3 stars for unblocking Oscar’s bladder and for the staff that showed genuine empathy for Oscar and the position I’d found myself in needing to find £1300 for vet fees. I appreciate that vets might have issues with non payers, but being so callously strict in emergency situations does not help the thought process, and I was left thinking at one point that I’d have to have Oscar put to sleep, and though it was all ‘it’s the kinder thing’, it really just felt like it was because I wouldn’t be able to pay the full bill until I got paid less than a week later. I spent the best part of a day crying, devastated and wracking my brain to find a way to be able to keep him alive.
They seemed to offer a more relaxed approach on the payment in full rule when they thought I’d decide to euthanise him, but we ended up deciding to try to save him because he is family. I paid £550.00 on the first day which my adult son loaned me, and I told them I would pay the balance on payday (which I did) and at this point, if they were willing to be a little more forgiving in the event I chose euthanasia, they could certainly do the same for us wanting to make him well again.
The final kicker to this situation was that on the same night I paid the remaining bill amount, I took Oscar to the out of hours PDSA vet in Birmingham because he was shaking from being in a lot of pain. They gave him an injection of anti inflammatory which helped massively and they said it would last 24hrs and to speak to my vet about getting a prescription. So I called them up and explained to them that I’ve just paid them £1300 and don’t have anymore money until 7th November, I was told that I would need to pay the £37 for this on collection. They dug their heels in for £37 after being paid £1300.
The out of hours PDSA vet scanned Oscar’s bladder using an ultrasound machine and I was allowed to watch as he explained to a learner/student what he was seeing (at that point there was no blockage) which massively put my mind at ease. There’s was no definitives like that from Grange Hill, just a lot of what ifs and maybes so you’re just left grasping for any reassurance.
I suspect that this practice is so used to the money bags pet owners, they presume the poor people coming in their doors are going to shaft them and would rather see their family members euthanised than give a little give.
The photo is of Oscar taken tonight, doing wonderfully despite not being able to get him his anti inflammatory medication.
