Treat Me Like a Dog

Treat Me Like A Dog
by Robert Forto, PhD

On one of the most historic days in American history, Congress and the Senate agreed what is best for the American people concerning health care, I sit here and wonder. I am thinking first: Is my mom in charge of the Government because it feels like they are telling me what to do regarding my health care just like my mom used to do when I was a kid. And second, how does the Government know what is best for me anyway? Heck, they just sent out a Census form asking who lives in my house. So if they don't know that how do they know that I even want healthcare (tongue in cheek)?

I am perfectly healthy, so are my wife and kids. Yes we have to go to the emergency room from time to time to fix broken bones from a football game or some other “kid” accident. We are also self-employed. I have been my entire working life and I have never had health insurance. I do what is right and pay cash or utilize a health savings account. As a matter of fact, I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago with the complaint of asthma-like symptoms, the remnants of a bout with a nasty bronchitis two years ago. The doctor gave me a 40% discount because I paid cash!

Rarely does a President have so much power with the stroke of his (many) pens than he does when he signs this healthcare reform bill into law in a few days. I don’t know if this is political suicide for “P-BO” or the beginning of socialism in this country but I do think that they should look at what the people of this country really want before taking away our free-market system of healthcare and change the way that we conduct our lives from this day forward.

I, for one, think that they should follow the model used by veterinarians. It seems to be very effective and according to a conference on animal law that I attended a while back, a lot less litigious than our human doctors’ practices.

Think about it; the veterinary practice works. We just took our old guy, Ineka, a 12-year old Siberian, to the vet last week and we were given all kinds of choices.

First, the veterinarians welcome a free market choice. There are vet clinics on every corner. We can pick and chose the one we want to go to, anyway we choose. There is a veterinarian right next door to our training center but we chose not to go there because we liked how the folks at Aurora Animal Hospital treated us the last time we where there.

Second, our choice to use one veterinarian over another is based on the principles of a progressive society: Word of mouth referrals, location, inspection of the offices, prices, past experiences, etc. When we make an appointment at a doctor’s office do we get to make that choice or are we forced to go somewhere based on a referral from another doctor?

Third, we have the choice of what treatments that we want and when. When we take our dogs to the veterinarian they give us a price breakdown right on the spot. We can choose to buy a vaccine now or wait till later. We can choose to have our dog’s teeth cleaned now or later. Rarely is there any pressure.

Fourth, on most occasions the vet is open evenings and weekends and has appointments to fit our timetable. There is no need to wait six weeks for a neuter for our pup. We will just call another vet clinic in the area.

Fifth, in most instances people respect their veterinarian much more than they do their family doctor. Why? Because they are approachable, they talk with us in the office and they call us in the middle of the night if “Max” is not doing well. The same goes for the techs. When was the last time a nurse in your doctor’s office called you to follow up to see if little “Johnny” was taking his medicine okay? Our vet tech did just this morning and this was the second time she called in a week to see how Ineka was responding to his medicine. According to the information at that animal law conference I attended, people trust their veterinarian higher than most other service providers that they deal with. The family doctor was down there with lawyers and car salesmen.

Sixth, we have the right to choose when enough is enough and euthanasia is an option. While I am not suggesting that we put grandma to sleep, at the veterinarian at least we have that option. True, a Living Will should work for us humans but does it really? I have one and it explicitly says that if I am brain-dead to “pull the plug” no if-ands-or-buts about it. I don't want to live as a vegetable. Do you? In our case, when we took Ineka to his appointment, our veterinarian found a lump near his thyroid. She thinks it is “most likely” cancer and she agreed that we should not put him through the pain of radiation and chemotherapy. Most likely it would kill him. We agreed and as long as his quality of life is good we will do nothing. Wouldn’t you like to have that choice in your own healthcare?

Seventh, many people form long lasting relationships with their veterinarian and they make sure they know who we are and that they are thinking of us. Many veterinarians send out appointment cards and birthday wishes for our pets. They know our pets by name. When was the last time your doctor did this for you? Or did they come into the room, spend five minutes with you and kept having to refer to your chart to remember your name?

Lastly, payment is due at the time services are rendered. No questions, no comments, no collecting two hundred dollars as you pass “Go”. Unless you work out a payment plan with your veterinarian you better have your checkbook or a credit card ready to go. This is how human medicine should be paid for as well. As I said earlier, that’s how I did it just a couple weeks ago at my doctor’s office and they gave me a discount of 40%. Sure medical care is expensive, and yes, medical bills have caused many people to go bankrupt but do we really need the government subsidizing our care because “some” people can’t pay?

Before you get all upset and think that I am crazy remember that there are 77.5 million dogs in this country and many are owned by conscientious pet owners who take their dog to the veterinarian on a regular basis. Do you ever complain about the care they receive? The overwhelming majority would say NO.

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and the host of The Dog Doctor Radio Show (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogworks) Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com