Vets And Snake Bites

[~Anne~]

She told them she could pay just not the entire bill at that moment.

It was Sunday and she had done shopping that weekend.

I to understand where a vet is coming from for payment, but it was her

regular vet that she has seen for years and never had issues with.

I dunno

Makes it hard when something like anti-venom is so expensive

I think it sucks.

I don't understand why she rang first, apart from ensuring the Vet was able to treat her dog??

How did the discussion come to money? In my view, it is an obvious life or death situation, they should have instructed her to bring the dog straight in. The payment can be sorted later. Yes, clients don't pay, but there are legal avenues for this and the life of a dog was at stake.

Since when has the focus on Veterinary care been on money and not the animal? Vets are not charities obviously and a line has to be drawn somewhere, but not for ife and death situations.

[Kaffy Magee]

Very sad When my chase was not well, my vets thought he would need a major operation to have part of his lung removed. We had to drive to a specialist in Melbourne asap and get it done that night (it was about 8pm when I ws told). He rang around all the specialist vets and they all wanted money upfront, which I understand however, where was I supposed to pull a few thousand from in the middle of the night? They didnt care, they just wanted it. I thought that was unfair. I was happy to pay money but I had no means of withdrawing that amount from the bank. Turns out we didnt need an op.

I loved my vets too, I had an account there and they were very good with me. I always paid my account on time but now I have moved, I have to find a new vet and none of the vets here allow accounts :D . If only I could give them my vets number to give me a reference. I guess I can try that if there is ever an emergency, then again I also have pet insurance, so they might take that into account.

[Monah]

my girlchild still has not paid for her dog's emergency procedure, been a few weeks... she is paying a bit at a time.

I can see both sides too. I have not been in that situation thank goodness. I guess maybe that's when credit cards come in handy. I'd use that and worry later.. I've just used mine for an $11,000 bill the week befoe christmas..not an emergency though. I'm looking on the bright side a la Kath and Kim...... spend heaps and get a free flight..

Terribly sad when an animal loses it's life due to money. :D

[Dogsrawesome]

I understands vets need to be paid and such but they should atleast care about the animals welfare how can you just turn a dog down like that. Really confuses and upsets me at the same time, R.I.P poor dog. I dont understand why a deposit wasnt enough.

[puglvr]

My boy required surgery on his eye at a specialist clinic. It took all of 15 minutes however he would not come around from the anesthetic, so after consulting me they transferred him to the Specialist Centre where they put him on an intubator. Unfortunately he did not make it.

The eye surgery cost $1200 and the cost for the Specialist Centre was $1500 up to 24 hours. I was never billed for the eye surgery and was only asked to pay $900 at the Specialist Centre. I hold these clinics in very high regard for their care and their compassion.

I have a check book that is specifically for the dogs, any money from puppies goes in it, I save money to put in it, stud fees and our BAS returns fron the farm go in it.

[bulldogz4eva]

I am only asking this as I found it a bit sad

My neighbour was at her friends house on the weekend and friends Husky

decided to take on a Red Belly. The Husky lost and was bitten

They rang the ladies ver and another vet to seek treament but both told her

she needed to pay full treatment price before they open the vile of anti-venom

The lady had part but not full payment of $1400 quoted so they ended up rushing her

to another vet but it was to late and he had to put the dog down.

As a dog owner i would be really stressed and feel so helpless if this happened to me

I rang my vet and asked them their snake bite procedure and they told me they would expect

a deposit before treating.

I find it a bit disgusting actually but I dont have that much time for a lot of vets.Last time I took a dog in for snake bite it was also a sunday afternoon.they told me it may not work etc...They never asked me for any payment up front.this is not a vet I use or would use again as they caused my dogs death but thats another story.They charged me $900 and I paid it within the week in full.

My sister worked for a vet they also never asked for upfront payment and always let people pay it off.They also got there antivenine from the hospital when it was out of date so it cost them very little.These days its all about the cash.What they pay for stuff and what they tell you it costs them are usually 2 different things.

[vetrg]

I used to work at a clinic that had over $1,000,000 of outstanding bad debts. With the interest they were paying on that they could have employed another vet. As vets we have to provide emergency first and and pain relief to any animal. That may mean euthanasia. Ask any vet and thay will tell you that clients who come in out of hours, that you have not seen before, with an emergency who tells you "spare no expense, I love my dog" is telling you that because they have no intention of paying the bill so the cost doesn't matter!

The vast majority of people are great clients. A tiny minority spend their lives not paying for things and think veterinary care is no different. If you ask them for payment when they have to collect the dog all you have is a dog to rehome. I have had clients who have given false names and addresses then dumped the dog anyway.

We all feel for clients who are placed in these awful situations but I am responsible to my boss who expects to run a business.

[~Anne~]

Interest on bad debt? How? Who charges you the interest? It doesn't make sense.

[Janba]

Interest on bad debt? How? Who charges you the interest? It doesn't make sense.

On the money the vet practice owes often from an overdraft or a business loan.

[~Anne~]

Must be an enormous clinic to rack up a million dollars in debts, and then have that million transfer into overdraft or interest attracting debt to the creditor.

ETA - it still doesn't make sense.

Edited February 8, 2011 by ~Anne~

[stormie]

Recovering debt isn't as easy as many people think. The previous owner of our clinic pursued a bad debtor who owed him a fair amount, starting with accounts first which were ignored and eventually moving onto a debt recovery service. The client rocked up on the door step one night with a weapon demanding the Vet bring down his wife, so the client could harass her, to get back at them for supposedly harassing his family with phone calls from debt collectors.

The Vet was assaulted and the matter ended up as police matter. In the end the Vet was advised to write the debt off because it was too dangerous to pursue.

It's an unfortunate situation and I feel for people but at the end of the day, it's not the Vets people should be blaming, but rather those who have ruined it for everyone else by not paying.

[vetrg]

I used to work at a clinic that had over $1,000,000 of outstanding bad debts. With the interest they were paying on that they could have employed another vet. As vets we have to provide emergency first and and pain relief to any animal. That may mean euthanasia. Ask any vet and thay will tell you that clients who come in out of hours, that you have not seen before, with an emergency who tells you "spare no expense, I love my dog" is telling you that because they have no intention of paying the bill so the cost doesn't matter!

The vast majority of people are great clients. A tiny minority spend their lives not paying for things and think veterinary care is no different. If you ask them for payment when they have to collect the dog all you have is a dog to rehome. I have had clients who have given false names and addresses then dumped the dog anyway.

We all feel for clients who are placed in these awful situations but I am responsible to my boss who expects to run a business.

The clinic has a business loan from the bank on which it pays interest, including the bad debts outstanding. Interesting the tax office still expects you to pay tax on bad debts!!

[Sydoo]

Interest on bad debt? How? Who charges you the interest? It doesn't make sense.

On the money the vet practice owes often from an overdraft or a business loan.

Perhaps they were referring to potential interest the business is losing from not having the funds available for use (whether it be saving interest by paying down loans or earning interest by investing somewhere; both are a loss to the business).

If I am paid excessively late by my employer, I expect nominal interest to be added to the figure owed. I have lost income by not having my salary to invest.

[Raelene]

We sadly lost one of our dogs a week ago to a brown snake bite. It was only minutes before the dog was paralysed and she was gone well within half an hour. She had been bitten on the head and it was a BIG snake. It was after hours and we didn't get an opportunity to get her to the emergency vet, she was gone so quickly. I am amazed at how quickly the bite progresses. I certainly wouldn't want to be bitten.... RIP dear Suzie

Probably worth thinking about pet insurance?

Can understand how the vets need to be like this sometimes - especially if you aren't known well by the vet, the minority make it hard for the majority.

Very sorry for your friend. Know how heartbreaking it is. Sending them a big hug.

R

[~Anne~]

I used to work at a clinic that had over $1,000,000 of outstanding bad debts. With the interest they were paying on that they could have employed another vet. As vets we have to provide emergency first and and pain relief to any animal. That may mean euthanasia. Ask any vet and thay will tell you that clients who come in out of hours, that you have not seen before, with an emergency who tells you "spare no expense, I love my dog" is telling you that because they have no intention of paying the bill so the cost doesn't matter!

The vast majority of people are great clients. A tiny minority spend their lives not paying for things and think veterinary care is no different. If you ask them for payment when they have to collect the dog all you have is a dog to rehome. I have had clients who have given false names and addresses then dumped the dog anyway.

We all feel for clients who are placed in these awful situations but I am responsible to my boss who expects to run a business.

The clinic has a business loan from the bank on which it pays interest, including the bad debts outstanding. Interesting the tax office still expects you to pay tax on bad debts!!

Humour me. How do you transfer your bad debts to a business loan?

Debtors, in a user pays business, only actually incur actual debt to the value of the product. Services, such as the veterinary care, are not items that are inlcuded in business loans or overdrafts for starters. Am I missing something?

[OSoSwift]

Anne while it may be extremely distasteful to you vets do have to cover their costs and pay staff.

I know how much Antivenom costs as it was my job to input all of the information for recieved drug orders. On the very rare occassion out of date antivenom became available - twice in my memory- it was offered to a client on the understanding it was out of date and may not work. They were not charged for it.

Blame those who rip the vets off and don't pay their bills. There is only so much debt a business can carry. We did use debt collectors but you cannot get what just isn't there. Our vet hospital wasn't as large as some city hospitals but I remember being staggered by the amount of outstanding money sometimes when it came to send out the accounts.

I do feel for people who have moved or cannot find a vet who will allow them to pay accounts off. It would be very hard. I guess the only way to try and over come that is to have some saved up, but that is not always possible either.

[~Anne~]

Anne while it may be extremely distasteful to you vets do have to cover their costs and pay staff.

Yes, I understand this totally. I have owned businesses, and I have also worked in several veterinary clinics, so I can see it from a few different angles. I am not disputing that there has to be a line drawn at all. Vets earn every cent of their money and are worth every cent and more.

I am however trying to understand a business that can hold a million dollars in debt and pay interest on that debt in the service industry.

Edited February 8, 2011 by ~Anne~

[Crisovar]

I am only asking this as I found it a bit sad

My neighbour was at her friends house on the weekend and friends Husky

decided to take on a Red Belly. The Husky lost and was bitten

They rang the ladies ver and another vet to seek treament but both told her

she needed to pay full treatment price before they open the vile of anti-venom

The lady had part but not full payment of $1400 quoted so they ended up rushing her

to another vet but it was to late and he had to put the dog down.

As a dog owner i would be really stressed and feel so helpless if this happened to me

I rang my vet and asked them their snake bite procedure and they told me they would expect

a deposit before treating.

I find it a bit disgusting actually but I dont have that much time for a lot of vets.Last time I took a dog in for snake bite it was also a sunday afternoon.they told me it may not work etc...They never asked me for any payment up front.this is not a vet I use or would use again as they caused my dogs death but thats another story.They charged me $900 and I paid it within the week in full.

My sister worked for a vet they also never asked for upfront payment and always let people pay it off.They also got there antivenine from the hospital when it was out of date so it cost them very little.These days its all about the cash.What they pay for stuff and what they tell you it costs them are usually 2 different things.

Out of date antivenom from the hospitals is as rare as hens teeth, and if we were to rely upon it for all the snake bite victims we see each year 99% wouldn't get treatment.

If anyone wants to kick and scream about people being asked for dollars up front then spit in the direction of the grubs that never pay their bills.

[jadesamara]

I remember racing Jake to the Emergency Vet and on the way rang and explained it was absolutely critical but once we got there the nurse stuffed around asking questions about my details even though they were on file. I explained that it was again critical but she wouldn't budge, by the time we went out to get him he had died in front of my OH and son. Now coming out 5 minutes earlier wouldn't have saved his life but it would have saved my son from seeing his dog die in front of him. To top it off when OH picked up his ashes (and couldn't see through the tears when doing so) the same nurse only gave him one urn when I had rung 10 minutes earlier and spoke to her to remind her that there was an urn and a cremains container, it even said on the bag one of two. When he got home and I asked him about it he said that is all she gave him so he had to go back and go through it all again, no apology or anything

I have experienced something similiar when our late Max (Staffordshire) was bitten by a snake. We raced him there, they took him out the back, then came out to ask about money. This was a vet we attended regularly. Unfortunately my boy didn't make it, and I have never set foot in that surgery again. And I have no problem letting others know how I feel when I get asked for vet recommendations.

Our current vet (for the past 10 or so years) had treated our late Jade (Dobermann) for 2 different Brown Snake bites, as well as tick paralysis once or twice. Seeing how upset I was in each instance, I was handed an account...NOT grilled on the spot about how much I earn, how will I pay, how much can I pay etc etc.

Bartok, I'm sorry for your friend.

[Danois]

Anne - The vet has a business loan to cover its operating costs. It has to call on that loan in lieu of cash flow (i.e the bad debts) which would have ordinarily gone to the operating costs. As it is a loan, interest is payable. Not sure what is hard to understand about that

I would expect a Vet to charge upfront for at least the anti-venom. The minute the vial is used it is a cost to the practice. They need to ensure they are paid for that (given the cost of it) to ensure that they can replace their stock. I can imagine some here would be calling for blood if they rocked up to their vet with a snake bite only to be told, "sorry we have no anti-venom on hand as the last 2 people are paying it off at $25 a week and we cannot afford to replace it until they pay us."

Again - vets are not banks/ credit providers - they are a service provider and what people expect of vets they would not expect of other service providers.

Edited February 8, 2011 by Danois