Frustrations....

[Iain]

Do any of you get frustrated to see an older animal get $1000s spent on it, when there are relatively young animals who get put to sleep for minor problems (especially ones that are human induced) because the owners do not want to pay?

This is one of my big gripes about veterinary medicine - what are your guys thoughts?

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[HorseyVet]

Do any of you get frustrated to see an older animal get $1000s spent on it, when there are relatively young animals who get put to sleep for minor problems (especially ones that are human induced) because the owners do not want to pay?

This is one of my big gripes about veterinary medicine - what are your guys thoughts?

It always depends. I sort of favor being against the super treatment of anything very old or very young. I think when you're spending zillions on elderly animals often the owner has totally lost site of the fact that they can't reverse the aging process. As I say that, I have a very old dog which I'm certainly spending more money on than I would a middle aged animal, but I'm also not running out and finding a vet willing to to a total hip on him either.

It is certainly a problem when you realize that you have a cilent who has lost site of the quality of their animals life. Again, that goes for very young animals too. People will go through a lot for them then b/c they are "cute" and "helpless," etc. very often though they end up "helping" an animal live that will have severe issues its entire life.

If anything can be said about animals, its that their care is really luck-of-the-draw.....I'm not really sure though that you couldn't say the same thing for humans though.

I don't know if you've encountered one of these stories before, but in my area a cow got loose from a a truck at the slaughter house and it ran around a local park for a while. Someone several states away paid to buy and transport and keep this cow simply b/c it was a "celebrity." The amount of money he put into this cow could have spay/neutered a million cats or dogs. That's the kind of thing that drives me wild.

 

[Iain]

I have just seen a couple 25+ year old horses have colic surgery, while there were 2 horses I particularly remember put down because the owners did not want to spend a few $1000 on problems that they induced (either leaving a problem too long, or just poor horsemanship).

 

[HorseyVet]

I have just seen a couple 25+ year old horses have colic surgery, while there were 2 horses I particularly remember put down because the owners did not want to spend a few $1000 on problems that they induced (either leaving a problem too long, or just poor horsemanship).

A lot of people probably have the surgery b/c they feel guilty not doing it. Also, for some people their horses really are giant pets...they don't ride them or do anything with them except feed and groom them (which is basically what other people do with their cats and dogs). I think if you are actively riding horses in any capacity you get a slightly different perspective about what is or is not feasible in respect to high-end care.

On your other comment...a lot of peopple don't have "a few 1000"....I'm not sure if you're familar with the term "horse poor," but there are a lot of people out there with horses that barely have enough money to take care of their own needs. Often these may be the type of person, either through general incompetence or very real lack of funding, prolong treatment until it is too late.

I feel your frustration though...I think everyone has run across some clients that they'd like to take out back and take a swing at.

I think the worst case I remember was a dog with a relatively mild cut on its paw. The owners didn't change the bandage etc. and the entire leg became necrotic and had to be amputated....it smelled from a mile away you would have thought that the problem would have registered with those pepople at some point.

 

[Iain]

We had proud flesh the size of my head!!!

 

[HorseyVet]

We had proud flesh the size of my head!!!

Did they use the "that just happened yesterday" line.....you have to love that one

 

[Bill59]

Do any of you get frustrated to see an older animal get $1000s spent on it,...?

No. It's their money, they can spend on what they want. For example, I wouldn't want to go to the ER with acute abdominal pain and have them say "He probably needs an abdominal CT but that's pretty expensive, and he's an older guy ... so lets just give him a Tylenol and send him home."

Now... if your talking about extensive procedures that won't really help the patient (say radiation and chemotherapy in a cancer with a dismal prognosis) that's different. But that's not a money issue.

...when there are relatively young animals who get put to sleep for minor problems (especially ones that are human induced) because the owners do not want to pay?

That is frustrating. But in my mind, the two patients have nothing to do with each other. It's not like the client with the older dog is going to give the money to the client with the younger dog. Just like there are thousands of poor people in regions with minimal health care that would benefit from an abdominal CT. But just because that's not an option for them doesn't mean I shouldn't get my CT.

 

[UKYWildcat]

I have just seen a couple 25+ year old horses have colic surgery, while there were 2 horses I particularly remember put down because the owners did not want to spend a few $1000 on problems that they induced (either leaving a problem too long, or just poor horsemanship).

So a 20-something year old genetic powerhouse broodmare comes in with a RDD and you would be against cutting her because she's too old? Even if she were otherwise systemically stable? You could get a few more foals out of that mare that would make the surgery more than worthwile. Age isn't a disease.

 

[Iain]

HorseyVet - Same effect - ofcourse it was not hit fault.

Bill - your point about not connecting the two is probably pretty on target - I guess I just want to redistribute the funds, to help the ones who will get the most out of it.

UKYWildcat - there are always situations where it is money well spent even on an older horse (a 20 year old quality broodmare in my eyes is not all that old).