I was in a very foul mood on Wednesday and as I am writing this I just keep replaying back the events of the last few days regarding Percy. On the off chance you don’t recognize the name Percy then go back and read my Daily Dose from yesterday, 01/24/18.
I mentioned incompetence yesterday and I truly believe that to be the case. Today though, I want to ask all of you a question. Have you ever been “done in” by what you perceived as an act of compassion? I hate to think that people would do such a thing but I honestly feel that has happened to us with these recent events. When I say, “done in” I mean in the context of something along the lines of fallen for a trick or have been deceived. I think you know what I am trying to say, screwed or guzbucked.
About two weeks after Mrs.Knibbles died back in September my youngest daughter got a very nice card in the mail from the veterinarian’s office offering their condolences to Shortie on the death of Mrs. Knibbles. The card was signed by five different people in that office. The way the card was hand written, it appeared that the vet who examined Mrs. Knibbles had written the card because it said that she was shocked that such a well cared for little animal could have succumbed so quickly to what appeared to be just a slight upper respiratory infection.
That condolence card ended up costing Percy his life in the end. To some of you that might sound crazy but I’m going to explain it and I think when I’m done you will more than likely reach the same conclusion.
Getting the card did make Shortie feel better about how she cared for her pet, sometimes things happen, sickness etc., just poor luck so to speak, so it really did make Shortie feel better. That card also gave my wife and I a sense that this vet clinic really cares about their clients and animals, I mean why else would they take the time and effort to send a hand written condolence card if they weren’t truly caring folks?
It seems I’m always asking questions, and while I wait for your answers I’m going to go ahead and answer that question myself. Up until Monday I would not thought any differently, caring people showing compassion. All that changed on Monday with the follow up phone call we got from the vet. I honestly believe now that the card was an effort on the part of the vet’s office to try and retain us as a client even though we had the worst possible outcome from the previous experience with their clinic. The vet knew that we had another guinea pig at home when they treated Mrs. Knibbles because we asked if the vet thought we should separate them.
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “killing them with kindness” don’t you think? It would not surprise me one little bit if there would be a note on Mrs. Knibbles charts that references, “another guinea pig in the home, should bad outcome occur, send card.”
I can tell you that condolence card had a direct impact on us taking Percy there to be examined. Had we not received the card my initial reaction would have been find another vet when my wife said that Percy needed to be seen. This is where I would like to say I had a gut feeling to take Percy to a different vet, but I didn’t, in my mind they were a competent, caring bunch of folks as evidenced by the condolence card.
Blondie had in her mind identified the problem, to which I might add she was correct, so when my wife called the vet office to inquire if they worked on guinea pig teeth issues the answer was “all the time”. We elected to take Percy to them based on the response and how we were treated, not the outcome of the last encounter with them. Trust me when I say that card made all the difference in the world, whether or not we realized it at the time. Remember hind sight is 20/20, especially in situations that keep replaying over and over in your mind.
How could they tell us they work on them “all the time” yet they didn’t even have the scope that was needed or didn’t bother to use it if they had it? There is an old saying that people will do anything and everything for money and I believe that to be true. That saying would include lying, cheating, stealing and I think you can add sending condolence cards to the list as well. The vet office invested less than $2.00 would be my guess in the card and postage; in return they got another $125 out of us, not a bad return on the investment. Had Shortie not gotten that card I don’t believe we would have even considered them for Percy.
So what does your gut feeling say, compassion or investment? You’ve heard my take on it; please tell me what you believe.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
This is really tricky territory... I'm wary of doctors, generally speaking, and when it comes to pets in particular I've done enough wild animal care in my life to know what I can fix and what needs a vet. So fortunately, whenever I do have to go to the vet with Dunebug (the 20 something year old cat) I can quickly tell if the vet is someone who's in it for the cash or in it for the animals.
Unfortunately it comes down to experience, and not everyone has the same extent of animal medical knowledge as I do. Based on what you've written I'd say it's time to shop around for a different vet...
i am sorry to hear about your frustrations with this!
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Thanks @derosnec. I have a good knowledge when it comes to horses & cows as far as sickness and doctoring, and not any when it comes to small animals. Also pretty good at reading people but I wasn't with them at the vets office, we surely won't be going back to the first vet. Sound like your cat has been with you for quite a while, the longest cat that we had lived 15 years. He was jet black, not a white hair on his body, we named him The Ace of Spades, & Acer for short.
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haha cute! Yeah he moved in with us about 10 years ago from being basically left out in the alley by some not-so-nice people... when we learned of his history we decided to keep him and we fixed him right up. He's the sweetest ol' man ever, I hope he sticks around for a little while longer.
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I am sure he appreciates the change from being the alley cat to the good life.
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This makes me wonder is that card and similar follow ups from other vets and health care providers not a caring touch as we like to believe but solely good business on there behalf
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Yes, it does make you wonder. Had it only been signed by the one vet I might believe it was compassion, but given the fact that they only interacted with the receptionist / cashier and the vet , yet 3 others also signed the card it tells me it is a pure business strategy that we confuse with compassion and caring.
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sadly I do believe your right
I know of one place here who have the cards All made and ready to print once specific text is added
The printout includes the signatures but a good printer makes them look original
I know as I saw one being typed and printed
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hands down it is a tactic. even if the person cares about animals...it is a smart biz practice.
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Yes, I concur with you senor Butt. Sadly it ended up bad for my daughter and her pet, misplaced trust in people & influenced by a$2 piece of paper.
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Reading what happened with mrs Knibbles & now Percy, only one word resounds & that is investment! I'm not usually cynical, I do believe that people have good intentions but sometimes it just aint sincere!
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Good intentions , one signature from the vet, / investment, 5 signatures from people who never saw the animal or our family. Five signatures wins in this case, just we didn't snap to it , and took it for compassion and caring.
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Definitely good business practice, bad medicine. I see that here where we live. People tell you what they think you want to hear. You ask specifically if they know something and you get, oh, yes! We are specialists! Yes in taking your money and giving false hope. Their compassion only goes as far as their wallet.
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Agreed. Taking the money isn't even the worst part, it is the false hope and lost time for correct treatment is the bad part. Once you are able to figure it out they are to far gone to save them.
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Yeah, I think that the card is a nice gesture, and that based on that, I wouldn't have acted any differently. If there were hints that they were the reason that Mrs. Knibbles died, that might cause a red flag but it does not seem so.
As others have said, after the second incident. There's no trusting them anymore. At all.
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We learned a lot from the Mrs. Knibbles & Percy episodes for sure, at the price we paid in losing both pets the lesson won't be forgotten anytime soon.
Only after the Percy episode were we able to piece together what the situation was with Mrs. Knibbles, or least what we believe to have happened.
Vet number 1 will not ever treat another animal for us, you can take that to the bank.
Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts with us.
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