If the ether was paper, you could cover my walls with the number of replies
I recieved on the ethics posting.  Many were from the original responders,
by a few were from others.  All were positive, but one said something I
thought I should mention for clarification.  The mail said, "Boy, you really
have the vets what for!  Good Job!"
 
If that was the impression, it was not my intention.  I have nothing but
respect for vets; as far as I am concerned, they have better education than
human doctors, the admission requirements (for vet school) are much harder,
and they generally lack the public respect given to human sawbones.  People
complain about vet fees, and try anything they can to save a few bucks, but
still using the vet's experience and education.
 
One of my pet peeves (he he) is the comparison of one vet's prices to
another, as if the vet charging more is a cheat.  That is such a load!  I
use two vets; one charges almost 2/3rds more than the other.  The difference
in price is not due to greed (nor ability, I might add); it is due to a
larger office with more employees, more equipment, lease of an office in a
"good" neighborhood, and even because they do a number of freebees, where
the cost is spread out over their fee range.  Both vets are technically
competent, both are very good with ferrets, and both care deeply about the
animals they treat.  One is 100 miles from my home, and I use him for
surgical procedures, because his operating room is so well equiped.  He is a
personal friend of my other vet, who I use for everything else (they are
both aware of the arraignment, BTW).  Typically, over the year, they both
pull about the same from the wallet.  They are both worth every cent and
more.
 
I am not only technically skilled enough to give injections, I have a vast
amount of experience.  That will not help in many areas, which require
rabies vaccine to be administered by vets to be considered "good." No vet,
no tag.  As for distemper, I could buy the stuff and do it on my own (in
fact, one vet suggested I do it to save money, and offered to sell the stuff
to me) but then I would have to do a medical exam, check for ear mites,
etc., etc., etc.  For a small fee, my ferret is inspected, injected, ear
mite protected, corrected, and not one orifice is overlooked.  More
importantly, my vet sees the monsters twice a year and gets to know them,
and can see things I miss, because the change was so gradual I never noticed
it.  My vets have caught several problems that way, and cured them BEFORE
they became serious.
 
It is true that surgery is expensive, but look at what is going on.  Just
opening the OR costs vets money; they have to pay for power, equipment,
salaries of assistants, medicines, etc.  Additionally, there are the other
costs of running a clinic, from paper work to telephones, and the cost adds
up.  From my experience, the fee charged rarely reflects a huge profit; in
fact, normally the profit is quite small.  As an example, My vet charges $50
for a simple neutering.  Figure about an hour for surgery (not just cutting,
but shaving, cleaning,etc.) and an hour post-op watching the ferret for
problems, and that is about $25 per hour.  Now, subtract the cost of
instruments, medicines, anesthetics, cleaning materials, paperwork,
employees, office space, etc., and they are making far less than $25 per
hour, well under the per hour earnings of plumbers, RNs, and school
teachers.  And for that, they went to school for years at immodest prices,
so that people would gape at their prices, saying, "But you are only a vet!"
As if that is something less worthly than a medical doctor.  It is a fact
that if medical students applied to vet school, only about 20% of them would
have good enough scores to get in.  ANY vet has the intelligence and abilty
to be a medical doctor, but the reverse is true only in about 1 out of 5 med
students.
 
This is not to put down med students; rather it is to illustrate the ability
and competence EVERY vet has.  True, we all have horror stories about dumb
or uncaring vets; hell, they are human just as we are, and I know plenty of
dumb and uncaring archaeologists, professors, students, housewives, auto
mechanics, and pastors.  There are days I am dumb and uncaring.  I'm simply
saying that, as a profession, few are better educated or motivated.
 
Finally, if you care about costs, volunteer to help out your vet; they do it
at "real" hospitals, don't they?  Clean cages, take animals out for
exercise, hold, pet, and talk to the sick, even wash instruments or help
assist at the phones.  I know several vets that care for pets from poor
people and fees are worked out in this manner.  I personally walk dogs and
clean poop (and if you think ferret poop is bad, you never saw nor smelled a
St. Bernard's stuff!  Post- digestive Alpo could be a secret weapon.) I
donate my "earnings" to the "poor pet pool" to help out strays or people who
can't pay.  Better yet, get your local club to "adopt" a vet, and exchange
services for the occasional treatment day or emergency surgery.  Just
remember, capitalism may sustain America, but bartering built it.
 
The bottom line is, vets earn their fees, regardless if they appear high or
not.  The service they provide is worth far more than they charge.  They are
highly educated and deeply committed (or like my friends, should be
committed).  They do not have an easy job; just try juggling the anatomy and
physiology of cats, ferrets, parrots and bunnies in your head all the while
being at risk of becoming a sampler for "Cupcake," a 200 lbs. junkyard dog
with an impacted anal sac and a bad disposition, all the while the owner is
bitching "$20?  Hell, I could do it myself for $5... Jus' get me a hot
nail..."
 
Mo' Bob and 18 Mo' Ferreterinarians (In memory of Gus)
[Posted in FML issue 1841]