Veterinary Emergency Referral Group, Inc.

Shortly
before pm on *** ** ***, *** *** and a friend presented his dog,
*** to us for being hit by a car They observed a *** run over him
*** was immediately brought to our treatment area for an exam by Dr
Helcel given the severity of the incident
*** was extremely painful,
had severe soft tissue wounds over his back, left leg, as well as bruising in
the left inguinal area The leg was swollen and he could not use it
*** *** asked for triage from the owner so that he could begin to
stabilize *** but they declined multiple times They finally allowed
*** *** administer an injectable pain medication Once the pain
medication was given and his assessment was complete, he went to speak with the
owners On discussion with the owners,
they were very keen on taking the pet home, going as far as to inquire about
giving the pet human opiate rx drugs at home. The owners referred to these
medications by their street names. He advised the owners NOT to give
any medications to the pet that were not prescribed by a veterinarian as most
of the human marketed pain meds are not suitable for smaller dogs. After
further discussion, the owners approved radiographs of the pet.
He advised the owners of the cost of these procedures. They expressed financial constraints
and stated they were in the process of obtaining a title loan for unspecified reasons
and also stated that they needed to leave to obtain funds to pay the
estimate. *** *** advised them that clinic policy is that one of them
would need to remain at the hospital while that went on. Given their
financial concerns, *** *** told them he would put together an estimate for
appropriate care for *** that they could discuss. *** *** returned to the treatment area to
get the estimate together The receptionist updated them that their total
for care so far was approximately $for the exam, radiographs, and pain
medication. The owners then waited until
the receptionist left the front desk and exited without notice. Typically, in these cases where an owner
knowingly sneaks out of the clinic after declining care, the pet is abandoned
and the owners never return. This was
our concern, especially in light of ***’s status.
The
receptionist immediately started to call the owner on the number he left. They would not answer. Given the status of *** (in shock,
significant soft tissue wounds), *** *** provided the minimum standard of
care that is afforded to any animal in this situation regardless of ability to pay;
he placed an IV catheter, bolused fluids IV, and gave an antibiotic
injection. The owners were not charged
for these treatments at any point; they were deemed medically necessary to
provide proper care to *** and we were not going to withhold them due to
financial constraints.
After
trying to reach the owners for approximately an hour, they called back. *** *** explained that the x-rays were not
done since they walked out without approving them. At this point they approved radiographs. They stated they would return in a few hours
to get ***. A few hours passed and
*** became painful again since the IV medication was wearing off. The oral pain medication was started to try
to help ***. The owners were called
at that time and did not answer, so a message was left. The owners called back later and *** ***
discussed the radiograph findings (no obvious fractures) and recommended
additional wound cleaning as well as antibiotics and for them to pick up ***
in a few hours. Oral pain medications
would be sent home for them to give as well as us giving an antibiotic
injection that would last for two weeks.
*** *** estimated approximately $for the wound care and
medication and stated that if they picked up that evening, their total bill
would be less than $500. Any further
stay would incur additional charges.
They said that they were fine with that figure and said they would be in
around 8-to pick up ***. At that
point, the medications were filled, the injection given, and the wounds
cleaned.
That evening,
the owners failed to appear at the designated time. Several messages were left with the owners
and we continued supportive care for *** consisting of monitoring and oral
medications for discomfort secondary to automotive trauma. *** *** handled his care and trying
to contact the owners overnight. The next
day, *** **, I took over the case at am.
*** was comfortable on the oral pain medication and doing well
overall. We attempted to call the
owners; we never received a response that morning. At noon, *** *** took the case back and
called the owner at 1:pm The owner
finally called back. *** *** advised
him to come pick up ***. He also
advised him of the current balance and continued charges. *** *** stated that he would arrive in a
couple hours
Unfortunately,
he did not arrive as stated. He finally
called back at 9:that night. He was
confused as to why he had continued charges.
*** *** again explained that they resulted from the necessary
continued care from the night before since they would not pick up as
instructed. The owner then began to ask
what would happen if they did not come get ***. *** *** began to explain the process by
which we handle abandoned pets. The
owner then accused *** *** of planning to euthanize his pet if he did not
pick him up. This leap in reasoning
shocked *** *** as this had never been discussed with the owners. In addition, abandoned pets are not
euthanized by us. They are treated and
rehomed at our expense. At no point
during our care of *** was euthanasia ever mentioned by us or them up until
*** ***’s assumption. *** ***
reiterated multiple times that this will not happen and was never even a
possibility. *** *** then inquired
about paying with a credit card over the phone.
It was explained that was fine with if done properly. He then stated he would call us back. At this point, *** *** explained there
would be no additional hospitalization charges if *** was picked up by
midnight. He recommended that they come
in ASAP to get *** and that we could work discuss things
The owner
called back to pay with a credit card over the phone. When we discovered it was someone else’s
card, he was informed that we cannot accept that payment in that manner and
that we needed to see appropriate ID from the cardholder when they came
in. It was reiterated that they should
come pick up *** and we would work something out with them payment
wise. They just needed to come get their
dog.
They finally
arrived early morning on *** ** to pick up.
He only paid $towards the bill, refused to speak with veterinarian
or technician about discharge instructions or a payment plan, did not want to
wait for the discharge instructions and refused the recommended pain
medications for his injured dog. He
walked out without signing anything.
This was approximately a day and a half after initial presentation and a
full hours after it was initially recommended by us to pick him up
It seems Mr
Purganan received his desired settlement as he retrieved his dog for less than
the amount he desired to pay
I would like
to reiterate that the only charges he accrued initially the first day are the
ones that he verbally approved. After
that, the charges that accrued were related to care that was necessary since he
would not return as instructed to pick up ***. We simply will not leave a dog in a cage, in
pain, and uncared for. He was updated by
*** *** that as long as they left *** here, there would be related
charges. In addition, we never stated
that we would not release *** unless payment was received. This is not now and never has been our
policy. Animals are released immediately
to owners regardless of the balance owed.
They never have been and never will be held as “collateral”.
His
impression of us euthanizing *** if he didn’t pick up is utterly
unfounded. Humane euthanasia was never
discussed with them in any capacity as it was not ever indicated by his
status. Also, we never indicated that
abandoning ***, as we initially thought was happening, would result in
euthanasia. I have no idea where he got
this idea