As some of you may have read, the news that our dog, Roger, had 80% kidney failure took us on a roller coaster ride of emotion, but also has led to discussions concerning "pet" insurance and veterinary rip-offs. We got the news on September 11th of all days; a rough and tumble 10 pound poodle, who, at close to 15 years old, could run and jump with the best of them. Yesterday, Roger died, less than a month from his January 3rd birthday; but poodles often live to 16 and even 18 years of age. And while we suffer in great pain, we're having to do so while at the same time, filing complaints against the vet clinic and insurance company.
We heard the words, but didn't listen: He wasn't able to "hold it" as well because at his age, all dogs start to have weakening of the organs.
We trusted because we didn't know not to. So a year later, something that could have been avoided wasn't; and since "it could have been avoided", no insurance coverage.
Having decided to go the homeopathic route since "western" doctors basically gave Roger three days to a week to live, the cost of the herbs and other supplements that kept him alive were expensive, but worth it as long as he was doing well. Unfortunately, he came down with a bad infection and Sepsis--and the game of "pick their pockets dry" began.
They said he must be hospitalized, or he would die. One of the conditions was that Roger would never lay in a hospital for days, especially if they can't guarantee success. Besides, they wouldn't give him the nutritionals we were giving, only the ones their homeopath had given. So we took him home and gave him oral antibiotics.
He beat the Sepsis, then beat the infection. And through the whole thing, his kidney levels kept improving!
Suddenly, things changed: Things they never charged for, they began charging us. The doctor visits became more expensive. The blood tests became more expensive. Then there were items like "in-hospital medication". He was never hospitalized, unless a shot in the behind constitutes "hospitalization."
From there, we got conflicting reports on his health--when speaking to me, Roger was in a place where we needed to "come in and make a very hard decision." When speaking to my wife, he was doing ok, but "we need a change of course and he'll overcome".
When it was clear that neither the homeopathic or western ways were working, and Roger was crying non-stop (and in fourteen years, we'd never heard him cry), wasn't eating, couldn't keep anything down that was force fed, the numbers in the previous test and the fact that Ray Charles could have looked at him and seen it was time (no offense meant, just a saying), Linnea took Roger in to have him looked at and get confirmation that it was in fact, time. But with her back turned so they could take his blood pressure (they don't do it in the patient rooms, only in the "hospital" side, so you get charged $35 every time they check blood pressure), they also took blood for a blood test and gave him injections that would "improve his appetite."
We went through the ceiling when we heard what they'd done and how much they were charging, but their "Dr. Feel Good", who could look at a dead man and say "I'm encouraged by his skin tone", gave encouragement that we were on our way to improvement.
There was no improvement. Not only was Roger getting worse by the hour, we weren't told that one of the medications he'd been given would make him drowsy, and being weak, he fell and had a bruise the size of his chest. He knew what he wanted; we knew what he wanted.
The next morning, Dr. Feel Good called early to let us know that Roger's numbers were better, though he still had numerous problems I won't go into that made the test meaningless. I told him Roger had a bad night, and his response was "Is he dead?". Since he wasn't dead, Dr. Feel Good said "We can't cure him, but we can certainly try to cure him. He just needs a few days in the hospital on an IV to clear things up."
We didn't think so.
We went to another vet we knew so Roger would be at peace in a positive atmosphere. Of course, after the doctor gave the injection, we all waited. And waited. And waited. Though weak, Roger sat up and looked at the vet as if to say "Don't you know how to do this?" To the end, scrappy and rough and tumble. God has a lot on his hands.
We're disputing the charges while trying to regain our composure; we're fighting promises of protection while facing free time because that's something we haven't had in three months.
We promised him his dignity would never be compromised, but false hopes led to just the opposite. And for this alone, we are going to file the proper complaints with the proper government authorities and have investigations done on both the clinic and the insurance agency. It will be difficult, because we've already been told there's no true government oversight of the departments that cover these areas. This has to change also.
If I knew how to put a picture up, I'd put the last photo we took of Roger, asleep in front of the Christmas tree, waiting for Santa.
In the mean time, we're going to focus on government intervention and investigation to pet insurance fraud and veterinary fraud.
We have two more pups at home who can never have this happen to them. And maybe, we'll get some changes that will help others be secure when they walk into a vet's office, they know they're getting love, not false hope and rip offs.
We got Roger when we'd been dating six months; it was the sign that this was it. And it was. He was even at our wedding, in a bow tie, sitting like a proper gentleman on a chair on the groom's side, and had a place at one of the tables with our dogsitter.
Some people don't realize that just because they have four legs that they're not members of our families. And some of those who do, know how much we love our "children" and take advantage of it.
There may be no true, proactive department that gets into this area, but there will be.
Maybe they'll call it the "Roger Law"!