Vet / Dog / Moral advice

Bear with me... i'll try to make this story short...

My dog got super sick last week - I took her to the vet hospital since she was in a very bad way and probably needed blood or plasma transfusions along with IV medication. we've done this dance with them before when my dog was just 3 and had nothing but exceptional care & attention.

This time was different, they didn't call when they said they would with updates, if i called them they'd tell me they were sorry, super busy, lots of critical patients, they'd call me back soon which they invariably didn't do. I asked them during one of these conversations whether they were too busy to look after my dog properly.. "no, your dog is getting the best care and attention"

I got a call from them yesterday to tell me that my dogs blood work values had improved enough to take her home where she'll need monitoring for the next 3-6 months in case of relapse. Here's the kicker. They also confessed that they'd inadvertently given her a double dose of immunosuppressants and as soon as they realized, they ran a test which only told them that her liver enzymes were too high to read on their internal lab equipment. Ultimately, they don't know yet if they have caused terminal liver failure or not. They won't have an indication until next week.

So here's what i'm mulling over in my head. The total bill was $5k which they've offered to refund (gee thanks) but since i have pet insurance, I was only going to be paying about $1k of that so all they're really doing is refunding my insurance company.

I've asked for time to think about it all but my thought was to ask them to charge me - I'd pay and claim through insurance and to ask them to donate the proceeds to a fund that pays for emergency care for pets who's families don't have insurance and can't afford the care.

As i type it out, it makes more sense to ask them to do this but how do I ensure that they actually follow through with this? How do i make sure they're not just rolling in $$.

Before any of you tell me that I should sue them, etc, etc. It won't make my dog better, she's either terminal or not, someone, somewhere just made a mistake, I make them all the time at work. I just want them to feel a little pinch for their lack of attention but in doing the above, I'm still out about $1k.

Advice please?

Apologies for the lengthy post.

 

Tom,
You are tracking on taking the high road as my grandfather use to tell me..suing won't make your dog well and you will be out even more $$$ when an attorney gets his claws in this. (Not a fan of attorneys)

I don't know you well but you appear by your writings to be an honest stand up guy. And they were honest and up front with you about their mistake. Had they hidden this, and how would you know? I think your on the right track, maybe ask if they could pay $500 meeting you half way on the $1000 deductible.
Sounds reasonable and fair to me. I hope it all works out and that your pup recovers

Patriot

 

thanks... I'd not thought of asking them to meet me on the deductible. I picked her up last night and said I'd go back in a week to talk about this once I was less angry/upset/shocked. Discussing this kind of thing while in an emotional state is never good for anyone.

Agree with you that they were honest, you're right, they could have just sent me on my way and not confessed. Obviously they also agreed to take care of all the diagnoses, testing and any treatments for the liver issue - so yes, they're being honorable which I very much appreciate. It's just astoundingly frustrating that I took her there for treatment of a life threatening disease (IMTP) only to manage to get that under control but potentially come home with another ticking time bomb. The other reason for my oversharing is that I've not told my wife any of this - she's 9ish months pregnant and I could really do with her not freaking out right now.

 

Tom, you really are a stand up guy, and I’m sorry to hear about your dog. First and foremost, do not tell the wifey for a few months. That’s for damn sure. Now about the vet, not sure this would fly, but I’d ask them if they could just charge you the original bill and also write you a check for like $3k. That way, they don’t really lose money, actually they make a little and won’t feel like they need to make it up by charging you more in the future. Pay the deductible with that and keep the leftovers for a rainy day fund for your dog. Especially if complications arise from their mistake in the future. You never know, especially if you move to Colorado and you’ll have to pay out of pocket at another vet. The good guys always get screwed over and maybe this will lessen the chance of that. Please let us know what happens. Good luck Tom.

 

thank you... I'd not thought of the complications of moving to Colorado... certainly food for thought - I'll keep you posted as and when we know more about the prognosis of my pup..

 

I have two modes of operation... cool & level headed or 11/10 losing my shit... getting dangerously close to option B!

But thank you - I have to take her back for another ultrasound and some more liver tests to get a baseline for future prognosis - it's going to be a long couple of weeks!

Thanks for all your kind words - I appreciate them all! I like Joon's idea too but am keen on giving back to families less fortunate than mine. In 2014 I nearly had to put my dog down (same dog) due to a different illness - I came within $500 of the bottom of my bank account which is why I now have pet insurance. I had no idea that vet fees can be as much, if not more, than human doctors. Call me stupid or ill informed, I'm sure families make the same mistake I did and come up the wrong side of my equation. If i can help a kid hang on to his kitten/puppy while his parents get a 2nd chance on pet insurance, I pretty much have to do that.

 

I have no advice to give, just want to say that I love my dogs like family, and certainly more than most people. I understand what going through situations with unwell dogs is like. I hope all is well with your dog and for her speedy recovery.

 

I don't have any advice, I just hope your dog is OK.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about this. You are definitely a stand up guy and taking the high road in this. I hope that their screw up doesn't harm your pup....that could be devistating. Pray that she gets better and doesn't have an ill affect from their mistake.






So my question is this....from a woman's view who has been pregnant more than once....

Why wait a few months to tell her? If I was her/in her shoes and I was told MONTHS after this happened....I would be LIVID. I can understand to a point not letting her know right now...but months??? And what happens if your dog does suddenly pass or end up having to be put down or have treatment because of what happened? How are you going to explain that to her? Does she not love or care about the dog like you do? I'm sure she does if you don't want to burden her right now....but I would really NOT wait MONTHS to tell her. Hiding things is just as bad as lying in a relationship IMO.

 

I hear you loud and clear and trust me, this doesn't sit well with me. The reason i'm delaying telling her is because i'll know more in a couple of weeks - by then i should know if this is nothing that medication won't resolve, or i'll know that my pup will have only a few weeks to live. Once I know, I'll certainly tell her but I don't want her to worry about what could ultimately be nothing. I've told her that the dog's not out of the woods yet and that she could have an adverse reaction to the cocktail of drugs she's been given - I just didn't tell her that it was human error, or quite the probability of an adverse reaction. we went through something similar before where the road to full recovery is long and drawn out so she knows there's still risk.

 

i get the delay part...i was referring to Joon saying wait months....I'm pretty mean when lied to so I would castrate a MF for hiding something like that for months from me

But seriously I understand why you're waiting...just make sure you explain to your wife why you waited. I seriously hope it all works out! and congrats on the little one (pic need to be posted of the baby too!)

 

Well I was assuming the dog would be okay and if nothing comes of this, then tell her way later after the stresses of the newborn. But when or how Tom tells his wife is really none of our business.

 

You're right is not. But you put your thoughts out there on it so i did too

 

As others have said that is very honorable.
Personally I'd ask for the money myself then find a rescue or a place that has a fund similar to what you're saying.

Where are you located?

 

Durham, NC

 

Ah I know a vet who does that but he's here in CA so that won't work!

 

First, sorry about your pup. I've been to the emergency vet more times than I care to remember. You seem way cooler headed than I would have been.

Be careful with any solution that involves the vet billing the insurance company then paying money out to you or per your direction. I'm not an attorney but that sounds like it might technically be insurance fraud. You might be able to get away with them giving you money as a settlement for their mistake. You could then use it for possible future care if you move or donate as you feel appropriate. I would make sure any monies you receive came with documentation stating very specifically it was not associated with the original bill but instead the error.

 

yeah, i was thinking the same thing... whatever i do has to be above board - I'd phrase it that any compensation would be just that... compensation and not a refund. I would hope with documentation, that should cover it. I may also tell the insurance company what's going on too to make sure they're OK with it.

I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to potential defrauding of insurance companies

 

I've no idea, I'm not a dad (yet)... I can't quite express how attached i am to this dog though, I've had her longer than i've known my wife... she, the dog, kept me company when my father died, if it wasn't for this pup, I wouldn't be married and therefore i guess - a soon to be dad.

When things like this happen, i go logical, that's my way of dealing with it. What can you do to help my dog, what are you doing to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else?

 

Quick update in case you're interested....

The Vet Hospital has been outstanding in trying to correct their mistake. We had a plan of action on Tuesday night with medication and a plan to monitor her blood values to determine prognosis.

I got a call from them yesterday to ask me to take he in for an additional ultrasound. Their internal medicine doctor, as well as her assigned ER vet had apparently been researching the overdose and best practices to treat her. After the ultrasound showed no pancreatitis, they let me know that there was a liver protectant medication that had shown increased success over the initial planned response but sadly it needs to be supplied over 48 hours through IV. Fortunately, she'd done nothing but sleep since she got home and was much brighter than the day before when she came home.

So with "something in my eye" i left her at the vet last night to start the latest treatment and for them to do more bloodwork over the next two days. There's a chance she may come home for a few hours today in between IV doses to get some well earned rest on the couch. She's such a social dog that she gets precious little sleep in the 24 hour hospital so the rest may aid her recovery.

So in summary - the hospital isn't cheaping out on righting their mistake - in fact I'd say they're going above and beyond. Considering, as @Patriot pointed out above, that they could have just ignored the mistake, I'm impressed with how far they're going to fix this.

If you got this far, thanks for caring!

 

Great news...sounds like they/all are taking the high road. Hang in there Tom!

 

Glad to see you having what seems to be a better than usual outcome, hope she gets better. We don't have many vets here that go that extra step on care. Our local vets are good for shots and basic general care. My Aubie developed a heart condition early on and had a cardiologist by the time she was 2. Alabama only has 3 in the state, so it was 45 miles each way for her. It's hard for some people to understand how you can sink several thousands of dollars in what they refer to as ''just a pet''. I look at it as they are my family and I made a promise to them when I took them in to give them the best care I could. I lost track on Aubie at over $3000 on her in 5 years out of pocket and no insurance. We lost her a few weeks ago due to heart problems, I'd gladly tripled that 3k for 5 more years.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your Aubie - it's heart breaking.

And while these "just pets" are in fact literally just pets - unless you've had that bond and made that commitment to do all you can for them, you can never appreciate that you can love a "just pet" as much as you can a direct family member. They change and influence our lives more than I think we realize with the end result that we as people are better humans due to our interaction with them.

So yes, I agree with you, some people refer to them as "just pets" and instead of anger for them, I feel pity. I pity them for not having the life experience of loving something outside of blood relations as unconditionally as we "just pet" owners do. I refer to her as my emotional bank. The potential sorrow I feel is because of all the happiness I've taken from that relationship. I'm sorry for anyone who never experiences that.

My thoughts are with you and thank you for going above and beyond for yours