Crisis in Maine Veterinary Clinic: What Happens When a Pet Parent Can't Pay? Relinquishment Woes and Sloppy Reporting

Jun 15

A viral news story involving a Maine veterinary clinic and relinquishment of a pet whose owner couldn’t afford treatment has been widely circulating on social media. This week we address many of our concerns from sloppy reporting to missed media opportunities to the practice of pet relinquishment. Our full support and hearts go out to the entire veterinary team involved with this challenging case, and hope this conversation will help others facing similar situations. Viewfinders, there’s a lot to discuss on this tough topic.

Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT review the recent case involving the Maine Veterinary Medical Center and a client who relinquished her pet because she couldn’t afford the $10,000 fee.

Dr. Ward begins by examining tactics to handle media inquiries involving disgruntled clients. Beckie Mossor, RVT shares her own experiences and why the art of compromise is essential in dealing with these cases, especially in an emergency setting.

Dr. Ward reviews his opinion on financial relinquishment and confiscation of pets. He also encourages clinics to role-play these scenarios and create plans to help when confronting financial constraints.

Viewfinders, while our hearts are broken for all involved in this case, we urge our colleagues not to resort to online client-bashing and hurtful rhetoric. It can be challenging to practice radical empathy and compassion, but we hope you can remain respectful and professional when posting your thoughts.

There are many lessons we can learn from these tragedies. We encourage you to check out Dr. Ward’s piece on a couple of similar situations. We’re also including the Maine Veterinary Medical Center’s complete June 11, 2022 Statement on our website.

Local News Reports:

'That's my boy:' Mainer pleads for return of puppy surrendered over $10K vet bill

https://wgme.com/news/i-team/thats-my-boy-owner-pleads-for-return-of-puppy-surrendered-over-10k-vet-bill

Maine vet clinic responds to I-Team investigation about surrendered dog

https://wgme.com/news/i-team/mvmc-responds-to-i-team-investigation-maine-veterinary-medical-center-jaxx-german-shepherd

Maine Veterinary Medical Center
June 11, 2022 Statement

https://www.scribd.com/document/578065883/Statement-From-Maine-Veterinary-Medical-Center#from_embed

Dr. Ernie Ward’s 2017 Video and Blog on a similar case:

Why Don't Veterinarians Treat Animals For Free?

“Why don't we just treat it for free?” is a question that many pet owners have for veterinarians, especially in cases where the pet owner can’t afford treatment.

https://www.drernieward.com/blog/2017/12/22/why-dont-veterinarians-treat-animals-for-free