The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

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wizrd
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The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by wizrd »

Summer of 1963, I was 16 years old, working on a few local dairy farms helping with the haying and doing odd jobs and maintenance at a local nursing home after school & weekends to make a few bucks for whatever I needed.

The year before, I talked my father into letting me get a young Beagle female that a friend of a friend had for sale. My fathers stipulation was, "dogs are expensive, you got enough money to feed & pay the vet bills for this dog?" It took a lot of talking, but I talked him into it, and Molly came home with me. She was a decent rabbit hound & a cousin & me got our share of cottontails over her.
That summer, we decided to breed her, thought we could get some nice pups out of her. But when it came time for her to whelp, she had difficulties with passing the last pup, and a trip to the local Vet became necessary. She had trouble delivering the last pup, a 'monster-sized' pup as the Vet put it, and had to be operated on and kept over for a couple days because of a bad infection.

I was concerned about the cost, and told the Vet, I may not have enough to pay you all of the money right away, but I promise I will pay you. I told him how the dog was my sole responsibility, and I was working on local farms for the summer, along with my part time job - I didn't have a lot saved up, but I would pay him -- no matter what.

To make a long story short, after the operation and two days under the Vets care, he called me & said Molly was ready to go home. I got to his place as quick as possible and we sat down and talked about the problem & infection, and the operation and subsequent care. I thought to myself, there goes every dollar I made this summer -- and probably then some. Hesitating some, I finally got up the nerve to ask, 'How much does the bill come to Doc? - If I ain't got enough money with me. I'll pay you as soon as I can, no matter what.' Well, he hemmed & hawed, going over the operation, cost of expensive drugs, keeping her for two days - (dollar signs going thru my head) and finally said, " It's quite a bit of money, I hope you can afford it - I'm gonna have to charge you $ 15.00"
Even a dumb kid like me knew that that price was more of a gift than a serious Veterinary bill, and needless to say, he made a friend for life. Dr. Robert O'brien and his partner Dr. Joseph Renaldo took care of all my dogs, the rest of my life. And I learned more about dogs and life from these two men over the years than they can ever know. Dr. O'briens passed now, Dr. Renaldo retired. They will always be a couple of my heroes.
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tjmurphy
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by tjmurphy »

Excellent experience. Wish we had Vets like that today. No matter what I take my dog in for it's always on the plus side of a C-note, and no credit!!
"There are none so blind as those that refuse to see"

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Cutty
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by Cutty »

Great story Wizrd ::tu::

I have a vet like that. He goes above and beyond to care for animals and charges less than what other local vets charge. He has taken care of my families dogs for 40+ years now. I saw him tear up a bit after puting down my last dog that he had cared for, for 17 years. He cares more for the animals and their human families than the $. I have sent dozens of folks to him with their pets and they were all thrilled with him. He is soon to retire but his son is in practice with him and is every bit the man his father is.
I dig half stops!!



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God rest his soul.


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orvet
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by orvet »

Great story!
Men of that caliber leave their mark on the world by the lives they touch! ::tu:: ::tu::
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AREMINGTONSEDGE
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by AREMINGTONSEDGE »

Loved the story Wizrd, reminds me of our county vet and the many house calls he made back in the day related to the care of our horses. Great pay it forward story! ::tu:: Rocky
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Lawrence
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by Lawrence »

Very nice story wizrd...it reminds us all that a good deed will stand the test of time, as this memory has had an impact on your life for half a century.
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Enjoyed your story wizard. Thankfully there are still at least a few vets like that still around. The vet we used for years was like that. His was a rural "all animals" practice and routinely made house calls, answered his own phone day or night (no answering service), fees were much less than city vets. He retired recently and sold his practice to a young fellow just graduated from Texas A&M vet school. My first encounter with the new vet occurred after one of my dogs got torn up in an altercation with either coyotes or a bobcat, not sure which. He was bleeding pretty good from a tear across the chest and shoulder and also had a few other cuts. Lots of blood. It was just after 6 PM so wasn't sure if the vets office was closed but called and he answered the phone. After explaining what I needed, he said he would wait for me there. Loaded dog into the truck and drove the 18 miles to his office. He examined the wounds, said there was nothing major damaged and dog would probably heal fine. I asked "how much do I owe you". His reply was "aw, there's no charge for lookin'."

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carrmillus
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by carrmillus »

.......great story, wizrd!!!!........... ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: ..................
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Paladin
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Re: The BEST Veterinarian in the WORLD !

Post by Paladin »

tjmurphy wrote:Excellent experience. Wish we had Vets like that today. No matter what I take my dog in for it's always on the plus side of a C-note, and no credit!!
Amen, Brother! I told the lady at my vets office just a few days back that this dog is the last one I'll ever have and the reason for that is that they (the vet) charges so much for his services.

Ray
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