>From: Shannon Price <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: FYI to those in Eastern Iowa
>
>There is a vet clinic called "Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails". Let me
>just say, avoid this clinic. IF you would like more info, please
>email me.
Dear Ferret List subscribers,
My name is Dr. Allan Berger, and I am one of the two veterinarians at
Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails in Eastern Iowa. Last Wednesday, a Ferret List
subscriber (Shannon Price) posted a message suggesting that people avoid
my clinic. To write that I was mortified when I saw that message is an
understatement! Please allow this post to serve only as another
perspective on what I understand the issue to be.
I telephoned Shannon Price, and given the circumstances she and I had a
remarkably pleasant discussion. She is not a client of ours, and has
never brought a ferret to my clinic. Actually, she said she didn't even
know where my clinic is located.
The origin of the message to the Ferret List seems to be that Ms. Price
heard two complaints about my clinic from other people. One complaint
was an adrenal tumor that she was told that we mis-diagnosed. I don't
know what case it was, and I can't review records because she said she
didn't remember the person's name.
The other complaint was from a client who I would not extend credit to.
This ferret ultimately died, possibly due to lack of treatment for a
gastriointestinal foreign body. I am 95% sure I know which case this
was, even though Ms. Price didn't remember the person's name. If it's
the case I recall, I recommended contrast radiographs, an abdominal
ultrasound, or an exploratory surgery for this ferret. I think it's
relevant to write why I chose not to extend credit for the imaging and/or
surgery.
This client would only give me a Post Office Box address, not a street
address. The check she gave me for the exam and for the SQ fluids I
dispensed had another person's name on it (different last name, town
25 miles away from the client's PO Box). And she had me to hold the
third-party check for three weeks before I could deposit it. [Also, but
less relevant to my decision, the ferret had been sick for about a week
before the client brought it to a vet. She brought it in as an emergency
on a Saturday afternoon after we had closed. She actually went first to
another vet who sent her to us because the other vet was uncomfortable
even attempting the exploratory surgery (the presumptive diagnosis of a
foreign body was made from the radiographs taken by the referring vet).
This person was not a regular client of the referring vet either, so I
couldn't even get a reference from the other doctor.]
I like to think I am a caring, compassionate person (and a good vet!), but
would you extend hundreds of dollars of credit for emergency surgery and
intensive care to a person who refuses to give you her address?
Again, Shannon Price and I have discussed this, and she has asked me to
send her some fliers for my clinic. But I feel better for this opportunity
to post more explanation about the original message to the list. Thanks
for reading. Additional information about my clinic can be found on our
practice web site at http://www.BrEBT.com
Follow-up by private e-mail to [log in to unmask] is welcome.
AB
Allan Berger, DVM, PhD
Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails Veterinary Service
3005 Highway 1 NE
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 351-4256 (voice)
(319) 341-8445 (fax) http://www.brebt.com
[Posted in FML issue 3501]
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