$8 — Wednesday, June 30, 1999 — North Shore News

Pets and vets
Can he cosily

MAX is a pretty
pathetic looking
hound at the moment.

There’s barely a trace of
the exuberant, tail wagging
pup who loves to chase
squirrels and retrieve tennis
balls. There are rubber tubes
coming out of his stomach,
and where he hasn't been
shaved there’s considerable
road rash that literally shines
with the fluid that seems to
constantly seep from his
wounds.

He's been in a terrible
accident, has Max, and he’s
just home from the vet,
where he’s spent the last
three days in intensive care.

T ask his concerned owner
just what intensive care at
the veterinary clinic is. “I’m
not sure,” he confesses.

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“They wouldn't let me in to
sce him.” We laughingly
speculate about what inten-
sive care might be for a man-
gled puppy dog.

“For all I know, it could
be a special sign over the
regular dog kennel that says
intensive care,” he suggests
with a shrug. “Or it may just
be an upward adjustment in
boarding tees. Whatever, I
like to call it expensive care,
as opposed to intensive
care,” he confesses, his
chuckling audibly tinged
with a little guilt. “That
three days cost me fourteen
hundred bucks.”

Now before you go con-
demning this very caring
dog owner for callousness in
the face of potential family
heartbreak, think about how
you'd feel if it was your bill
to pay.

Veterinary care certainly
scems, on the surface, to be
very expensive, especially
when you compare it to
what we have to pay for our
own heaith care. But keep in
mind that most of us have
health insurance programs
like Medicare that pay the

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bulk of our medical bills,
and unless we have dog
insurance (my gosh, that
requires so much fore-
thought), we're generally
bucking up tor the full price
of medical care for our pets.
And it’s tough to pay

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those big bills, especially
when the end resuit is not
good.

Take the example of my
friend whose little dog was
run over by a car a few years
ago. They rushed him to the
vet, wherein every effort was
made to save him. Over the
next couple of days the dog
underwent major surgery a
couple of times, and accord-
ing to his owner was proba-
bly given every doggie test
known to man.

Unfortunately, despite
the vet’s best efforts the lit-
tle pooch died. The family
was terribly distraught, but
their grief turned to suspi-
cion and anger when they
got the vet’s bill a week or
so later. It ended up costing

them close to $3,000 to
finally lose their beloved
family pet.

Needless to say, they were
stunned and disappointed.
But you have to understand
that there are no guarantees
in veterinary medicine, and
it is not always possible to
cure an animal. A veterinari-
an’s fees cover the costs of
examination, tests, diagnosis,
treatment and medication.
These costs don’t disappear
just because the animal does-
n’t survive.

Most vets will discuss
possible results with you
Lefore deciding on a course
of treatment. My vet, (also
now my friend) George cer-
tainly does. He has saved
our very accident prone fam-

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NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

ily lab Sophie more than a
few times, and he always
treats us with a healthy dose
of compassion and common

sense.

If your vet doesn’t, then
you need to think about
making a change.

You should also know
that fees vary widely from
vet to vet. Salaries, rent,
medical supplies and equip-
ment are all factors which
may affect the prices charged
for services and procedures.

However, as a pet owner,
you get to decide just what
amount of medical care is
appropriate for your animal,
Like, you don’t really have
to have Bobo’s teeth scaled
and cleaned at a cost of
$327 once a year, (they have
to put him under a general
anaesthetic you: know), I
don’t care what the vets tell
you.

For heaven’s sake, by the
time the dog is 12 or 13
he’ll probably have lost or
chipped most of his teeth
anyway. And since when are
animals supposed to have
nice breath?

‘Nor do I subscribe to the
notion that, as a pet owner I
am responsible to spend a
small fortune on flea treat-
ments. I don’t like fleas any-
more than the next guy, but
if I am to inoculate my kit-
ties and put my dogs on the
program, have my house
fumigated and the interior of
my car sprayed, it’s going to
cost me, big time. Besides,
I’ve tried that, and the fleas
that hang out in my neck of
the woods are a feisty bunch.

It’s my‘experience that
they simply refuse to dic.

The bottom line is this. If
you are contemplating get-
ting a pet, understand that
there are certain expenses
involved as part of the
responsibility of ownership.
If you aren’t prepared to pay
for basic health care for a
pet, don’t have one.

On the other hand, if you
don’t have anything better
to do with your,money than
have your dog’s teeth
cleaned, maybe it s time to
look into worthy charitable
causes, The Animal
Advocates (926-2068) come
to mind.

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