My Vet Has Hired "Thugs"; Shakes down pet owners...

Sorry to hear this happen to you. This kind of legalized theft happens on a regular basis. It really burns me up more then anything!

A experience like this happen to me twice only it was a mechanic. The vehicle Needed a replacement electrical part relay box. Doesn't cost much to buy or long to put it in, only it had to wait 3 days for it to be sent. Well during that 3 days the mechanic took it upon himself to replace everything he could get his hands on. Spark plugs, air filter, oil change, oil filter, etc even windshield wipers! All said and done several hundred dollars parts and labor was done. Upon going to the garage to get the vehicle they wouldn't let us have it until the debt was payed in full. I was not a happy camper, as far as I was concerned, I felt this fella should have been dragged, beaten, hung, beheaded and quartered for what he had done. Mistrust is one thing, but to trust and be robbed and have to pay money for it is the worst!

I took all this to small claims court and got it knocked to half because the judge said, we still got new parts! Parts we never asked for! It should have been a complete loss for that goon mechanic! Yes, you should sue even if you get half your money back and they will always have a record too! Only tips I can give is plan ahead of time for things like this. learn from this and read read read what you sign! Know beforehand what kind of local business are like. Find out if they can be trusted look them up if they been sued before, look in court records, look in BBB records. You will be absolutely stunned at what you find. When another emergency happens or your car breaks down etc. you'll be in better hands then some thief that's waiting to skin you the second you walk through the door. Instead of suing for money see if you can sue for their license to practice pulled! Now that would be satisfying! Good luck!

fbi is for federal offenses...not just terrorism...or x-files

this seems like a fed gov issue to me...

what an horrific story! i have 8 cats and would do everything possible to get back at the vet if this happened to me.

your main problem in suing them would be whether your normal vet will back you up - if they won't then forget it as you probably won't win unfortunately as i'm sure they have more money than you for the lawyers fees. it's rare for the medical profession to turn against one of their own even when they know something wrong was done. sad but true.

that doesn't stop you from going to the newspapers and tv stations and telling them what happened though. as mentioned earlier, an undercover story for them would be a great audience rouser if they could get that same treatment on vid. it may also bring more ex customers with their own horror stories to tell.

also, find out and report them to whatever licensing or governing board vets have because there will be one. perhaps it's not the first complaint they've had.

i wish you well in whatever course of action you take and hope your cat is fully recovered soon.

all i can say is i feel sorry for the OP. i have a cat with my mom, its hers technically but i play with it alot and help with the care as its my little buddy and if anything up and happened o her id be so sad i can understand that you had to agree to anything just to see your cat well. but to have to put up with all that is really crazy. i have only read your first few paragraphs so ill refrain from anything else until i read more. whatever happened to james herriot and 'aye im glad to help ye can pay me in what ye can or if you cant thats fine too just glad te help!' i thought vets were good people. obviously not all! O_o

I'm sending good vibes to your kitty, and now I just read about the object in his throat?!! It sure sounds like what you went through was a shake-down to me, but I wonder if this isn't "normal" for these pet emergency places. _javascript:icon('')

You could file a report online at Rip Off Report, just to get the word out to other folks. www.ripoffreport.com...

You can go to the State Veterinary Medical Board site too. www.vmb.ca.gov...
There is a link on the left side for the Department of Consumer Affairs. That sounds like what you might need.

This story reminds me of the animal emergency I went to in Houston years ago. It was 4am, my cat woke me up with weird noises. His bladder was blocked (crystals can block a male cat's urethra), and he was going into shock. I grabbed him, headed for the E.R. with my checkbook. When I got there, I saw NO vet, just some girls up front. I could hear the TV in the back. They grilled me over how much money I had. This was about '92, and I had 500 dollars in my account. They went into the back then came back and told me it wasn't enough, and they needed cash, not a check. While this was going on, my cat was receiving NO treatment. They told me the cost could be easily $1500. Well, I had worked for a vet and knew exactly what they were going to do for this blocked bladder, and it shouldn't have cost anywhere near that amount. I told them the several hundred dollars was all I had since I was in school and had just paid tuition. I told them I could get cash, but not at 4:30 a.m.. They told me they could PUT MY CAT TO SLEEP or nothing. Keep in mind, while this is going on, the cat is down with pale gums--in shock. I drove off and thought about a bullet for the cat, but then I thought about what they do for humans. I drove to work, went in the back door, grabbed a big venous catheter, like what they start IVs with, and a 60cc syringe. I stuck the catheter through his abdomen, into the bladder. I pulled 40ccs of urine out immediately, left the plastic catheter part in the cat for drainage. I drove to my vet, waited in the parking lot until they opened, and they treated my cat right away.

reply to post by jasonjnelson


This is disguisting!!!!

I have taken my cat to emergency vet too, I had to pay hundreds of pounds, and in the end they said I have to pay to kill her, they said I have a choice, make her suffer and suffer, or end her misery. Now I sure hope they did not say that because they wanted money, because if they did, I would kill them. But I don't think so? your story just scares me lol.

One thing I don't like about vet's is how much money you have to pay, just to visit them, even if the cat is not really sick, I bet some people end up not going to the vet before it's too late, because they are worried that nothing is wrong anyway, and they don't want to end up paying hudreds of pounds for jack sh*t.

Anyway, the people at the vet are usually very nice, but I do always get the feeling they don't really care, and just want money. Or one cares the other wants money lol

Anyone else feel this?

I love my cats.

Edit: really nice cat, I hope he's better now, my cat does that too by the way. They also play fetch like a dog haha.



[edit on 10-7-2008 by _Phoenix_]

Thank you again for all your support. It's so sad to note that this problem is not limited by borders...
I truly don't know how to feel until the vet gives me her professional assessment. Due to her own business interests, I think that I'm going to have to do most of the legwork myself after that. Some of you have given me some really great leads, and thanks to the rest for your support and info....
are there any former workers from this industry here?

I'm just wondering what the symptoms of this fecal thing is? Do you know?

Weight loss probably? Can your cat eat, does it appear it can't eat, like it tries but can't?

I'm just hoping my vet knew what really was wrong with my cat, they said something like her organs have shut down or something? After reading your story I'm just a bit worried that maybe the reasons were the same? I don't know if they did a fecal test, I do remember blood tests and xray, but they probably did everything right because they came to a conclusion, that her organs were shutting down or something. Could this be related to the fecal thing?

Sorry, I'm just curious.

[edit on 10-7-2008 by _Phoenix_]

reply to post by _Phoenix_


To be absolutely honest with you, I have no idea what the heck is up with a cats anatomy, or make-up. The only reason I knew something was wrong with his treatment, aside from the thugs and him still being covered in his own shat, was the fact that my vet asked why there were no results from that test. She said it was the first thing she would have done...

[edit on 10-7-2008 by jasonjnelson]

Same thing happened to us in the middle of the night with my dog Brutus.

He's the best little Carin Terrin, smart as a whip, tries to talk when the family is talking ect.

Well we had a rodent problem, and I noticed the dog mucking around in an open, large hallway, closet, where my mother keeps all her stuff and shoes. I called him away from there, and I thought i saw him in there like he was eating something. But I couldn't be sure.

That spot had been one of the areas where we had discovered rodent droppings, and unbeknownst to me, my somewhat senile father, who I take care of had taken the bags of rodent pellet poison, and opened them (which your not supposed to do, the mice eat through the paper), and he had sprinkle a whole bunch right near the front there.

So my first thought was the god ate a bunch of those pellets. I read the box, it had an emergency number, i called it, they told me to take the dog to a Vet immediately.

It was a little past midnight now, and our regular vet is closed,so we went to a 24 hour job.

Well the story plays out just like yours, minus the Thug.

Anyhow they never did detect any poison in the dog but said since it was so dangerous and a spoonful could kill it, in 15 minutes after the dog starts to show signs of being sick(which he never did).

Needless to say they had to do all sorts of crazy tests/shots/Charcoal in his stmach, gave us perscriptions which they sold us personally (way overpriced).

After all was said and done the bill neared $4000. I forget exactly but it was $3800 and change, the dog had to stay overnight of course.

The problem is , is that basically you are at the mercy of these people, and then once your pet is in "thier" custody, they hold it hostage, we got that feeling many times, as we tried to discuss a payment plan, as my family is not doing well finacially.

But they use the fact that they know you love your pet, and that they can basically run tests that no one but a Vet would know if they are neccesary, or even proper.

The 24 hour vet is a pretty much a criminal racket imo.

Any how it's been 2 years and our dog is fine, and great as ever, we still don't even know if he ate the poison, but we were not gonna take ANY chances, and the VET knew that, and used it against us.

That bill set us back months, with home owners insurance being just around the corner, house repairs were neglected, and it was a rough period , like I said for about 2-3 months. I mean 4 grand is alot of money to some families.

I feel for you man.





[edit on 10-7-2008 by Nola213]

Do you think they put a feeding tube in her throat at the emergency vet? That would leave it sore. I dont get it- not many people are going to be able to fork over $1500 right away in an emergency. They would not send in a leg breaker to the waiting room if the patient was a person. And to suggest putting her down if you couldnt afford it? It could have just been a virus for all you knew. Hell has a special place for them.

reply to post by Nola213


Thank you for that.

All of the positive responses from the great members on this site has encouraged me to stand up for myself on this one. I know that the resources some have provided will help me to address the future litigation I am preparing for these jerks.

I can't even begin to tell you how far this sets me back. hopefully, my vet will stay on my side in this issue. Maybe she's sick of these people and how they treat her customers. This industry is really reference based in a lot of cases...

Glad your pup is okay!

[edit on 10-7-2008 by jasonjnelson]

reply to post by jasonjnelson


Hey that's ok.

She's dead, so I think it's best to not think about that too much, nothing I can do. They probably did everything right, I sure hope so anyway.


And please keep us updated about his health, and hopefully when he's all better, take a cute picture of him. haha Good luck.

panels

Edit: panels? why the hell did I say that lol, I ment to say, Peace.





[edit on 10-7-2008 by _Phoenix_]

UK vets are greedy aswell, I took a pet rat in with a growth on its leg, All I wanted the vet to do was look at it, and tell me what it was, the vets assistant said "yes there will be a charge for that", just to look at it?.
then the fee to fix it.
Why could the vet just not tell me what it was without charging, if he had to run tests fair enough I would pay, but just to look and say "yes thats a such and such." then maybe if I could have got the medicine myself and fixed it.
I bet animals are dying needlessly all over the world, because people cannot afford vet fees, because they are too greedy, if they really did care about animals then they would drop prices to see more live.
I am sorry you were conned out of all that money, they preyed on your feelings for your cat and that is wrong and it is about time something was done about this behaviour with vets.
I do not own any pets now, for the simple reason they cost to much to look after, I do not mean food etc, I mean the vet fees.

These guys have to be sued. I hope they'll have their licences taken out, along with their profits

If this happened to you Jason, you can be quite sure that it has happened to many others as well. Your case in and of itself, might have a questionable chance of success in court. However, if a laywer were able to provide evidence which would show a history of such abuses by this vet, you would have a much better chance. I would focus my efforts on finding others in your area who have had a similar experience at the same clinic. If I were you I would definitely spend some hours scouring the web for any mention of that particular vet (by personal name as well as clinic name). Also make an effort to find any other court proceedings of a similar nature.

At issue here is not so much the money, but the chance to send a message to this and other vets like them. Any legal finding in your favor would be a small victory for ALL pet owners. Your key though, is to find other victims of this clinic. Is it stands it may come down to "he said, she said", but if you had 5 or 10 other people with their own experiences to back you up it would carry much more weight in court.

A worthy cause, but you are going to have to do the legwork yourself as I can't imagine a lawyer spending much time on this (and if he did the cost would be prohibitive).

In any case, I hope your 'lil buddy' is doing well...

Peace.

Originally posted by Ceara

Isn't there some sort of veterinary licensing board at the state level?

Better Business Bureau and the State Licensing Board would be the two places to hit. File complaints. The Licensing board can shut them down. Hell, you might even want to call some animal rights activists to give em hell.

DId you take pics of the cat before, after etc? nothing tugs at the right strings more than a sick animal being improperly cared for (ok, I know, people but we're talking animals here).

I am sorry that you had to go throught this experience, and I feel sorry for your cat. Very cool cat, too! I hope this vet clinic doesn't get away with what they did.

I also had a cat once that loved to play fetch. His name was Killer (because he was such an excellent mice hunter), and he was all black with beautiful yellow eyes. It is almost 15 years since we had to put him to sleep because of old age and pain, and I still miss him.

[edit on 10-7-2008 by ziggystar60]

jasonjnelson

I feel for you and for your cat.We have a "fleabag" as well and i can imagine what you went through.We are in Canada,and so far i have not seen this type of behaviour with our vet. It is expensive for sure,but they way they handled your case is beyond belief.

What can you do about this ?. I think an effective way of propagating the story is the Internet.Try to find local sites,blogs,etc. and tell your story.
I know for sure i will discuss it with everyone i know ( including the vet ).

I think that this story ( with the name of that place) should get into every social networking site,and publicized through any means.
All the best to your lovely cat.

[edit on 10-7-2008 by Bursuc]

My only two experiences with a late night emergency vet have been fine. I am very sad to hear what happened to you.

What I would consider doing:
--stop payment on check (if you wrote a check)
--contact the state board that licenses and regulates vets. Your regular vet should have contact information.
--contact the local media (some tv/radio stations love to investigate things like this)