This is to Everybody but Especially Our Dear Fanglady!
 
If I offend some folks or just plain stomp all over some ones cherished
beliefs...I apologize in advance for doing so.
 
But - Veterinarians are people just like you and I: they are made not born.
Most go into the field in one area or another for purely personal reasons.
Some become outstanding examples of the best a Vet can be, some are merely
mediocre, and some are downright rotten at it.
 
I have worked with a Large Animals Only vet.  that is the greatest authority
on horses and their diseases, psychology, and breeding, with a pretty great
knowledge of any (normally found around people outside a zoo) livestock
larger than 300 lbs and their offspring.  He didn't start out that way, he
started out like most Vet.'s to be a generally educated and competent heath
care provider for anything from Gerbils to Great Pyrannese.  Unfortunately
peoples pets loathed him on sight and usually managed to let him know in
ways that bled a lot.  But while helping a local farm Vet. who was competent
but little more one summer while healing from yet another rejecting patients
evidence of displeasure, he discovered he had a natural affinity with and
rapport with large livestock.  He was astonished to find they positively
loved him, they would let him do anything with or to them without a whisper
of resistance.  In fact many licked, rubbed, or leaned on him in excesses of
affection even just after he had had to perform some particularly painful or
unpleasant and uncomfortable procedure on them.  He is a very smart man and
he immediately went back to school and has eagerly grabbed every opportunity
since to broaden and keep up to the minute his education concerning this
area of Vet.  Medicine.  His custom all wheel drive Dooley Truck is every
Vets dream...with portable x-ray and full lab equipment as part of its
regular makeup...all scaled to use on animals that weigh up to 2000 lbs.  He
can unpack and set up a very well equipped field surgery and perform
emergency surgery in remote places few vehicles would attempt to reach.  He
spared no expense in keeping it up to the minute, including a full big
screen TV setup that allows him to review a procedure he has video tape of
in his extensive in-truck library.  And the matching trailer now under
construction will offer even more cutting edge care than the incredible
services he now makes routinely available to his patients.  And from
personal experience I can tell you that the delivery of your pony's first
run of the mill foal is just as important and will be treated with the same
level of excellence that he exhibits with his Multi-million thoroubred
patients!
 
Why the big speech?  I hope Big will let this overlong piece go through but
I can split it up if need be... Because his fees are no different than any
other local vet that uses 1/2 the equipment and spends even less than 1/2
the time.  He may never get rich but he is very very happy at what he does,
and his clients would never think of going to anyone else.  And his practice
is Huge.  How do I know all this...because he has me help him when the
thoroughbred ranches are in foaling season (sometimes as many as 6-10
deliveries a night), we work well together because we see critter care the
same way.
 
So when I read a tale like Fanglady's post I really get irritated.  I am
unsure why she goes to other than one Vet.  but I am sure there are good
reasons.  My experience has been...find one with the right attitude and a
good heart and then make it my personal business to see that he/she has the
information necessary to make that Vet an expert in treating the species I
am bringing to him/her for treatment.  As an Archivist I gather data and
file is in a way that keeps it updated and easily available without a time
consuming search when someone requests specific information.  I have had
many surprised people who e-mail me late ne afternoon and find their fax
chattering at that nights 3 am time with (probably) more information on
their subject than they ever thought was available.  But I have also had the
odd pleasure of having a follow up e-mail that told me they had rethought
about purchasing a certain pet (often a ferret) because the information gave
them enough expertise about the animal to know it was not appropriate for
the purpose for which they had intended it.  ie: not getting ferrets for
twin 4 year old boys to be their pets...instead he bought a pair of Bassett
Hounds from a line that is known for its tolerance and patience and love of
mischievous kids.  Or a message that said they had decided to order their
chosen fur kid (s) but were also purchasing EVERYTHING including a 'got it
when you need it' Medicine chest for possible urgent needs sometime in the
future.  Who benefits from all that...EVERYBODY, from the public who sees
the pet with the owners, to the owners, to the pet, to the Vet.  who gives
Health care.
 
So...You want an outstanding Vet. then get busy and Educate yours!  Need to
teach him/her about a surgical procedure?...get on the FML to the vets there
and beg, plead, or whatever for a monograph on the procedure and also ask
them if they would please video the next operation they do for that
condition so your Vet can see in real time what may be hard to visualise
from printed material... then duplicate that monograph and video for the Vet
that gets it to you and send several sets of copies back to the helpful Vet.
to be used as a lending Library for other Vets.  whose patient's owners are
helping them keep current with regard to your specific species (ferrets).
Anybody want to bet on what the fee's will be like when you need services
from that Vet you have gone to such lengths to help be an expert in caring
for Ferrets???  Knowledge than cannot help but enlarge his practice, improve
his professional reputation, and in time impact his income?
 
And then there are the Vet.'s like the one in Fanglady's post!  She is not
lacking in intelligence, assertiveness, or mathematical ability or she could
not run a rescue/shelter setup, but for some reason those attributes go on
hold when Veterinarians charge her outrageous fees for less than
satisfactory work!  Maybe its the Doctor part of the picture that causes
this freeze up, or maybe she is a person who doesn't;t handle confrontation
with authority figures well...I don;t know, and it doesn't matter really,
what matters is that she and her charges are being mistreated and stolen
from by some one who should be far above such practices.  Sadly nit all
Vet.s are good people.  Ask the Good ones they will tell you!  If that were
my situation I would be on the phone to my credit card company to rescind my
permission and block payment of that bill... then I would either make an
appointment to retalk it with the Vet.  or sit down and write out my
assessment of the situation and state what I feel is appropriate for the
charges and what I am willing to pay.
 
If someone promises you a cadillac and delivers a kiddie scooter you don't
have to accept it and pay for it (while frowning and muttering).  As for the
consulting fee... if the Vet. insists on the charge - I would ask for a
detailed billing statement and then begin to run a parallel column of
figures based on minutes and or seconds spent doing each thing and offer to
pay for them at the average amount payed to a Vet. per hhouse broken down
to minutes and seconds.  As for the explanation that it was incurred by
questions asked...I would call three other Vets and ask them what a
reasonable number of questions they consider part of a standard
exam/treatment appointment..then average and subtract that number from the
approximated number asked the billing vet then assign a minutes and seconds
fee to each remaining question and offer to pay that collective amount.
BUT, since she obviously helped hold the patients (excusing him from using
one of his paid experienced and skilled med/techs) and in fact repeatedly
rescued one of those patients from his irresponsible and dangerous practice
of putting it in an unsafe place, I would again ask around what the going
rate is for a skilled tech (not a minimum wage unknowledgeable office twit)
and would then figure an assistants fee based on that pay scale and charge
it back against the bill total, then paying the reconciled bottom line.
With a written statement on the bill that expresses her willingness to have
her bill reviewed by a Board of the Vet.'s Peers!  If things got nasty I
would bear in mind two can play at the bill - collection agency - credit
record notification game.  and also the I sue you for unpaid bill and you
sue me for unpaid bill game.  But never never pay for that kind of Arrogant
Egotistic Greed from an incompetent Person ..Vet. or otherwise!
 
 dayna frazier   102046,3162
 "Worry is the interest we pay on the trouble we borrow!"
 
[Posted in FML issue 1580]