Vet annoyances

[rattfan]

I'm still in the work-to-holiday recovery process, i.e. sleeping a lot until the brain wakes up.  Also had to get up early this morning to take the boys to the vet.  I'm out of ideas re Fergus' bumblefoot and wanted to talk to a vet about his tumour.  If that wasn't enough, Axel has been sluggish for several days, not at all the norm with him, though there's no other symptoms.

Well.

That was a freaking waste of time and money, if sir may say so.

I knew the main vet wasn't on today, but since he's not on until next Monday [for an hour and a half] and the temperature was due to rise again, I thought things couldn't wait.  My standard vet visit involves putting the patient in a carrier and concealing him in a bag, or under a towel, since they're not exactly allowed on public transport.  Haven't been caught in 30 years!  Though one bus driver did ask me, as I got off, if I had a cat or dog in there, leaving me to wonder what version of bonsai pet he thought would fit in the carrier.

Anyway, this vet prescribed another antibiotic for Ferg's foot - I'd already tried the broad spectrum Baytril and Vibravet - and suggested I put Axel on B and V.  Then she suggested I take Fergus to this other vet who specialises in small creatures since they didn't have the equipment and she'd never done tumour surgery.

Fair enough as far as it goes, but she then hit me for an $82 consulting fee on top of the drugs.  I have never been charged that much for a vet consult in my life, particularly one that was mostly "go see someone else."  I don't get charged that much when I go to the doctor.  Nothing like it, once the Medicare rebate kicks in.  

I'll move vets, of course.   It's bloody obvious rats are no longer wanted as patients.  I'm not the only one who's copped this massive increase in fees.   But since it'll cost me $20 each way to travel to one of the suggested other surgeries, I don't think I'll be having rats after these guys go.

Comments

[st_aurafina]

Oh, that's bullshit. I'm sorry they're treating you so shabbily that you wouldn't want to have rats anymore.

[rattfan]

My sort of response, thank you. It's not that I wouldn't want to, but it'll just be too expensive, with vet trips costing so much more - since there's no train to the other surgeries and buses are dodgy, especially when you're carting a small creature who needs to be moved as quickly as possible! So unless I can get a lift, it's Uber. Which, admittedly, is cheaper than a bloody taxi.

A rat owning friend of mine has told me they charged her $100 for a euthanasia. It's a shame; the surgery used to be good, then a couple of the good vets left and the two who remain don't do many surgery hours any more, so there's these new bods from wherever - UK in this case. You'd think an English vet would be better, with so many small animal pets over there.

[mllesatine]

Are rats in particular not allowed on public transport? I'm trying to think of a scenario where a rule about this kind of thing had to be made.

[rattfan]

No, not rats in particular. Only service/assistance animals are allowed on Australian buses, trains or whatever. So anyone with a creature small enough travels concealed! I have heard of rat service-animals that can give their owners warning that they're about to have a seizure, but my guys don't rate. I have one friend who has a parrot as assistance animal/bird, so of course he can travel wherever.

One vet I talked about that to commented she'd been to France, where dogs had their own tickets. So long as they behaved and had a ticket, no problem. I noticed the same thing in Finland. A lot more of creatures in places they aren't allowed here. Transport, hotels, etc. Mind, the dogs in Finland were much better trained than most I see here.

[mllesatine]

I see pets on public transport all the time in Germany so I wondered if it was a specific Australian thing.

Granted, dogs have to be leashed and wear a muzzle. I also could not imagine our family's dog on a train since she isn't used to that mass of people and would probably be very excited and try to sniff or even jump people. But the ones I see here are always calm. I don't think I've ever seen a dog even bark.

I just checked my city's public transport website and dogs who can't be transported in a box have to have their own ticket, too.