Gutted!

[chesters1]

we had a goose for 25 years (he was fully grown and paired up when we got him ,so his age was probably a couple of years older) when we where homeless we let a nice chap have him (his numerous wives had been "mated" to death over the years ) on his small holding ,unfortunatly last year (or was it the year before ) he died (the goose not the nice bloke) but the chap said the last thing the goose did was bite him when being put in his "house" the night before , long live goosey ,long live widget

animals can be a great friend over the years , in return you looked after your friend and when the crunch came you did the right thing for him? pity its not right in law to put suffering humans to a peacefull end

[Colin Payne]

Dvarcet:

Sorry for your loss Colin. They all have their own personalities. I've got three cats and two dogs. Not looking forward to their last trips. Do you have any stories about Widget?

Probably the funniest was when we lived in Paignton Devon, and he got the handle from a plastic bag stuck over his head. Not funny for him but when he panicked and ran away for several hours we phoned up the local radio station,Gemini, to get people to look out for him. "look out for Widget" Not the best way for fame but as I said he certainly made his mark. He seemed to like dogs too. In Exeter we lived next door to a couple with a Jack Russell. One day we saw him frolicking around thinking it was another cat..turned out to be the dog!!

Anyway during this last summer in the hot evenings myself and Lisa would go down to the lake nearby(30yrds) and meet some friends, have a beer and fish a bit, generally put the world to rights type thing. Mr Widget took to following us along with the other 3 cats and they created mayhem running around the bank and generally getting in the way. So with this in mind we will probably go down there late one night have drink and toast to him, and scatter his ashes on the lake as this seemed to be where he was most happy in the final months.

 

Colin

[Colin Payne]

[ 01. November 2003, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: Colin Payne ]

[Colin Payne]

 

 

A pic of the little boy!

[Norrie]

I do sympathise with you on losing an old friend. I used to keep ferrets and got really attached to a big polecat called Fred (the ferret) it caught Pneumonia and I had to have it put down, I was devastated.That was 20years ago, and my wife and I still regularly talk about his time with us. We now have a lovely cross Border Collie, called Bonnie, and are dreading the coming week, she is so nervous.

[Colin Payne]

OK, so over 2 weeks ago we lost the little boy and we've only just got his ashes back. The vet said it would take about a week and that we could sort the bill out then. A week later we get a bill in the post...hmm nice and sensitive! So on the Saturday having got the bill on Wednesday we go to the vets to see if he's back. They say no and that they wouldn't contact us until he was as it wouldn't very nice for us. So why did you send us a bill?..we say! Especially as we were told we could pay later, oh they say the computer automatically prints them out! Yeah and I guess it also puts it in a envelope and walks down the postbox and posts it! So needless to say we were not too happy. They also said that it takes up to 2 weeks for ashes to come back. So off we go and exactly 2 weeks later what do we get.....another bloody bill in the post. At this point we feel like going down there and torching the place. So on the Thursday( day after getting 2nd bill...15 days after being told we would get him back in a week) I phone up to find out what is going on. I'm told that he was back the day before and that a message was left on my missis phone. She's been home ill with the phone charger at work so phone was dead(home phone cut off) so I asked why didn't they phone the second number(my moby) on file to which they replied, oh we didn't think to! So Thursday my missis is still too upset to go get his ashes so we go on Friday after I get back from work. Now it's the middle of the month and guess what, we are skint. We've still got 288 quid to pay and only have 170. In the past they have been happy to take part payment and a post dated cheque so we thought this would be okay especially as they had upset us so much. So we go to reception and ask for his ashes and the first thing said is "that will be 288 pounds please" Well lets get straight to the point, eh! We explain our situation and the fact that we are getting him over a week later that we were told and she goes out the back to talk to one of the vets. She come back and says can we pay 188 and leave 100 to pay. i explain that there is exactly 172 in the bank which is why we said 170 in the first place and that we didn't come here to barter for his ashes. So she goes out again and this is acceptable. We then wait for another 15 mins for this vet(a senior one apparently) to sign the form. His remains come back in an urn in a plastic bag. Not a problem except that it has been scrunched up and there is a really nice card from the pet cemetary mashed up in there! We get back to the car, absolutely gutted. Lisa is all for going back and punching this so called "senior vet" out! And when we see him get into a brand new BMW X5 we realise what it's all about! To be honest the treatment given to Widget when he was alive seemed to be very good. Bearing in mind most CRF cats (chronic renal failure) don't last longer than 6-12 months from diagnosis the 2 years we had were exceptional. But to be sent bills when we had arranged payment, to wait so long and then to have to barter for his remains were in truth very insulting and upsetting to say the least. The vets in question are called Pet Doctors who seem to be sprouting up all over the south and south east, taking over vetinary surgeons all over. Woking has 2 branches and the branch we went to was taken over about 18 months ago. Now I'm not inferring that this how they normally deal with bereaved owners or in fact if any of the other branches are like this but I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had dealings with them. I'm sorry this post is so long but having slept on it I felt I had to vent a bit. At the end of the day nothing can bring him back and getting angry at the vets can do nothing, but I felt as this is the first time I've dealt with the death of a pet this way(ashes, etc) it went very badly indeed!

 

Colin

[Apache]

The treatment sounds appalling, no-one should have to go through that. I would complain very very stiffly in writing mate

[Alan Taylor]

chesters1:

you will still see widget for a while strange we had a cat for 14years after she died we kept catching fleeting glimpses of her

Thats spooky Chesters1, we had to have our cat put down earlier this year (kidney problems) and I still keep thinking I see her, it could be a wooly hat on the sofa but for a split second......... :confused:

 

Pets are for life, not just for christmas

 

Alan(nl)

[Jeff S]

Hi Colin, I haven't had much experience with vets in the sense of losing a pet. Well to be honest I've lost one and that was a story in itself. I'd think that the bigger companies are out for cash. It can be very expensive but with that you shouldn't have had the sort of dealing that you described.

 

I use a smaller less commercial vet that offers 24 hour coverage. My animals NEVER seem to get hurt during the day when it is convenient. Almost always at night or on weekends. Last week one of our older cats came back after having jumped off and snagged one of his legs on something. A call to the vet (at 2300) and about 100 quid later he is fine. The vet was driving a BMW X3 or Z3 not sure which. I guess it's not uncommon for any vet to overcharge? That isn't to say they all do, but when you spend that amount of money for a service it should be exceptional. And who's to say they don't work hard for thier money?

 

Last year one of our other cats disappeared for nearly three weeks right after Christmas. We figured she had been locked in someones shed. After sliding flyers through everyones door in our village, calling local vets, and posting on lost and found websites she came back. She had lost 15 kilos.

 

A trip to the vet resulted in a a 700 quid bill. Before anyone asks why.... Let me validate.

 

One of her canines had broken off resulting in an infection. We were told that we could

1. have it removed and risk her lower canine puncturing the recess left by the missing tooth.

2. have a root canal done and save the tooth.

 

It was interesting on the sense of what was accomplished but the details were a bit boring. The vet walked us through EVERY detail with his new 'toy' meaning the software they use to enhance the X-rays, surgery etc.

 

that was enough for her but since we needed their yearly shots plus flea dipping and all that we figured we could get them all done at once. We live 30 minutes from this vet.

 

So do they overcharge? I think they do!

 

I'd rather not say how much we spent bringing the two over with 6 months in quarantine..

 

Some have said why spend so much when a small caliber B***** cost so much less?

 

Pets are for life?

 

[ 15. November 2003, 11:16 AM: Message edited by: Dvarcet ]

[Chris Goddard]

Hiya! We too lost our mog a couple of weeks ago and I know we live in the North and you in the (Prosperous) south but how much did your cremation cost?? Ours was £60 and we got our Puddie back in an oak casket! As we have the last couple of pets that we had cremated.

The two weeks is normal though I have to say. But the bill would normally come from the Creamators and not the vets!! And the vet told us the same tale too, that they would send us a bill. But having had experience I knew this would not be the case.

Our old lad had a stroke (We think) and the Vet when we went down was absolutely fantastic!! Ho told us taht an injuection direct to teh heart would be best and he would not do it in front opf us as it wasn't very nice!! But it was very QUICK!! The bloody vet was nearly in tears as well as us two!!

In conclusion I would say change your vet!! Talk to peole with pets and find a decent vet! Ours we use is not the cheapest by far!! But they are a family practice and are very, very nice people!!

In closing I have to say our other cat (A rescued tabby)who shall henceforth be known as "BITCH CAT!!" now shows all the signs of being a totally friendly cat!! She was transformed within hours of Puddies death! Amazing, it wsa as if a little bit of him had gone into her!!

 

Chris