SoBeLiz Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 The last few days has reminded me of something. You know how people recommend you always get a second opinion if you go to the doctor? It applies to animals too. My sister's rat, Snails, had an interesting start in liffe, since it was thought he was a girl (leasts say he devolped rather late), he was kept with his sister. And got her pregant. Later he was seperated from her for obivoius reasons. The rats he got paired with took a dislike to him, and beat the holy heck out of him, punturing his eye and tearing a gash into his leg. Both healed, but later the bitten eye got swollen, and eventually... this is gonna sound awful, but it popped. Just like a ballon. So it was removed and his socket sewen shut. As if this wasn't enough for the poor babe, he recently got very skinny.. started huffing and refusing to move. So he was taken to the emergency vet. They put him in an oxygen tent until he calmed down enough to get x-rays. 6 hours later my sister answers a phone call from the vet saying that Snails needed to stay in the oxygen tent and without asking any questions, she said, 'Okay' and hung up. My mother called back and talked to the vet. Asked him.. 'Has the oxygen tent helped him any?' 'No''You managed to get x-rays?''Yes, however I can't tell whats wrong from them. I really don't know rat anatomy. I want to treat him aggressively''Treat him aggressively?''Keep him in the oxygen tent and treat for both heart diease and a severe upper respitory infection''You want to keep him in the oxygen tent even though its not helping him?''Thats my recommendation' My mother then went and brought Snails home. My sister, the blind fool that she can be, accused my mother of valueing life over money (oxygen is rather expensive). There was a huge fight over this.. I won't get into the details. This morning, my mom called our regular rat vet, had him seen first thing. Gave them the x-rays taken at the Emergency place. One look at Snails and the x-rays and she(the regular vet) immeditely knew what was wrong. Poor Snail's belly was full of cancer, and it was shutting his systems down one by one. She very gently told my sister at this point, nothing can be done save ending his misery and politely implied that the vet Snails saw was a moron, the cancer could be felt with a slight physical exam, and it showed up vividly on the x-ray. My sister made a tough but the only choice she really had.. to put him to sleep. The vet was kind, told her she had all the time in the office to say goodbye, let her room for a half hour, and when my sister told her it was enough, asked her if she didn't want more time. Told her she could use the room all day if needed. My sister wanted to watch, but the vet informed her that it really wouldn't be the best thing, as with small animals, its nearly impossible to find a vein, so a heart injection is needed. Snails was put down quickly and humanly in the back room. They got a box for him, and sealed him in it nice and tight, then went outside and taped a bunch of flowers to it. The only thing the emergency vet did was prolong Snail's misery and run up a bill for $300 . By the time he saw the regular vet this morning he was peeing blood. As a doctor, he should have been able to feel the mass in his stomach and then see the corresponding dark mass on the x-ray and come to same conclusion as our regular vet. And if his excuse to not knowing rat structure is valid, then, why did he accept Snails as a patient in the first place? A lesson is to be learned here. Vets are human. If something does not sound right to you, or you would like an second opinion, do not be afraid to remove your pet from care to get one. Make sure your vet can treat the animal you bring. Most all vets know cats and dogs, but if you have an exotic or small animal, try to find both a regular vet and an emergency vet that specializes in your pet before something happens. It just may save your pets life and/or added misery. Rest in Peace Snails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 I would demand that the money spent (less the cost of the x-rays) be refunded because it sounds like the emergency vet, despite their lack of rat anatomy, should have had some clue to what could have been wrong and used available resources to confirm the analysis. Sounds like a major case of malpractice to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetPea Posted October 15, 2004 Report Share Posted October 15, 2004 Hi SoBeLiz I'm so sorry to learn about your sister's rat Snails. Wolfie's right about speaking up to the vet. All he was doing was taking advantage of your family for being kind and caring for their pet. This should not be allowed to go unchallenged. It's one thing to make a mistake and quite another to prey on loving people. Please, at least report him to the local veterinary association, consumer affairs department and/or anyone else who will listen to you. If he did this once he will do it again and should be discouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoBeLiz Posted October 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Get a load of this... Long load for those who are on dial up, sorry! Full sized image of letter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 What a crock of [censored]. I say to contact a lawyer. Give them all the necessary information and they'll probably do all the work for you, free to you (only collecting $ from the settlement if the case is won) and would make the message extremely clear that rudeness and ignorance are not protected when used in a position that requires and demands the ability to think and problem solve especially when dealing with life or death situations. In the meantime I'd recommend writing back telling them that you're going to pass the situation and the letter along to an animal rights activits group and let the ER deal with them and the bad publicity they get as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Wow, how stupid can people get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsmith8647 Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 What a crock of [censored]. I say to contact a lawyer. Give them all the necessary information and they'll probably do all the work for you, free to you (only collecting $ from the settlement if the case is won) and would make the message extremely clear that rudeness and ignorance are not protected when used in a position that requires and demands the ability to think and problem solve especially when dealing with life or death situations. In the meantime I'd recommend writing back telling them that you're going to pass the situation and the letter along to an animal rights activits group and let the ER deal with them and the bad publicity they get as a result.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>this is so typical of these emergency room vets i had the same thing happen to me only on my rabbits $300 later and bunny had shots everyday for a week for nothing.. go get that lawyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoBeLiz Posted October 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 I'd love to get a lawyer... however, the Regular vet, won't get involved. She doesn't want her clinic in this mess. Which is sort of understandable. I guess... The bill was like $423 -.- + the bill at the reg vet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Your reg vet may not need to get involved. If the x-ray alone showed the problem, then the lawyer could get an objective vet to testify to the results of the x-ray which would actually help in your favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugargirl Posted March 26, 2005 Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 0.o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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