discrimination against boaters by vet

[Guest]

Starry, May I offer my thanks for a superbly informative post.

 

Thank you

Ditto, it's made me think about what we need to do having a dog as part of the dog house crew...

[junior]

Yes Starcoaster, a good post indeed, but may I point out that 'Getting patient to vet' is not always possible.

 

Many years ago, I had a horse slip on the road & his foot slid into a drain, trapping it. A number of us had to lie on the horse ( rather dangerous with the other 3 legs thrashing around) until the vet could attend & sedate him. Not much good if the vet had said, 'oh just bring him to the surgery'.

 

I think equine vets are slightly different. My experience of equine vets is that they are always on call and when i have needed one i have never failed to have mine attend within an hour. In fact my vet will happily do out-calls for routine stuff and can usually attend the same day.

[ditchcrawler]

I had to call the Vet in Peterborough to have our dog put down.The couldn't have been more helpful, the biggest problem was deciding where to moor. This was about 6PM on a Friday night and after a long discussion on the state of the dog it was decided that he would be fine until the Saturday morning that would save an out of hours call.

On the Saturday morning the old boy was much improved so I called the vet and cancelled the visit to go straight home to our own Vet first thing Monday morning.

I was expecting problems but there was none, I inquired about paying and they were happy to take a credit card over the phone when the vet had decided his course of treatment.

[Jamboat]

We had a situation back in May on the Bridgewater near Lymm on the day we were due to be pulled out at Hesford Marine for blacking. Sid the cat had been chased up a tree by a couple of dogs on the towpath leaving him with a nasty gash on his lower abdomen, caused, we think by catching himself on a bit of tree.

A quick Google found a vet in Lymm, a couple of miles away, they couldn't have been more helpful, gave me an emergency appointment & I rang a taxi to get us there. He needed surgery & the vet couldn't do it herself, being a small practice she had to be at another branch that afternoon but the main hospital in Warrington could do it that day, as I was trying to work out how to get him there, the receptionist, who lived in Warrington offered to drop him off on her way home. Sorted ! They knew we were on a boat, didn't want any money up front & were great.

Sid spent 2 nights in hospital & I was able to collect him on the Sunday ( by bus, which was interesting as he howled all they way back!) He did need further surgery later in the week but this time it was done in Lymm, I can't praise them highly enough.

As we cc I now make a point of checking on google were the nearest vets are.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Jamboat

[flickadancer]

Sorry, just not been back on the forum. I've read all your replies and thanks for them all. Didn't know where to post this so put it in general.

Firstly, we weren't in the back end of beyond. We were in Devizes between the wharf and the top of the Caen Hill Flight. We had gone down slowly with the dog to look and see if there was space to moor at the top of the flight so we could be away first when it opened at 8 the next morning. There was space so I went back to the boat on my bike and my husband walked back with the dog. She was fine, leaping up at him excitedly in her spanielly way, until she suddenly was sick and then shortly afterwards collapsed on the tow path and her tongue started to go blue, her eyes rolled back in her head and she could barely breathe.

He was between the two bridges which is in the centre of Devizes (virtually) which surely any fool could find if they live and work in Devizes so there was absolutely no question of him not being able to find us.

He had left his phone on the boat so the fisherman who was fishing there used his phone to call the first vet who was out on call but would have come out. The first vet recommended the second vet who wanted to know details of location, type and age of dog and what was wrong with her. The fisherman passed on the fact that as we were on a boat we couldn't get the dog to the vet and he then, and only then, said he would not come out. The moment the boat was mentioned the tone of the conversation changed.

My husband has Ankylosing Spondilitis and he had a great deal of difficulty carrying the dog (helped by the fisherman) which he also thought did her no good whatsoever as it further obstructed her breathing, and took far longer than it would have done for a vet to hurry down from a parked car at either of the bridges. They finally got her to the fisherman's car (which the fisherman had to go and get which took even more time) and drove to the vets.

The vet was more concerned that my husband could pay than in treating the dog. The bill was £500 in the end, not the suggested £100.

He then told my husband to leave and go and ring up with our phone number.

Meanwhile one of the relief lock keepers who were brilliant had come to get me and I raced (with my 12 year old son and his friend) to the vets on our bikes to be told the same - ie "go away and get your phone number". I luckily know them (husband never knows them and relies on me) so I gave them the numbers and they wouldn't let me in to be with her. Thinking my husband was in there with her, I took the boys back to the boat in the wharf and found my husband waiting there. They had thrown him out.

Much frantic googling later for problems in dogs with breathing we finally got a phone call from the vet saying they had done what they could and given her adrenalin and a tube into the lungs to help her breathe and she was still no responding so she was suffering (heavily sedated though) and they needed to put her down. It was an awful decision to make but you have to make it to be kind. So my husband (she was his special dog) was not there with her when she was put down which he would have wanted to be.

We have never been thrown out of any treatment of any of our animals and we have had many animals over the years. We have never had a vet refuse to come out to any of them. We have even had them come out to put to sleep old pets we did not want to take into the surgery and upset as it was more peaceful to do it at home.

We went in and paid the bill the very next day and the one person at that surgery who was nice to us was the receptionist who gave me a hug when I burst into tears in the reception area.

The vet tried to tell us (when we spoke to him over the phone) that even if we had had an epi pen to inject her with the moment it happened it would not have saved her but I do not believe him. Otherwise why do people who suffer from allergic reactions carry them if they are no good when you have one? The reason the adrenalin etc did not work was that they gave it to her too late. If they had come out and done it on site on the canal towpath it would have taken them five minutes to get to us. As it was it took nearly an hour to get her in there and that resulted in her dying.

Nothing takes away from the fact that the vet could have been with my husband and the dog in a fraction of the time it took my husband to get her to the vet.

Looking on the vet's website they offer home visits. Now whereas the towpath cannot be classified as a home visit neither can a horse (as cited by another poster) having an accident on a ride be classed as one. Would the vet refuse to come out to a horse that had been hit by a car? Or would the rider be forced to bring the horse in dragging its broken leg?

My husband is convinced it was from the moment the word "boat" was mentioned that the attitude of the vet changed. He made an assumption associated with that word and a decision not to come out to our dog. Now our dog is dead.

[Phil Ambrose]

In the past I have advocated not using C/O in front of your address as this can raise issues. Perhaps it might be worth bending the truth bit and tell the vet you are on holiday.

If as has been suggested,the vet declined because he did'nt trust boaters,the vet may well have been more ameniable to a "tourist"

Phil

[TheWilk]

I agree with everything Starcoaster has said, and can add this, as I spent the last year working at a vets albeit an urban, small animal practice.

 

It isn't always possible for them to drop everything and come out, most home visits are arranged in advance (the most common reason for home visits is for euthanasia). When I started at that surgery, there was only one vet at the practice, who worked 12 hour days 6 days a week and was constantly either in a consult or in surgery. Even when they took another vet on both would normally be very busy all day long.

 

On the few occasions we did have patients present as an emergency (it was surprisingly rare), we just had to do the best we could and it usually meant adding a couple of hours onto our day.

 

I'm really sorry about your loss and can imagine how frustrating it must be to know things may have been different if treatment was administered sooner, but it's quite a leap of logic to assume this was due to discrimination or malpractice.

[Guest]

Sorry, just not been back on the forum. I've read all your replies and thanks for them all. Didn't know where to post this so put it in general.

Firstly, we weren't in the back end of beyond. We were in Devizes between the wharf and the top of the Caen Hill Flight. We had gone down slowly with the dog to look and see if there was space to moor at the top of the flight so we could be away first when it opened at 8 the next morning. There was space so I went back to the boat on my bike and my husband walked back with the dog. She was fine, leaping up at him excitedly in her spanielly way, until she suddenly was sick and then shortly afterwards collapsed on the tow path and her tongue started to go blue, her eyes rolled back in her head and she could barely breathe.

He was between the two bridges which is in the centre of Devizes (virtually) which surely any fool could find if they live and work in Devizes so there was absolutely no question of him not being able to find us.

He had left his phone on the boat so the fisherman who was fishing there used his phone to call the first vet who was out on call but would have come out. The first vet recommended the second vet who wanted to know details of location, type and age of dog and what was wrong with her. The fisherman passed on the fact that as we were on a boat we couldn't get the dog to the vet and he then, and only then, said he would not come out. The moment the boat was mentioned the tone of the conversation changed.

My husband has Ankylosing Spondilitis and he had a great deal of difficulty carrying the dog (helped by the fisherman) which he also thought did her no good whatsoever as it further obstructed her breathing, and took far longer than it would have done for a vet to hurry down from a parked car at either of the bridges. They finally got her to the fisherman's car (which the fisherman had to go and get which took even more time) and drove to the vets.

The vet was more concerned that my husband could pay than in treating the dog. The bill was £500 in the end, not the suggested £100.

He then told my husband to leave and go and ring up with our phone number.

Meanwhile one of the relief lock keepers who were brilliant had come to get me and I raced (with my 12 year old son and his friend) to the vets on our bikes to be told the same - ie "go away and get your phone number". I luckily know them (husband never knows them and relies on me) so I gave them the numbers and they wouldn't let me in to be with her. Thinking my husband was in there with her, I took the boys back to the boat in the wharf and found my husband waiting there. They had thrown him out.

Much frantic googling later for problems in dogs with breathing we finally got a phone call from the vet saying they had done what they could and given her adrenalin and a tube into the lungs to help her breathe and she was still no responding so she was suffering (heavily sedated though) and they needed to put her down. It was an awful decision to make but you have to make it to be kind. So my husband (she was his special dog) was not there with her when she was put down which he would have wanted to be.

We have never been thrown out of any treatment of any of our animals and we have had many animals over the years. We have never had a vet refuse to come out to any of them. We have even had them come out to put to sleep old pets we did not want to take into the surgery and upset as it was more peaceful to do it at home.

We went in and paid the bill the very next day and the one person at that surgery who was nice to us was the receptionist who gave me a hug when I burst into tears in the reception area.

The vet tried to tell us (when we spoke to him over the phone) that even if we had had an epi pen to inject her with the moment it happened it would not have saved her but I do not believe him. Otherwise why do people who suffer from allergic reactions carry them if they are no good when you have one? The reason the adrenalin etc did not work was that they gave it to her too late. If they had come out and done it on site on the canal towpath it would have taken them five minutes to get to us. As it was it took nearly an hour to get her in there and that resulted in her dying.

Nothing takes away from the fact that the vet could have been with my husband and the dog in a fraction of the time it took my husband to get her to the vet.

Looking on the vet's website they offer home visits. Now whereas the towpath cannot be classified as a home visit neither can a horse (as cited by another poster) having an accident on a ride be classed as one. Would the vet refuse to come out to a horse that had been hit by a car? Or would the rider be forced to bring the horse in dragging its broken leg?

My husband is convinced it was from the moment the word "boat" was mentioned that the attitude of the vet changed. He made an assumption associated with that word and a decision not to come out to our dog. Now our dog is dead.

There is a huge amount of info. in there but it seems still to hang on an assumption as in it all changed on the mention of the word 'boat'.

 

Nothing you have just posted confirms the vet actually related it to it being anything do with a potential inability to pay. This was clearly implied in your OP.

 

You are obviously very angry and upset and if my dog had just died I would be too, but it's easy to attribute blame sometimes even if it's not backed up by facts.

 

My suggestion would be to see if the vet concerned is willing to have another chat with you about the circumstances of your dogs death. If not or younremain dissatisfied you have the avenue of a formal complaints procedure which I linked to earlier....

[Cheshire cat]

I cannot believe that any vet would discriminate against an animal that happened to live on a boat. All vets do the job because they love animals. Yes they expect to be paid. I don't know any vets that set out on that career to get rich. Our vet gets upset when people insist on fruitless ops just because they are insured.

 

Sorry for your loss but on this occasion I don't think the vet explained their thought processes well enough.

[ditchcrawler]

In the past I have advocated not using C/O in front of your address as this can raise issues. Perhaps it might be worth bending the truth bit and tell the vet you are on holiday.

If as has been suggested,the vet declined because he did'nt trust boaters,the vet may well have been more ameniable to a "tourist"

Phil

He may have been bitten more than once.

When I worked Offshore we had problems finding dentists for emergency treatment unless it was cash up front. they had also been bitten.

[haggis]

He may have been bitten more than once.

When I worked Offshore we had problems finding dentists for emergency treatment unless it was cash up front. they had also been bitten.

Thanks, Ditchcrawler for making me smile! Dentists and bitten indeed :-)

 

haggis

[Pykebird]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss.

I lost my old girl in November and she suffered with an allergy to bee and wasps stings. The first time she collapsed at a dog show we managed to rush her to a local vets who gave her adrenalin straight away. Since then I always carried piriton with me in either liquid or tablet form whenever I went.

When she passed away she was at home having just undergone an emergency removal of her spleen, which had ruptured.

It was very quick and I was actually on the phone arguing with another vet who was on call at the time, who was refusing to come out to the boat.

I know now there was nothing else I could have done but it was made worse by my own vet saying she had left instructions for this vet to contact her by her personal phone if I called.

[dmr]

Can't believe some of the people on this forum some times. Boaters are discriminated against all the time, and some businesses automatically assume we are penniless criminals who will pay for nothing (not helped by a very small minority of boaters who indeed are).

Petplan had to think quite hard before they would insure our dog when we told them that she lived on a boat.

Its little help to you now but we usually say "we are on holiday in the area" if we need to see a doctor or vet.

 

Could you pm me the name of the vet so that we can avoid them if we need a vet in Devizes.

 

One of my nightmares is our dog ever having a crisis on the towpath and needing urgent help. She came within an inch of treading on an adder last year and all these things went through my head, didn't even have my phone with me.

 

...............Dave

[Guest]

Who can't you believe??

 

No body has actually suggested a vet may not discriminate against somebody just because they are a boater have they??

[arcsyst]

My experience of needing a vet whilst on holiday couldn't be more different, my own home vet located a local practice for me, and faxed over all the details of my dogs current treatment all within 12 hours. A far cry from when my daughter needed some treatment this year and a GP's practice refused to see her as she wasn't registered, instead referring her to a pharmacist.

[ditchcrawler]

Thanks, Ditchcrawler for making me smile! Dentists and bitten indeed :-)

 

haggis

I try.

[sueb]

In 25yrs with having a dog on a boat we never had trouble with a vet, but we never had to call the vet to the boat we always took the dog to the vets.

[Guest]

In 25yrs with having a dog on a boat we never had trouble with a vet, but we never had to call the vet to the boat we always took the dog to the vets.

Best Rolf Harris voice on...

 

"Did you see what she did there.....''