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Why Pet Owners may be avoiding their Veterinarians
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Too young to need her teeth cleaned, thank goodness!
Recently a few articles have been printed on the internet about pets and possible abuse. One article discussed the notion that perhaps not seeking medical treatment for your pet should be considered abuse.
The other article was seen all over the internet. A dog that had been found with a tumour in his mouth so large it had broken his jaw. His owners were being sought so that they could be charged with animal abuse.
My reaction to both of these articles surprised me in that neither moved me. I think of myself as quite an animal advocate. I’ve been a Vegan for most of my life. I belong to all kinds of advocacy groups. I tithe 10% of my income mostly to Animal Rights groups. Yet neither of these articles moved me, as in, got my dander up about “these abusive owners”.
I am quick to step in when I believe an animal is being abused and my threshold for abuse is low. I think that tying your dog to a tether, or crating them for long periods of time, or having them live outside is abusive.
I don’t think that not seeking medical treatment for your pet is abusive. Or rather, if it is, I understand why pet owners might not seek treatment.
There are many medical procedures that I don’t participate in because they don’t fit into my spiritual beliefs. That may be one reason people are not seeking medical treatment.
The biggest reason that I can think of though is financial. The price of a visit to a vet clinic has more than doubled in the past 10 years. A typical, actually fairly low priced visit to a vet here in Nashville is currently $45. A visit to my own family practitioner for myself is $35.
Less than 10 years ago a dental cleaning for my cat at one of my favorite animal hospitals here in town was $75. That was more than my own Dentist charged for cleaning my teeth but understandable given that my cat has to be under anesthesia to get his teeth cleaned and I am able to sit still by myself.
My Dentist has raised his prices by $15 since then. The animal hospital now quotes $300 to $500 for a cleaning. A cleaning for my cats teeth! Somehow not having the money to have that done could be construed as animal abuse?
Recently one of my cats did need his teeth cleaned and he also had an abscessed tooth. I went to a vet who charges $90 for a dental cleaning plus $50 for pre op blood work. It turns out my cat did not have a simple abscess. He has a cancerous tumour in his mouth and by the time I left the vet my bill was $350. A few weeks later for a check up, I paid another $85.
There is no cure for mouth cancer in cats. With treatment (chemo and radiation) 10% live for a year. Now, if I don’t get that treatment, will that be considered abuse?
I went to the vets last week to get some fluids. My cat is having a hard time trying to figure out how to drink with this tumour in his mouth, so is a bit dehydrated. The cost for the fluids was $45 at the vets. That was for the whole kit. I could get the same thing on line for $15 including shipping.
This brings me to the article about the dog found with the tumour in his mouth. I do tend to think that the owners just letting the dog go is abusive but I can understand why they might have done it.
I have always had a close relationship with one vet or another and have never had to pay to have a pet euthanized. I have had 6 of my personal pets euthanized due to old age, illness, and disease and at least 4 strays and I have never been charged.
For the past 4 years I have had very healthy animals that have had no need to see a vet, so I have no relationship with a vet right now. I overheard a vet tech on the phone at a clinic the other day telling the caller that it would be $65 to euthanize their pet. $65!!!
So maybe the owners of the dog with a mouth tumour couldn’t afford to have their pet euthanized. The economy is bad right now and $65 is a lot of money for many people. Maybe they couldn’t stand to see their dog suffer so they let him go. Do I think that’s right? No. No way! But I think I understand why someone might do it.
I remember hearing from a woman who knew her dog was suffering and that it was time to euthanize. It took her a month to save up the money to be able to pay the vet to have it done. A month where she agonized over the condition her 20 year old dog was in and her inability to do anything to relieve his suffering until she had the proper amount to pay the vet.
Sadly, the veterinary industry is following in the footsteps of the medical industry. The worst of the medical industry. If pet owners are going to be considered abusive for not seeking medical treatment it seems to me that the veterinary community is complicit and needs to be held at least partially responsible.
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