Now She Questions The Cost!!!

LoanShark

Three weeks ago My brother in law ran over the family dog by accident.

The dog was in pretty bad shape, We took him to the vet and he has been there since..

He's had fantastic care and although all his injuries were bad he's gonna pull through and make a decent recovery.

On the day we met the vet he told us that things were touch and go, But he would do his best and try to keep cost to minimum..I asked him for a ball park figure to which he told me "I wont be presenting you with a bill for two thousand, But It all depends on what is needed.."

My wife in her grief of the accident had agreed that the cost would be met..We were told that the the vet may have to do an operation to sort out the dogs insides and this was a very difficult proceedure and would be quite costly..Thankfully he didn't need to do this operation.

On the day we paid 200 and I had to sign all documents, So I've been the point of contact for the vet since..All along I've been passing on the information to the family via my wife and have been talking to her parents too..

Every day the vet rings me twice to tell me how the dog is getting on, He initally spent all his time focusing on the insides and kept saying that the bones can be sorted out another day and is always keeping me informed about cost re: operaton etc..

Last week he told me that the dog was going to need a plate to be put into his front left shoulder and that this operation could cost anything from 500-1500 (he gave me two options for surgery, One with him and the other with a specialist), In fairness he gave me time to talk to the family about it and see what they wanted to do... I asked him what was the bill costing at present he said "you've paid 200 and I think there is another 200 outstanding.." We went with the vet as he has given the dog great care..So the operation is in the 500 bracket..

I passed this information to my wife, as it was agreed the cost would be split among the family...

The operation happened at the start of the week and the vet is hopefull, but has also pointed out, That there is also the possibilty that if the shoulder doesnt set, it may have to be amputated..He did say that he would do it for free and that all we would have to pay for is the drugs..

Anyways, Today the vet rings me to say the dog can go home today..I asked what the cost would be, and he told me that it was 300 and that the remainder for the operation would be sorted out depending the outcome of the operation (If the leg sets or not)...

As my wife is collecting the dog, I told her the cost and she went mad about the cost, Telling me I never told her about this, To which lead to an arguement with both of us sticking to our stories...I know in my heart and soul that I had told her the break down of cost all along, I even told her mother the breakdown and have always said that we're looking at a thousand for this..However my wife says that I said it was 200 plus the cost of the operation....Which I know is wrong..

But anyways, She left for work still in bad humour about this...She rang me to say sorry for argueing about this, I told her that I was always open about the figures and I did tell her about the other 200, I told her I was sorry she did not hear me correctly, But it is what it is... I even said that we would just leave the arguement because we both had our own sides and neither was going to back down, which was like throwing fuel on the fire as it all kicked off again...

I been sitting here for the last hour thinking about the whole thing through and I know I've been open about the whole thing...

I just need to get this out of my system as I know there will probably be another arguement later on...

Miss Fluff

I think your wife is being totally unreasonable. And I think your vet has been very decent and has been upfront with regard costs and everything. I'd try and avoid discussing it for now. She knows very well that in her grief over the dog she would have agreed to anything so is merely trying to back-track now. She will come to her senses, just try and avoid getting into a discussion about it for now and she will agree on the real version of events when she has calmed down.

Glad the little doggy is better!:)

Grawns

This is confusing. Are you implying that your wife would have wanted your dog put down if the she had known about the extent of the costs? While the costs may be shocking imagine the guilt she would feel if she had insisted the dog was put down! It's up to her to put pressure on her brother to recover some of the costs ( if he was at fault). Did it happen on a main road ( dog not under your control) or in your driveway?

Anyway I think you should phone your household insurance and see if any of the costs can be recoverd. Likewise your brother in law should phone his car insurance company although I'm not sure dogs are covered.

I hope your dog makes a speedy recovery and I'm sure your wife will calm down soon.

Kevo

Your wife is being unreasonable. You did the right thing by getting the operation and you did it at minimum cost. I Hope your dog makes a good recovery.

skooterblue

Lets take it out of context and say it wasnt the dog but the television. It was broke you were presented with fair assesment some where between 400 and 1500 euro. You were given time to talk it over. I dont think the Vet repped ye off in any way. Infact I think he was being reasonably priced.

Its a bit late to complain about the price now the dog is home. And where is your good brother in law while these discussion were taking place? Yes it was a big discretionary expense but its your family pet. I think your wife is being completely unreasonable. Give her a few days to calm down and hopefully it will ease off. Maybe she could channel some of that energy into shaking down your brother in law for at least part of it.

As a dog owner myself, I think you did the right thing both morally and financially as the cost of replacing the dog would be the same. The only reason you should put a dog down is when it would be suffering and have a very poor quality of life afterwards. I hope your pooch is back on top form soon.

LegacyUser

Get a pet insurance. this will cost you 13 euros a month and covers vet bills over 75 euros and also third parties if your dog runs into a strangers car and causes an accident etc.

JBF

I think OP already said that the family (I take it brother-inlaw too) are sharing the costs? But as OP mentioned at the start the wife did imply that any cost would be met and the figure of 1500 was mentioned from day 1. Also can I point out this dog has had better care than most humans (not that pets shouldn't recieve excellent care) a reflection of the Irish medical system perhaps? That's neither here nor there.

I usually just say : "It's just money, I can make money anytime. A life was saved".

This row will probably never be solved I think it will be a Ross and Rachel scenario "we were on a break!" instead she'll be saying " I was struck with grief!"

Overheal

Sticker shock is something I see regularly: most of my accounts are dropping a few grand on new carpets and things, so I've seen the whole range of "wtf" moments.

I'd not worry about it. Benefit of the doubt: apologize that you were both not on the same page - a statement which doesn't necessarily place blame on either of you. A dog's operation is no doubt a tense time I could see where confusion might have arose.

Yes she had to huff off to work but give her time to think it over.

tenchi-fan

I read your post but none of the others.

Here's my opinion. It's a DOG. dogs run out in front of cars all the time. Was it really her fault, or the dog's fault for being in the way?

I reckon if she cant claim the cost off her car insurance then why should YOU should pick up the bill.

The_Hustler

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I read your post but none of the others.

Here's my opinion. It's a DOG. dogs run out in front of cars all the time. Was it really her fault, or the dog's fault for being in the way?

I reckon if she cant claim the cost off her car insurance then why should YOU should pick up the bill.

You may need to give that post another read (though you probably won't read this)



OP, I think with all the figures being thrown about, your wife may have just lost track. She also may have expected it to be a lot lower seeing as the vet said "I wont be presenting you with a bill for two thousand" but it has come close enough in the end.


Hopefully it's all settled down by now

LoanShark

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies..

When she came home on friday all was fine..We both apologised for what happened in the morning..

My wife wanted to give the dog the best chance possible and as I said grief overcame all other things at the time.. If the vet thought that the dog was not going to make any sort of a full recovery or thought that the the dog had no hope at all, It would have ended there..But he was so professional, He gave the dog a few injections to relax him, Before he came out and discussed all with us..As we only have the dog a few months my wife has become very attached to him..I work most evenings and the dog is great company for her..

I think with all the figures flying around, That confusion would have followed...and the money for his stay was missed out.

The brother in law is paying the bigger share and that gonna be sorted this week..

The dog is making a great recovery and has to go back for a checkup this wednesday... He had to have a plate placed into his front left shoulder, Stiches into his back legs,His lung was collapsed and his pelvis was broken..But he is in good spirits and we are under strict orders to have him relaxed and in a confined space..