Picking up the medical chart of a beautiful tricolored English bulldog, I was pleased. No matter what I’m dealing with, a bulldog can dependably bring a smile to my face and carry the day. I had seen Esmeralda minutes earlier when a staff member trotted her to the scale. She was perfectly proportioned, with a rich sorrel-colored haircoat, light brown markings and a 3-inch tail with good clearance. Simply put, she was eye candy.
Esmeralda was a new patient, and I noted that her vaccinations were current with Ajax Animal Hospital, where I used to work and where I gained a lot of experience with the practice’s substantial bulldog patient population.
I walked into the exam room and greeted a slim, graying, short-haired man wearing a billed cap (standard dress code for guys around Tulsa, Oklahoma). He sat cross-legged with one arm draped across the adjacent chair. Esmeralda sat grinning on the floor next to him.
“I love her!” I began, bending down to steal a hug from Esmeralda before turning to the computer and focusing on her presenting problem of bloody urine. “So, you go to Ajax?” I asked expectantly.
“Oh, I went there once or twice, but I didn’t really like them,” he said. Surprised, I asked him why not.
“Because it’s all about the money,” he said. “Vets don’t care about the animals. All they want to do is make money. I went there and had to have her anal glands done, but it’s all about the money. I went to another clinic, too, and it’s the same thing.”
As he vented, his negativity pulled my spirit lower into my gut. I could feel the joy draining from my chest.
“Why were you asking about Ajax?” he asked.
“I used to work there, and I did a lot of bulldog medicine and surgery,” I said, smiling. I suddenly felt myself rise taller and broader.
Quality veterinary medicine is priceless. Pharmaceuticals and good surgical instruments are costly. My education, experience and dedication are valuable to people who love their pets like family. The responsibility sometimes weighs heavily.
Just Getting Started
Another client brought in his German shepherd, Lady, who couldn’t use her hind legs. It turned out that Joe and I worked together about 10 years ago. I didn’t recognize him at first, but the memory clicked when he reminded me, and I felt a personal commitment not to let him down.
Lady was a 4-year-old large-breed dog with acute hind limb paresis and a questionable prognosis. After an exam, detailed history and radiographs, I listed differential diagnoses and decided on a treatment plan for intervertebral disk disease. My estimate, a little over $1,000, posed a financial sacrifice for Joe, and I couldn’t guarantee the treatment would work. That knowledge was daunting.
While Lady stayed with me, Joe and his wife left to obtain the hospitalization funds. It was almost closing time when they returned and laid down the money for me to save their dog.
Treatment began with anti-inflammatory medication, muscle relaxants and laser therapy, a day at a time. Lady had a great attitude and was eating, drinking, urinating and defecating. Little by little, her knuckling hind limbs found footing and started to support her weight haltingly. The road to recovery would be long, I advised, and I cautioned Joe that she could relapse.
Joe’s money bought intangible returns, but love doesn’t have a price tag. His gratitude to me and love for his dog took me to that rarified natural high I derive from my front-row seat to human-animal bonding.
How Far We’ve Come
I’ve been at this long enough to see drugs and technologies evolve and transform the way we treat conditions, essentially cutting corners, relieving suffering and saving animals from humane euthanasia. The discovery that isoxazoline parasiticides would kill Demodex mange mites was a breakthrough. Instead of Paramite dip and ivermectin, we now kill mites with an oral, chewable tablet, and all that remains is dealing with the skin infection and irritation.
Pimobendan was a game-changing addition to our arsenal of drugs for treating congestive heart failure. Canine parvovirus monoclonal antibody is the first innovation in years to promise to shorten the course of that deadly intestinal virus.
I especially like Panoquell-CA1 (fuzapladib sodium). Given in three consecutive intravenous injections, the drug reduces pancreatic inflammation and speeds recovery from pancreatitis.
On the Homefront
My Boston terrier, Noah, didn’t want to get up one morning. He lay on the bath mat and then went outside. I brought him inside, where he lay in the kitchen and wouldn’t eat. I found his vomit on the floor the night before, but it was of anonymous origin.
Noah looked miserable, so I hauled him into work that morning. He moaned the whole way. I immediately gave him a maropitant injection, then performed the usual tests: CBC/chem, fecal and pancreatic lipase. Meanwhile, the staff reported that he was spewing diarrhea on his walks. I started intravenous metronidazole.
Test results showed pancreatitis. I’d achieved good results when using Panoquell in patients, so I jumped on it with Noah. He went from moaning, lethargy and “Just shoot me now!” to eating the following morning. By the third day, he was back to himself, running around the backyard on his long stork legs and imploring me with his bug eyes and laid-back ears. A phoenix arose from the ashes.
All told, I spent more than $750 on Noah that day. Like my clients, it gave me pause. But here’s the thing: Noah is my canine son, and I had the knowledge and medicine to get him better faster. His positive response to the veterinary drugs was my supreme heart’s desire.
Why We Do It
Veterinarians care about money because it enables us to alleviate suffering and heal bodies and hearts. Paradoxically, money pays for things with unfathomable value, such as medical knowledge, staff members who care, and the joy of seeing an animal family member recover and go home.
That, my friends, is the essence of what we do.
A FUTURE OPTION?
The People and Animals Well-Being Act, introduced in Congress in September 2024, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain veterinary expenses for pets and service animals to be covered by a health savings account or flexible savings account. Track the federal legislation at bit.ly/47SnrD2.