5 OUT of 6 Dead!!!!!!

[fabsroman]

TD,

I like that quote. Would you mind if I use it in my next newsletter.

"The lack of planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on my part." I can apply that to a lot of my clients.

Wolvie,

Health care for dogs is expensive, but nowhere as expensive as health care for humans. Do I consider a dog's life more important than a human's, depends on the dog and the person involved. Nitro's life would not be more important than my wife's, children's, parents, or siblings. If a vet told me that I could extend Nitro's life for a year for $100,000, I definitely wouldn't do it. Heck, I couldn't do it. Exactly where the line is between can and cannot and could but would not, I have no idea.

Health insurance is now offered for pets, just like it is for humans. However, the health insurance, like the medical procedures, is a lot less expensive. Last I checked, health insurance coverage for humans at the firm I worked at was $3,600 for a single person, $7,000 for a married couple, and $13,000 for a family. That was 4 years ago. I found my own for $2,400, but it ended up being $3,000 by the time I got married and went on my wife's plan.

How much does a C-section for a human cost? I am willing to bet it is a whole bunch more than a C-section for a dog.

At the end of the day, we are condemning a bunch of vets and we don't even know their circumstances.

What kills me is that everybody thinks they are entitled to health care, kind of like people thinking they are entitled to a nice car, a nice home, a nice vacation home, etc. Health care is not a right. Just like you have to earn all the above material items, you have to earn health care too. My grandfather was diagnosed with a heart condition before I was born and he could have lived if he had received treatment. Problem was that he didn't have any health insurance. Instead of selling everything the family owned, he went back to Italy to die. I just visited his grave for the first time 4 1/2 years ago. We are not entitled to the bext health care just because we are alive. If you want state of the art health care, you have to pay state of the art prices. Kind of like buying a state of the art car. There is a huge difference between a Ford Focus and a Ford GT40, both in price and technology.

I took Nitro to the emergency vet the other month, and it cost me close to $300. I don't usually like to part with $300, but that night I was fine with it because at 10:00 on a Sunday night I was able to find somebody to sedate him, stop his bleeding, and remove the cyst. Would vets stay open 24 hours a day if they didn't get this kind of money. I know I wouldn't want to be the one working the graveyard shift. Also, how many emergencies are there really? I was the only person in the waiting room that night, with the exception of another person that came in about 45 minutes later when I was loading Nitro in the truck. Essentially, my $300 had to pay for 45 minutes worth of the receptionist, the vet, the tech, the lights, and the rent and it also had to cover the sedative, the gauze, etc. In the end, it was money well spent because the bleeding stopped.

If we want premium services, we have to pay premium prices. Is a plumber going to come out to your place to fix your leak for the same price at 6:00 on Super Bowl Sunday as he would on Monday morning? I don't think so.

Yes, vets take an oath, but it isn't one of poverty, and I completely agree with TD about a lot of people promising to pay but not paying. Heck, that is why I require a retainer from most of my clients. Every once in a while, I make a mistake and misjudge somebody and then I have to worry about collecting my money. It almost makes me want to require retainers from everybody. I am sure plenty of people have decided not to retain my services because I require payment upfront, but so be it.

Now, if a vet isn;t busy, then he probably would take the patient if there is enough money up front to cover his costs with a payment plan for the remainder, but that is only if he isn't busy taking care of other animals. Same thing goes for me. Why would I take a bunch of pro bono cases when I can barely get enough sleep handling my paying clients. Why would the pro bono case be any more important than my paying clients?