- “If you really cared about animals you wouldn’t charge so much.”
- “You should name a wing of this hospital after me, for all the money I’ve spent.”
- “I don’t get paid until next Friday. Can you hold a check?”
- “Is that the lowest you can go?”
- “You vets are only in it for the money.”
- “I bet you drive a Porsche.”
For about a tenth of a second I thought about trying out one of those lines on the plumber: “If you really cared about washers you wouldn’t charge me,” or, “Think of my poor children! They won’t have clean clothes to wear to school!” But I didn’t, because I’m a decent person. Instead, I handed over the credit card.
For most people who claim they “can’t” afford veterinary care, it’s really that they choose not to spend money on veterinary care. It’s all a matter of priorities. If your priorities are an iPhone, shiny new SUV, and cigarettes, don’t try to make me feel guilty. I feel sorry for your pet that he is stuck with you as an owner, but I don’t feel sorry for you and your poor decisions.
And for the record, I drive a ’99 Subaru with 209,000 miles on it, having upgraded from an ’88 Blazer with 180,000 miles that couldn’t turn left in the cold without stalling.
I work in ER and I hear about our "outrageous" prices all the time. I also hear about how I'm taking advantage of the situation by charging so much. "So what am I supposed to do? LET HIM DIE!!??" Well, actually, if you can't afford (or very often, CHOOSE not to afford it...though you do have a much nicer iPhone than I do and a very nice Coach purse, and is that YOUR Hummer in the parking lot? Your nails look really nice too...how much did that weave cost? I've heard they can run over $1000...wow.) the treatment and there are no other viable alternatives, yes, we can ease his suffering by euthanasia, unfortunately. "All you care about is money!" Actually, I'd really love to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just a regular Saturday night out with my family and friends, or have a normal sleep schedule...but I'm here...working...available...when YOUR vet is not...hoping to be able to save a life if it needs saving. If all I cared about is money, I would have done something else with my intelligence...like take up plumbing, for instance. Oh, and I drive an '03 Ford F-150 with over 150,000 miles on it that I purchased used and cheap from my parents. Yup, I'm just rollin' in it! In fact, I deployed to Afghanistan because I can make a better living doing it than I can working in ER.
ReplyDeleteI know someone like that. Warped priorities. All the greatest toys but his dogs go matted and ungroomed, never seeing a vet until it is usually too late. I spoke up just before he got his last pup but was for naught. Some people should not have pets.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, some clients who can't afford much for their pets really *can't* afford much for themselves either. Yes, I see plenty of clients who tell me they can't afford heartworm prevention while texting on their $300 cell phone, but we also have clients who don't afford themselves such luxuries and are barely scraping by. I've seen people skip medication refills for themselves in order to buy what their pet needs, and that absolutely breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteWhat I *don't* understand is when some of those people save up to buy a pet. If your financial circumstances have changed since you acquired the animal and you can no longer support yourself or your pet as you expected to be able to, you have my sympathy. You truly do. However, when you walk in the door with a new puppy, tell me you spent $400+ for it, and then proceed to tell me you can't afford to spay it, I *will* tell you that you should take it back to where you got it from, because owning a pet is beyond your means right now.
Amy is right. Some people should not have pets. Unfortunately, pet ownership (or guardianship, pick your term) is regarded as a right by most people. It's not. It's a privilege, and with it comes a duty to do right by that animal...which is about more than simply putting a roof over its head and feeding it.
I stayed with someone once who washed her dog in the tub - but then didn't clean the hair out. I had to spend an hour cleaning that bathroom because I was so grossed out. I wonder if she had plumbing problems.
ReplyDeletePS I agree that if you can't afford to take care of a pet, then you shouldn't have one. Just like if you can't afford to take care of a child, you shouldn't have one.
ReplyDeleteIf you can afford cable TV, a cellphone, and a nice car, though, then you can afford to take care of your pet. You just need to make choices.
I'm just curious, but how often do your clients give you a hard time about money? Do the majority of your clients get testy when you hand them the bill or discuss payment? Before getting a pet, people should research the costs and save in case of emergencies, or get pet insurance :/
ReplyDeleteDay practice: about 40%.....emergency practice...70%
DeleteMy anxiety about money causes physical changes in my skin tone. And that is just talking about it...not even dickering over prices.
DeleteSo if you see 10 clients a day in private practice, 4 of them will grouse about/make you feel bad about the price? That's tough.
DeleteI am in private practice and I think the 40% estimate is accurate or a little low. My guess would have been around 60%.
DeleteI work in emergency care... and honestly, the 70-80% mark is about right.
DeleteCouldn't agree with you more!
ReplyDeleteWhen my irish setter had bloat and urgently needed surgery I didn't think for a sec. not to go throuht it. I spent all my savings, but would do it again. When I got her 2 says later in my care, I payed down to last cent and didn't comment about high bill.
Devil's Advocate here...i remember explaining to Stubble when he was a little boy and commenting that some of his friends lived in rented apartments but had better game systems than he did: Their
ReplyDeleteDad and Mom can't afford $50,000 (or whatever in your neck of the woods) as a down payment to purchase a house - can't qualify for a mortgage, etc. But they CAN afford a couple of hundred dollars (or a thousand if they save) to get a spiffy game system, or a fancy phone, or designer shoes...
It all evens out - if they come to visit they can say something like, "Stubble has a bedroom of his own, but he doesn't even have a PS 3"
Of course none of this is any excuse for not being able to take care of a pet, but in the area where I live there is a lot of this dichotomy: If you can't afford X then why do you have Y and Z...
I buy a bottle of wine a week. Why? Because I like wine. Especially when paired with chocolate or cheese. So why do I only get it once a week? Because my discretionary income goes elsewhere...like paying my mortgage.
DeleteWhen I was a kid, my parents were builders. The truck my dad drove was a 1955 chevy...this was in 1986. I remember moving into a swank new neighborhood...we looked like Snuffy Smith with all of the boxes piled onto the bed of that old truck. We were moving into one of the houses that my dad had built while waiting to sell it (we bopped back and forth from houses all the time).
I had trouble making friends and told my father about the kids that called us poor and made fun of us. My dad patted me on the head and said, "Well, I may drive a truck with holes in the floor, but we own our house and I bet none of their parents REALLY their houses, the bank does.
My parents taught the all go and no show method. As I have yet to get a loan for a car, I like to think I am teaching my daughter the same thing.