Bucks County Veterinarian Opens "Options" Clinic

July 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Plumstead, Pa. – In her nearly 25 years as a veterinarian, Karen Detweiler has seen too many pet owners choose euthanasia over medical care because of the cost. Or, perhaps worse, don’t seek any care at all, leaving animals to spend the rest of their lives in misery.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she says. “These people love their pets but in many cases, can’t afford the cost of medical care.”

Starting next month, Detweiler will begin offering alternative levels of care to her clients. The Multiple Options Medicine and Surgery (M.O.M.S.) clinic in the  Plumstead Shopping Center will allow clients to review a list of viable options for their pet care, and let them choose the one that best fits their situation.

Case in point: Detweiler recently examined a cat with a broken leg. She explained that the best option would be to have x-rays taken, then to insert a pin or a plate to stabilize the fracture, and estimated the cost at about $1,000.

The client was in tears because there was no way she could afford that level of treatment. Instead, Detweiler put the cat in a splint and bandaged the leg at a cost of $167.  

A few days later, Detweiler examined the cat and says it was progressing nicely. Four weeks later the splint was removed and the leg had healed remarkably well, she says.

“The cat is probably happy to have had a splint,” says Detweiler. “If the owner had gone to most other clinics, an alternative care plan probably would not have been presented.”

Detweiler, a Kintnersville resident,  operated a veterinary practice for 12 years before selling in 1998 to be a full-time mom and a part-time vet. Three years ago, with her children older, she went back to being a full-time vet and opened Mobi Vet, a mobile veterinary practice that features a truck equipped with diagnostic and surgical equipment.

In April, Detweiler wrote a letter to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association voicing her concerns about the rising costs of veterinary services, such as $1,900 to diagnose and remove a bladder stone in a dog.  She has been heartened by the positive response from fellow vets so far.

“I am saddened that my profession is being seen as out of touch with what our clients can or will afford,” she says. “In some areas it is running up to $400 to castrate a cat.  It doesn't have to be that way.”

While veterinarians have access to remarkable new equipment and procedures, the question is how they also take care of those with simpler needs, says Detweiler.   Vets would love to practice top-flight medicine and surgery and do their absolute best on behalf of animals. But they also need to offer more basic options to clients who can't afford more expensive services, she says.

Her M.O.M.S. clinic will do just that. After diagnosis, clients will be given a list of potential treatments and their likely outcomes, along with their cost. Clients will choose the one that best fits their situation, and will sign a release acknowledging that the choice might not be the best possible.

Detweiler also hopes more people will seek care for their animals if they know there are low-cost treatments available. Nationally, only about 25 percent of people who own animals take them to a vet, she says.

Detweiler’s acronym for the clinic is appropriate since it will be staffed mostly by women veterinarians like herself who choose to practice part time and spend more time with their families.

“They have the same philosophy that I do,” says Detweiler. “They want animals to have the best care possible, but they understand that cost will always be a factor.”

The M.O.M.S. clinic will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 7 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. Appointments: 215.766.8934. For more information, visit mobivet-mvs.com