So, this post was prompted by hedgies... You may remember, we had hedgies available a bit ago, and someone from another rescue reached out and suggested some helpful info and whatnot.
They also suggested that maybe I should join the ranks of hedgie adopters. I said I'd look into it. Long story short, that is not going to happen, but it has also prompted a discussion between myself and some of my friends, which I wanted to share with you.
Let met start by saying, I'm sure these organizations have hedgies' welfare at the top of their to-do list, and I, in no way, mean to write this post to imply bad about them. I just want to explain some differences in policy, because this sort of thing does come up, now and then.
The one hedgie organization required that all hedgies get vet checked, and have oversight from others in the organization to be approved to adopt to a family. Vet care is one of those heavily debated thing among different types of rescues. Some rescues think that every animal should go into the vet for wellness checks every year, regardless of the type of animal. For dogs and cats -- being animals that do get yearly vaccinations (unless you titer test, but that's a whole 'nother discussion) -- this does make sense. For other small animals, especially ones that do not get yearly vaccinations and that sort of thing... it's less of a black and white issue.
Many people have heard me say, over the years, that if you can't tell the chinchilla is sick, often a vet can't either. Honestly... this is often true, regardless of the species. I take my dogs in for their shots and wellness checks every year. If I think the dog is healthy, the dog usually shows up healthy. Heck, even times when I've thought the dog isn't healthy, bloodwork / testing all came back -- the dog is fine! The thing is, though... I've never taken in one of my dogs, being like, "ok, this dog looks and acts fine..." and had the vet tell me something was wrong.
Now, I'm in-no-way-saying... that that couldn't happen. It could. But the same has gone for other animals that have gone in over the years, both here and at other rescues and with other people I know. When a rescue takes in a dog with a stinky mouth and open sores, the vet will find dental issues, and skin issues. When I take in a drooling chin, the vet will find teeth spurs and / or malo. But take in a health dog / chin / cat / whatever... often the vet finds that the animal is healthy.
Assuming the animal is otherwise in good health, and not on any long-term meds... this begs the question... is it useful to take them to the vet just for a wellness check? For some animals, maybe. Notably, the ones mentioned here... if they are on meds. My dog Kailey gets bloodwork done every 6-12 months, as needed, due to the fact she's on prescription arthritis meds (and a buttload of supplements), and her liver enzymes and bloodwork needs to be monitored, to see that the meds aren't negatively affecting her body (so that the meds could be altered / changed, if needed). For her, it makes sense to go in, to get the bloodwork run, to make sure we don't ruin her insides, before she's ready to leave us.
What about for other animals? I know of another chinchilla breeder / rescue who took a chinchilla into the vet. The chinchilla caught bortadella at the vet's office, brought it home unknowingly, and most of this person's chin herd also caught it, and was wiped out. Um, oops? Honestly, this is a risk you take, anytime you take any animal to the vet. Am I saying don't take your animals? Of course not! You just need to weigh the risks and benefits, and decide, is it worth taking the animal.
Our stance on taking the small animals to the vet is, if it's not broke, don't try to fix it. If the animal appears healthy, until there's some sign that the animal is not, in fact, healthy (for example, lethargic, not eating, change in behavior, watery eyes, squishy poo, etc etc), we assume the animal is healthy. Honestly, most animals that are sick do not drop over dead with no signs. Sure, it happens, on occasion. But in reality, when I think of animals that have passed here at the rescue over the years, the ones that come to mind are typically ones where they weren't eating as well, acting not as perky, and so on... and then soon after, passed. To some people with busy lives, this may completely go unnoticed, as it's not always glaringly obvious signs that something is wrong. But rarely do most animals just up and die, without some warning.
But without that warning... well, it's just needlessly spending money. Last year, we adopted out something in the realm of 270ish (if I remember correctly) chinchillas and other animals. Of course, a few people had questions after adoption about care and wellness and whatnot. While I acknowledge that it may give some people peace of mind to know that their animal is vet-checked and given a clean bill of health, it is also costly. The local vet charges $59 for an office visit to see a small animal. $59 x 270 = $15,930. If someone would like to foot that bill, by all means, I'll think about taking each and every of these animals into the vet, but in reality... I'm pretty positive (like 1000000%) that the rescue never makes anywhere near that kind of money, and only stays afloat because I put plenty of my own money into it every year, over what it generates on adoption fees and supply sales. If all of those 270 animals would have checked out healthy at the vet... let me ask you... is that money well-spent? I'm not so sure.
... continued tomorrow...
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