Jarvis v.5
Originally uploaded by Nix Sidhe

You know... I'm so mad right now.

I just got this adorable baby boy yesterday. I will start right off by saying I am more than a little neurotic about things like this. You know, the well being of living things...

This guy is thin, but not alarmingly so. More importantly he is also unvaccinated (and not yet fixed, i don't have to worry about that until later though). When I brought him into the house I knew that there would be a period of adjustment for him and Tibby. I have kept him quarantined in my studio for the last two days until I can have him looked at and given his aids/leukemia tests and first round of shots. (Tibby has her shots, although she needs a check up herself...) I don't want to infect Tib with anything by bringing someone new into the house.

So, here I am with my new kitten and I notice a small red spot on his anus after he poops. Tiny just on the inner circle of his anus. I check his stool and it's clear of any blood. I do the internet thing and find out it might not be a huge deal but I still want him looked at.

I start by calling the Humane Society, the one woman was a customer of mine at the bank and a coworker uses them all the time for shots/neutering. I called and the woman was not only rude, but couldn't give me the time of day. When I started out by telling her that I just had a few questions about the services they provided for fixing/shots for kittens her reply was, *snicker* "Well, what are they then?" Like this was preposterous. I go on about how we just got him, how is looks pretty small but I don't know how young, about the blood. She interrupts me twice and just states the days and times that they offer the services. She was obviously in a hurry to get off of the phone with me and before I could even find out the prices was already in her, "Well, thats fine call when you want to come down." send off. Needless to say, even if they're cheap I probably won't be going there.

I called All Pets Hospital here in town. The woman was so friendly and answered every single one of my questions. She offered prices without me even asking. Granted the grand total (and this would be without any medication if needed for worms) would be close to $300, well probably $150 since I think he's too young to be neutered. Steep. But I am willing to pay it if it will make my baby Jarvis healthy and the people won't treat me like Im in pain in their ass.

I still called one other place, Greengate Animal Clinic, to see if I could find somewhere cheaper to have all of this done. The woman was, once again, rude. She acted as if I was bothering her by calling to make an appointment or talk to her about services offered. The prices they quoted me were cheaper, I think, but I feel like she wasn't telling me all of the costs.

I hate to gripe about this, but this is a living thing. A tiny baby animal and I have some god damned questions about how to take care of him. I mean, sure I could be one of those deadbeat pet owners who never takes their pets in to be looked at. I could see blood and ignore it, hoping it will magically go away. I could allow all of my pets to get sick and pass it on to one another and never do a damn thing about it. Or, I could call around and ask questions.

Money is tight for everyone, or it should be anyway. The fact that people still want to spend money on stuff should make these places happy. How does any business expect anyone to want to spend money with their establishment if they treat the customers like shit in the first 3 minutes they interact with them?

I'm done complaining about this. I promise. I just wish the people working in these places could act with a little more compassion and love since that is supposed to be the basis of their entire business.

In any case, please do say hello to my newest family member, Jarvis. He is the baby of the family and he is a handful.