Too little too late for St. John’s woman’s cat
To some a pet may be just a pet, but for some they are family, they are a comfort and a friend.
Jennifer Barnable is seeking answers after what she feels was misguided medical attention given her cat.
Jack, nicknamed Gentle Jack, started experiencing issues with his eye in August 2017.
Jack had a runny eye, which was believed to be a simple infection, but the seemingly endless list of medications he was taking didn’t help.
Reassurance from her vet that it wasn’t cancer affecting the eye, wasn’t enough.
Wanting more for Jack and feeling like he wasn’t being taken care of fully, Barnable walked away and went for a second opinion from another clinic.
“After seeing my files, right away they said they would give me a CT scan referral, whereas I had to fight with my last clinic,” she said.
Results from the scan showed an aggressive tumor that was pushing on Jack’s right eye and had also started eating into the surrounding bone.
Barnable felt that competition between clinics is the reason Jack’s medical care was prolonged, she said.
“I shouldn’t have had to have gone through what I went through to get him the care that he needed. It should be upfront, proactive and collaborative between clinics,” she said.
Now, even if he underwent the procedure suggested, it would be too late, Jack’s cancer has left him with a highly unlikely chance of survival.
“People do a variety of things to try and do the best for their animals, but it’s an uneven playing field if you don’t know what, when you walk through a clinics door, you’re going to get,” Barnable said.
A Gofundme page has been started to raise money to help Barnable with the $5,000 of debt she has been put under after Jack’s vet visits.
The debt is just insult to injury, she said.
“They knew I was desperate to do anything. I feel exploited,” she said.
Give people, and their pets, a fighting chance, she said.
“If people in the province were able to have access to the information and if vet clinics would really look at their policies and try to align themselves so that there is a regulated level of care and cost, then people can make their decisions from there.”
Barnable isn’t looking to cause problems, she just wants answers for Jack and to make a difference for other pets.
The Newfoundland and Labrador College of Veterinarians manage the discipline and licensing of veterinarians in the province.
In an email statement to The Telegram, the NL College of Veterinarians said they can’t comment on any complaint that they are currently reviewing, including Barnable’s situation.
The college does not recommend or impose prices for services vet clinics provide because they are private businesses that aren’t backed by government funding in Newfoundland and Labrador.