vets who go too far

Vets in America are out of control. I’m not the first one to come to this conclusion — see, for example, Emily Yoffe’s column on Slate on how to say no to your vet. I have been increasingly ticked off at the vet we’ve been using for the last couple of years, simply because the man seems hell bent on using our affection for our pets to fund his (probably unborn — the guy cannot be a day over 20) kids’ college funds.

Today it went too far.

Over the summer, we discovered six kittens roaming around our backyard, the offspring of neighborhood strays. Unable to turn away kittens, Daniel brought them inside and we’ve been, since June, trying to find them appropriate homes. Two went to the Allen Animal shelter almost right away. Two went home with my sister-in-law Lisa. The other two were going to stay with us, and they were super-cute, but the idea of having five cats (not to mention my doggie Rags) was just too much for me to bear. We renewed efforts to find them homes a couple of months ago, and found a home for the fifth one. Leaving us with one kitten left… acceptable. Not ideal, but acceptable.

Lucy, as we call her, is a little bitch, though. She detests people and runs away as soon as she sees people. She spends 99% of her time outside, coming in only long enough to escape weather extremes or (maybe — we don’t know for sure) to eat. But, she’s approaching 7-8 months of age and, given her predilection for running around outside, at a ripe age to get knocked up by the same neighborhood strays that have since produced yet another litter of kittens (this time, thankfully, in our neighbor’s backyard).

SO… determined to do the RIGHT THING (damned conscience), Daniel and I took Lucy into the vet this morning to get spayed. The shelter gave us some certificates good for reduced-cost spays, and we figured $40 was a small price to pay to prevent more litters of kittens in our backyard.

But, guess what? The vet fixed that. It WAS a small price to pay — too small, since her “low cost” surgery just set me back $132.

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO DOLLARS.

I explained to them multiple times that she is little more than a neighborhood stray and NOT a pet.

They insisted we pay for pain meds. “Have you ever had your abdomen ripped open for surgery?” I swear to you, those are the exact words the vet used with me. “It really hurts a lot.”

Lucy won’t pause long enough to let me pet her, and I’m supposed to make her take pain meds?

I declined, and they made me feel like a cold, heartless bitch for doing so.

They talked Daniel into the lampshade collar to keep her from playing with her stitches. She is currently trapped in a small dog kennel/cage trying to pry the lampshade off. Good for comic relief. And a bargain at $5.

It’s just incredible.

Where are the vets with a healthy sense of respect for pets as… pets? I love my dog and enjoy the company of two of our cats (Jack and Tyler, the boys we adopted from the shelter for $40 apiece 18 months ago — where that $40 included a round of shots and neutering, without pain meds or a lampshade, thank you very much). But I also recognize they are animals who are lucky to live in a home where they are well taken care of and loved. I am decidedly NOT an “at any costs” pet owner.

We are through with this vet. In case you want to boycott with us, it’s Alma Animal Hospital in Plano, Web site: www.almaanimalhospital.com.