On April 23 at 1.15 a.m. I called the emergency telephone number as my pet dog was displaying symptoms of a heart attack.
I explained to the vet whose turn it was on the 'emergency' schedule what the symptoms were and that I wished to have the dog seen to.
He replied that he would not conduct a home visit and that I had to take the dog to the clinic at 9 a.m. as he was not 'Padre Pio'.
Since the dog's condition got worse I phoned again at 4.30 a.m. and the receptionist told me the vet would phone back. When he finally did and I explained that the dog's condition had got worse he flatly refused to see the dog at the clinic despite the fact that it was an emergency and he was on emergency duty.
His reply was "Everyone has to wake up early for work"!
After I insisted, I was told to go to the clinic and be there in 10 minutes.
When I arrived at the clinic I was informed that although the heart was still beating faintly, the dog was clinically dead. The vet gave the dog an injection to put it down.
Since the vet refused to see the dog in the first place, my pet was left to suffer in pain for at least three hours before he finally agreed to see the dog after repeated phone calls which cost me €7 each.
Also, had the vet seen to my pet immediately after my first phone call the outcome could have been different, even if the dog was beyond saving; at least it would not have been left in pain. To add insult to injury the vet charged me a further €30 after all the hassle and arguments I had to go through to have my pet seen to.
Is this the emergency service that is being offered? Are our pets seen to according to the vet's whims or of whoever happened to be on emergency duty? Is it this particular vet who has such an attitude?
A friend of mine who had an emergency problem with her pet was seen to immediately but I hasten to add that it was another vet on emergency duty.
I find this very unethical and unprofessional to say the least, and one would expect action to be taken to avoid a recurrence of my experience with this particular vet.