Day 1: February 26th 2014: The Appointment
When I was informed about the public posting of Hunter's surgery and how he looked immediately after surgery, I was both relieved and infuriated. I was relieved to see that he was nowhere near the deathly state I was led to believe, and infuriated that anyone would think picturing these events on their Facebook page was in anyway okay. I have since calmed down. Seeing him as I remember and not the impression of the near dead animal Dr. Sutton left me with is a relief.
The story seems to get stranger and as it becomes more complicated. It is easy to be distracted by the predictable allegation to divert focus off of the real issues. First and foremost, my pet was offered a second chance at life, that cannot be ignored. I have never argued that was the problem nor been ungrateful. Based upon the information I had, and the amount of time to make that decision (6 minutes) I made the best decision in Hunter's best interest. And I could have lived with that decision. There were so many opportunities to have done things honestly, and professionally with compassion... and all of them would have ended with Hunter staying right where he is and me having the closure I needed to get over losing something very dear. That is what this whole thing is about. It is not about losing my pet, who took my pet, or money. It is was how it was done.
When I was told a cost of $1000 and called back shortly after verifying my CareCredit spending limit was well more sufficient. It is still difficult to express how it felt to go from such joy and relief to sadness when Dr. O'Hair suddenly brought up over-night emergency care and boarding fee as well as other after care costs. Why wasn't I told about this up front. Not only did she allow me to hang up the phone looking to verify an amount to cover only $1000 but I informed her that I had to locate the name of the Credit plan because I couldn't remember the name. I hadn't used it in such a long time. Dr. O'Hair could have suggested CareCredit, which Hometown Animal Care uses…but she did not. My phone log clearly shows a call log that trails from Hometown Animal Care to Vets in New Hampshire to the CareCredit Customer Service back to Hometown Animal Care. I even was able to provide a statement from the vet tech I spoke with verifying she remembers me calling and asking for the name of CareCredit. Dr. O'Hair's documented response is that she gave all costs up front…..but that doesn't explain why the phone call trail is there…. if it was known how high the price was, it would have been pointless.
When having the After-care cost unloaded on me, I tried several options to alleviate the financial cost to a point within my capability. Every option was denied. I was even denied permission to remove my pet from Hometown Animal's care. They would like it believed that my pet would have just been taken home to suffer. My phone records also prove that I made contact with another veterinarian. My primary veterinarian. Every option was immediately rejected until all that was left was euthanasia. That is when the surrender of ownership is offered.
Shortly there after, I am on the phone being asked to voluntarily surrender my pet………then told I owe $185 for the exam and X-rays.
The next day, they refused to allow me to see Hunter one last time to say good bye…..well how that felt is self explanatory. I was told to leave a note if I wanted to know anything about Hunter and they would give it to the new owner. The new owner was an employee and it was later revealed that a Dr. Morelli specifically instructed the employee not to make contact.
To be continued.
The story seems to get stranger and as it becomes more complicated. It is easy to be distracted by the predictable allegation to divert focus off of the real issues. First and foremost, my pet was offered a second chance at life, that cannot be ignored. I have never argued that was the problem nor been ungrateful. Based upon the information I had, and the amount of time to make that decision (6 minutes) I made the best decision in Hunter's best interest. And I could have lived with that decision. There were so many opportunities to have done things honestly, and professionally with compassion... and all of them would have ended with Hunter staying right where he is and me having the closure I needed to get over losing something very dear. That is what this whole thing is about. It is not about losing my pet, who took my pet, or money. It is was how it was done.
When I was told a cost of $1000 and called back shortly after verifying my CareCredit spending limit was well more sufficient. It is still difficult to express how it felt to go from such joy and relief to sadness when Dr. O'Hair suddenly brought up over-night emergency care and boarding fee as well as other after care costs. Why wasn't I told about this up front. Not only did she allow me to hang up the phone looking to verify an amount to cover only $1000 but I informed her that I had to locate the name of the Credit plan because I couldn't remember the name. I hadn't used it in such a long time. Dr. O'Hair could have suggested CareCredit, which Hometown Animal Care uses…but she did not. My phone log clearly shows a call log that trails from Hometown Animal Care to Vets in New Hampshire to the CareCredit Customer Service back to Hometown Animal Care. I even was able to provide a statement from the vet tech I spoke with verifying she remembers me calling and asking for the name of CareCredit. Dr. O'Hair's documented response is that she gave all costs up front…..but that doesn't explain why the phone call trail is there…. if it was known how high the price was, it would have been pointless.
When having the After-care cost unloaded on me, I tried several options to alleviate the financial cost to a point within my capability. Every option was denied. I was even denied permission to remove my pet from Hometown Animal's care. They would like it believed that my pet would have just been taken home to suffer. My phone records also prove that I made contact with another veterinarian. My primary veterinarian. Every option was immediately rejected until all that was left was euthanasia. That is when the surrender of ownership is offered.
Shortly there after, I am on the phone being asked to voluntarily surrender my pet………then told I owe $185 for the exam and X-rays.
The next day, they refused to allow me to see Hunter one last time to say good bye…..well how that felt is self explanatory. I was told to leave a note if I wanted to know anything about Hunter and they would give it to the new owner. The new owner was an employee and it was later revealed that a Dr. Morelli specifically instructed the employee not to make contact.
To be continued.