Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 5/7/2009

Question
I have a 9 yr old female blue heeler.  Two weeks ago I took her to see a veterinarian because she was vomiting, not eating and very tired all the time.  He did complete blood work on her.  Said her blood cells and platelets were very low.  Said her immune system was fighting off the good cells.  He prescribed 20mg of prednisolone 2x a day along with giving her steroid shots.  I was taking her in two times a week to check her blood work.  The counts were a little better but not much.  She was not getting any better and he wanted me to increase her medication to 3x a day.

I decided to get a second opinion from another vet.  He was very worried when he saw her.  Did blood work and said she was very anemic and the blood counts were way off.  She had a lot of fluid build up and having trouble breathing.  Her white counts were super high.  He kept her and put her on an antibiotic iv for the last 5 days to get her blood counts back to normal.  He said she has some king of major infection.  The antibiotic is helping.  She has been getting much better every day.  Blood counts are better and no longer anemic.

Here is my problem.  I still owe the other vet $350.  I have already payed $150.  Making the total bill $500.  I feel like I should not have to pay this amount since he was treating her wrong and maybe making it worse by suppressing her immune system.  What should I do?  Is it worth telling him he was wrong and refuse to pay the full amount?  Thanks.

Answer
Michael -

If you owe the veterinarian you have to pay him/her the balance of what your owe.  I do not know if the treatment your veterinarina prescribed was the wrong treatment for your dog. Whether or not the treatment was wrong is beside the point - you received services for your pet and you should pay for them.  That is precisely why veterinarians and other  professionals no longer grant credit or hold checks - because people do not want to pay for services they have received.


If you do not agree with the treatment that was prescribed, then notify your state veterinary licensing board; they will review your case and determine if the treatment was incorrect or prescribed with negligence.  They will fine the vet if it is  determined that he/she did not use due diligence in caring for your pet.  

If you decide not to pay for the services, the veterinarian can take you to small claims court because you have breached a contract by refusing to pay for services rendered.  

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM