Call and ask for the vet you like to give you a call back at that vet's
convenience.
 
Then explain that you had economic difficulties but are now able to
begin paying.  See if the vet can intercede, or if you simply waited
too long to pay anything.
 
Explain that the person you talked to said that you could not make
payments.  Mention that if they send it to a collection agency that
they will lose a percentage of whatever the collection agency settles
for, but that this way you expect to be able to to pay them in full
with interest.
 
They hire the bookkeepers and accountants, but that doesn't mean that
they necessarily know how those people behave.
 
Then again, if there was an extreme stretch of time on your part
without payment that preclude any other consideration on their part.
 
Whatever the outcome I think I'd try paying anyway as much as I could --
and regularly -- to illustrate good intent.
 
Vets have to supply their own educations, hospitals, insurances, pay
help, etc.  Like some other fields which people enter for the sheer
love of the work it is not a well paying profession for the level of
education.  Hence, they NEED to be paid.
 
We've once had something go to collection.  That was a bill for $15 which
we kept requesting and the place (a human hospital) kept using the wrong
address.  When I spoke to the collection agency the man was as sweet as
can be.  He told me that they LOVE that sort of error because they can
find the right address or a phone number in just minutes, the people in
that situation are usually good for payment, and then they collect a
hefty percentage.  If memory served they got something like 20% just for
getting my address right, which the hospital could have done any of the
times I called to report no bill received...
 
The only other time we have been threatened with a collection agency was
again a human hospital (but a different one) which kept billing us for
zero dollars because we had paid in full at time of service.  Finally, I
wrote them a check for zero dollars and that worked.
 
From what I have been told collection agencies can help people set up
payment plans at times.  You can also see about selling some things you
own to make some money and pay it off.  Have you asked if you can do
labor for them in exchange for part of the costs?  There are folks here
who have done all sorts of things: from making websites to cleaning
cages to help reduce costs.
 
Debt's a really bad thing and interest adds up hugely (which is why a
great way to save money is to have no pre-payment penalty in a mortgage
and then pre-pay whatever you can on it, and sending in the payments
certified or registered mail in case the bank or mortgage company just
"happens" to figure it didn't get it in time (something almost everyone
I know has a story about).
 
(Hey, we got some rain so i can think today!)
[Posted in FML issue 4622]