I am kind of confused by the story. I think there is probably a lot missing.
But insurance wouldn't have helped, really, because you still have to pay up front.
If this dog was that bad off (which, since it was hit and dragged by a car, I am SURE it was) then she absolutely should not have brought it home and let it suffer throughout the night.... but I don't know details of that, or what condition the dog was in.
On one hand, I know a lot of e-vets do charge a TON and certain issues are probably okay to just bring your dog home until the AM, and it's just different when you don't have that personal relationship with them like you might your regular vet.
We took my dads pup, Lilly, to our ER vet one night on a Sunday after she was just acting weird all day, she had thrown up a few times, we could just tell she was not feeling well. The ER vet did not even run bloodwork and basically gave us no answers and just stated "oh she's going to have to stay overnight" and showed my dad the bill which would have been $1500. He said no thanks and opted to take her home with sub-q fluids. She was better the next day. I think it's a matter of knowing your dog and what you are comfortable with. And my dad is not a worse dog owner for opting to not leave her there.
I feel like the animal cruelty charge is somewhat questionable, it's hard to say without knowing what condition the dog was in and is in now. Do we even know how the dog got hit by a car? But then again, I'm sure vets don't just throw out animal cruelty charges lightly. So something must have gave them reason.
I think it's very important to have money in some sort of a savings account, or a CC, etc, with quick easy access for emergencies such as this, more so than anything else. |