Comments on the dilemma in the March issue: When the client cannot pay

摘要

In the dilemma discussed in the March issue of In Practice, you worked in a clinic owned by a charity that provided subsidised treatment. A 10-year-old bitch presents with a suspected closed pyometra. The owner cannot pay for the treatment, even at the charity's prices. While discussing the case, an EMS student offers to pay if they can keep the dog. What should you do? (IP, March 2017, vol 39, pp 142-143). Peter Fordyce suggested that there were two options if the bitch's owner could not meet the costs of treatment: transferring the legal responsibilty of the bitch to a new owner, or euthanasia. Both of these may not be palatable to the owner. Before discussing the student's offer, it might be better to explore if the charity is in a position to take over ownership of the bitch, fund the treatment and rehome it. If it is not, then the student's offer could be discussed with tact. If there are no options for rehoming and no options for payment of the treatment, euthanasia would be the only way to relieve the dog's suffering.