cat is really sick and the vet won't see him

I had something similar happen to my dog. She kept getting sicker and sicker and I would take her in every 2 or 3 days she wasn'T walking eating and blood was coming out of her my vet would give her amox shot and she would be better for like an hour, well she could walk then get worse again. this went on for like 3 weeks and eventually he said well it might be a blockage, but the reason I kept going to him is because I had lost my job at the beginning of December and this started at xmas time he only charged for the medicine not for the visit and I live where there are a lot of vets, there is a vet school and everyone stays in the area I would guess there are 30 vets in this small area so I tried to call all of them seeing if I could work out a deal make payments or something. But he was the only one who would do that for me so I stayed there, which was a huge mistake. he told me he couldn'T check her for a blockage because he didn'T have the equipment, but his wife worked at the vet school and I could go there, but that would cost at least $500 just to have her run xrays, but he said because of my financial situation he talked them into letting me make a down payment of $250, which I didn'T have either, and I called and talked to them myself and that is all they could do. So I had to leave my dog at the vets office for the last few days of her life, how miserable for her I still ffel terrible about not having enough money. The vet told me after she died that it was something similar to Hepatitis(not Hepatitis though) that killed her. On an emotional note that was the worst time ever for me, I was super depressed already, then best friend, only friend died, I lost another family member (brother in law) I lost my job, I had all my utilities turned off one by one then I got kicked out of my apartment, luckily I found another I could move into right away, when I went to move in the landlord told me oh I never got the deposit check from you so I gave it to someone else, then I had to live in my car for a while, then a friend let me camp in their yard for a while, but then their sister died so things got hectic there then I found a good job and a new apartment. sorry I just went off on that tangent but it can be so difficult when you lose a loved one especially when it is because you don'T have money!

 

i came back here.. forgot about it fora bit cause our computer messed up, been over a yr since i been here, but.. i read ur post, duno if u still come here or not, just wanted to say wow, u had difficult times, yea it is hard when u lose a pet, its like a part of the fam, plus all ur other stuff that was goin on, but wanted to say.. i'm glad u got back on ur feet, and i hope everything is well with u...

,
tc and i hope the future holds many loving pets, and alot of goodness in it for u, with happiness.

jennifer

 

Lilly, I read your story now, and it's really upsetting to read about greedy vets like that... How are things with your other pets? Did you get a pet insurance?

 

edit..didnt realize post was over a year old..

 

I know this post is old but this just really makes me want to become a vet more and more...me and my mom went through the same thing...we spent $400 (over a couple of visits) then we had to put our dog to sleep and he didnt charge us anything because he knew we had been through a lot...i wish there were more like that out there and thats one of the reasons i want to become a vet....

 

I know its a bit late now, but maybe for future reference, you may find this site helpful?

http://vetmedicine.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=vetmedicine&zu=http://www.imom.org

 

faeriedust, that looks like a great site and a great group!

 

There's also a similar local group called ASKK, Inc. thats just for my county, but I don't think they have a website. I tend to think there must be several of these organizations available. Call me resourceful, but I know help is out there, you just have to look around and ask for it. Its not as tho its a new thing for people to find themselves in unstable financial situations when a beloved pet becomes ill. Somebody cares, you just have to find them.

 

Its better to have all this info beforehand, Ive talked to a few people that have needed some financial help with an emergency and they find something like IMOM or a local charity that could have helped a week too late.

 

probibly not. seeings how to alot of people our precious pets are nothing but animals. some people need to get it through their heads that EVERYONE on this planet deserves to be cared for not just humans. animals are people too. :m3: :0021: :m3:

i have a vet that cares more about money then pets. he just started and the other vet retired and since the new vet is there they've lost a lot of buisness. this jurk won't even let you make paymets. we're currently ooking for a new vet. abby, my dog is scared to death of the new vet and pees all over the floor when they pick her up to put her on the table! :m3: :0021: :m3:

 

have you considered telling your sheriff or calling a lawyer? They can't legally put your cat down
Seriously talk to your mom about calling a lawyer

 

I know this is an old thread, but I'm reading it for the first time, and find some of the post disturbing, to say the least.

Veterinary practices are a business. There are bills of all sorts that have to be paid if the business is going to continue to operate. Staff salaries have to be paid. Drug companies have to be paid. Rent and utilities have to be paid. Loans for equipment have to be paid. Insurance premiums have to be paid. There may be student loans still outstanding. And yes, even the vet has to be paid.

The only way all those expenses can be met is if people pay their bills. The vet I worked for had to discontinue carrying balances simply because the accounts recievable went over $100,000, and he was on the verge of bankruptcy. And he isn't alone in that respect.

So while it may seem that some vets are only in it for the money, the truth is often that they are simply carrying too much debt and too many people skip out on paying the bill. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to sue these people. If they don't have any money you just spent good money to go after bad money you still won't collect. If the person is unemployed you can't even get a garnishment on their wages.

In the U.S. you also have to concider the IRS. They frown seriously on businesses that don't show a profit at least once every 5 years. They will literally seize your books and assets and lock you out of your own business.

It's unfair to compare what happens in a hospital or clinic for humans to a veterinary practice for several reasons. A hospital cannot legally turn away anyone who requires medical care regardless of their ability to pay. In many instances a social worker is able to obtain Medicaid payments for people who cannot afford medical care. If not, the hospital will usually have investments or endowments that are available to cover some, if not all, of the bill. Vets do not have those options. The government does not have medical programs set up for animals.

In cases where a person does not qualify for some sort of aid, the hospital will work out payment plans, but if you do not pay the bill, they will sue you and take everything you own. Your car, your house; everything. Your only option is to declare bankruptcy, and even then you may have to sell your house and/or liquidate all your assets. You still have nothing when it's all said and done. How many times does a vet do something like that?

And to those who suggested hate mail and smashing windows; breaking the law not only won't solve the problem, it will also end up costing you a lot of money. Putting up posters? Can anyone say defamation or slander law suit? Do you really want to end up in court? Two wrongs don't make a right.

 

Shine, youve hit the nail on the head. The emergency hospital I worked at for 5 years, they used to do payment plans, its the only hospital for a 1 hour to 4 hour drive depending on which way your coming from that is open at nights, weekends and holidays. I, along with the other techs there went for 3 years without so much as a cost of living raise, we were paid between $5-10 less an hour than the hospitals were paying in the nearest large city, in fact we were paid less than most of the daytime hospitals techs in the same area which is almsot unheard of anywhere else (there were about 15 daytime practices that we covered for out of business hours). We had no vacation, no sick pay, no health benefits, we were overworked, 14 hour shifts were common, at least a couple of times a week, I worked 17-18 hours straight more than once....it was hard to get experienced techs for the low pay and no benefits, and this was all a direct result of people not paying the bills.
We got a machine that we had to run checks through before we could take a check from anyone because so many checks bounced, the machine will not accept a check if the check write has a history of writing bad checks, unfortunately it didnt allow us to accept checks from people with a new account or people who seldome wrote checks, there had to be a good history in the companies computers.
I grew up in UK were they have an organization called the PDSA, it caters to low income clients that cant afford to pay for their pets healthcare....but thats the UK, there is no such organization in the US, at least not something on that level. The fact is in the US if you have a pet you have to be prepared, have something stashed away in case your pet does get sick or injured, have a group of friends or relatives that can work together for an emergency, your pet is your responsibility in every sense. I know this sounds harsh but its the reality.
I have got death threats, come really close to being physically assaulted at work more times than I can remember and I wont even go into the phone calls I and every other employee at that hospital has had because people have no money to pay for their pets.....and if this comes across as I dont care that couldnt be further from the truth, I care, so do all the employees Ive worked at that place but sometimes you have to stop and wonder why you even bother when you are constantly told that your the one that is killing someones pet, your the one who is letting their pet suffer, your the one who is racist because you wont treat the pet that belongs to someone of a different race for free, your an animal abuser.....and it goes on.....this kind of abuse is a daily occurence but if we didnt stick with the policy of the hospital there would be no hospital.
So....as shine said, smashing windows will only increase the prices, sueing vets for not doing a $1000+ surgery for free....even though its a waste of time for the client to take us to court because cases like that never win it can still cost the hospital thousands to fight it, to retain a lawyer, to pay the employees that witnessed anything, to pay for a relief vet to cover the regular vet whos spent all day in court and cant stay awake all night to do his job.....
As I posted earlier, have a list of organizations that can help you, get some pet insurance, have a stashed fund put away somewhere and if you want to be angry at anyone or blame anyone aim it at those who have forced hospitals to take on a 'payment up front' policy.

 

the vet that used to be there would let you write checks and put a note on therm to be cashed later- like the next week.

 

We did do that for some people, there were a few who used the emergency clinic as more of a regular clinic, one rescue in particular, they had been clients for at least 10 years and while they sometimes had to wait until the following month until they had the money available their checks never bounced. The problem was some people would want to give us a post-dated check (illegal), in some cases we would agree to take some money down and hold a check but the date on the check had to be that day, they were not happy with that....they would argue that 'we' might accidentally put the check in too soon (which never happened while I was there, those checks were kept completely seperate by the manager)....what did happen when we did 'bend the rules' is the checks would bounce.....the client would call the bank before the date on the check came up and claim they had lost....or someone had stolen their checkbook....they would close the account so the check could not be cashed.....and it costs too much to take them to small claims court.