I mentioned yesterday that Hugo was sick on Saturday — of course, he waited to get sick on a weekend when all vets are out. Everyone needs time off… but when people spend as much as they do on their pets, it would be nice to have a better option locally. I have our vet’s cell number, but it’s pretty darned worthless. I sent a text around 9:00PM and and got a reply:
“Apologies from the office of St. Francis Pet Hospital. Emergency service for the night has ended… If you need immediate help, please proceed to IndyVet on Victory drive on the south side of Indianapolis.“
We loaded up the pooping and puking puppy and headed north.
Perry and I arrived with Hugo and were promptly charged $260 just to get in a room to see a vet. I get it that it’s expensive and many bring in pets without the funds to pay… but sheesh!! It’s heartbreaking! If you’re struggling and don’t want your pet to die, too darned bad.
Once in a room, we were told not to leave until finding out if Hugo was contagious. A vet tech came inside within an hour wearing a hazmat suit and took a throat and butthole swab to test for Parvo. She came back within 20 minutes and said he was negative.
At 2:00 AM, we still hadn’t seen a vet.
Now free to at least go to the restroom and get a cup of coffee, I noticed two rooms that were different than ours. They had tables in the center of each one and they both had crying couples sitting at them.
Once the ER vet walked in the room, we figured we’d get answers. What we got was a smart ass with a weird mustache who was better at upselling services than any multimedia marketing person you’ll ever meet. He threw out a smorgasbord of prices and let us know we could apply for pet insurance. That’s when I figured out what the rooms were for with the crying couples.
By that time it was 3:30 AM.
We looked rough, but it was presumptuous of him to automatically determine we didn’t have the funds to pay for whatever service Hugo needed. Within 2 hours, my family vet would be back to answer emergencies. I asked this vet the same question I often ask Dr. Rennekamp when deciding next steps for best care:
Me: “What would you do if this was your dog?”
Him: “Well, I get everything at a discount or free of charge so it’s not the same.“
It IS the same because it’s not about the money, you dipshit. 😡
He finally said he thought because Hugo’s temp was 104°, he should have a bag of IV fluids and a shot for vomiting/diarrhea. Mr. Vet left. Lab Tech #2 came in 30-minutes later (after I went to the front desk and asked how much longer we’d have to wait), with an IV bag and inserted a needle between Hugo’s shoulder blades. She squeezed the bag of fluid so hard her knuckles were white. The fluid on his back grew to the size of a C-cup bolt on breast and my eyes about popped out of my head.
Next, she went at him with the shot and stuck it in the skinny fella’s hip. Hugo then turned, and quickly tore off her rubber glove and brought blood to her fingers.
We got home around 4:30 AM over $600 lighter and Hugo is feeling better — his only treatment was the IV for dehydration, and whatever amount of the shot that she got injected before he wanted to eat her face off.
Now you know: Chad Kroeger asked his stepfather to loan him $4,000 so that Nickelback could record the band’s first demo. Half the money was spent to record the EP, while Kroeger spent the other half on magic mushrooms to resell.