Dog returns from the grave?

[JordanAng420]

Another news story that stinks of inconsistancies...
~Was a form signed by the owner to relinquish ownership after it was discovered the bill can't be paid? Sometimes owners do this unknowingly when they're upset & emotional about financial situations and emergencies with a loved pet and this can lead to a real legal disaster...
~How did the pound know that was their dog? How were they able to contact those people? I mean, did the dog carry around his address and phone number in a little vial around his neck??? Pounds don't bother to do that type of thing...sounds like someone went LOOKING for their dog.
~I HAVE heard of some unethical vets that say they're going to put an animal to sleep and then they treat it & keep it...but anyone that has half a brain wouldn't contact the previous owner and send a sympathy card...?
There's something about this story that makes me not believe a word of it...
http://www.wptv.com/content/news/ce...nion-wptv/LoF2Bt0g8U6GAClWmoHzqw.cspx?rss=762

ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL -- Three years ago Marlon Brann's dog Champ was hit by a car. "I seen him like limping back, and his whole right leg was cut open," said Marlon.

Marlon brought Champ to Simmons Veterinary Hospital in Lake Worth. Champ was a beloved family member, but money was tight.

"When they called Marlon in the first thing they asked him was, 'will you be able to pay?' and Marlon said he didn't have any money upfront," said Gloriana Brann, Marlon's mother.

According to the Branns, the vet's office operated anyway. When the family still couldn't afford to pay, they said they were turned away, without even saying goodbye.

A few weeks later, something horrible came in the mail. "We got this bereavement card," said Gloriana. Marlon added, "they told me that they had to put my dog to sleep."

Marlon spent the next three years moving on with his life. Then he received an unexpected phone call.

"The pound called like a month ago, and said, 'Mrs. Brann we have got Champ, your dog.' I said, 'no, Champ has been gone dead for three years.' They said 'no ma'am, we have got your dog at the pound.' " said Gloriana.

Champ had been left in the night drop area at Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. Marlon reclaimed his not-so dearly departed doggie. However, along with Champ, Marlon got something else he didn't expect, a lawsuit.

"The minute that I brought the dog home from the vet, they started billing me $2,600, for the procedure that they had done," said Marlon.

The lawsuit is ongoing, but at least one thing is clear, for now at least, Champ is alive and well, and with the ones he loves.

 

[LizMarie]

All I can say is Wow!

In NYC any animal found or taken in because it was found on the street it is scanned for a Micro-Chip and with that information they are able to contact the family, so that part isn't unbelievable. What i find unbelievable is the vets office!

 

[robin]

Another news story that stinks of inconsistancies...
~Was a form signed by the owner to relinquish ownership after it was discovered the bill can't be paid? Sometimes owners do this unknowingly when they're upset & emotional about financial situations and emergencies with a loved pet and this can lead to a real legal disaster...
~How did the pound know that was their dog? How were they able to contact those people? I mean, did the dog carry around his address and phone number in a little vial around his neck??? Pounds don't bother to do that type of thing...sounds like someone went LOOKING for their dog.
~I HAVE heard of some unethical vets that say they're going to put an animal to sleep and then they treat it & keep it...but anyone that has half a brain wouldn't contact the previous owner and send a sympathy card...?

1) i have no idea
2) could he have been chipped? at our shelters and pounds scan for a chip before they do anything. in fact in our town they were trying to make it mandatory to have every dog and cat you own chipped and registered to the city. (law never passed)
3) i do not know about unethical doctors BUT i know that when our dogs or cats have passed, we generally get a sympathy card from out vet.

it does sound fishy though.

 

[LizMarie]

2) could he have been chipped? at our shelters and pounds scan for a chip before they do anything. in fact in our town they were trying to make it mandatory to have every dog and cat you own chipped and registered to the city. (law never passed)

NYC is like this. While not all animals need to be chipped they advise it but every animal needs to talk around with a license tag and you should carry it around in your wallet. If your stopped by a cop you can be fined.

 

[robin]

oh yeah everything has to have tags and you need a pet license but they were gonna try and pass a law that every cat and dog be chipped and registered to the city :main_rolleyes:

 

[JordanAng420]

But....what i'm saying is....the vet's office "turned away" the clients when it was discovered payment couldn't be made...so what happened after that? If the previous owner had no contact with the dog for three years, then legally the dog is the property of the animal hospital it was left at...I can understand the possibility of a microchip, and that's the only explination I can think of for this pound being able to contact these people...I just don't understand the part about the office being willing to do the surgical procedure for free, telling the owners the dog will be euthanized if the bill isn't paid and then all of a sudden charging the owners 3 years later with 2600 dollars? I mean, really...

 

[LizMarie]

But....what i'm saying is....the vet's office "turned away" the clients when it was discovered payment couldn't be made...so what happened after that? If the previous owner had no contact with the dog for three years, then legally the dog is the property of the animal hospital it was left at...I can understand the possibility of a microchip, and that's the only explination I can think of for this pound being able to contact these people...I just don't understand the part about the office being willing to do the surgical procedure for free, telling the owners the dog will be euthanized if the bill isn't paid and then all of a sudden charging the owners 3 years later with 2600 dollars? I mean, really...

Yes VERY strange! I think since you work at a vet office you should know best that most of the time there needs to be payment upfront for a major procedure, an agreement or arrangement for payment. If you can't afford it the doctor or someone else around gives you options. I know that my vet is like that. If they can't pay they'll work something out or ask you if you'd be willing to get it done at the ASPCA because if your low income they'll only make you pay based on what you can afford or if you qualify you can get ASPCA Cares, which basically pays for almost all if not all of the procedure. If it just can't be done my doctor either suggest eutheniza or relinquish it to the hospital. If it's relinquised they see if they have a chance and have a good tempermant and he'll perform the procedure and set the animal for adoption. I just LOVE MY VET!

 

[JordanAng420]

Yes VERY strange! I think since you work at a vet office you should know best that most of the time there needs to be payment upfront for a major procedure, an agreement or arrangement for payment. If you can't afford it the doctor or someone else around gives you options. I know that my vet is like that. If they can't pay they'll work something out or ask you if you'd be willing to get it done at the ASPCA because if your low income they'll only make you pay based on what you can afford or if you qualify you can get ASPCA Cares, which basically pays for almost all if not all of the procedure. If it just can't be done my doctor either suggest eutheniza or relinquish it to the hospital. If it's relinquised they see if they have a chance and have a good tempermant and he'll perform the procedure and set the animal for adoption. I just LOVE MY VET!

Exactly! I mean, if payment can't be made, usually SOMETHING is worked out...like community service, even if they wash dishes and pick up poop and vomit, then that's what they do...but any legitamate office would want SOME form of payment to do a procedure that takes up a lot of money's worth of time, staff, and supplies....

And as I read more in depth, this statement brings me to question the accuracy of the story: "The minute that I brought the dog home from the vet, they started billing me $2,600, for the procedure that they had done,"

I thought he picked up the dog from the pound?? BUSTED!!!

 

[Wolfyhound]

Lots doesn't add up.

If the vet took the dog, and treated it under their own name, then they own the dog. No bill should be charged to the 'old' owners.

If the old owners did not sign a release, the dog should have been either sent back with them, put to sleep with a signed release for that, or treated for free.

If the owners signed a form saying they would pay, the vet treated the dog, they said they couldn't pay, then the vet keeps the dog, they get nothing and they CAN be sued at a later date for the bill, dog or no dog.

It sounds like the article is trying to say.. the owners took dog to vet, the vet kept the dog, and said they put it to sleep. The vet in fact treated the dog, and then for some reason, sent it to the pound, who contacted the old owners, and gave them the dog back. Now the vet wants the bill paid.

I would question why the dog was at the pound. If the vet gave it to NEW owners, and it ended up at the pound, there should be a legal battle over who the rightful owner of the dog is. NOT over the bill, which should either be a legitimate bill and they own the dog, or a bill to the NEW owners, or pro bono for the vet to absorb because he treated the dog without authorization.

I think the story is being told from the old owners side, and they are not telling the whole truth.

In addition, NO vet should be required to treat for free. Too many people will come in with a dog, get the treatment, promising to pay EVERY PENNY!!!, and then bail without paying the vet. Even if they dribble in payments, the vet is out his services and materials, and has to then wait months to get paid. That's hardly fair.

 

[rhino43grr]

makes me wonder what the sympathy card said... if the vet knew the dog was still alive but had no intention of giving it back to the deadbeat owners maybe they still sent a "sorry for your loss" card, adopted the dog out or kept it and it eventually went missing and got picked up by the pound with the old owner's info on the microchip/tattoo. strange situation all around. i'm pretty confident the original owners would be held responsible for making the payment to the vet should the case go to court.

 

[JeffG]

I know that clinic... They do all the Elite Greyhound Adoption work. I occasionally get some of there dogs in after they fix em up for adoption.