turned down
 

When I was at the emergency vet last weekend there was a lady there who brought her puppy in cause it kept vomitting, had diarrhea, and bloody stools. They wanted to run a bunch of tests to determine the cause. They wanted the lady to pay 800.00 up front. She said that it was just her and her son, and she only had a part time job, she didn't have 800.00 right then. So, they gave her the dog back to just take home. How can they get away with turning down these animals just because their owners aren't able to pay at the time. Why can't they work out payment plans?

thats awful, plain and simple. how selfish is that!??!?!?? most vets will take anyone! i hope her poor baby is ok. you're right they should have been able to make a payment plan, i can't believe that!

Wow,. I had never heard of that! That is so inhumane! Unbelievable!

That's so sad. :( The poor dog has to just sit there and get sicker and sicker. The lady has to watch her dog get worse. Most people can't afford $800 up front. That's so sad!

It's the same way here too. We had to take one of our Labs in
for emergency treatment one night and I had to fork over $200
just so they would look at him to give me an estimate of what
his treatment would cost. I think it's horrible!!! I realize these
places have to stay in business but the prices they charge are
close to being emotional black mail. What happened to people
being in the field because of their love for animals? To make a
person leave with a very sick or dying dog becuase of money
seems morally wrong to me.

Also, my husbands parents had to rush their 9 yr old dog to the vet one night cause it had gastric dilation. They wanted 200 dollars before they would see him. He ended up having to be put to sleep.
And another story.. my friend had a dog that was bleeding everywhere. She had to take it to the emergency vet and the vet wanted 500.00 upfront to treat him.. since she didn't have it.. she had to take him home and keep him in the pet carrier and let him die.
I don't understand how these people that love animals SO much.. they go to school to work with animals for years because of the love they have for them.. just can tell people to take their babies home and watch them die. It scares me because on two different weekends I had to take both of my dogs to the vet cause they had got coccidiosis at 2 different times.. they wanted 100.00 a piece before they'd even see either of them. .. but what if it would have been parvo or something worse and I didn't have the money to pay for the treatment right then. It would kill me to have to let me precious baby die because the emergency vet wouldn't do treatment unless I had the money right then!

THAT bothered me for 2 reasons...turning away a sick puppy and EIGHT HUNDRED Dollars ? That puppy may have had coccidia or something easily treated and in no way should that be so much money to test for - OMG that poor dog. These stories are truly heartbreaking - I think our world needs to really look at itself - especially those in the medical field...that's way too much money for tests for that kind of problem !

When we brought Chanel home - I had to take her to the ER at 2am on a SUNDAY....the whole bill was $225.00 including testing and treatment...Where do you live that they could charge EIGHT hundred ? That sounds very suspicious to me ....poor little baby.

Is there any way you could speak to the clinic administration? Perhaps you could talk to them about allowing payment plans or at least get a better understanding of why their policies are the way they are?

I know we here are all bothered by this (as you are) and would like some answers from that clinic.

Very sad, But some Vets are in it for the money!! I suggest you find a new emergency vet.(if possible) someone with compassion.

It is hard to find a great vet. Some have forgotten what they SHOULD have gone into animal medicine for.

Luckily we have Ohio State Vet School here in Columbus. Great people. My mother's maltese got bit by a large dog. (My mom is a RN) She saw that he had a punctured lung and we rushed to OSU...they rushed him right in and treated him. 2 broken ribs too. He was fine...but it was on a Sunday and my mom was not in the area of her vet anyway. OSU handled it in top form. :thumbup:

These places that are supposed to be in the business to help furbabies and their parents, sould be put out of business if they are not willing to work something out..

Doesn't always seem that its all about money? But you can't take it with you..someday.. what goes around comes around..

That's so horrible! i'm sorry but if i was a vet .. i would take care of the dog then work out some kind of payment plan. I think rosie has had to deal with this before. The made her write a check before they even looked at linus. I know our vet fixes the problem and then deals with the money situation.

How horrible!!!! Sounds like these vets just want some money!!! If they really cared about the animals they would work something out!!!

Yes, 800.00 sounds like too much money, 200.00 doesn't sound outrageous to see the animal, and a payment plan should have been worked out. But, medicine is a business, and no vet can pay his own bills if there aren't certain guidelines in place. And this may sound harsh, but if the owner doesn't have a contigency plan in place to take care of emergencies, then they have absolutely no business having a dog.(don't most people have credit cards, and most vets offer Care Credit, for gods sake!) To me a dog is a luxury item, not a necessity, and you must plan to be responsible for it in every way. Unfortunatley, dogs, like children, aren't always had by responsible people. Thank god the people in the hurricane didn't walk away from their children like they did their dogs!
PS I am sorry if I sound heartless, I am a big supporter of companion animals for the elderly, and contribute regularly for low cost spay-neuter-vaccine programs, and funds to provide vet care for low income owners.

This post upset me so much that I called the Humane society here in NY to ask if any critically ill animal would be turned away because of its owner unability to pay up front. Unfortunately, I could not reach anyone because of the holiday (that in its self upet me). I cannot believe that any clinic would let an animal die for lack of money. Luckily, my Vet is worth her weight in Gold. I had a Maltese that became very ill in his later years, I've had to call her 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and she never blinked an eye. She would have us meet her in her office at whatever time day or night.

When I had to take Cruiser from my vet to the emergency vet because he needed oxygen and constand monitoring, the vet went over the charges while I was still holding him. We had to pay the full amount based on what the least care he would need which was over $450.00. I said I didn't ask the price, I asked if you could take care of my baby. I was livid. But, then I remembered same thing happened when we needed an emergency c-section in the middle of the night. They did the surgery but I would not leave my baby and her babies there. I brought them all home and we did fine.
I guess ER's have been stiffed too many times. It breaks my heart to hear about that little one. I hope the mom could take the beby to her reg. vet the next day. These stories serve to remind us that the price of a Yorkie is only the beginning of our financial outlays.

When I had the Emergency Vet Visit from Hell two weeks ago, I was being treated by emergency paramedics and the vet tech approched my 17 year old daughter and asked her for a credit card. My poor husband had to authorize $1100 for them to even keep Ava while I was transported to the hospital by ambulance!! It was horrific. When I retirned 7 hours later they had not even fed her much less treated her and they had shaved her in 2 places but gave her no food or water. They gave me an unlabelled ulver solution and charged me $600!!! They did a fecal and a blood chem but didn't have the reults of either and they tested her for Parvo...that's it!! They were extremely rude and I never saw a vet when I picked her up!! :thumbdown

It is so unbelievable how so many vets are now just in it for the money. There was a vet close to where my mom lives that once he got older and closer to retirement. He would come in 2 - 3 days a week or I should say even after reteriment. He would give animals the vaccinations & medication at cost and never charged anything over what he had to pay for it. He told my mom that he had all the money he needed that he just wanted to be there to help people be able to afford the vaccinations and medication for their animals. Of course he didn't do anything major anymore. But he was a very sweet man.

That is outrageous. Good vets are definitely harder to come by now days. We are lucky I found a wonderful vet.

Arkansas. I guess they did a test for coccidiosis and it was negative so they wanted to do more tests.. I'm not sure.. I just heard the lady throwing a fit about it.. and I really don't blame her!

Yes, they did offer care credit to her, she said that they had already turned her down for it. And this kindof offended me because I love animals. I have 3 dogs, and 2 cats.. not to mention all of the stray cats I take care of. I don't have a lot of money, but have never failed to take them to the vet when they needed it. They have all of their vaccinations, spays/neuter (even the stray cats outside), and any other medical treatment they need. I am only 21, and just starting out.. and because neither me nor my husband have any previous credit, noone will even give us a credit card. But.. I do think people should save some money up just in case situations like this arise... but I don't think just because people can't have credit for various reasons doesn't mean we should take away their animals. It doesn't mean they don't love them and wouldn't do anything for them.

It's the same thing here. You must pay for all of it. I don't know of a vet in my town that will let you pay it out. :(

Vet care
 

I had a similar experience last week. My yorkie got extremly sick, after hour vets wanted payment up front. They referred me to Credit Care. I immediately tried to apply only to find out that you can only submit applications during certain hours. Fortunatly I had a friend who was able to help. We rushed Max to the vet and while trying to determine the best care to clear a blockage, he passed away, much to the vets surprise. It was very hard, and although I was frustrated that they wouldn't make payments arrangements I can understand why not.

When we 1st brought Luig home, he too was one sick boy. We had him at the vets 4 times in about a matter of a month. And the 1st one, was because of him having vomiting and runny poo. They wanted him to stay over night for testing. They brought us a paper to sign, with all the estimates on what they were going to do...$675.00. And that was to paid up front. :mad: Thank goodness, we have a credit card for emergency only. So then they had to keep him another night, for more testing..this is when they thought it was a possible liver shunt :( , and wanted another $400.00. Had to pay that up front to. After all was said and done, Weeg just had a sensitive tummy and I swithed his food too quicky. :mad: And before he was to be released, we had to pay another $75.00 for more medication. :eek: They said they do have payment plans, which thye have no problem setting up, but they add on interest. :eek: So thank goodness Weeg was ok, and thank goodness we had the funds to pay off the credit card when we got the bill.

Had this experience myself
 

I got my first sick yorkie on Febuary 28th and the pup was hospitalized on the very next day, March 1st. I had moved and did not have a vet, but the one that I rushed Max to, stated he needed $600 before he could do anything. They kept him overnight, that was $600 plus a few blood tests, one week later, Max was sick again, again we went to the vet, $300 and a prescription for antibiotics and he was hydrated. Two weeks later, Max was sick again, I had talked to a breeder who recommended a Dr. W of a rich area animal hospital. I rushed Max there, he was in the process of dying. Dr. W and his staff were excellent, however, I was told that payment would be required in full and a deposit placed immediately. I gave them what was my rent money. After calling often to check on Max the next few days, I received the call at work that I could take Max home, before I could leave work (and I was so excited to think that Max was coming home) I received the call that Max had passed and I needed to come into the hospital to settle things. I went in and paid almost $800 for Max's bill. After a long and protracted battle with my BYB, he met me at his vets office and I was given two identical yorkie pups with a clean bill of health from the BYB's vet. I was thrilled though still sick at heart over Max. This was Wednesday afternoon. I took the boys home and not feeling well, laid down. I woke up three hours later to one pup being seriously sick. Since Dr. W was so far from me, I rushed the pup to the first vet, where the doctor actually took out his calculator while I was holding this sick pup, added up some numbers, told me a $300 deposit was required immediately (there went my car payment), I gave him the money. I was called about two hours later and told that the pup had parvo and would require radical treatment. In the meantime I reached the BYB who instructed me to pick up the pup from the vets immediately, which I did (did not get a dime back from this vet, even though the vet had him less than 3 hours), the BYB picked him up and when I walked out to the car with the pup, he had another yorkie pup in the car that he was taking to his wife, I took that pup. I had to keep the second pup away from the first for two weeks to make sure that neither had parvo. My two boys are healthy and after an experience with an OD with one of them (vet bill of almost $1600, different vet) I now have insurance on my two boys. It costs me almost $60 a month for the two of them, but it offers me immense peace of mind. It took me almost a full year to recover financially from all those vet bills. To say that one should not take on a pet unless they are financially secure is to do a disservice to all that love animals. I did what I had to do to provide for Max and my boys and would do it again, but to say that you should not have an animal unless you have lots of money is wrong. If you love your pet you will do whatever is necessary to provide for them. I would lay down my life for my boys. Those that truly love animals and go into the business of caring for them need to be understanding of others financial limitations. If payments had been allowed, I would have made those payments if I had to sell blood to do it, but to turn a sick animal away due to the financial constraints of its owner shows not a love of animals, but someone who is more concerned with their financial happiness. A true animal lover would work something out with the owner, even if it was a few dollars a week. JMHO.

wow, Millie....you really went through it! I feel blessed that my babies have been relatively healthy except for the occasional GI upset. One of my friends had pet insurance, but she said it wasn't worth it because it didn't cover everything, and when her baby had a luxating patella that required surgery, it wouldn't pay because they said it was prexisting or congenital or something...which it wasn't prior to her purchasing the insurance, but I know it can be congenital....BUT if it's something that happens in a breed and proven not to be there before they purchased the insurance, it really should pay.IMO...anyway, what kind of insurance do you have, and what do they cover?

omg i'm so sorry about your baby!!! i know how hard it is to lose a baby in that kind of situation. welcome to YT, you will enjoy your stay!

You do need to keep in mind the vets side of the story too. I believe they see more pets a week than a regular doctor sees humans. Could be wrong but people will choose not to go to the doctor and a pet owner doesn't ask, in that baby goes.

I had a Schnauzer that I adopted in Jan of 2003. I was looking for a dog for my kids to run and play with. She never looked like she was in heat but got pregnant almost immediately. I didn't feel someone else should pay for the mistake of her getting pregnant so I kept her until she had them. After she had the pups, I kept one and gave the others away. She was supposed to be "child friendly". She wasn't, she wasn't a biter but seemed to have the potential for it. She seemed to be getting worse and worse. I was going to get rid of her but my dil wanted her so I gave Abby to my dil.

I don't know the real cause, chocolates or poison, but Abby died. I got Abby from someone thru my vet so we had kept taking her there for treatment. My son and dil had taken Abby in for a couple of check ups and shots, nothing too expensive but when she had to go in for the chocolates or poison, they ran up a bill and it's been over a year that they haven't paid it. Abby is dead so I guess they think they shouldn't have to pay the bill.

I'm afraid a lot of people do this. I think people think different about pet bills than they do about human bills. I can't blame the vets for wanting money up front and not trusting people. It doesn't help that they charge so much.

We were out driving around looking at houses and ran across a gorgeous brick house that was huge on what looked like several acres. I noticed the name on the mailbox, same as my vet. I found a tactful way to ask him where he lived and it was his house. This guy can't be more than 32 years old. Maybe not that, I think he looks about 28, with a house like that! I know they go in debt for school and then to buy a house like that! No wonder they charge so much.

I really think anyone who has to take out lots of huge loans to go to school should charge a lot until they pay off their loans. Then what is the reason for charging such a high rate? Do they have to get rich in the next year or 5? Can't it take a little longer without hurting anyone? Sylvia

Obviously a vet like that isn't one that you would want anyway. I hope she finds another vet that can work with her. A vet should be in business for the health of the animal - not just for the cash! Stupid vet!

Thats outrageous!! Its terrible that when people need them the most they would turn away a dog that is sick or dying.