BC from FHL: vets
 
Q: "I have written you several times asking about medical care for [my
ferret]...you will never give direct advice, only mention a couple of
possibles and tell us to go to a vet.  Vets just cost too much.  I've met
you and you are as smart as any veterinarian.  Why won't you speak up and
save us some money?"
 
A: Speaking up has never been a problem for me.  Unless you count the
many, many times my mouth gets me into trouble....
 
Let me put it this way.  I own every ferret-related veterinary book
published, including a vast collection of ferret health advice columns
printed in English newspapers at the turn of the century, and much of the
recent published literature.  I have read them and more-or-less understand
what they have to say.  Yet, the moment any single one of my ferrets
becomes ill, I run to MY vets for advice.  Why?  Because they are
veterinarians and I am not.  It is that simple.
 
In my experience, most people tend to VASTLY underestimate the value of
veterinary training, and the intelligence required to get accepted, train
and graduate from what are, in fact, cross-species medical schools having
academic standards in excess of most human-oriented medical schools.  Do
you think it is any easier to treat a ferret with a bleeding ulcer than
a human?  Think of it this way--a major difference between veterinarians
and medical doctors is that a vet can save lives without access to most
modern diagnostic equipment, and without access to the one type of data
that assists medical doctors the most: they cannot ask questions of the
animal that is ill.  And they do it at a fraction of the cost charged by
medical doctors.
 
As for the costs of vet treatment, for the most part, a veterinarian
cannot control what it costs them to work.  They are controlled by
professional and legal requirements governing how they handle and store
drugs, the way they use and sterilize equipment, how they maintain housing
for client's pets, the cost of rent (or payment) for their facility, and
many other aspects of their business you wouldn't believe, such as the way
they dispose of unwanted dead pets.  They have to find the money to pay
the person at the front desk, the people who clean up the mess, assistants
and technicians, equipment repairmen, and even the collection agent in
their attempt to retrieve monies owed for services rendered in saving the
life of their pet.  Some of the costs you may not consider are paying for
employee insurance and other benefits, and trying to save enough to
retire.  They run a business, a pet care business, and they are subject
to the same rules and consequences of ANY establishment, with the bottom
line being if they don?t make enough to meet their expenses, they embrace
bankruptcy.  To top it off, if a client disagrees with them, they become
'stupid,' and if an animal dies, they become 'incompetent.'  Not a lot of
people can put up with it.
 
Generally, each time a veterinarian cuts costs, the savings is reflected
in basic care.  Maybe the vet cleans up messes rather than hiring someone,
slowing office visit turnover, or they cannot pay someone to spend the
night to care for the animals in their care.  Complicating the issue is
the very real problem that if a vet charges what it costs to perform a
specific service, a client may simply opt to put the animal down rather
than saving them.  Can you imagine what it must feel like to tell someone
their animal could be easily saved, but it will cost $1000, just to hear
in return that the animal should be killed so they "will not suffer?"
 
This is not meant to be an indictment of people who cannot afford to pay
their vet bills, but, bluntly, the solution is actually quite simple.  If
you can't afford a veterinarian, don't take on the responsibility for
owning an animal.  When people ask me how many ferrets should they own,
I always tell them that in a worst case scenario, a ferret could generate
as much as $1000 per year (average) in vet bills (I've heard some have
generated more, but I think they are statistically far and in-between).
Honestly, I have more than 20 ferrets, and I don't hold back $20,000 in
case they all require a thousand dollar vet treatment.  What I have done
is average the total veterinarian bills for the last decade and maintain
that sum in a veterinary account for just that purpose.  I call it
"self-insurance," and make regular, monthly payments to the fund to
maintain the account at what I consider to be an appropriate level.  I
can't afford to pay for a devastating illness at one time, but I CAN
afford a small monthly sum, not more than a DVD and pizza, to maintain
a fund that would prevent me from being financially forced to euthanize
a beloved ferret.  It is the only ethical thing I can do.
 
Finally, the reason I don't dispense veterinarian advice is because I am
NOT a veterinarian.  In some cases, in some places, it may be illegal.
But my reason is because I never attended veterinary school.  One of the
most important things a person can do is to learn their limitations, and
I know I am NOT a vet.  I know archaeology, zoology, ecology, natural
history, osteology, odontology, comparative nutrition, and more than a
little of photography, but regardless of my knowledge and ability, I AM
NOT A VET.
 
I suggest people self-insure to meet vet bills.  I suggest they limit the
number of animals owned, to assure their ability to met vet costs.  I
acknowledge the importance and support of internet health lists, but when
my ferrets are ill, I see a vet IMMEDIATELY, then discuss the problem with
my vet friends at a later time.  And while I may earn internet awards for
verbose question answering, I will NEVER be guilty of impersonating a vet.
Vets are doctors; they deserve respect and they deserve the right to make
a comfortable living.  I will NOT steal bread from their mouths while
pretending I have the same training and experience they do.  I suggest you
get over your anti-vet prejudice, stop worrying about a canine distemper
shot costing a few bucks more at the vet office than buying them in bulk
online, and accept the fact that your pet ferret MIGHT be worth more than
a new set of fake fingernails.
 
Just my opinion.
 
Bob C
 
[Sukie note: I just have to add "Bravo!" and "Ditto" with one difference:
Steve and I do live in one of those areas and have one of those busynesses
(lots of previously abused rescues, and one with a deformity) where the
average cost per year for health care winds up higher than in most other
homes so the amount we save beforehand is higher and the number of ferrets
is smaller to be more fair to them.]
 
[Moderator's note: Hmmm... How did that joke(?) go... When a grandmother
dies, people say "what a shame -- well, it was her time."  When a dear
dog dies, people say "that damn vet let the dog die!"  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 3758]