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To set the scene...
Thanksgiving, I had to work from 3pm to midnight. We did a potluck at work, everyone brought food, it was good. Which really is neither here nor there but anywho,
We get a call from A, who owns the animal ambulance service in the area, who tells us that he's on his way to pick up a seizing dog and should be here in about 30 minutes.
A gets here, unloads the dog (who has since stopped seizing), walks it into the hospital with a rabies pole. We all give him an odd look. He tells us that the owners insisted. *shrugs* Whatever.
So once we finally get the client's information into the computer, I go talk to them to get a history. Woman, Male friend, two small children. The Woman and Male friend both smell heavily of alcohol. They're having hysterics, which is understandable, but at some point, I need them to calm down so I can find out what the hell happened. For the first 10 minutes, all I can get out of either of them, is that "We fed him a whole bunch of leftovers" and "He bit me right after the seizure"
Once they calm down, I start to get a story. At about 9pm, the dog starts to seize. They decide that they need to get the dog's collar on, WHILE THE DOG IS SEIZING. Needless to say, they were unsuccessful. The dog comes out of the seizure, Woman promptly tries to pet the dog, who doesn't recognize her and bites her. Male family friend jumps on dog and puts him in a head lock for 45 minutes.
I pause in my story to say, that much like humans, when an animal comes out of a seizure, they have no idea where they are, who they are and who you are, so it's not surpising that this dog bit the Woman. Also, a headlock for 45 minutes is totally unnecessary...
They call A, who comes and get the dog and brings him to us. Here is where the fun starts....
This dog has no history of seizures, so we want to monitor overnight to make sure he doesn't seize again and if he does, so we can stop it. Emergency OC + Iv cath + the potential for drugs + a night of hospitalization + bloodwork + IV fluids = about $800. Client has already paid $500 to A to get the dog to the hospital. Client freaks out about the estimate, calls us thieves, tells us a sob story about how she just lost her job and she's a single mother and wants to take the dog home.
At this point, we're more than a little irritated.
So we make up a new estimate without bloodwork or fluids, brings estimate total down to about $500.
She still throws a fit about the price. Now, I understand that the economy sucks. I have two horses who generally cost me more than human children do, so I understand about being poor. What I don't understand is people's inability to take responsibly for their animals. If I were in her shoes, I would do everything in my ability to give my animals what they need, be it surgery or hospitalization etc. Yes, I get an employee discount, but its still money out of my pocket.
She asks about payment plans, which we don't do, and then throws a fit. She is declined for Care Credit (no interest credit card thing that you can use at vet places as well as dentists) and throws another fit. She has us run the care credit application 4 separate times, with little changes to her info... and decided, in a huff, that since we OBVIOUSLY can't help her, she's just going to take the dog home.
She sits in the lobby with male friend and 2 children (who are remarkably well behaved...) for about 10 minutes while we get her checked out for the things she owes us money for anyway (Emergency office call). Out of the blue, she starts to sob, and screams, "Fine! I'll leave him for the night!"
OK then...
Dr. L goes up to the front to explain whats going to happen. Here is the best part...
(mostly paraphrased)
Dr.L: We're going to monitor "dog" overnight. If he has another seizure, we'll give him diazapam, and we'll probably want to start him on anti-seizure medication. Do you have any questions?
SC: Well, I don't mean to be rude, but how will I know that even if "dog" doesn't have another seizure, you won't just say he did, and put him on unnecessary medication, cause I have a friend who's dog was put on meds they didn't need. I mean, I'm not saying that you'll do that, and I don't mean to be rude, but how will I know?
Dr.L: *speechless* Of course that's rude! *more sputtering* you're just going to have to trust me...
Mean while Male friend is sitting in the background making affirming noises, like, "yeah", "How are we gonna know?" etc
Dr. L had to leave the room, before she hurt someone.
It was a thrilling night...
Thanksgiving, I had to work from 3pm to midnight. We did a potluck at work, everyone brought food, it was good. Which really is neither here nor there but anywho,
We get a call from A, who owns the animal ambulance service in the area, who tells us that he's on his way to pick up a seizing dog and should be here in about 30 minutes.
A gets here, unloads the dog (who has since stopped seizing), walks it into the hospital with a rabies pole. We all give him an odd look. He tells us that the owners insisted. *shrugs* Whatever.
So once we finally get the client's information into the computer, I go talk to them to get a history. Woman, Male friend, two small children. The Woman and Male friend both smell heavily of alcohol. They're having hysterics, which is understandable, but at some point, I need them to calm down so I can find out what the hell happened. For the first 10 minutes, all I can get out of either of them, is that "We fed him a whole bunch of leftovers" and "He bit me right after the seizure"
Once they calm down, I start to get a story. At about 9pm, the dog starts to seize. They decide that they need to get the dog's collar on, WHILE THE DOG IS SEIZING. Needless to say, they were unsuccessful. The dog comes out of the seizure, Woman promptly tries to pet the dog, who doesn't recognize her and bites her. Male family friend jumps on dog and puts him in a head lock for 45 minutes.
I pause in my story to say, that much like humans, when an animal comes out of a seizure, they have no idea where they are, who they are and who you are, so it's not surpising that this dog bit the Woman. Also, a headlock for 45 minutes is totally unnecessary...
They call A, who comes and get the dog and brings him to us. Here is where the fun starts....
This dog has no history of seizures, so we want to monitor overnight to make sure he doesn't seize again and if he does, so we can stop it. Emergency OC + Iv cath + the potential for drugs + a night of hospitalization + bloodwork + IV fluids = about $800. Client has already paid $500 to A to get the dog to the hospital. Client freaks out about the estimate, calls us thieves, tells us a sob story about how she just lost her job and she's a single mother and wants to take the dog home.
At this point, we're more than a little irritated.
So we make up a new estimate without bloodwork or fluids, brings estimate total down to about $500.
She still throws a fit about the price. Now, I understand that the economy sucks. I have two horses who generally cost me more than human children do, so I understand about being poor. What I don't understand is people's inability to take responsibly for their animals. If I were in her shoes, I would do everything in my ability to give my animals what they need, be it surgery or hospitalization etc. Yes, I get an employee discount, but its still money out of my pocket.
She asks about payment plans, which we don't do, and then throws a fit. She is declined for Care Credit (no interest credit card thing that you can use at vet places as well as dentists) and throws another fit. She has us run the care credit application 4 separate times, with little changes to her info... and decided, in a huff, that since we OBVIOUSLY can't help her, she's just going to take the dog home.
She sits in the lobby with male friend and 2 children (who are remarkably well behaved...) for about 10 minutes while we get her checked out for the things she owes us money for anyway (Emergency office call). Out of the blue, she starts to sob, and screams, "Fine! I'll leave him for the night!"
OK then...
Dr. L goes up to the front to explain whats going to happen. Here is the best part...
(mostly paraphrased)
Dr.L: We're going to monitor "dog" overnight. If he has another seizure, we'll give him diazapam, and we'll probably want to start him on anti-seizure medication. Do you have any questions?
SC: Well, I don't mean to be rude, but how will I know that even if "dog" doesn't have another seizure, you won't just say he did, and put him on unnecessary medication, cause I have a friend who's dog was put on meds they didn't need. I mean, I'm not saying that you'll do that, and I don't mean to be rude, but how will I know?
Dr.L: *speechless* Of course that's rude! *more sputtering* you're just going to have to trust me...
Mean while Male friend is sitting in the background making affirming noises, like, "yeah", "How are we gonna know?" etc
Dr. L had to leave the room, before she hurt someone.
It was a thrilling night...
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