First - thanks to all who wrote me or posted with some appreciation of the vet's dilemma. Dear doodlebug, Sorry you've had a bad experience but I stand by my posting 100%. Do I resent a vet that spent 40+ years of their life making little and giving so much, their "Jag"? Do I resent it when a vet chances their $, and family security by investing in starting a practice, then reap some benefits? NO WAY. A vet that runs a practice not only performs their job but also functions as a personnel manager, accountant, handyman, etc., especially in smaller practices. Guess what - they get to do thoses jobs FOR FREE. And before you "assume" that all those frills are coming out of your pocket, many vets have spouses that work. Many vets have spouses that make more than they do. Combined incomes do allow for a better standard of living. Kudos to those whose life arrangements allow for a better standard of living. I am a single practitioner. I used to work and be available 24/7. I ended up burnt out and with medical problems. Vets deserve some time to themselves to remain whole, healthy, functioning humans that can perform their job well. Do I like emergency clinics? Not particularly. I'd prefer to take care of my own clients but I can't always do that. And guess what? emergency clinics have to care for a number of animals to meet their bills too or there is no emergency service. That's one reason there are so few to begin with. Only with time and use will the number increase and their proficiency in exotics improve. Also consider that emergency clinics often have treatment modalities many private practices don't, and the animal is monitored thru the night. These clinics are here to stay and will probably be utiized more and more by the profession to help improve the quality of life for vets and the quality of middle of the night care for many pets. Do I see clients in the middle of the night? Sometimes. Especially if it's an on-going medical problem. I find it interesting that you expect this service from your vet yet do everything to get the cheapest drugs elsewhere. How do you think your vet is going to pay their bills with reduced income? What do you think it's worth to be able to contact and get your vet any hour of the day or night and would you help pay for that service? ( you'd have to pay for the availability whether used or not ) And down to the point you probably won't like. You may be on a fixed income, etc. (many of my clents are) but the bottom line is when you decide to take a living entity into your home YOU are responsible for its care and associated costs - not the vet. It's part of responsible pet ownership. Most vets do their best to help accomodate their clients limitations but it isn't their obligation or responsibility to provide care for free or reduced costs. We do it because we care about the animal and in many cases have a relationship with our clients. But the bottomline is it's your responsibility to provide the necessary care for your pet. Your vet allowed you to post date checks ( which is not legal by the way ) etc. so it sounds like they were trying to work within your means so for you to criticize because they wouldn't do "more" for you is rude and unfair. The concept of mail-order meds is a big bone of contention in the vet field. We certainly can't fault someone for being cost conscious and if someone feels they that this is the thing to do then by all means BUT if maintaining a pharmacy becomes difficult and vets choose not to do it because of these companies, the consumer needs to realize the income wil have to come from somewhere else - like doubled office calls, increased prices for procedures and medicals so be prepared. Save a few cents here and your vet will have to make it up by charging more for other things. The down side to this is now control of medicine costs will go to those companies and the pharmacies. Think about that with respect to the human field. These companies have no client-doctor relationship. In the long run they won't care what you pay. It is strictly money driven. There will be no veterinarian option to cut client a break, or care to keep the costs as low as possible for the clients. I hope I don't come across too hard but these are things clients need to be aware of as the profession changes. And people need to think and educate themselves before they speak withour knowing facts. Yes, most of us are in the profession for the animals, but it is still a business with all it's debts and obligations. Most vets don't like to argue these points so I hope I didn't embarass anyone. Remember these are the postings of only 1 vet. [Posted in FML 5552]