Beware the tail of woe
IT HAS been a strange old week. Things started on Sunday when we received an unexpected call from a local corporate veterinary practice.
They explained that they were treating a bitch who was having trouble giving birth. The situation had become serious and she was in dire need of an emergency Caesarean section.
The problem was their clients had no money. We wondered why on earth they were telling us this tale of woe when suddenly the penny dropped (if you pardon the pun).
It turned out they normally charge £1300 for the procedure but they know we are only around £700, so it would be much better for their client if they only owed us a few hundred pounds instead of being in debt to them to the tune of well over a thousand.
Sometimes people’s audacity is breath-taking.
Things progressed on Tuesday night when a most disgruntled lady phoned our emergency service.
Her own vet was shut and his arrangement for out-ofhours cover meant she was going to have to travel a distance that was far further than she thought reasonable.
This had sufficiently enraged her that she wanted us not only to see her sick dog (which we were quite happy to do) but also to complain to the “powers that be”, as she put it.
While we were content to tell her that the RCVS make it clear that all veterinary practices must inform their clients where out-of-hours cover is provided, there was no onus on us to be the emergency service police, especially as we were busy doing others’ antisocial work.
Then things got much worse. The police presented us with a shocked and badly damaged wee dog. He had sustained injuries consistent with a road traffic accident.
He was put on fluids. Abrasions were clipped, cleaned and sutured. His limb fracture was stabilised. He was treated with antibiotics and painkillers.
The poor chap had not been run over. It transpired he had allegedly been thrown out of a third-floor window by his owner’s partner during a domestic dispute.
I hope the perpetrator does not enjoy his appearance in court.