Pets for ransom

>> Animal owners find unpleasant surprises in vets' bills

by Patrick Lejtenyi

When Neil Kennedy brought his adopted stray cat Little Betty to a Montreal veterinarian's office for a regular hysterectomy last month, he didn't realize a little consumer savvy can go a long way. The operation, which would normally would have cost him $67 before taxes (plus a $25 abortion fee--Little Betty was already heavy with kittens), wound up costing close to $200--an amount the 31-year-old Concordia student says he simply couldn't afford.

The price inflation came from emergency procedures the doctors had to perform on Little Betty when the cat went into cardiac arrest following the operation. Kennedy was at first surprised at the additional fees, then enraged when told that the clinic would keep his pet until he paid up.

"They held the cat for nearly a week," Kennedy says. "I wanted to pick it up but they wouldn't release it. I eventually put up a bunch of posters around town asking people to please give the doctors a call."

The posters may have struck a nerve somewhere, because the clinic eventually called Kennedy back saying an anonymous donor had paid off Little Betty's tab. But that doesn't sit well with Kennedy. "I believe the clinic did that to save face. A good Samaritan? I think they made it up because they wanted me to take the cat and just go."

Following the incident, Kennedy wrote an indignant letter claiming the doctors had misled him regarding the operation's risks and consequences. He also alleged widespread professional mischief, including padding bills and keeping animals for ransom. He contacted several organizations, including the SPCA and the Quebec Order of Veterinary Physicians, neither of which could or would help him.

The vets at the clinic dismiss Kennedy's charges, saying Kennedy signed a form authorizing any and all necessary measures required to keep the cat alive if complications arose and that the doctor who operated on Little Betty acted professionally and saved the cat's life with her prompt action.

The law of the vets

Legally, the vets are in the right. There is no standard fixed price veterinarians must charge for certain operations, and it's a seller's market. Normand Plourde, the trustee at the Quebec Order of Veterinary Physicians, the industry's professional and disciplinary body, and also the body's top cop, couldn't comment on the case but did say not handing over an animal because of an unpaid bill is fully legal--if an agreement had been signed between the doctors and the owner.

"It's a legal contract of service," Plourde says, "and it must be respected. If an agreement is not signed, however, it is illegal to hold an animal hostage."

Plourde says he receives many complaints similar to Kennedy's--including overcharging, incompetence, professional negligence and bad treatment--but only five or 10 cases a year province-wide are ever investigated. If professional misconduct is found to have occurred, vets face punishments ranging from reprimands to fines to permanent suspensions of license.

Pierre Barnoti, the Executive Director of the Canadian SPCA, says the current lack of legislation regarding veterinary treatment, or a patient's bill of rights, is due to the Order's ability to police its own. But the market's freedom gives veterinarians leeway in pricing, which some pet owners find objectionable.

"Vets can charge whatever they like," Barnoti says. "It's buyer beware, so the owners have to shop around. A castration is a castration, and the animals should be given the best possible treatment, but some vets charge more and some charge less."

One solution, Barnoti suggests, lies in the growing field of animal insurance. Increasingly recommended by veterinarians, it acts as a sort of Medicare for animals, covering expenses from check-ups to unexpected surgery.

Barnoti says pet insurance in Quebec is still a novelty, and has only been around in Canada for four or five years. "It's smart because for $20 or $30 a month, the insurance will cover part or most of an operation that can run into several thousands of dollars."

He's also hoping it will make life easier for on the animals. "A large number of animals are abandoned because an owner will go to a vet and discover that their animal needs several thousand dollars' worth of treatment."

Barabra Yankofsky, founder of the non-profit, no-kill Animal Rescue Network, has a group of Montreal-area veterinarians who offer their services to low-income pet owners for reduced rates. But the best thing to do, she says, is "search around. Call up the veterinarians and use word of mouth. Go through the Yellow Pages and find out how much they charge for this and that." :