112. Vet Ethics. Ambulance chasers for vets.

"Sending condolence cards to dog owners whose dogs had died was a very good idea (to build up good will)." the 4th year Massey University vet student recalled a dog owner who mentioned about a vet who performed this practice. I was discussing with her the highly competitive nature of all Singapore businesses as Singapore becomes developed. The veterinary practices are not immune to competition. Price under-cutting by being the cheapest vet in Singapore is one strategy to capture more clients and increase turnover. The student mentioned condolence cards as one method.



"Yes, sending condolence cards is a good idea but it is better for a vet to send birthday cards for dogs" I said. "Have you heard of ambulance chasers?"

She shook her head.

"In the legal profession, there are laymen who specialise in informing the lawyer (for a commission) when there are traffic accidents. These ambulance chasers will go to the hospital and sign up the injured to get legal advice.

"From what the dog owner said, it seemed that the vet who sent condolence cards had excellent knowledge of any dog that had died and had been sent for cremation.

"The owner was saying how come the vet knew about dogs that had been cremated? He had no veterinary crematorium. The owner guess it must be his connections with the dog transport man.

"When the dog transport man sends the dead dog for cremation, he informs the vet and gives him the address of the dog owner. The vet sends a condolence card to the grieving owner.

"Is this a veterinary equivalent of ambulance chasing? In this case, the dog that was not under the vet's care had died. So I would not want to send condolence cards to such owners.

"The vet who sent the condolence card might not have paid the dog transport man for the addresses but if the transport man was not given a commission or payment, why would he bother to divulge such details to the vet. Is this ethical or not?"

It is good to discuss with 4th year vet student as they are more mature and had seen various practices. So they are able to discuss various aspects of the veterinary profession.

Out of this discussion with her, I said to the vet student that sending doggie birthday cards to my dog clients would be an excellent idea. Now, I must get on with the execution of this idea. It is not a novel idea in the sense that the NTUC Insurance Company sends birthday cards to their insured clients regularly! I wonder whether the vet who sent condolence cards do send doggie birthday cards as well?