I had something happen to me this weekend and I am curious to see how
many others have had similar experiences.  Because of my own stupidly,
Tyson required emergency care Saturday night.  He had adrenal surgery on
Wednesday and around 7pm Saturday night, split his stitches and had more
than an inch of 'body parts' hanging out.  First, I called my vet's
office and got a recording saying he was not available and if there was
an emergency, I should call into Columbus (OHIO).  Then I called his home
and left a message on his machine explaining the problem and saying if I
didn't hear from him in 10-15 minutes, I would call the emergency number.
 
When he didn't call back, I called the number.  The first place did not
see ferrets-they gave me another number to try.  The second place would
see him, but after 20 minutes couldn't get a surgeon to respond so they
gave me a third number to try.  The third place would see me, but it was
a little over an hour drive.  I just jumped in the car and went.
 
When I finally got there, she attempted an exam and gave me her opinion.
(I could give more details here, but will skip them due to this already
being so long!) She said it was intestines hanging out and they were
badly damaged.  It would require a very delicate surgery to remove the
damaged section and to try to stitch the rest back together.  She said
the chance of infection was very great and that he would need a drainage
tube and intensive care for three to five days.  She gave him a 40%
chance of pulling through and told me to think about it while she drew
up an estimate.
 
When she returned, she handed me an estimate for $1500.00!  I will skip
what happened next because it wasn't very pleasant.  Thankfully, about
that time, my vet called!  He talked to the emergency vet and she told
him everything she had told me.  He then asked to speak to me again and
told me to meet him at his clinic as soon as I could.....I reminded him
that I was an hour away!  He said to just get there as soon as I
could....without getting a speeding ticket!
 
I arrived back at my vet's office around 10:30.  It had been over three
hours and remarkably, Tyson still looked good.  The vet gave him a quick
exam and then told me I was going to be his surgical assistant and we
headed back to the operating room.  It turns out the 'intestines' hanging
out weren't really intestines at all!  It was body fat!  Just body fat!
The inside stitches had held and everything inside looked good!  He
removed the tissue, stitched him back up, gave him an antibiotic
injection and sent us home.  Tyson is doing very well and is recovering
nicely from his ordeal.  I, on the other hand, am not!
 
I am furious at the emergency vet as I am sure she was trying to take
advantage of the situation.  Her estimate of $1500.00 was almost
unbelievable to me.  When my goat was young, he had a blockage and he
required emergency surgery because his bladder almost ruptured.  Two days
later, while still with the vet, he blocked again and they had to do
surgery a second time...this time to turn him from a little boy goat to
a little girl one!  He had a drainage tube put in and ended up being at
the animal hospital for 28 days.....my total bill was $750.00.  This vet
was going to charge twice that for Tyson.
 
My heart tells me she was trying to get as much money as she could.  She
could tell he was a very beloved friend and must thought I was an easy
mark!  My vet says, she miscalculated my personality because when I
confronted her, she backed down.  And what's worse is that I believe if I
had agreed to the surgery, she would have done the exact same thing as my
vet...only charged me for the 'intestine' surgery.  I am still furious
over this, but short of telling people to avoid this clinic, the really
is nothing I can do.
 
I can't help but think about all the families who have lost a dear
friend to practices such as this.  To me, $1500.00 is two month's house
payments.  I would have paid it to save his life, but there are people
who are in no position to be able to afford that, so, an animal who could
very well go on to lead a happy and normal life is put down because some
vet has forsaken their oath in lieu of lining their pockets.  It makes me
sick!
 
I also think it's important to stress that this was NOT an emergency
clinic.  This was a private practice where the vet agreed to see me
because I couldn't find anyone else.  I understand that due to a lack of
steady clients, emergency clinics charge higher prices but they have a 24
hour staff and wonderful high-tech equipment.  This was not the case for
me....it was a private practice.
 
I am curious if others out there have had experiences like this and how
they handled it.  I know there is nothing we can do to stop practices
like this, but I would be interested in hearing other stories and how
they were dealt with.  I look at Tyson and think about the choice I was
almost forced into and it makes me ill!  If you would like to e-mail me
off-list, that's fine!
 
Anyone in the Columbus area wanting the name and location of this vet,
please let me know!
 
I also want to add a warning about 'sick cages.' I have the largest
SuperPets cage available.  I bought extra shelves so I can change the
cage around from time to time.  Whenever I need a sick cage, I just
remove the shelves between levels.  This time, the distance between the
two levels was pretty great and Tyson had not been in very good shape so
I did not worry about closing off the top hole.  After 3 days of playing
nurse, I needed a break and went to dinner.  Was gone a little over an
hour and when I returned, Tyson was up on the top level...just standing
there looking at me.  I figure he had jumped and pulled himself through
the hole.  Then I saw the body parts hanging out of his stomach....he
ripped his stitches getting through the hole!
 
What I have done in the past when I needed the sick cage is to remove the
middle shelf and snap it right up under the top level to close off access
completely.  I didn't do that this time and Tyson paid dearly for my
mistake.
 
I don't want anyone to have to go what I went though so if you have a
Superpets cage and you need to turn it into a sick cage, all you have to
do is snap one of the shelves right up against the one with the hole.  It
blocks it completely leaving no way through and nothing to grab onto.
Don't just assume the hole is too far away!!
 
Judy Cooke
Tyson, Hope and Einstein
Precious Lily, Chaucer and Boomer!!
[Posted in FML issue 4188]