Corn, tears and running out of time

[Colorado1234]

I totally understand and apologize to you as well. I can't believe how emotional I was when replying to your post. And it does give me great comfort to know that he will be loved and cared for, even if it can't be me.

 

[Colorado1234]

They hospital said that because they are an emergency hospital and have no established relationship with the client they do not accept payment plans of any kind. They did offer me care credit and I applied right away. Unfortunately, the credit only paid for Pax's weekend stay, medication and IV fluids while he was there. I did call my regular vet and asked them to look into the situation for me.

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I read through this thread a few times before I could even respond. That is the cruelest thing to do to you. It doesn't sit well with me and I would be willing to bet that you can do something about it. What is the name of this Hospital? As one poster already said, reach out to news outlets, other vets for advice and definitely legal representation. I am sorry this happened to you.

 

[PrinceLorde13]

Was it by any chance Ft. Collins ER in Colorado?

 

[Colorado1234]

Valley Central Emergency Pet Hospital is the ER where Pax is at. My regular vet just called and said that when she called the ER they would not give her any information and hung up on her. I keep thinking about what Hector said and I think he hit e nail on the head. Pax was a young pup who is also a rare breed. Not to brag but he had a shinny, silky coat, muscular build and a perfect raccoon mask on his adorable wrinkled face. This "mystery person" saw an opportunity and jumped on it. It probably cost her a fraction of the price they were going to charge me.

 

[enzo_canecorso]

I wouldn't let this go. I would pursue legal action and I would do it right away. It's no longer the weekend, get your finances in order as fast as you can, set up a go fund me and post the link (if you or Pax has an instagram I will post a picture of him and a link as well on Enzo's account) and get your boy back. This is not right and the way they are acting is not ethical.

 

[powergc]

Wow. Just wow. I have read this a few times over today, but couldn't find the words to comment.

So sorry to hear of the heartbreak that you are going through. This really doesn't seem right. There has to be something that can be done. Fight, fight, fight! As enzo said, if you set up a go fund me, post the link here so some of us can help (if we can).

Please keep us posted, I hope you can find a way to get your boy back.

 

[Ginurse]

Valley Central Emergency Pet Hospital is the ER where Pax is at. My regular vet just called and said that when she called the ER they would not give her any information and hung up on her. I keep thinking about what Hector said and I think he hit e nail on the head. Pax was a young pup who is also a rare breed. Not to brag but he had a shinny, silky coat, muscular build and a perfect raccoon mask on his adorable wrinkled face. This "mystery person" saw an opportunity and jumped on it. It probably cost her a fraction of the price they were going to charge me.
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I truly don't believe what they did was legal. Please oh please, pursue this: this clinic did so many unethical things, that I don't even know what else to say. Like so many have said, reach out to your local news station, put it on facebook, do your worst damage.

My Dad is now retired, but he had his own Veterinarian clinic (he was a vet opthalmologist) and I worked there cleaning out cages when I was in high school.

Sometimes we would have animals come in who had parents who could not pay for surgery that resulted from eye injuries, and holy hades, he would work out a pay plan for as much as they could pay for a month and some only could pay a tiny bit. He never kept the animal, or put them up for some shady adoption. That would be unethical.

Please pursue this? This really can't and shouldn't be allowed.

 

[NYDDB]

I am also appalled after reading through this thread. Unethical, and heartless, at the very least.

One question: would they really have let Pax die right then and there? Just because you didn't have all the funds available immediately? Even human ERs take in people- all people, no matter what their circumstances are, and do what they can to save them because they have all taken an oath (Hippocratic): "First, Do No Harm." Afterwards is when the financial stuff gets sorted out...

I would pursue this, for sure. No matter how uncomfortable and difficult it may be for you to do so.

Also, it may be a nice, happy thought to believe that Pax is going into the hands of some good people who will care for him and love him as much as you did...but without any contact whatsoever, how can you know that for sure? If it were me, I would not be able to sleep at night....worrying about my boy.

And I do not mean this as a guilt trip at all---believe me, I am not made of money, and wonder sometimes how I would handle things if Mateo needed a really huge medical treatment...

I just really hope that you will follow up with him, the hospital and this mysterious vet...through legal and/or whatever means possible.

 

[Th0r]

Again what kind of bill are we talking about? OP, you still haven't told us how much the surgery would have cost?

 

[Colorado1234]

The surgery was estimated to cost between 5-7 thousand dollars depending on how much intestine was damaged and needed to be removed. However, this does not include post-op treatment or the overnight stay at the ER or the x-Rays from the specialist. All said and done, closer to 10 grand. The worst part of this was that I got a phone call Monday morning from helping hands, which is only a 5 hour drive from me, and they would of done the surgery for 1,000.00. Unfortunately, we were out of time. The ER already did the surgery Sunday night after I signed him over. I would of gladly paid 1,000 and would of drove him to MD. Helping hand is a great animal hospital that only does certain surgeries at a discounted price and this was one of them. The only problem is that they are only opened M-F and I don't even know if Pax would of made it to Monday.
On a happier note, my lawyer said that this was not a legally binding contract and had me contact American Veterinary Medical Association - Home
. I reported what happened and waiting for them to call me back. My next step is to have my lawyer send them a certified letter requesting information on Pax or we will take legal action. The downside is that my lawyer thinks it would be difficult to get him back. My lawyer said the same thing as Hector, someone saw a great looking dog that was a rare breed with papers, so they jumped on the opportunity. However, I have come to grips that it was my fault for not having the money and resources to help Pax. We are moving out of state this month and all of our funds are in escrow on a house. If someone else had the resources to help him and can give Pax a second chance I am very grateful for that. All I want is to know that he made it and is recovering from this tragic event. My heart tells me that he is alive but I want to know for sure. I'll never let this go! I'm not saying that I'm would go to the ER and do something crazy like try to steal him back, but I at least deserve to know how he is doing. I took excellent care of Pax. I'm a stay at home mom so we spent all day, every day together. I took him to the vet every week until I had his skin issues resolved. When he was only 2 months old I cared for his entropion and got him all the medical care he needed. When he was diagnosed with food allergies I made it my mission to find out what his triggers were and finally got him on a diet and fish oil supplements that worked. Everyday I socialized him, trained him and exercised him and Above all, Paxi boy was loved. Here I go again, crying and getting emotional. I never thought you could feel physical pain from losing a pet, but my chest hurts from all this crying. Thank you so much for reading my story and all of the advice has helped me so much. There is even a good chance that the person who adopted Pax is reading this and if you are please let me know that he is ok, that's all I ask.

 

[PrinceLorde13]

If your lawyer explains to them that your feeling wronged over this is something you feel you must pursue down every avenue possible I still think you can get your dog back. With the promise of telling your story to anyone and everyone that will listen you could really hurt their business and even destroy the doctors reputation that orchestrated this whole thing, they may want to give your dog right back.
I had to do a case study back in school on a man that felt his local Walmart was letting its employees have first crack at new sports memorabilia and he could never get what he wanted. He made a website called Ihatewalmart.com or something along those lines telling his stories and encouraging others to do the same, Walmart estimates their losses due to his website to be in the high millions.
Between the power of social media, the obvious support or pet owners, news, hell I'd even make flyers telling the story and post them around town, stand 10feet from their property line and give them to people
It's not just your horrible story that concerns me but the extremely low morals and ethics of what happened worry me for other pets and owners

 

[Boxergirl]

My heart breaks for you.

 

[marke]

Again what kind of bill are we talking about? OP, you still haven't told us how much the surgery would have cost?

at my regular vet an abdominal surgery like this would be $1500 minimum , could easily be around $2000 or more , depending on how the dog does ......... human hospitals are run different than veterinary hospitals , the cost of the folks that can't pay their bill is accounted for in human hospitals in what the folks who pay their bill pay for the service , and the government does cover a majority of what they don't get paid .......... an experience i just had , an echocardiogram for you will cost more than 10x an echo for your dog ...... a spay would cost about $600 , a hysterectomy about $15000 ................. i personally can understand a vet not taking credit .......jmo

i did surrender a puppy to a vet before , it was the best thing ever got done for that pup .......

 

[MissJ]

I am so sorry to hear what has happened to you. Your dog was well looked after loved and cared for and this opportunist has swept in and stolen him. I do believe once you have got over the shock you will be able to get the dog back, with a reasonable treatment plan, possible with a reduction of the astronomical costs due to the suffering you and your family have been put through.
As your dog was at home with you his Mum all day and your little boy he will not be happy left while this vet technician is at work. This is not a nice person who has done this. They have walked all over you to get what they want with no regard for what is best for the dog.
I hope very much that when you are feeling stronger, as you will still be traumatised you fight to get your boy back, and shame these fiends.
My dog had a thyroid problem that has been negatively effecting him behaviourally although he looked perfectly healthy, I insisted on all the tests being done to rule out a physical cause (I was right in my suspicions of low thyroid). One of the vets we saw kept saying how much she loved him and how, "She would take him", which infuriated me as we love him dearly and took him there to help him get better not give him away.
Luckily we have the best of insurance and he will now be medicated for life.
It does go to show that even some vets are more interested in adding to their pet collection than doing their job.
George is much better now, responding to meds and at home with us where he belongs. I hope soon your Pax is too.

 

[MissJ]

Sorry I meant payment plan,and i wouldn't offer $1000 a month, offer what is affordable to you and your family and no more.

 

[Boxergirl]

I can't add anything to this but as I read it my first thought was how the hell was he allowed to eat a corn cob?


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My mom was right. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. How it happened no longer matters and being judgmental reflects poorly on you. It's not nice to kick someone when they're down.

 

[enzo_canecorso]

Amen Boxergirl!

 

[angelbears]

My mom was right. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. How it happened no longer matters and being judgmental reflects poorly on you. It's not nice to kick someone when they're down.

Thank you Boxergirl for saying it so much more diplomatically than I was going to.

 

[dpenning]

Thank you Boxergirl for saying it so much more diplomatically than I was going to.

LOL! +1 There is a reason my beloved calls me his hallmark wife.