As vets and nurses working at a vet clinic one of those most upsetting things we have to deal with are pets that are in pain and suffering. Fortunately we are well trained and have the skills and equipment to make these animals comfortable and then plan on how we will make them better. Common situations which we encounter on a weekly basis are traumatic injuries and also sudden and/or long standing medical conditions. At the Animal Medical Centre this week we have treated:
- Dogs with broken bones from road traffic accidents
- A small dog who had been attacked by a larger dog requiring open chest surgery.
- Cats with liver disease who won’t eat
- Dog with large skin wounds from running in the bush
- Dog with internal bleeding requiring blood transfusion
- Cat with complicated diabetes
- Dog with pancreatitis causing vomiting and pain
- Dogs with spinal paralysis
With our surgical and medical knowledge we are able to repair the fractures, place skin grafts, monitor and relieve pain and treat the underlying disease. This is all part of a day’s work for us, and at our clinic in Launceston we do this 7 days a week, as well as being on call every night.
One of the hardest things we encounter has nothing to do with the looking after the pet that has been injured. Instead it is working out what we are to do when the owners have no money to pay for our work and the owners become aggressive towards our staff.
The above cases involve hours of difficult work (either in the surgical room or monitoring and treatment in the hospital wards while recovering). It is not unusual for some of these complicated cases to have bills that will reach $2000 or $3000.
Unfortunately there is no Medicare for animals and so we can’t “bulk bill”. Likewise, asking to pay $20 a fortnight to pay off a $2000 account doesn’t help us to pay our team who fixed the injured pet.
Being a responsible pet owner means more than giving your pet a kennel and feeding them. Please consider how you would pay a $3000 bill to save the life of your pet. Over the last few years pet insurance has become a popular way of ensuring if there was a terrible accident or disease, the majority of the costs would be covered by the insurance company. Alternatively having a savings jar for pet emergencies is another clever way of looking after your pet when they need it.