Providing the best care for your best friends
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Providing the best care for your best friends |
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FUNDING OPTIONS TO CONSIDER...
We recommend that all pet owners be prepared for emergencies involving their pets by planning ahead and obtaining a credit card or establishing a reserve of funds they can quickly access should their pet need urgent care. As a small business, we cannot give loans or extend credit to cover veterinary care for clients. We are asked at least three times weekly by pet owners to render veterinary services now, which they promise they will find a way to pay for later. In the past, we have repeatedly tried to trust and extend credit to those with emergencies but have had a greater than 99% default rate. It reached a point where we would have to either close our doors due to these bad debts and be able to help no one, or implement a policy requiring that full payment be secured at the time services are rendered. Everyone here loves animals and wants very much to help, but we cannot afford the financial strain of extending credit. There are, however, other funding options clients should consider:
We take cash, checks, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Card as methods of payment. We can hold a post-dated check up to seven calendar days, or bill a credit card for a maximum of three months to help save the client interest charges they might otherwise accrue. For held checks, we will need a copy of your driver's license and social security card. CheckCare is the agency we employ to handle any check that is returned for any reason, whether it has been post-dated or not.
We will write a letter explaining your animal's condition for you to take to your bank to help you get an emergency loan. Treatment will have to be deferred until the bank issues the emergency loan. If the bank is closed and emergency care is needed, one of the other options should be pursued.
You can call a friend or relative for their credit card number for us to process over the phone. You will then have to sign the credit slip, and can repay your friend or relative as you two agree. Alternately, the friend or relative can meet you here at the clinic and cover the bill with cash or check.. This is the option most pet owners pursue.
You can call your employer for an emergency advance on pay. We will explain the situation to your employer after you have talked to them if they require further verification of the legitimacy of the request.
There are numerous agencies such as "Check into Cash" and pawn/title pawn establishments who are in the credit business and are able to help.
Consult the Humane Society or other nonprofit agencies (your church, or animal welfare groups such as APL), for financial assistance. Most animal welfare groups require that you transport your pet to them before they will assist a pet owner financially.
We will always provide an emergency exam to any animal in an emergency medical situation that is brought through our doors. We will attempt to stop obvious arterial bleeding with pressure bandages. We will provide one dose of pain control medication if needed and if it is deemed safe to administer. All these will be provided before requiring a secure method of payment. An estimate will usually be prepared for further care.
ALL CLIENTS, regardless of their history with our clinic, are required to leave a deposit of 50% of the estimated costs before leaving their pet with us. If the client is unable to provide an adequate deposit after the above initial steps, euthanasia will be offered at no charge. (Remains must be sent home with the animal's owner if this option is chosen. If a client wants to leave the premises to obtain a deposit, a member of the family must stay behind with the pet, or the pet must go with the owner. We have had numerous animals abandoned at our hospital, and must institute this policy to prevent further abandonments. An exception to this is made only for very well established clients who have not only been faithful to come in year after year for their pet's recommended preventive care, and who have no returned checks on record.
Unlike human emergency rooms and hospitals, we have no other outside source of funds to rely on to meet our expenses. The above policies are necessary in order for us to be around in the long run to help other pets and pet owners. None of these policies are intended to give anyone a "hard time", but are in place simply to protect us from continued severe economic loss.
Thank you. |
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