In Memory of Fudge. Rest In Peace xxx (PDSA The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA))

Member Name: wiggglypufff

Product:	PDSA The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA)
Date:	25/03/05 (547 review reads)
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Advantages: Helping animals, Kind and compassionate service, Free treatment

Disadvantages: -

The PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals) is a veterinary charity; its aim is to provide free treatment to sick and injured domestic pets whose owners can't afford private vet's fees. It's now in its 88th year of charitable animal welfare.

The criteria for eligibility of PDSA care is to live in the defined catchment area of a PDSA PetAid service (hospital or practice), and be in receipt of housing or council tax benefit.

There are 46 PetAid hospitals across towns and cities in Britain, and one planned to open in Belfast (N.I.) by the end of 2005. The PetAid hospitals are run by the PDSA, and staffed by fully qualified veterinary surgeons and nurses. Up to 3 pets can be registered, but 'one-off' emergency treatment for non-registered pets can be given too. The normal hrs are 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday to Friday (except public holidays) and 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Saturday for urgent cases only. Seriously ill pets will be seen out of hours, though.

The PetAid practices are slightly different; they are private veterinary practices in smaller communities that offer free treatment on behalf of the PDSA to those who are eligible. Only one pet may be registered, and that must be done before the pet gets ill/injured or fees will be applicable. There are 311 of these practices across Britain and hours vary.

My first encounter with the PDSA as a client rather than supporter was in May last year. Whiskey, my eldest male cat, was rather snuffley one morning and his eyes were a little red and weepy. Having nursed several of my feline family through cat-flu before I suspected the same again and called the local PDSA PetAid hospital. They were immensely helpful on the phone and after asking a few questions informed us that we were eligible for care, and could take him in that evening.

In my haste at getting him out the door to be seen, I totally forgot to pick up the necessary paperwork for registration at the hospital. They were great though - Whiskey was still seen and treated and I simply had to return within the next few days with the paperwork to register as a client thus allowing 6 months of treatment for up to 3 pets.

The 2nd occasion was with Mocha (my eldest female cat). She started limping a little one morning and on inspection of her paw there was an open sore and loose claw. We rang the hospital for advice. Although not classed an emergency, we were given an appointment for the next day. And for the time being, advised how to treat her foot ourselves.

Next was Cookie (daughter of above mentioned). She had some slight swelling in one of her legs and when my inspection of her paw didn't reveal anything obvious (splinter or such) I was a little concerned. Again we rang the hospital and got an appointment for the end of the day but they advised us to keep an eye on her and if the swelling got worse to call again. By lunchtime both legs had swollen to more than twice the normal size and after phoning again were advised to attend straightaway for a sit and wait (cancellation or spare time between booked appointments) and she was seen within half an hour of our arrival.

[All have been fighting fit since, btw. In Whiskey's case, it was mild cat-flu, but caught and treated early he recovered quickly. Mocha's cause of injury remained a mystery, but within a couple of days her paw was fine. Cookie's swelling turned out to be an allergy, and antihistamines quickly solved that.]

My last dealing with the PDSA was very recent, this morning to be precise. It prompted me to write this to promote the cause both to those that might be able to help out, and those who like me might find themselves needing help one day...

Yesterday morning, Fudge (bro of Cookie) was a little off colour. He ate and drank in the morning but proceeded to be sick and became increasingly lethargic throughout the day. He didn't eat at teatime, and was having trouble with passing water. He's had a bladder infection before and recognising the symptoms I called the PDSA. It was just out of 'normal practice hours' so I called the emergency number. The vet had gone home, but the practice nurse took details to pass onto the vet and said she'd ring us back with an appointment. She got back to us very quickly with an appointment for 10.30pm.

Fudge was seen, despite not being one of our 3 registered cats, and also despite our client agreement currently being out-of-date. (I am still in receipt of the qualifying benefits, but simply hadn’t renewed the agreement that had expired last Nov as the cats had been in good health since Cookie’s allergy and not required any treatment.) I did take the relevant paperwork with me but it wasn’t asked for or looked at – their priority was to treat Fudge and deal with the technicalities later.

The vet examined him, and promptly diagnosed a blocked bladder requiring surgery. I was also informed gently that Fudge’s heart beat was irregular and weak and that he might not come through the anaesthetic, and then given the choice to proceed with surgery or not. I signed the consent form with tears streaming down my face. The vet left us for a few minutes, and I cuddled and kissed Fudge. He tried to bury himself in my shirt, as if he knew what was gonna happen and thought he’d chance his luck sneaking back home with us. I think I knew what was going to happen, too. The nurse came in with a carrier for him, and we gently placed him in, and said a silent and tearful goodbye.

They phoned this morning to let us know that Fudge hadn’t made it. The operation itself had gone well and he’d come round okay, but at 6am this morning he had a heart attack and slipped away… we picked him up from the hospital this morning and brought him home. He looked peaceful, as if he were sleeping.

So, we’re in pieces right now, and will be for a while…

But, I know the PDSA did what they could for Fudge, at the end he was in good hands, and didn’t suffer. They were as compassionate as could be imagined both when phoning to let us know, and when we went to collect him.

What strikes me each time on dealing with the PDSA is their commitment and dedication to our cats’ welfare, and also their respect to us as people. We aren't made to feel bad or inadequate for not being able to provide financially for the treatment of our cats at the moment. The service we've been given has matched or beaten any that we've had before from private (and somewhat costly) veterinary practices.

The PDSA have my admiration and gratitude. I'd never knowingly let my cats suffer and would beg steal and borrow if need be to get them treated when ill, at whatever cost. The PDSA however take the indignity and strain away by providing the urgent treatments for free. They do encourage donations to be made but there's no pressure to give anything other than what you can afford. I give what I can when I can, and try to support in other ways like buying bits and pieces from their shops. And of course I hope this op will help them too. I'm well aware that I've probably not come close to paying for even half the treatment my cats have had though and that's something I will change when I can.

There is no government, council or lottery funding, so the PDSA relies fully on public support. The average cost of treatment they provide is close to £100 per pet they see. Of course sometimes that figure is much higher. The PetAid Service does not provide preventive treatments, the resources are totally devoted to curative care - that basically means if you donate you're not paying for someone to get routine check-ups and non-essentials free of charge for their pets but you're helping ill and injured pets get the treatments they really need. Over 4500 pets get helped every day.

There are numerous ways to help the PDSA but it's not just about handing over cash. There are 181 retail shops that are staffed with managers but supported by volunteers and selling donated goods (and small ranges of new merchandise). There are also over 75 fundraising groups that are active around the country, and various volunteer positions come up from time to time. If you're an animal lover or pet owner and you want to do something for others, the options are there.

You can do your bit for other animals, and cats like Fudge.

To find out more about the PDSA, be it ways to help them or ways they might be able to help you or just for general info and additional pet site links, check out the website:

http://www.pdsa.org.uk

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