Veterinary Emergency - Murdock Circle - Tiffany Euthanize my 6 year old cat because I don't have money TONIGHT??? Port Charlotte Florida

I had the same experience with an "emergency clinic" here in Knoxville, TN. The first words out of their mouth after answering the phone was "a visit is $70". I took my dog in anyway only to be told that it would be $1200.00-2400.00 cash up front to treat her. When I told them I wasn't used to carrying around thousands in cash the vet told us to take our dog home and make her comfortable, ie let her die. We nursed her through the night and took her to our regular vet the next morning. He kept her for 3 days and nights and got her back to good health. His total bill--$345.00! I showed him the "estimate" the ER gave me and he said he did not even charge for half the items on there. I placed an unfavorable review on the ER's website, but it disappeared by the next day. That spoke volumes to me. They were too embarrassed for anyone to see how they treated a pet in need. These "vets" and anyone else on here that want to blame the OP need to look at themselves and think about how they would feel if treated like this.

Veterinary Professional , my post never stated that anyone was getting rich. My point was , regardless of having a credit card or not...not everyone has a credit card and or have time to stop and pull several hundred or thousands of dollars out of the bank[ if its open ] for care before going into a emergency care center for help , when they have no ideal how much its going to cost . You are delusional to think so.  What do people do , that have no credit card or large sums of money .....I will stick with my statement..the bottom line is  , if they really cared about your pet , they would treat it . Also the owners of the pet should try to pay for care , no matter what . I do realize that some will end up not paying  , and that is also sad .

Again ... yes or no...Give us money or your pet dies .

I also had a issue with the Port Charlotte emergency care .  They wanted cash[ no check]to treat my dog . That needed help very badly . 800 dollars , how many people carry that much on them. I had called ahead , so why did they not tell me . People that are focused on there animal suffering , are under stress and not concerned on details of payment at the moment of the crisis . After I left with my dog , I only then thought of , the fact that I had a credit card . The whole incident , could have been handled better by both parties . I still don't know if they take credit cards ???? If so , maybe its my fault for not hearing that.

May I , ask . What do the people do if they do not have the funds to pay in full . Just like the person with the cat . Please do not give the excuse that the lame doctor gave ...That you must be better prepared . There is many circumstances that come into play of being prepared or not . The sad part is , it is not that people should be better prepared . Although it is a factor .  The sad part is that its all about MONEY to these greedy people. They could care less about you're animal , or they would treat it  , because that is what they should do. Before I left , I asked ..do you have a 45 so I can drag my dog outside and shoot it...They did not like that very well , they asked me to leave . Sorry i do admit that I did go over the top . 

The bottom line is , what happened to the days people trusted each other . The so called professionals do their job and the customers pay their bills .

Give us money , or you're animal dies . very SAD

Work in veterinary medicine in an er where seconds are precious.Vterinarians should not have to be in a position to make financial decisions to meet someones need .You as an owner are the responsible one.You should take advantage of pet insurance ,3rd party opportunities that exist and to be familiar with your options ideally beforehand .That being said it is unfortunate.You werent prepared its sad.

Work in veterinary medicine in an er where seconds are precious.Vterinarians should not have to be in a position to make financial decisions to meet someones need .You as an owner are the responsible one.You should take advantage of pet insurance ,3rd party opportunities that exist and to be familiar with your options ideally beforehand .That being said it is unfortunate.You werent prepared its sad.

Work in veterinary medicine in an er where seconds are precious.Vterinarians should not have to be in a position to make financial decisions to meet someones need .You as an owner are the responsible one.You should take advantage of pet insurance ,3rd party opportunities that exist and to be familiar with your options ideally beforehand .That being said it is unfortunate.You werent prepared its sad.

Work in veterinary medicine in an er where seconds are precious.Vterinarians should not have to be in a position to make financial decisions to meet someones need .You as an owner are the responsible one.You should take advantage of pet insurance ,3rd party opportunities that exist and to be familiar with your options ideally beforehand .That being said it is unfortunate.You werent prepared its sad.

This is my last statement of the facts. I will not respond to any more purely speculative ad hominem swipes.

1. I will admit to rambling and fumbling with my speech on the night I described. I was panicked and I had been crying. I was also congested with an upper respiratory infection. I was embarrassed at having to beg and describe my general situation. I had not been drinking.

2. I did not use foul language.

3. Yes, I entered two reports for two separate incidents. I had called two numbers in two cities, and described the events for each.

3. Though it's nobody's business, I have one low-limit credit card, with which I had financed a major car repair the week prior. I exhausted the last of my savings that I had been living on for the past year. I do not receive public assistance or any other "welfare" to rely on.

The problem is that the writer of this story neglects to tell the readers that when she called she was yelling and screaming, using vulgar language and swearing at anyone who she could speak to. She was also barely coherent when anyone did try to speak to her (by coherent I mean she sounded severely intoxicated). However, people like that never give that part of the story because their real problem is with them and they are the ones who need the help and who cause their own problems.

You cannot blame anyone else for your inability to care for your pet. If you owned a business and you gave away services to everyone that walked in the door that did not have money, how long do you think that business would be open? I see too many pet owners who try to make the veterinarians or veterinary staff feel guilty because they can't pick up your slack. The ER's wouldn't be open if they didn't receive payment. I know from experience that payment plans are not accepted anymore at the surrounding veterinary ER's because people in general do not follow through with the payment plan. If you have been out of work for a year and are starting a job in 3 days, I have a feeling that paying your cats medical bill would be lower on the list than paying a car payment, mortgage, food and gas. And this is exactly what happens...the veterinary hospital usually never sees the money. I have worked in the accounting department, and have seen veterinary hospitals give up on payment plans. Many still offer Care Credit, but I also suggest that you contact friends or family members to help you in a time of need such as this. Also, if my cat was in the condition you described, I would drive just about anywhere to get it treated - even 97 miles away...and I'd be thankful that there was anywhere I could go at all.