Emotional Blackmail...!

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 23:16:50 GMT

[quote user="Rajat"]

[quote user="plantagenet"] I think adult members of the public need to grow up and learn to relieve suffering themselves[/quote]

I am curious - How do they do that? Maybe they should drive back and forth over the fox they just ran over till it stops breathing?

[/quote]

Yes, that would do it. If safe I will aim my car at myxi bunnies or flapping pheasants in the road to finish them off. Most cars have a wheel wrench that would deal with anything up to fox/badger size in a suitable blow.

I don't waste Pentoject on myxi bunnies, clipped pheasants etc.

Someone brought me an otter once they had hit with their car. The otter was loose on their knee. I put on gauntlets and put it in the crush cage (just). If it hadn't got it's skull staved in and was just concussed I dread to think the outcome for the bloke's wife with ~10 kg of angry otter..........

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

plantagenet — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:38:59 GMT

Absolutely,the PR sadly is important so I PTS'd and disposed of it.

I have not had many foxes brought in but rabbits, birds etc all the time.

When I was a child cycling to school through country levels, myxomatosed rabbits were common. I did not like to see them suffer and some I did put out of their misery in the most expedient method I could. I was a country child so I knew what to do. I think most people could work out how to kill a song bird quickly.

I also wonder which causes most suffering to a wild animal, being left to die or being brought into the surgery for PTS?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:18:53 GMT

[quote user="plantagenet"]Personally, although I consider myself a vocational vet, I do not feel myself responsible for the whole of the nations wildlife. [/quote]

At risk of ridicule and vitriolic confrontation from the horizontale, just how many foxes, in fact make that all wild animals, get rushed in to you in ten years, to get a reasonable number we can average,

Think of the PR pluses and minuses for 5 minutes of your time and 50p's worth of euthatal! [the profession could do with as much good PR as there is available too]

and, as I have said, although I got the story wrong, consider the animal itself.

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Bob Russell — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:57:49 GMT

A real situation:

Member of the public finds cat sealed in a cardboard box, left out for the bin men. Brings it to the surgery and a nurse provides a phone for her to contact the RSPCA (knowing that if we do it they will say it is our problem because it is not being reported by a member of the general public!).

The lady on the other end of the phone recommends that it is returned where it was found. General public lady asks whether she should seal it back up in the box first! "Oh No! You can't do that. As it is abandoned an inspector will pick it up". Fat chance!

An inspector did phone days later when they thought the papers were going to do a story on the case.

Said cat now spends most of the evening sitting on my lap at home! Mug must be tattoo'd on my forehead!

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Malcolm Ness — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:24:43 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

*ring, ring* "999 Emergency, may I help you?"

"Help, I was hunting, and I accidentally shot my buddy! I think he's dead!"

"Calm down, sir! Can you make sure he's dead?"

***BANG***

"Ok, I'm sure, now what?"

[/quote]

Ring Ring

"Is that the RSPCA?"

"Yes sir. How can I help?"

"I have just found a cat and four kittens in a suitcase"

"Oh, that's terrible - out on the street in a suitcase! Tell me, are they moving"

"Moving?? - I don't know. But I suppose that that would explain the suitcase"

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

bob lehner — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:18:42 GMT

Yes - it's all very odd.

We had a very active and enthusiastic badger-rescue man locally who always wanted absolutely everything done for any injured badger -- to the extent of orthopaedic surgery on broken legs - euthanasia was seldom an option.

On the other hand the local farmer was making no secret of the fact that he was constantly shooting badgers because they dug up the corn he was growing for his pheasants (which were also destined to be shot of course).

Ditto with fox-lovers v. the local hunt.

Once had a client 'phone in hysterics because a stoat was killing a rabbit in her garden. To her credit, one of the nurses said to her 'Yes - that's what stoats do - they have to eat too, you know'.

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Jo Cobbett — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:45:03 GMT

[quote user="plantagenet"]

Personally, although I consider myself a vocational vet, I do not feel myself responsible for the whole of the nations wildlife. I think adult members of the public need to grow up and learn to relieve suffering themselves or put up with the nastier bits of the natural world.

[/quote]

I'm inclined to agree. I did once get a call from someone who's cat had just attacked and injured a blackbird and they wanted me to see it. I so badly wanted to tell her to give it back to the cat to let it finish the job, but I couldn't! So I drove an hour round trip to the surgery they were nearest too (they didn't drive so couldn't bring it to the surgery where I was based) to put it to sleep. The cat could have done the job much quicker and shortened the bird's suffering by half an hour!

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Mark Hedberg — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:42:32 GMT

*ring, ring* "999 Emergency, may I help you?"

"Help, I was hunting, and I accidentally shot my buddy! I think he's dead!"

"Calm down, sir! Can you make sure he's dead?"

***BANG***

"Ok, I'm sure, now what?"

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Rajat — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:06:18 GMT

[quote user="plantagenet"] I think adult members of the public need to grow up and learn to relieve suffering themselves[/quote]

I am curious - How do they do that? Maybe they should drive back and forth over the fox they just ran over till it stops breathing?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

plantagenet — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:41:25 GMT

what do others think of the article in the BSAVA mag about treating badgers.

The only thing I'm treating badgers with is euthatal.

I had a client rush in with a fox she had just run over, wrapped in a blanket. She then rushed out because she was 'so' upset. Leaving me and the nurse to deal with a badly injured, very aggressive, no longer concussed fox. And that carcass cost more than £5 to dispose of. She didn't even come in later to thank us, I hope it dented her car.

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:49:23 GMT

but now I've brought you down a couple of pegs...

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:35:13 GMT

There you go, now I've given myself 5 stars.....

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:43:12 GMT

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:26:03 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Although I do house visits I think Gillian has said it all in this case I can't improve on her posting

Wynne

[/quote]

Yes, sorry Gillian and the OP. I did go over the top, failed to read posts properly and got rightly admonished.

Will try and do better in future.

And now I've inadvertently given myself a red star; poetic justice!!

No. I've now changed it to 2 , now 3 golds, so feel much better.....

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:07:38 GMT

Although I do house visits I think Gillian has said it all in this case I can't improve on her posting

Wynne

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Mark Holmes — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:24:25 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]

[quote user="alex gough"]

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]secondly a slightly more binding one, although not enforceable, the agreement between the RSPCA and the BVA for vets to treat wildlife casualties for free during normal working hours. [/quote]

Since when did the BVA have the powers to agree things like that on behalf of the profession? Although in practice this is what we do, I dont think I like the idea of the BVA telling me I should. If it was RCVS rules that would be a different matter.

[/quote]

So who exactly is going to pay for you to treat wildlife?

[/quote] That must just apply to BVA members then. Can you just cancel your membership and be no longer bound by this agreement?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:50:09 GMT

Thank-you for spelling it out - although I didn't think I was struggling TBH.

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]The OP was objecting to the emotional blackmail of being forced into visiting the pigeon, not to the obvious need to treat it which she was willing to do[/quote]

Exactly. At no point did the OP refuse to treat the pigeon or shirk their responsibility. They just objected to being expected to drive to someone's house to do so. Therefore the rest of your post:

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]

What if the OP had suggested dropping the pigeon off on the way to the train she/he had to meet and pointed out that she couldn't leave the premises?

Pigeon happy [or happier], caller transferred responsibility and happy, OP done duty as VS and happy.

I thought that was pretty obvious when I said " I agreed" above.... although I didn't spell out how the situation could have been handled easily.

It's usually, if not always, easier in the long run to make sure the "patient" is treated somehow.

[/quote]

is rather irrelevant as the OP did see the pigeon - and thanked the owner for bringing it in- so they must have made arrangements as you suggest above. What point are you trying to make?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:33:20 GMT

Oh, dear, I'll have to spell it out.

The OP was objecting to the emotional blackmail of being forced into visiting the pigeon, not to the obvious need to treat it which she was willing to do.

I said that emotional blackmail ,which is a transfer of responsibility from one to another, or another body ,is a trick folk often use in these situations.

What if the OP had suggested dropping the pigeon off on the way to the train she/he had to meet and pointed out that she couldn't leave the premises?

Pigeon happy [or happier], caller transferred responsibility and happy, OP done duty as VS and happy.

I thought that was pretty obvious when I said " I agreed" above.... although I didn't spell out how the situation could have been handled easily.

It's usually, if not always, easier in the long run to make sure the "patient" is treated somehow.

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Gillian Mostyn — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:16:52 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]How do you think the pigeon felt which, after all, should be our first consideration?[/quote]

Are you being serious??? Surely you understand what the OP was getting at with his post? We have enough from our clients to contend with, without vets starting to use emotional blackmail on each other too!

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:39:29 GMT

[quote user="Jo Jones"]

[quote user="Rob Davis"]

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]Very well put, come on, it doesn't happen that often and it's not as if it takes much time or costs much in drugs or equipment.[/quote]

I think this comes across as a little harsh to to OP: the client was phoning at 11pm with an injured pigeon she had been "looking after" for 2 days and was expecting the vet to drive to pick it up (how far, we don't know) because she had to meet somebody off a train, and she was deliberately using emotional blackmail to divert her guilt onto the vet. I'm sure the vast majority of us would happily see an injured bird brought to us in normal hours, but I would not have visited to collect the pigeon late at night under the circumstances described. As it turns out she was able to bring it in after all, and it was seen and dealt with.

[/quote]

Thank you Rob, I was feeling a bit hounded! I have no objection at all to seeing wildlife, and the pigeon definitely needed seeing (preferably two days earlier). What I objected to was the way in which the client presented the case, it felt very much like emotional blackmail which put my back up.

[/quote]

Agree, people use any device to transfer obligation or responsibility but:

How do you think the pigeon felt which, after all, should be our first consideration?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Jo Cobbett — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:58:16 GMT

[quote user="Rob Davis"]

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]Very well put, come on, it doesn't happen that often and it's not as if it takes much time or costs much in drugs or equipment.[/quote]

[/quote]

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Rob Loxley — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:39:24 GMT

[quote user="alex gough"]

[/quote]

So who exactly is going to pay for you to treat wildlife?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

james herriot lied — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 13:30:04 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I confess that I have take an un-chipped cat's body back to where it was found.[/quote]

For the sake of a £5 routine cremation at cost?

[/quote]

I must admit, I read Martin's post as meaning that he would take the cat back so that it could be identified by the owner, there being no other way of them finding out what had happened to the cat. Somehow can't see him as somebody who would begrudge the cost price of a communal cremation.

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Michael Woodhouse — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:01:46 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I confess that I have take an un-chipped cat's body back to where it was found.[/quote]

For the sake of a £5 routine cremation at cost?

Re: Emotional Blackmail...!

Anthony Todd — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:15:18 GMT

[quote user="Rob Davis"]Very well put, come on[/quote]

Read ALL the post that I said was very well put including the bit where Martin says "at the surgery" which apparently happened.

Sure, visiting at any time is not on for something that can easily be transported, as can meeting a train.