS — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:42:49 +0000

That lady was an angel. I hope the dog owner sets up payments to pay her back gradually.
Dr Innocent (oh the irony of his surname!) could have made an exception to his normal rule and set up payments.
He definitely made “euthanasia” threats and then later back pedaled. And who are these “star clients” he refers to?
That’s just weird. You wouldn’t hold a child hostage at the hospital if the parents couldn’t pay. How lame. This vet is a nasty jerk. Publicity?
Well, this obviously degenerated into a cash/hostage exchange. I think having a police officer there was smart.

By: ryssee

ryssee — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:52:35 +0000

Bless her heart, this is the nicest thing I’ve heard or read or seen all day! :-)
There ARE nice people in this world!

By: shibadiva

shibadiva — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:29:33 +0000

If some of us were vets, we’d run our businesses into the ground with our pro-bono work. My plan is to Win The Lottery so that great works can be accomplished more readily.

Karmically speaking, perhaps Dr. Innocent could regain his place in the firmament if he were to sponsor and set up a little charity to help those in need.

Failing that, he might consider selling on commission at Best Buy.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:28:48 +0000

My vet is good but when I lost my job and could no longer afford the diagnostic tests she wanted Kuma to have every two weeks she stopped caring whether my cat lives or dies.

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:01:00 +0000

This vet is despicable - no one should be a vet (or a doctor) if ll they are interested in is money - and it is clear that’s ALL this jerk is interested in - the dog is a member of your family and should be treated as such. What if a child is sick and the family can’t pay the bill - do they put the kid to sleep? It’s the same thing. The vet should be ashamed, I’m sure he’s not but he has set his Karmic path…..