>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]