Recently advertised post, see www.thisisbarry.co.uk news page 'Vet let our dog suffer'. OOH practice standards?. Contact the RCVS. Do you want to provide/receive the same care?.

Having read the news item on the Barry web page, it seems that Mr Jones' usual practice was at fault if indeed, as Mr Jones claims, it was 'closed'.
The Barry Veterinary Hospital behaved correctly in asking for details of the dog's regular veterinary surgeon so as to try and obtain sufficient clinical details of the case. It is unethical to put to sleep, or to treat, an animal which is receiving treatment from another veterinary surgeon.
Further, none should be asked to put up with abuse, however great the emergency.

If my pet collapsed in obvious pain and distress, and I was on holiday many miles from my usual practice. Do vets have any obligation to provide first-aid or pain relief?, or would I be accused of being abusive for asking for my pet to be treated?. If I could not access to my vet, OOH, how would another practice?. The shop is shut, they've all gone home.If I found a un-known dog or cat RTA, how would any vet know which 'other practice' to contact for clinical details?. As long as I was willing to pay,would the vet refuse first -aid?, would I be called abusive for asking for help?. Perhaps the vet called the clients rude and abusive because the client quite wrongly thought that all vets had a interest in allieviating animal suffering.Do you think a owner dosesn't know when their pet is in pain? How inconvenient if it is out of surgery hours.If a vet advertises 24 hr care is it only for existing clients?. It's unethical to treat or put to sleep an animal being treated by another vet surgeon?. I hope my dog never has need of a vet care when I'm away from home,due to an accident or sudden illness. Your quite right no-one should put up with abuse, vet or not.

Most, if not all, vets have some form of emergency contact number, either an on-call vet or another practice specifically to deal with emergencies out of hours.

This article in itself is quite vague, rude and abusive varies on the person describing the behaviour. Also the dog is this case had cancer, it would presumably been ill for quite some time, not just right at that moment the client wanted to be seen.

The number of actual emergencies seen at a typical weekend at my practice, for instance, is nowhere near the amount of calls recieved. This dog, although it had been ill for a time, would have been seen by our vets. However, one wonders why they did not take the dog to their own vets during the day. Presumably it was more convenient to them to just turn up.



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I work in 2 separate emergency centres in the midlands. If someone's pet collapsed or they are worried for whatever reason while they were away from home, we would be only to glad to see their animal and provide emergency and first aid treatment outside of normal working hours. In a non-emergency telephone advice is available.
It is important to be aware of any existing medical conditions, or treatment an animal may be receiving, so we would try and contact the animals usual veterinary surgeon as is the correct procedure. Obviously, if it is 2 o'clock in the morning and you dog has been involved in a road accident emergency treatment would take priority and be administered immediately, and contact with the usual veterinary surgeon made the following day during normal hours.

I have not read the article on www.thisisbarry.co.uk, I can't find it, so I cannot comment on the individual case. Newspaper articles should be read with an eye of caution though, they are often onesided and misrepresent or do not represent all the facts.

' There are some who speak one moment before they think '
Bruyere 1645/96

There are others who do not think at all!

I'm sorry, anonymous, is there a point you wished to make here? Presumably you disagree with something that has been said, yet you cannot bring yourself to actually make this known, instead leaving a quote under an anonoymous title.



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