Had/have a pet dying situation. We own three dogs, but that is not where the problems lie. My brother-in-law had 4 chi's. He is now down to 1. One died last night. Yesterday he took her to his vet (she had not eaten for 4 days). He had to sit in his car for over an hour; then the vet looked at her and wanted to perform several tests. BIL (brother-in-law) suggested they do a blood test and see the results and go from there. The vet hemmed and hawed. BIL then said he needed to go home and give his last dog his meds. The desk woman said she would consult the vet--the vet said that he could--but he have to lay down a $300 deposit! BIL has been using this vet for at least 30 yrs and has paid cash for every service his animals needed. All-in-all, he was there for over 4 hrs and all that the vet actually did was hydrate the poor dog. I heard the story and did a little internet search. I had read a story on my Apple news about the growth of home euthanasia for pets. I found one that services our area (BIL lives 40 miles from us in another town). I called them and found out that they would go to my BIL's town and the cost would be about $325. I then called him and he then got in touch with the service. She agreed to do it, today at 5 pm. But the dog died over night. She passed peacefully, so that was a plus. His last little guy is on his last legs and probably will not last another couple of weeks. But at least my BIL has a resource to help him and he can (and will) write off his so called vet.
And you had better believe I wrote the number down and put it in a safe place. We have three dogs with the oldest being a 8yr old Sheppard. Who knows when we will need those services, but our old guy (Yankee) hates car rides and hates the vets building. Now we will not have to subject him to either hated event when his final day comes. This is a great service.
Home visits for pet euthanasia are, if you will excuse my choice of words, a god send. Generally speaking a vet's office is the last place your pet wants to be. Not having to spend their final hours someplace they would rather not be is a parting gift we should give them willingly.
Yep .Best choice for all.
About a month ago my dog Jackie became ill and had to be euthanized. She had been at the vet for a week and, in her case, I think moving her to bring her home would have been more stressful. We are the kind of people who treat our pets like kids. Losing Jackie was particularly hard because I inherited her after my mother died, so it was losing a connection to my mom. I didn't know about the home euthanasia service but if we have another dog I will keep it in mind.
With fish it's best not to get too attached. However my brother had a goldfish in a jar on the kitchen table for years and years. He would grab it and pet it, LOL.
Home euthanasias are the best possible scenario.
Also I need to speak up a little and say vets aren't to blame for the costs of healthcare. They earn every cent and then some. The vet did far more than hydrate the dog if they did an exam and ran diagnostics.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
Quote from: Mermaid on May 12, 2021, 04:35:17 PM
Home euthanasias are the best possible scenario.
Also I need to speak up a little and say vets aren't to blame for the costs of healthcare. They earn every cent and then some. The vet did far more than hydrate the dog if they did an exam and ran diagnostics.
I'll step off my soapbox now.
Being a vet is not easy--I could not do the job. But in this case, the vet was of no help whatsoever, to my brother-in-law. And it was not the cost that was the most horrific aspect of that visit. He ended up paying $600 for less than nothing. Nobody in that office seemed to know what compassion was, nor how to demonstrate it. A vet's job is NOT easy; I realize that. This office, tho, did not demonstrate anything about being a good vet. Also, understand this is not a blanket putdown of all, or even most vets.
When Jackie was sick my vet came in during the night to check on her. Her groomer also visited her regularly and sent me texts. When she had to be put to sleep I was crying, the vet was crying, the staff was crying. The entire charge for the week of various tests and treatments plus the euthanizing was around $1500, which I thought was reasonable everything considered. I also had a coworker who had cancer whose elderly dog had to be euthanized and my vet charged him nothing. The coworker died a couple of weeks later. There are definitely good, caring people out there.
Quote from: Mike Cl on May 12, 2021, 06:14:13 PM
Being a vet is not easy--I could not do the job. But in this case, the vet was of no help whatsoever, to my brother-in-law. And it was not the cost that was the most horrific aspect of that visit. He ended up paying $600 for less than nothing. Nobody in that office seemed to know what compassion was, nor how to demonstrate it. A vet's job is NOT easy; I realize that. This office, tho, did not demonstrate anything about being a good vet. Also, understand this is not a blanket putdown of all, or even most vets.
Forgive me, it's my field so I am a little touchy about it.
Quote from: Mermaid on May 12, 2021, 07:51:48 PM
Forgive me, it's my field so I am a little touchy about it.
Forgiveness is not needed. I should have been more careful with my wording; I admire people like you who can do a very difficult job. I have to admit that I could not emotionally do the job--and I consider that a failing on my part. So, Mermaid, I appreciate the work you do.