Patsy And The Vet

I have been feeling sad recently –not only as in Seasonal Affective Disorder (although this winter seems never ending); but also due to the loss of a much loved pet. 

Dear little Patsy was not a conventionally handsome cat, but what he lacked in good looks he more than made up for in personality. He was simply a delight to have around – from his first day, when he wandered in through the cat flap and helped himself to the food laid out for the resident felines to the day that his life ended.

His demise was not sudden nor was it unexpected. He was a great age and clearly he had been fading and becoming increasingly unwell for sometime. Towards the end there were many visits to the vet, both as an inpatient and out patient. During all of this my partner  – a generous, big hearted animal lover – never balked at the massive bills and, as long as Patsy wasn’t suffering, he was prepared to try any treatment to make him better and improve his quality of life.

During a remission phase at home and towards the end, Patsy began to show some unusual and worrying symptoms. My partner phoned the surgery and was told that the vet was not on duty and could not to be disturbed. The receptionist refused point blank to give out her private phone number insisting that he didn’t even know what it was.

My partner was obviously upset and concerned about Patsy’s well being. It should also be pointed out that he had supported this particular vet since she first qualified and opened the clinic many years before. When examining various bills he had often joked that she should have named at least one of her children after him!

But it was all to no avail and the intransigent receptionist refused to budge.

In the unhappy days that followed Patsy’s death, my partner had a conversation with the vet and told her that any rule is made to be broken and that exceptions can and should be made. As her oldest and probably most valued customer, surely she could have made an exception and spoken to him however briefly just to reassure.

No, she was totally unrepentant.

“But I wouldn’t have any peace if people phoned me at home”, she argued.

What, you might be wondering, does any of this have to do with the London Vision Clinic? And what is its relevance in the blog?