Animal Hospital - pay bill to get dog back, or we will dispose of it

[The Straight Story]

Animal Hospital Gets Money, returns Pet

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A First Coast woman has her dog back after it was held by her veterinarian's office because she had not paid her bill

The Ark Animal Hospital returned "Sprite" to Dawn Surrency and her children Sunday morning after she brought a Humane Society credit card to them to pay for the care.

"They called me and said she was done, and they couldn't find anything wrong with her and the bill was $465," says Surrency.

....

The office refused to let her make payments on her bill because it is not office policy. Then the clinic threatened to 'dispose' of her family pet.

"They told me to pawn things to get the money to pay them," says , who is still upset with her veterinary service.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/topstories/news-article.aspx?storyid=144485&catid=3

[baldguy]

1. I think the GOP has found the model of their proposal for health care reform.

[Creena]

6. I read an article about a public option for pets.

If you put a pet option in the healthcare reform scheme, Republicans would be in a bind. It's one thing to oppose big government taking over from those little mom-and-pop insurance companies, but do you favor throwing Mr. Mittens out the car window when he gets old and feeble and needs an IV because he can't chew his kibble?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2009/09/02/healthcare

Judging by the callousness of this one vet office, I'm not so sure if that statement is true.

A bit OT - is the avatar picture your pup?

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

14. That's Garrison Keillor's latest column.

I think he's onto something. I still think Mitt did so poorly in the primaries because it came out that he strapped his dog's crate - with the dog in tit - to the top of the family station wagon and headed off for their vacation trip

[Creena]

21. That story plummented my view of him.

Not that it wasn't down in the pits of hell in the first place.

My girl is always buckled in with a safety harness. It came in handy more than once when she attempted to leap out the window to maim those evil birds.

[Orsino]

15. It sounds rather like BillO's proposal. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. Pay the bill or we'll put down granny.

[roguevalley]

47. how sad, if they did that to me, that their business would burn to the

ground in a hail of broken glass too. (I would take the animals out and torch the bastards.) I hope this gets around every place around where she lives. I hope they go out of business. Some oath.

[Pangolin2]

2. I'd have to be desperate to consider using a place called "Ark"

sounds like some fundy outfit. I've dealt with dozens of vets over the years and have found them to be, with only one exception, very kind, compassionate, dedicated and willing to work with people on fees. It's not as if they're out a lot treating small animals other than time. I can't even imagine one telling somebody to 'pawn' stuff...
:grr:

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. All women vets. Here is their mission statement

Our goal at Ark Animal Hospital is to communicate with you and educate you in a friendly, considerate atmosphere while providing complete, comprehensive and compassionate veterinary care for your pet. At Ark, we understand that your pet is an important family member and - given the opportunity to serve you - we will work diligently to earn your trust as we provide you and your family with caring veterinary services including certified small animal massage.

Meet Our Doctors
Dr. Anna Maxwell Veterinarian
Dr. Alyce Sims Veterinarian
Dr. Sarah Paschall Veterinarian

http://www.arkanimalhospital.info/aboutARK.html

[sabrina 1]

39. They forgot to add

'And if you don't pay up we'll kill the little darlings'.

Same as with humans. Rich animals get massaged, the poor face death panels.

[Creena]

4. Sick.

One of the veterinarians I worked for offered payment plans to help financially strapped customers. Care Credit interest rates can be just as bad, if not worse, than the fees and did not want to force pet lovers down that road. It was a damn shame when he retired.

[liberalhistorian]

57. That's what's so surprising and disgusting about

this. I've had cats and dogs all my life, and have very rarely encountered vets who didn't allow payment plans or work with you. Generally, they were much more reasonable than medical doctors when it came to the financial matters of treatment. And it's surprising also for the fact that any vet office that does NOT allow payment plans but requires full payment up front is just not going to be in business that long, it's that simple. Most people can't afford a lot of vet bills all at once, even less so than medical since most people don't have pet insurance. Of course, one that threatens to "dispose" of a pet without full payment ain't gonna be in business for long at all regardless of their payment policy. This office needs to go out of business asap.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. A real death panel.

And over a health care bill. Poor puppy. :(

And they found nothing wrong? Bastards.

[MissB]

7. Hurray for the Humane Society who offered to pay the bill

Reading the link, the Ark vets appear to be even shadier than I first assumed based on the four paragraphs above. Doctor-patient privilege my ass.

[Garbo 2004]

27. Confidentiality of veterinary records is actually FL law. So that part is true.

The vet should have at the very least waived boarding fee when homeless pet organization offered to pay the bill. Instead they got some bad publicity (threatening to "dispose" of pet?) that could likely cost them more in lost trade. Kudos to the Humane Society for stepping up.

[tblue37]

48. True--who would want to take their pet to a placalce where they not on;y

rip you off, but actually threaten to kill your pet if you don't pay their ransom demands.

If I were that woman, I would never stop until I had made them such pariahs that no one would ever take their pet to that vet clinic again. I think the bad publicity they have rightfully received over this is going to cost them way more than it would have cost to take the partial payment up front and let her pay the rest a bit later.

They were going to get their money from her eventually anyway, but by behaving this badly, they have really screwed themselves. I bet the Humane Society there will also warn everyone not to use that vet clinic.

[liberalhistorian]

58. And it seems to me that it would be totally illegal for

them to threaten to "dispose" of the pet, as well, let alone actually do it.

Of course, I have a couple friends who believe that it's nonsense to have to take a pet into a vet all the time, even for routine shots and that kind of thing. They haven't taken their dogs and cats to the vet in several years, and those animals are healthier than ones we know who have gone for annual shots and checkups. But their health may not have anything to do with not going to the vet, they may just be naturally strong and healthy and they're also very well-cared-for. Who knows.

[dkf]

8. Since when do pets have doctor patient confidentiality?

Looks like this outfit is a load of BS.

[Garbo 2004]

18. FL law: the client (owner of pet) must provide written consent to authorize release of info:

"Records are confidential and may not be furnished to any person other than the client, his/her legal representative or other veterinarians involved in the care or treatment of the patient, without written authorization. Several exceptions exist, including exceptions for a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction with proper notice, statistical and scientific research (provided the information is de-identified), a medical negligence action or administrative proceeding, and disciplinary actions against veterinarians."

http://www.avma.org/advocacy/state/issues/sr_confidential_records.asp

[imdjh]

22. That's in care injuries or infections are of an "intimate" nature, no doubt. nt

[davsand]

76. I asked that same question when I fired Chaucer's vet.

They blew me off when I called in to try and get him an appointment, and I took him to a different vet. The new vet asked for his records and that old one refused to release his records to them citing (and I still shudder at this) "confidentiality."

Chaucer is a fucking CAT!!!

I had to make a trip in there and sign a release before they'd give over that cat's records. They got all shitty with me and I asked them directly, "Are you all aware of the fact you've been treating my fucking CAT--not a human???"

They routinely KILL unwanted animals in shelters, and yet some asswipe of a vet's office declares "confidentiality" regarding a cat's treatment records? I have a big problem with the hypocrisy at work here.



Laura

[Iggo]

9. Pay your bill or we'll kill your dog.

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. Yep.. after we've run up an inflated bill

[FarCenter]

10. Look at their services rendered page

Looks like a large trendy animal hospital. "certified pet massage". Acupuncture?

For simple stuff, take your pet to the neighborhood vet.

[Merlot]

26. Acupuncture works wonders on animals if it's done by an expert.

My traditional vet started doing acupuncture (after talking classes) because the he realized traditional treatments were not helping, and in some cases harming animals.

My cat had a horrible strain on his back leg. Not sure what happened, but one night he was limping and the leg practically dragged behind him. My vet (at the time) said that surgery was the only option. Knee surgery on a cat? So I tried acupuncture and within the first treatment he was walking normal and not in pain. About two weeks later he started limping again, took him back for the second treatment and he never had another problem with the leg.

It's better than drugs and surgery.

[Codeine]

52. I'm sorry,

but that's just nonsense.

[Merlot]

56. Open your mind, it doesn't hurt.

Or at least live and let live.

[JanMichael]

73. it does hurt some people.

this is probably one of those times. ;)

[liberalhistorian]

59. Why is it nonsense? You think drugs and surgery

are the only treatments for animals and humans? You don't think there's any value in natural treatments? Acupuncture and chiropractice and natural treatments have done wonders for many humans, why wouldn't they for pets? You don't think doctors and vets push drugs and surgery for their own financial benefit? Nah, that couldn't possibly be it, could it? Sheesh.

[JanMichael]

72. It's been used successfully for a thousand years, and

you call it nonsense.

Interesting.

[Moochy]

86. It works better on non-chinese

Because of the active placebo effect at work. I don't have links to the Stanford study I read about, but it does seem to be very helpful to Western humans who are in on the active placebo effect. IE. they are cognizant of their health and are actively trying something that they have hope will work.

The same cognizance must not be at play in cats or dogs subject to accupuncture, so I would have reason to doubt it's effectiveness for the same reasons it works in humans. If it does work, it might just be there is some value in active attention being paid to an animal who is sick.

The alternative is to believe that there exists an invisible, unmeasurable energy force that run along imaginary lines in all bodies, with no Western or Chinese peer-backed studies showing any evidence of physiological structures that could serve as conduit for these forces.

I am interested in why acupuncture does work. It works less well for Chinese for whom it is the cheaper alternative to a Western medicine and a Hospital.
For them it's perceived value is less than that of the Hospital.

[Ignis]

75. By "nonsense," do you mean, "Chinese?" (nt)

[Neecy]

64. agreed.

My Dalmation had bad hips, and I took her to a vet who includes acupuncture in her practice. She went a couple of times a week at first, then monthly. After about five weeks she was running in the yard again. It may not work for every condition, but for joint pain it's worth giving it a try. The change in our girl was amazing.

[Tuvok Obama]

12. "Treating Your Pets Like Family Since 2001"

That's on the front page of their site.

[undeterred]

13. Some people murder their familes.

:shrug: Others hold it out as an option.

[Orsino]

19. "At Ark, we understand that your pet is an important family member..."

"...so if you want to see Fido alive again, do as we say." :scared:

Think they'll actually mail parts of the pet to the family to encourage payment?

[Critters2]

49. Just not family members you actually like. nt

[flvegan]

16. This really shouldn't surprise anyone. Pets are considered property.

If you take your car to a mechanic, and they do $1500 worth of work and you can't pay them, they can keep the car. In time, they can put a mechanic's lien on it, get a new title and sell it.

[Ikonoklast]

43. But they want the money, not the car.

Would they crush the car if you didn't pay? No, they would sell it to recoup their expenses.

I understand that the vets are in business, and need to pay their bills, but trying to work something out with a needy pet owner would seem to be the best course of action.

Threatening to kill a pet for non-payment seems ludicrous.

When my son lost his life-long kitty Hobbes after a series of serious medical crises, the doctors at the hospital didn't even send him a bill for his final emergency visit, and it was quite a sizable sum.

All they asked for a picture of Hobbes to hang on their wall at the clinic, because they loved him as much as we did.

They gave Hobbes a good extra three years of good life before he finally left us. They have the gratitude of me and my family, and I tell anyone that needs specialized care for their pets to go there.

[flvegan]

44. I'm not defending the vets, but

they didn't say "kill" rather "dispose" which means they may very well know a rescue that will take the dog and pay a portion of the bill. Yeah, I know it's silly to take a partial payment from a rescue rather than take a partial payment from the dog's owners. Not everyone is cut out to own their own business.

Hobbes obviously had a very compassionate, proper vet. My rescue has a collection of fantastic, caring vets that we work with all the time. We get a number of our adoptables from vets that have a dire case come in (hit by car, etc) where the dog is going to die if they don't do the $7500 subtotal surgery and care for the dog. Folks can't ever hope to pay that bill, so they sign the dog over. They put the dog back together, and we'll pick him/her up. We do all the post surgery care, so we only pay them costs. No long-term boarding or anything like that. Life saved, very little money made. Those vets, like Hobbes vet, are the ones that deserve our thanks and our business.

[Ikonoklast]

46. It was a sad day, all around.

The level of care Hobbes received from everyone from the front desk, to emergency vet care was fantastic. The vets and the staff at the hospital went the extra mile for him, and asked for nothing in return on that final day.

We are the crazy cat people in the neighborhood; we take care of the strays, ferals, injured and abandoned kitties. When there is a sick or injured kitty, we get the call or someone comes over to the house with the kitty.

I am on a first name basis with the animal control officer, he's a great guy and knows that if he can get us to get a litter of kittens and their momma they have a far better chance of getting proper homes. If he takes them, their future is usually grim.

We have a network of friends that run kitty rescues, and have ties to adoption and no-kill shelters. One elderly widowed woman we know through mutual friends took most of the insurance money left to her by her late husband to open and run a shelter. She is an angel to kitties needing adoption.

We get a bulk discount from our regular vet for spay and neuter of the ferals we release, and a friend of ours is a vet tech who can do routine medical care. We keep her pretty busy.

[petronius]

74. Does the original owner have a chance to adopt the animal back at the end

of it all?

[RobinA]

82. Only If

said owner has a fenced in yard.

[Lyric]

77. It's good that the vets you work with are willing to save lives

if the family signs the animal over, but heart-wrenching that the dog loses his or her family just because they couldn't afford the surgery. Do you guys ever try to give the dog back to its family, assuming that abuse/neglect were not the issue? I know that if a similar situation requiring super-expensive care happened with Toby, I'd have no choice but to sign him over so that he could live, but Toby, Rhythm, and LyricKid would all be wrecked at the loss. If I came across someone else who had adopted him later, say in a park or something, I think I'd probably die of the pain and grief of having to walk away from him because he was no longer technically "mine," and I don't even want to think about how horrific that would be for LyricKid. He'd be traumatized. How on earth do you explain that situation to a child, who wouldn't understand anything except that his dog is still alive, but can't come home?

:cry:

[liberalhistorian]

61. As I've said elsewhere in this thread, I've almost never

known a vet to demand full payment at once. If you didn't have it, they had payment plans and would work with you. Unlike many medical doctors, they were often more concerned about the animals and their treatment than they were about money. But I'm sure there are bad apples in every profession, and this office appears to be one of them.

[LisaL]

53. Yea well you can't be charged with car cruelty even if you beat

the crap out of your car.
Pets aren't exactly property and law acknowledges that in some way.

[flvegan]

67. No, pets are property.

That's exactly how they're viewed. There are laws that dictate how they have to be treated, to various extremes and limitations depending on the jurisdiction, but they're still property.

[liberalhistorian]

60. While that's true, mechanics, like the majority of other businesses,

generally take payment plans or work with you on other options if you don't have it all at once. And they also generally give you an estimate before doing any work, so that you can advise if you want the work done or not. Businesses that refuse any payment plans whatsoever except for full payment aren't likely to be in business for very long unless they're located in upper-crust wealthy areas. The all-or-nothing approach will, quite often, net businesses exactly nothing, just like it does in many other areas of life.

[LanternWaste]

78. I'm sure it surprises many people...

I'm sure it surprises many people as we are emotionally invested in them, and ofttimes consider our pets less as property and more as family.

Although I'm well aware that there are also many people who perceive pets merely as appliances, or home decor...

[napi21]

A few years ago I had to take my 17 yo Bichon to the Emergency Vet

hosp. because it was after 6PM. They had a large sign on the wall where you checked in that said payment is due when services are rendered. They decided to keep her overnight, put her on an IV & take an xray. The Dr. estimated the bill at $800-$1,200 and demanded a CC before they would treat her. I knew vet ER is expensive, but wow!

[napi21]

17. A few years ago I had to take my 17 yo Bichon to the Emergency Vet

hosp. because it was after 6PM. They had a large sign on the wall where you checked in that said payment is due when services are rendered. They decided to keep her overnight, put her on an IV & take an xray. The Dr. estimated the bill at $800-$1,200 and demanded a CC before they would treat her. I knew vet ER is expensive, but wow!

[EndersDame]

20. I remember my mom spilled her Vallium and the cat unbeknownest to us ate some

He kept running into walls and was acting weird . We ran him over to the vets and they wanted upfront payment we tried to explain my mom did not have enough money until payday which was the next day and they basically told us tough shit! I just couldnt believe it We tried to give them collateral but that didn't work either . Thankfully my baby was back to normal once it got out of his system

[imdjh]

23. Let's not pretend it's just Vets. Human dentists pretty much have a "tough shit" policy too.

[EndersDame]

25. Don't even get me started on human docs and dentists

uggh We need to desperately catch up with Europe in terms of healthcare

[Orsino]

24. This is the dark side of businesses that refuse to bill.

I sympathize with honest businessfolk who sometimes have to work hard to get customers to pay. By being too lazy to deal with that important aspect of the business, though, they paint trap themselves in zero-tolerance stupidity like this, and guarantee that they will be made to look even more evil and foolish than they already are. By refusing to make special arrangements with one customer, they now face a PR disaster, and a general loss of public trust.

They've ensured that this ugly little tale will be the entirety of their national reputation.

[FarCenter]

28. Businesses that are not hard-nosed about their receivables don't stay in business.

In particular, a small businesses like a vet practice, can get hammered with uncollectables.

People will claim that they'll pay anything to restore Fluffy to health. But the next day, they will have buyer's remorse.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

31. That's why my dad quit the VET. practice that he and my uncle had.

When I was born (I was number 6) he said the hell with it because so many people refused to pay their bills. This was back in the old days when he might be working on a dog or cat or he might go to someones' farm to help deliver a calf or a foal. The biggest problem that they had was their clients in W. Hartford, CT. They had one of the highest per capita incomes in the country, yet they wouldn't pay my dad because they thought that he just did what he did as a hobby. When he explained that he actually went to college and that this was his job, they said that only people who treated other people deserved to be paid.

[Hekate]

36. What a lousy disrespectful clientele. I am so sorry your dad had that to deal with.

What did he decide to do after he quit?

Hekate

[Altoid_Cyclist]

54. He took a job with the USDA as a meat & poultry inspector.

So instead of saving animals, he spent the next 25 years watching them be killed. He came home most days with his lab coat covered with blood which really didn't smell very good after being in a hot car. I don't think that he was ever actually happy after quitting the Veterinarian field. The only good thing was that at least the pay was consistent and he did have benefits. However, despite what some people think, he didn't make very much money when you factored in how many hours he worked.

[liberalhistorian]

62. It doesn't surprise me at all. I've found that the more money

people have, the less likely they are to pay those who give them services, no matter how badly needed. IOW, the more they have, the stingier they are.

[grasswire]

29. two years ago my cat went to the all-night vet.

He was suffering from labored breathing.

They saved his life, but the place put us through hell that night.

They took him in for triage, and told me they would do a chest x-ray and decide more then. Okay. Then the vet said he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and needed to have fluid aspirated from his chest, and would stay for two days. The vet sent me out to the business office, where they asked me to write a check or use a credit card for $2500 in advance to pay for all this. I wrote a check, knowing that I would be making a big deposit the next day that would cover it. They ran the check right then and there (how do they do that??), and of course it was not approved.

Then they intimidated me and applied horrible emotional pressure, trying to get me to find someone else to come and pay for it. "Isn't there someone who can come with a credit card? Can't you call someone, or go get another card to use?"

This went on for about an hour. They refused to bill me. They refused to cooperate or budge in any way. And it wasn't just the office doing this coercion -- the vet was also intimidating and cruel. They had me apply for a veterinary credit card right there, too, but it could not be processed. (Probably because I haven't had a credit card in twenty years.)

I finally said, okay, I am just going to wait here in your waiting room until the bank opens in the morning, and go make that deposit. They didn't like that either.

Finally the vet said they would drain the fluid from the chest and send kitty home with me, and I could sign a contract for re-payment.

Gee! Why didn't they offer that a couple of hours earlier??

Kitty's life was saved. It cost $600. He has been fine since on simply $4 medicine per month, getting rave reviews from his regular vet. The $600 was deducted from the bank account in three installments.

That was a horrible, horrible night. I felt really abused by their policies.

The skanky part is that the clinic is a non-profit that receives tens of millions of dollars in donations and bequests each year. Why are they so hard-hearted in such emergent situations?

[Taitertots]

30. Who orders services they have no ability to pay for?

She knew damn well she didn't have money to pay them when she took the dog in. What did she expect was going to happen?

[Creena]

33. She was scared her dog had something in its throat!

Considering she paid in full on previous visits, the veterinarians needed to exercise some compassion.

When I adopted an injured dog, her bills occasionally hit a total I couldn't pay at one time. Her veterinary surgeon understood my situation and how much I loved my dog, so he allowed me to pay in increments.

As I noted higher up in the thread, I worked for a veterinarian who allowed his financially strapped clients to pay in increments.

[Taitertots]

37. I'll bet you asked before services were rendered

And you did this at their discretion.

She came in with no ability to pay, didn't bother to find out, and expects them to do her a favor.

[Creena]

40. Ah, I see what you were saying.

Yes, I always ask before services are rendered.

I also came in with a recommendation from my regular vet who knew me as a rodent rescuer a year before I adopted my first dog. The regular vet informed the surgeon of my timely payments and asked if he could work with me on payments because I did not qualify for Care Credit.

[Taitertots]

70. Exactly it was something you took care of in advance....

Because you knew you didn't have the available cash.

You didn't wait while they performed services, knowing you couldn't afford them. Then want to leave with your dog, not give them money and expect a payment plan they don't offer.

[Garbo 2004]

42. Vet didn't inform pet owner of costs prior to treatment & performed procedures not authorized

by pet owner. Then demanded payment. Since the pet owner had previously gone to the vet and paid her bills in full, there's no reason to assume that she ordered services that she knew she could not pay for.

[liberalhistorian]

65. Maybe she didn't "order" them in the first place, ya think?

Maybe they ran the tests and services first and THEN told her about them. I've seen that happen before in vet offices and it's not all that unusual. It happened once with a vet we took our animals to; he ran all kinds of tests and shit BEFORE even telling us or getting our approval or talking to us about it. He simply wanted to run up the fucking bill. I guarantee that that was the last time we used that particular vet. Fortunately, that was a rare exception in my lifelong experience with vets, but it did happen and it does happen.

And "what did she expect was going to happen?" How about they not fucking threaten to dispose of the dog? How about they have payment plans like the vast majority of vet offices, at least those that want to stay in business? Put the blame and anger where it fucking belongs, on the perpetrator, not the damned victim. Sheesh.

[Taitertots]

69. I took my dog to the vet plenty of times

I always made sure before they even saw the dog what the bills would be and made sure they knew not to perform anything without my consent. Then if it is more than I have on me, I make sure they have a payment plan or I leave.

Payment plans are something you figure out BEFORE services are rendered. Not when you realize you can't pay them.

What are they going to do? Are they a kennel? Are they equipped to handle holding a dog? More than likely not. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you know and understand the policies of your vet. Not knowing that bills must be paid in full is HER fault.

[liberalhistorian]

71. Maybe she DID do that and they didn't comply with

it! That wouldn't be the first time. If you'll note in the article, they have a statement that says a workup could be from $150 to $350 and they're supposed to advise you if it's higher than that. She was likely expecting them to advise her of that and might even have asked to make sure of it. But that's not going to stop some vets from going ahead anyway and THEN advising the owner, I've seen it happen before; vets can unnecessarily run up bills on purpose just like doctors can and do. In such cases that is THEIR fault and NOT the OWNER'S fault. And if you'll note, she'd always paid her bills in full before. If you'll also note, she tried to pay with her pet insurance card and they WOULDN'T ACCEPT IT. Again, nice try defending the perpetrators instead of the victim.

And that still doesn't give them the right to threaten to dispose of the pet, or, God forbid, dispose of it. Not at all. The vet said in the article that payment was a "civil" matter and she wasn't discussing it. Well, if it was a "civil" matter, then her keeping the dog would have been illegal, especially if it was just to run up the bills, which it likely was, and I would have called the cops and demanded my animal back, period.

And any vet's office that doesn't take payment options or most pet insurance deserves to go out of business.

[wickerwoman]

85. Many vets don't respect the plans you work out.

I took one of my cats in with a blocked urethra and he ended up spending about 5 days in the hospital before they sent him home. At the beginning, I told them $900 was my limit, we went over an itemized estimate, I told them what I wanted and didn't and what I wanted them to call me before doing.

The final bill? $1600.

They gave him pills and shots I didn't authorize, billed me for three force-feeds a day when they told be they were only doing two, billed me for pills and IV fluids which I brought with me from the hospital I transferred him from, billed me for changing catheters when they f*cked up and used the wrong type...

It is very, very easy to run up unexpected costs in the middle of treatment, especially when the animal is kept for several days and the hospital has poor communication between staff on different shifts.

Vets give you an estimate and you sign off on it. Then some of them go nuts and run up bills which are much higher than the estimates (with any number of items which might be iffy or fraudulent). How is that this lady's fault? And how does that excuse threatening to kill her pet if she doesn't pay?

[im1013]

32. I had a similar "event" with a local emergency animal hospital.

A few years ago, my favorite kitty (from a litter of 6 kittens) got run over by a car. He was still alive & I rushed him
to a local emergency animal hospital. I had never been there before, but they were the only one open.
The vet looked at him & explained that there wasn't anything she could do and he was going to die. She then proceeded to
tell me that it would cost $75. to give him the shot to euthanize him.
Well, just as she was about to give him the shot, the assistant came it to tell me that their machine wouldn't read my check.

AND THAT BITCH OF A VET ACTUALLY WALKED AWAY FROM THE CAT UNTIL I GAVE HER A DEBIT CARD THAT THE MACHINE WOULD READ!!
BY THEN THE POOR KITTEN WAS CONVULSING OFF THE TABLE & ALL OVER THE FLOOR!

I BEGGED HER, IN TEARS, TO PLEASE GIVE HIM THE SHOT NOW & END HIS SUFFERING, BUT SHE JUST WALKED AWAY!!

Finally, after the payment was processed, the bitch came back in the room & picked the poor thing off the floor and gave him the shot. I think he was
probably already dead by then.

I HOPE THERE IS A SUCH THING AS HELL, JUST SO THAT BITCH CAN ROT IN IT!!!!!!!!


My only consolation is that the animal hospital is closed now.

:grr::grr:

[The Straight Story]

35. That's just messed up, people like that should not be vets in the first place (nt)

[im1013]

38. I know, right!

Unfortunately, doctors are just as bad these days.

[Hekate]

34. That's pretty heartless. Who do they think they are-- Blue Cross?

I understand that the vet has to pay his bills like every one else, but this "office policy" is pretty draconian. Now their name is all over the news, and serves them right.

Hekate

[leeroysphitz]

45. Who cares? This is a bullshit thing to worry about.

We have more important problems.

[Lorien]

51. Use the hide thread function if you don't like it. nt

[The Straight Story]

55. Thanks for the kick, and btw the world does not revolve around just you and your problems

it is a real problem to a lot of people.

[Lorien]

50. It got worse:

"She says she also tried to pay with a pet health insurance card, but they did not accept that card. Eventually, the vet bill reached $817 because it charged Surrency for boarding the pet. They also told her that if she didn't pay, the office would send an abandonment letter, and 10 days after that the office would "dispose" of the dog."

Naturally, there are a handful of assholes on the website defending the vet's practice. :eyes:

[liberalhistorian]

66. I'm sure that's one of the ways they jacked up

the bill, demanding full payment instead of a payment plan, keeping the dog due to such "nonpayment", then charging for every day they kept the dog because people can't comply with their all-or-nothing demand. Standard business model of heartless assholes.

[Seldona]

63. I had the opposite experiance in Florida.

We had a pit-bull with pretty advanced Hook-Worm (he was a rescue). We had a total of $1000, and that was it. The vet took that as payment, and wound up keeping him for over two weeks on IVs. Not to mention antibiotics, pain, and other medications.

He made it over ten years after that. We couldn't have afforded the bill for that at the time. Let's just say we got better than 90% off. Depends on the vet I guess.

[Liberal_in_LA]

68. great story.

[Seldona]

80. I had to give the vet his due. They sure aren't all like this.

They did a wonderful job.

[nadinbrzezinski]

79. I love my Avian vet... he will NEVER do a thing

before asking

And trust me, Avian vets are more expensive than pooch vets.

Hell last week when we took Tuky for his checkup... geriatric check... I expected the bill to be FAR MORE than it was...

But here is the key word... he tells us all before doing it....

We also know that when we take the kids to the doctor it is going to be expensive...

[ddeclue]

81. Kitteh can't afford to pay the bill... oh noes!

:argh:

[TheKentuckian]

83. Ain't capitalisim grand? (nt)

[Bluenorthwest]

84. Our kitty has good insurance

It is cheap, and pretty comprehensive. This vet sounds like a terrible person, and business person, both things.