Can a vet legally hold a pet if owner can't pay the bill?

[nekochan]

My vet sometimes takes in strays and finds homes if the owner can't be found. Generally either a client brings them in or sometimes someone in the neighborhood brings them in or a few times someone walking by came and told them about a stray animal running around. They bring the animal in and get them fixed up, test for diseases and find new homes.

I don't know what they would do in a situation like the on in the OP but I do know my vet has a fund set up for people who need help in paying for their pets medical care.  They have signs in the lobby and all the rooms about it, so people can contribute if they want. Recently they had a bake sale at the clinic to raise money for one of their clients whose dog needed surgery. I also know people donate their pets medications back to the clinic, and the vet will give them to people who can't afford meds or sometimes for a rescued pet they are caring for. I know because my vet has given me donated meds before when I was low on funds (such as when I had a lot of unexpected vet bills adding up in a very short period) or when I had rescued strays myself, and I have also donated meds back to her when my dogs passed away... My vet also will do payment plans for people although this might be only for clients she knows well enough, and she will do discounts for some clients too (such as people who do rescue or have a lot of pets).

 

[amywelch]

i think it is terribly sad that vets now a days dont have a policy where people can pay per month or per work payment.   I have had my cat spawnie for 7 years. my daughter brought her cat over which was male. my cat has never been out side in her life and her cat attacked my cat and tryed to do business with her so i thought she got pregnate because she had a small little lump.  thinking she was going to have a kitty i figured it was best not to touch the area.  only to see that it started to leak near christmas i thought it might be milk because it was clear in color.  Infortunately it is not her going to have a kitty.  Three days ago it was so large and red that i made an appoointment with the vet that was close to me.  I took a cab today Jan 17 which cost me 15.00 to get there for her appointment and thank god i had money on me or i would be in alot of trouble.  They didnt tell me that i wuold have to pay for the vet bill.  Which after they told me would be with meds 75.00 but when i went to pay for the bill it cost 83.00 and thats without medication which at this time i could not afford.  You see i said to them what is wrong with her and explained what had happened and the doctor looked at her and told me she has cancer in her nipple area and it would cost 1333.00 and i said yes lets do it as they said they would look into a payment plan.  The 1333.00 cost was the payment plan and told me i would have to pay after i pick her up from surgery.  I said ok how much would i have to pay each month as i get paid by weekly........I think cancer should be treated right away and that the vet would do it......NOPE..........The whole cost up front......no payment plan and then they handed me a paplet so i could get a credit card to pay for my kittys surgery and i explained that i would not be excepted because of past history when i was married several years ago.    So now it seems that my kitty has no medication and no surgery even though i have a job always pay my rent and bills and yet i had to walk out without any assistance for my cat.   I paid again for the taxi to get us home..............The vet brushed my kittys fur and tryed to tell me she has fleas   after discovering it was from the area she had brushed from that she realized that it was dry blood......not  fleas.........she comes from a loving home is not malnutioned  she is not fleas  is she a happy kitty that even when the vet squeesed the lump she was in pain and she didnt hurt the vet and just cryed a bit.........Now what i cant understand is why these so called VETS  say  if you dont have the money you shouldnt own a pet.........well no one expects there best friend to have cancer and then to try and work out a plain and just be told no without any help................what type of profession is this......even doctors at a hospital for people do not turn then away when they are in credicale need........and if i just told them i wasnt going to pay the 83.00 they would have kept my kitty there until i did pay and add more for each day she was there............Thank god i had just been paid the day before or like i said i would be in alot of trouble for not paying the bill...............So now i will have to call all around Sudbury Ontario and see if i could find a vet who may be willing to do the surgery and except biweekly payments.....also i make jewelry and have advertised on my facebook page to try and raise funds through friends hoping that i can raise money for her surgery as soon as possible because cancer spreads fast and i dont want to loose my best friend......SHAME ON VETS EVERYWHERE..............

 

[shhann77]

absurd- the cat was not the clinics, the cat had owners. The clinic treated it- if they adopted it out they wouldn't take money for it- im confused. The clinic has NO RIGHT to keep the cat--

 this is logic common sense and even legal- they should take the clinic to court to get their cat, the clinic has NO right to keep the cat at all or demand money...

 that's like saying "jennifer lost her cat", "angela found the cat and cared for it and spent money on it",  jennifer found angela, and wants her cat back, angela says i want 150.00 for it

 for the trouble I went through- or it's my cat. That's wrong...

 I took in a stray cat- ive spent over 2k on it b/c it almost died,  if the owners came along, yes i'd ask for money--no doubt, b/c i spent a ton of money on it caring for it- but if they couldn't pay,

 no big deal.  if I took in a stray cat and spent like 500.00 on it..no i woudlnt' ask for money but in either case, i'd give the cat back

 

[slebbub]

It's a terrible thing to go through when you can't afford to pay for your pet's health care. But the wonderful thing is when the vet is willing to keep the vet and give the pet the care it needs. The vet will later place the healthy cat up for adoption. I once maxed out my credit card to $5K and still there was no way to save my pet. I had to take her and euthanize her.

Although it may seem cruel, the vet has the pets best interest when he must decide to keep a pet because the owner can not or will not pay. To let an animal leave his office knowing the owner will not not be taking care of it and the animal will be suffering is something that an ethical vet will not allow.

It's really too easy for people to get a pet. They are not required to meet any standards that will assure the people are educated in how to care for that animal. The owner's income must be considered too. It really angers me to see people let their pets roam outdoors, feed them the cheapest lowest quality food, not give them their required vaccinations.

Specially those people who call their pet a "service animal, or companion animal"  They use this position to get the apartment complex to allow them to have an animal when their is no pets policy. And they use this to not have to pay a pet deposit to the property owner/manager.

Having a pet means you must take the best care for your pet. You must set aside funds to enable you to give your pet the required annual vet care and have some means to pay for additional health care needed.

It is extremely selfish to want the benefits of having a pet, but to not be willing to give your pet the necessary vet care. Don't have a pet if  you don't care to learn how to best care for your pet so that the pet will have the best life possible. 

I salute every Vet that is willing to do the hard work of keeping an animal from returning to their owner if it's in the best interest of the animal. If only our doctors would follow that lead so many kids would have a chance at a quality life and our entire society winds.

 

[yogakitty]

I personally have an issue with people owning animals if they can't afford to pay $180 in vet bills. What if an emergency occurred and they had to pay more than that? What if there was a medical condition? Would they just abandon the animal...dump it onto someone else who cares enough? Because that seems to happen often. Hence so many homeless animals in shelters. I don't have $180 in my pocket right now, but I do have a visa. If I had to dish it out, I'd put it on a card and pay later. No way I would walk out the door. Like I said, if you can't afford $180....how are you affording to feed the animal monthly? Taking care of it and making sure its healthy? Animals require yearly vet visits in my opinion. Even if its just for a check up...no shots needed. Why do people not take this into consideration before going out and getting a cat, dog, bunny, bird...???

On the other hand, I understand clinics are a business, but so many of them are beyond money hungry....recommending and performing unnecessary tests. I've seen and heard it all. A friend of mine is a vet tech and she tells me what she's seen behind the doors. It makes me sick. These vets are supposed to be medical professionals there to take care of the animal's wellbeing, yet some of them are charging ridiculous fees for services that don't even cost half the price. Explain that? So many clinics have such different ranges in price for the same services. Its just not fair, and quite frankly, disgusting.

I wish in Ontario it was like our public health plan.....OHIP for pets. We already pay up the butt for everything here

 

[Gillagun]

As a person working at a Veterinary hospital. If the hospital took the cat in and from what I am reading they took care of the cat and from the statement "The owners came into the clinic to get their cat, that they wanted, back but at this point a bunch of treatment had been done and the bill was $180. The clinic wasn't charging for everything they had done but they were charging for the testing and meds, I believe." Then the clinic is just covering for the testing and meds not for boarding and hospitalization. I know it seems bad but as some other people have stated its a hospital and needs to cover for some of the medical expenses. Also if I was working at the other hospital i would of made the person that dropped off the cat pay for the $180. Yes if they took it to the shelter they might of taken the cat but they also might have put the cat down since it was emaciated and was not in a good condition.

 

[denice]

The first time I went to the vet clinic I go to now I had a very sick kitty, I had done the vet hopping thing and he just got sicker and sicker. This is a cat's only clinic, they kept him for several days and did a lot of testing. They required me to pay half of the estimated bill before I left my cat for them to treat. That was the only time I had to do that. It was because I was not an established client and I was leaving my cat for what was going to turn into a large bill. They are a business. Their staff has to be paid every payday. General office expenses have to be paid. Vets also are working to make a living. Becoming a vet requires a lot of years and it is heavy with science and math so it isn't a easy course of study, they have the right to expect to make a decent living.

 

[Katdog]

Subject aside- I’m shocked that we resurrected a thread with a 2011 post date.