>>I'm sure if you explained the situation, and found
>>someone who cares enough about the little rodents, you
>>could come to some sort of agreement, such as payment
>>plans, helping out around the vet hospital.. or such.
>
>I live in such a small town, there's only the one vet
>and the one petshop. There's vets and petshops in two
>large towns 'next door' but they're really a ways to
>go.
I grew up with the vet half an hour away...mostly a
large animal man...and not cheap to roll out of bed
at three am. Which I had my turn at doing on occasion.
[sitting cows during calving season, that fellow did
not get paid near what he was worth]. In that case
usually it was fill in the blank signed check and hand
it over and explain to Dad in the morning he did see
strange tire tracks by the barn....
Right now, I have one a block and a half away, walking
distance. I don't think he's done a cow or horse since
vet school, his hair is getting quite grey, and he's nice.
He also gets to sleep the night <g>
>Doing volunteer work at the Vet would be fun and a
>great learning experience, but it would get in the way
>of my looking for a real job.
Well, a weekend or two in trade is something to think
about. Some places will let you work some of a bill
off. Barter is not dead, so don't discount it. Think of
it as a short term job assignment...instead of $ in
the pocket, you are trading directly, labor for goods.
It doesn't hurt to offer it if you're short of funds.
The worst they can do is say no.
>I've got $37 in my pocket right now. Do you think that
>would get my little girl a shot for her possible ear
>infection?
It depends. You have to pay for an office visit, they
can tell you how much that is at the desk, and the
cost of any additional work (probably not needed
in this case) and the medicines given. (shots and/or
oral meds you administer at home).
>Btw, I'm 16 and living with my mom. My dad's only a 30
>min drive away, and I go there often enough, so I can
>always get some money from him too.
Talk to the vet office. Explain your situation and they
may let you make two payments if your office visit
with meds goes over what you have in your pocket
[what you have at the time of treatment and a few
weeks (the sooner the better though) to pay the rest]
Moral of story; talk to the vet. If you don't have quite
enough on hand, you can get a ballpark (my vet will
do 'quotes' for approximate amounts to help me budget
when animals need their shots; did two last month and
they were within two dollars of the triple digit estimate
<g>) and make arrangements to pay the rest if it's more
than you have. And sometimes if it's close a few hours
of cleaning cages or some such might be a way to
settle the fee.
A few years ago, with a sick cat, I struck an unusual
bargain at the vet. I make jewelry and one of the gals
there had a bunch of earrings that needed repair. I
had the 'parts and labor' needed. I did the work and
she paid the office instead of me.... when I brought
the cat in for one of the visits, she paid part of the bill.
It helped a lot.
Whatever you do, get on it right away and get your
animal in. :) I am sure you can get everything taken
care of.
Deb
Rebel's Rodent Ranch
