Paying for vet bill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:File a police report.

OP here. I do not want to call the police. I don't see the reason to get her in criminal trouble.

I don’t know what your other options are if she will not pay.

The police handle criminal matters and whether she pays is a civil issue.

Yes I understand. Did you hire an attorney? You can sue her in civil court.

You seem like a gem of a neighbor.

No, I have not hired a lawyer. That would cost way more than the vet.

You think calling the police and suing her is reasonable and I'm the bad neighbor?

[Anonymous]

You have to ask her for her insurance info and if she won’t give it to you then you have to call the police and have them get it and give it to you (accident report). They aren’t going to arrest her—is that what you’re afraid of?

[Anonymous]

She is a bad person, not you. They way she handled the situation is worse than the offense itself. She does not give a shit, so yes, ring the doorbell and have a conversation.

[Anonymous]

You'll have to go civil / small claims. To people wondering about the $1k bill for emergency care, keep in mind that in the DC area, it costs $250 just for a regular checkup and vaccination update. I paid $700 for a my dog's tooth extraction. I'm actually surprised OP had to pay *only* $1,000 to care for a dog that was hit by a car. This area is crazy ridiculous for vet expenses.

[Anonymous]

The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

[Anonymous]

File a police report, ask the neighbor to pay the vet bill and go to small claims court if she won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

Are we in outer space here? This is the pet forum. If you don’t have a pet, don’t respond. Yes, I’m making the assumption that these “why did you go to the vet?” posters don’t have dogs.

I am so sorry this happened to you OP. It’s a tough one because you don’t want to go to war with a neighbor but this is obviously her responsibility and in a perfect world she should have been very proactive about paying bills, checking in etc. What does DH think about it? Do you have an HOA president whom you can trust? News of the accident will surely go around the neighborhood and people will talk... if and when neighbors find out she hasn’t offered to pay, she will be ostracized.

[Anonymous]

I’d call or knock on her door and ask if she’d like to pay the bill directly or if she’d prefer I work with her insurance company. If she won’t give you her insurance info, then you may have to call the police (or eat the bill).

Lesson learned-always get insurance info for incidents involving a car.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why you took the dog to the vet if it was fine.

Have you asked her to pay the bill? Maybe she would split it with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d call or knock on her door and ask if she’d like to pay the bill directly or if she’d prefer I work with her insurance company. If she won’t give you her insurance info, then you may have to call the police (or eat the bill).

Lesson learned-always get insurance info for incidents involving a car.

This. Knock and talk to her in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

Are we in outer space here? This is the pet forum. If you don’t have a pet, don’t respond. Yes, I’m making the assumption that these “why did you go to the vet?” posters don’t have dogs.

I am so sorry this happened to you OP. It’s a tough one because you don’t want to go to war with a neighbor but this is obviously her responsibility and in a perfect world she should have been very proactive about paying bills, checking in etc. What does DH think about it? Do you have an HOA president whom you can trust? News of the accident will surely go around the neighborhood and people will talk... if and when neighbors find out she hasn’t offered to pay, she will be ostracized.

No I'm not in outer space. Anyway, I don't have a dog anymore but when I was a kid we had one that got hit hard by a van. The dog yelped and then ran into the house and was shaking. Even though we looked after the dog and had previously taken the dog to the vet to be spayed, we simply left the dog alone in the backyard to see how it did. Lo and behold a few hours later the dog was running around like normal. Maybe if the original poster had done this they might have saved themselves $1000 seeing as how nothing was found wrong with the dog.


And yes I still have pets, two cats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

Are you a medical professional? Have you ever heard of the term 'internal injuries' or do you have special X-ray vision? Animals are stoic and good at hiding pain. I hope nitwits like you never have pets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why you took the dog to the vet if it was fine.

Have you asked her to pay the bill? Maybe she would split it with you.

How would you know the dog was fine if you didn't get it checked at the vet's? Serious question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

Are you a medical professional? Have you ever heard of the term 'internal injuries' or do you have special X-ray vision? Animals are stoic and good at hiding pain. I hope nitwits like you never have pets.

It's me that you're calling a nitwit, to which I would say that I am not. I do currently have two cats which I took to the vets for shots just a few days ago, so I do take care of my pets. However, if someone presented me with a $1000 vet bill under the circumstances described in the OP, I would be hesitant to pay it too.