Unnecessary and overpriced professional fees are unfair

We have a nine year old Newfoundland - Pyrennees cross at home. She’s a pretty large dog and even though old, is high spirited.

When she was young, she blew the ligaments in one of her rear legs. It was a fairly costly operation, but after several months, she eventually healed.

She blew ligaments in another leg as well, but it healed without surgery. Had it not, we probably would have had no choice but to put her down, as we just couldn’t justify the expense.

Anyway, over the intervening years, she has led a happy and healthy life. When she gets in a feisty mood, she could easily torque her joints again, because one of her favourite pastimes is to “bob, weave and prance” across the lawn, something that is quite funny to watch, but not good for her, so we discourage it.

Around this time of year, and especially the last few years, she suffers from arthritis as the day time temperatures cool off. We have been able to provide her with some relief through a drug that is available through local veterinarians. It has been more than a year since Molly has been to the vet, but there has been no reason to take her. There is nothing wrong with her, except that she is aging. In fact, she is an old dog, by big dog standards, and we are well aware that she more than likely doesn’t have a whole lot of years left.

During her last visit to the vet, he prescribed the medicine for her. As you might expect, it is expensive. We used it on her when we noticed her having trouble, and quit when she was better, but eventually it ran out.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I went to the vet the other day to get a refill.

“Well, you see, the trouble is, the vet hasn’t seen Molly for more than six months, and the vet doesn’t like to prescribe anything until he has had a chance to see her,” the receptionist explained.

“But there is nothing wrong with her,” I responded, “Other than the fact that she is old and gets sore in this cold weather.” I left the vet’s office without the medication, and no intention of bringing the dog in for an checkup that would be of no consequence other than to make me poorer.

The medicine costs more than $100 dollars for a small bottle. Now I’m supposed to pay an additional $80 to $100 for a check up that the dog doesn’t need and I can’t afford.

So it looks like the only one that is going to suffer from this “professional policy “ is Molly.

So much for looking out for the patient’s best interests.

Why is it that professionals get away with this type of thing? No one else has the right to a “guaranteed income.”

If you were to go to a plumber and ask for, say, a new drain stop, would you expect him to say, “Sorry, I haven’t seen your sink in years, I’ll have to make a service call before I can sell you one.”

It may not be quite the same thing, but it’s close.

A friend of mine recently received a bill from a lawyer that listed a charge of $240 for photocopies.

For that price, you could buy a photocopier.

What’s with that?

It’s time these professions realized that these inflated service prices are costing them business, not ensuring that people continue to come through their doors. If you can’t afford something, you don’t buy it - it’s as simple as that.

We love our pets, but there is a limit to what we can practically spend on them. Especially when that expense is totally unnecessary.

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