Pet Assistance, Inc..................Helping People and Their Pets Box 2015, New Preston, CT 067777 860-355-PETS
Nov. 2011
Dear Friend,
I have written about fifty newsletters for Pet Assistance, Inc. over the years. Usually something inspires me or I feel the need to get an important message out to you and the thoughts just flow. This year I am stumped! In the process of helping people and their pets, I am getting angry, and I don’t like that feeling. So, do I share my anger provoking experiences or keep them to myself? I will share……but before I relate the ‘negative’ stuff….. I want to wish you a happy, healthy holiday season and hope you are faring well in these difficult, unpredictable economic times.
This is a Good Story: A whimpering pup was found near a mailbox. The finder, seeing that the pup was a Pit Bull, did not want to
seal his fate by dropping him off at a shelter. A local vet found multiple puncture wounds and a severe fracture of his rear leg with a full blown bone infection. It appeared to have been caused by a dog attack.
What is special about this incident is the sequence of events and the ending. “Chance,” as the pup is now called, spent three months in the hospital for various surgeries and treatments for infections. His ‘finder’ called many organizations to help pay this stray’s vet bills. And, I am proud to say, Pet Assistance, Inc. played a part in his recovery. $1350 was raised in contributions, his finder paid $1066, and the hospital gave $1293 from their special fund for strays and indigent pet owners. “Chance” is now a permanent member of a loving family. Many hospitals could have justified a $6000-$8000 bill. The total bill was $3709 plus free neutering when he was older.
‘Chance,’ the day after he was found 2 weeks after first surgery At his new home, 3 months later
Sadly, the following is a more common occurrence: A school teacher adopted a senior dog from my friend whose specialty is rescuing older dogs from
high-kill municipal pounds. The toy terrier mix was to be the woman’s first pet. ‘Bruiser’ was adopted on a Friday, (he had been examined by a vet, vaccinated and neutered the prior Monday.) Sunday night the adopter called to say how much she loved the dog and that all was well. But, friends advised her to take Bruiser to a local vet to be checked out. Over the phone, the clinic said a visit was $55. Reasonable, isn’t it?
The final bill for the exam was $637.83. Remember, this was a first time pet owner. The vet x-rayed the dog, did complete blood work, dispensed
antibiotics, metronidazole, wormer and more although the dog showed no signs of illness. In tears, the woman returned the dog later that day saying: “I didn’t know it was so expensive to own a dog….and they want me to bring him back again in two weeks.” I will send you a copy of the bill if you request it. Because of this veterinarian, a nice older dog missed out on a potentially good home and a nice woman was deprived of the pleasures of dog ownership. I can cite other cases where animals were returned because of sky-high vet fees. Aside from a slight heart murmur, which is common in older animals and which the adopter was informed of, Bruiser is in fine shape. A week later, he was adopted by a family.
A note from his new owner: “We fenced the back yard so the three dogs can stay
safely outside, Bumbles (formerly Bruiser) loves to run! In the past couple of weeks he
has started to feel this house as his home and us as his family, now he comes when
we call him, comes to the door and wags his tail when we come home, and best of all
is that he has shown a very playful side of his personality, he is just adorable, a
goofball!!!”
What angers me is that most people became veterinarians because as children they loved animals and wanted to help them. What went awry? Was the business aspect of small animal practice emphasized too much in vet school? Is it because of all the modern and accessible technology, that the newer generation of veterinarians cannot diagnose even simple problems without resorting to expensive tests?
As far back as 30 years ago, I was telling people “Do not love your vet, unless he/she is a blood relative.” Will your vet love you and your pet if you come upon hard times? The reality which many people don’t accept is that the practice of veterinary medicine is a business, not a charity. Veterinarians want to make a good living and they are entitled to do so. However, clients AKA consumers or customers should be able to ‘purchase’ the services they want or can afford. Affordable options for care should be offered if people are in financial need or just because that may be what a pet owner chooses to do. Believe me, there will still be plenty of people anxious to pay for all the bells, whistles and recommended care. AND this way all pets could get necessary care.
Protocols change over the years, as in human medicine. Some lead to improved care, others do little or nothing. One that irks me is ‘blood work!’ Not so many years ago veterinarians ‘recommended’ blood tests prior to operating on a pet over 7-8 years old…..and pet owners had the choice or right to ‘opt out’ of the lab work. Then the age lowered to about 2 years old. NOW many vets (the bells and whistle hospitals) say they will not even spay or neuter a pup or kitten without prior blood work! Obviously, if the pre-surgical exam shows something questionable, blood work may be called for. Low cost spay clinics operate on tens of thousands of animals a year, do NOT do pre-op blood work and have an excellent survival record.
I met someone whose seven month old kitten died being neutered despite it having had ‘blood work.’ The vet said the kitty was allergic to the anesthesia.
Should all animals now have allergy tests prior to surgery or treatments? To my knowledge, no statistics have been gathered to show that pre-surgical blood work for routine spay/neuters saves lives.
Other protocols that anger me! Dentistry: current quotes for dental cleanings are usually $500 and up. Under most circumstances
$200 is a fair price (even though it’s a lot more than I pay for my own.) Again, most vets are requiring
unnecessary blood work, prior to cleanings.
Vaccines: I hope your veterinarian isn’t still giving yearly shots! If you are computer literate, be sure
to check out this site, especially “vaccination newsflash”:
http://www.doglogic.com/vaccineinfo.htm#news The following is an excerpt: “Dogs & cats no longer need to be vaccinated against distemper, parvo, & feline
leukemia every year. Once the initial series of puppy or kitten vaccinations and first annual vaccinations are
completed, immunity from MLV vaccines persists for life. It has been shown that cats over 1 year of age are
immune to Feline Leukemia whether they have been vaccinated or not. Imagine the money you will save, not
to mention less risks from side effects. The AAHA and all 27 veterinary schools of North America endorse
these new protocols.” **Rabies is mandated for every three years ONLY because people can get rabies.
Heartworm medication: check out this website (blog):
(copy and paste) terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/.../billion-dollar-heartworm-scam.html ***Most of you likely have veterinarians who meet your needs; this information is being dispensed
mainly for new or prospective pet owners.
So many animals are awaiting adoption and people are AFRAID to get a pet because of the cost. Veterinarians should not discourage pet ownership and that is what many are doing! What is our most common call? (that gets me angry!) That someone has rescued, and I mean truly rescued a dog or cat from a dangerous situation, and they cannot find a shelter to take the animal. And the shelter proceeds to give them a list of other shelters to call! Classic passing the buck… When Pet Assistance had a shelter, we always kept a waiting list and as one pet was adopted, we called the next person on the list. Rarely did they have to wait more than one week. I question the policies at most shelters; especially those that are being paid by communities to take in strays. I don’t see how they get away with all the refusals. None seem to maintain waiting lists.
Pet Assistance helps needy pet owners all over the country. Some people have asked why we don’t limit our
works to just New York and Connecticut. I answer them the same as I answered people back in 1973 when
Pet Assistance was founded: Pain, suffering, lack of money knows no boundaries. We either can help or we can’t. Many people, years later….repay us. Most we never hear from again. Many thank us and often that is enough.
Others question why we are not ‘species’ specific in our aid. Of those that contact Pet Assistance, Inc. the
bond between the people and their pets is strong, be it a dog, cat, rabbit or guinea pig. A recent call was from
a disabled woman whose guinea pig had bladder stones. She paid $800 for surgery last year, just paid $200
for an exam and x-rays and this time she was given a discount on surgery. It cost only $700. She called for
guidance, not financial aid. I was still appalled! “BUT, it is only a guinea pig!” Easy to say when it is not yours.
“Cheddar” aka, Stripes, Rust, Big Red, Pumpkin. It’s only a name and I was hoping by changing it, he’d find a home! It’s been many months now and he is still with us.
March 2011 Cheddar was a stray from an inner city area in Connecticut last March. He was an unneutered Tomcat, had a
broken leg that was badly infected, tapeworm and frostbitten ears. Two veterinarians said his leg had to come off; one said ‘why don’t you wait a month.’ And I am glad we did. Cheddar will never have full use of his leg, but with a waddle, sort of like a raccoon, he does walk with it. He even caught a mole! Cheddar is handsome, friendly, too cute, but because of certain issues it is hard to find the right home for him. He will bite on occasion, so he cannot be placed with children; he is a ‘people’ cat and is always underfoot so he cannot go with older or unsteady people….they will trip on him. He is great with dogs and probably will be fine with other cats. He cannot go out of doors unless it is a safe, fenced area because he cannot run fast or
climb trees. URGENT: Cheddar needs a home of his own ASAP. PLEASE HELP!
Oct. 2011 After 38 years of helping people and animals Pet Assistance, Inc. has made lots of friends and gained
many supporters. Perhaps you adopted a wonderful pet from us, or we helped you when you had to surrender
a pet, or we came to your aid when you needed financial help in caring for an ill or injured pet….or perhaps our
paths crossed somewhere along the way and you love animals and the services provided by Pet Assistance, Inc.
.
Without your caring and support,
we would find it difficult to do our work.
Thank you!
.
Sincerely,
Ruth Pearl, President