>I read your post and unfortunatly, and from what I have noticed, it >is normal for a vet to refuse an emergency.I do not know if normal is >the right word.but I have seen it before. I keep reading things like this and am surprised that so many people seem to have this problem. Am I just lucky? I have NEVER had a vet who refused emergency treatment, asked me to pay up front, or held my animals hostage until I paid. My vets have always totally trusted me to pay my bills. When the bill is extremely large, they have even offered (without my even asking) to let me stretch out the payments. I never do that. I pay my bill in full before I leave the office. I have a savings account for that purpose. Maybe that's why I've never had the problem. I have always had a good working relationship with my vets and I've always paid my bills. They know they don't have to worry about it. If you ask a vet to come out after hours to tend to your animal, they deserve compensation for it. Just like plumbers, electricians, etc., you pay more for after hours and weekends. That's only fair. You're eating into their leisure time and their personal life. But, I have never had one refuse emergency treatment. When Dillon died following surgery, my vet came into the office at 11:00 at night to do a necropsy. That's how concerned he was. He wanted to find out why Dillon died and make sure he hadn't done anything wrong. BTW, Dillon died from DIC; no one's fault. I think too many people expect vets to give them free or reduced cost service. You don't expect other professionals to give you free service. Why should vets? They have to make a living too. They have tremendous overhead and you're paying for all of the education they have to allow them to treat your animal. They have families to support. And, there's nothing wrong with having a shiny new Mercedes. My vet does give me discounts at times but it's not because I ask for them. I think, for the most part, you get back what you give. If you have an attitude it will come right back to you. Katharine [Posted in FML issue 4053]