I was in a very foul mood on Wednesday and as I am writing this I just keep replaying back the events of the last few days regarding Percy. On the off chance you don’t recognize the name Percy then go back and read my Daily Dose from yesterday, 01/24/18.
I mentioned incompetence yesterday and I truly believe that to be the case. Today though, I want to ask all of you a question. Have you ever been “done in” by what you perceived as an act of compassion? I hate to think that people would do such a thing but I honestly feel that has happened to us with these recent events. When I say, “done in” I mean in the context of something along the lines of fallen for a trick or have been deceived. I think you know what I am trying to say, screwed or guzbucked.
About two weeks after Mrs.Knibbles died back in September my youngest daughter got a very nice card in the mail from the veterinarian’s office offering their condolences to Shortie on the death of Mrs. Knibbles. The card was signed by five different people in that office. The way the card was hand written, it appeared that the vet who examined Mrs. Knibbles had written the card because it said that she was shocked that such a well cared for little animal could have succumbed so quickly to what appeared to be just a slight upper respiratory infection.
That condolence card ended up costing Percy his life in the end. To some of you that might sound crazy but I’m going to explain it and I think when I’m done you will more than likely reach the same conclusion.
Getting the card did make Shortie feel better about how she cared for her pet, sometimes things happen, sickness etc., just poor luck so to speak, so it really did make Shortie feel better. That card also gave my wife and I a sense that this vet clinic really cares about their clients and animals, I mean why else would they take the time and effort to send a hand written condolence card if they weren’t truly caring folks?
It seems I’m always asking questions, and while I wait for your answers I’m going to go ahead and answer that question myself. Up until Monday I would not thought any differently, caring people showing compassion. All that changed on Monday with the follow up phone call we got from the vet. I honestly believe now that the card was an effort on the part of the vet’s office to try and retain us as a client even though we had the worst possible outcome from the previous experience with their clinic. The vet knew that we had another guinea pig at home when they treated Mrs. Knibbles because we asked if the vet thought we should separate them.
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “killing them with kindness” don’t you think? It would not surprise me one little bit if there would be a note on Mrs. Knibbles charts that references, “another guinea pig in the home, should bad outcome occur, send card.”
I can tell you that condolence card had a direct impact on us taking Percy there to be examined. Had we not received the card my initial reaction would have been find another vet when my wife said that Percy needed to be seen. This is where I would like to say I had a gut feeling to take Percy to a different vet, but I didn’t, in my mind they were a competent, caring bunch of folks as evidenced by the condolence card.
Blondie had in her mind identified the problem, to which I might add she was correct, so when my wife called the vet office to inquire if they worked on guinea pig teeth issues the answer was “all the time”. We elected to take Percy to them based on the response and how we were treated, not the outcome of the last encounter with them. Trust me when I say that card made all the difference in the world, whether or not we realized it at the time. Remember hind sight is 20/20, especially in situations that keep replaying over and over in your mind.
How could they tell us they work on them “all the time” yet they didn’t even have the scope that was needed or didn’t bother to use it if they had it? There is an old saying that people will do anything and everything for money and I believe that to be true. That saying would include lying, cheating, stealing and I think you can add sending condolence cards to the list as well. The vet office invested less than $2.00 would be my guess in the card and postage; in return they got another $125 out of us, not a bad return on the investment. Had Shortie not gotten that card I don’t believe we would have even considered them for Percy.
So what does your gut feeling say, compassion or investment? You’ve heard my take on it; please tell me what you believe.
