I have been contacted by staff in Senator Corbett's office about my proposal. I am confident that we are moving forward with "Wally's Law".
Please feel free to cut and paste the pertinent parts of the letter below and share it with your own legislators on behalf of all the family member pets in your lives and the lives of you own families.
My letter follows below:
August 26, 2010
Senator Ellen Corbett
1057 MacArthur Boulevard
San Leandro, CA 94577
Dear Senator Corbett:
Please find attached a letter written by me to Drs. Wendi Rankin and Charles Walls at Veterinary Surgical Associates in Dublin, CA. We brought our dog, Wally, there for treatment of a mast cell tumor.
The attached letter describes in detail our interaction with these two doctors from our first visit on August 9, 2010 until Wally died needlessly on August 19, 2010. The letter appends a formal complaint filed with the California State Veterinary Medical Board sent yesterday. I urge you to read the letter along with the tribute I wrote for Wally so you can gain a pretext for what I am asking you to do.
The veterinary industry is a billion dollar business that is largely unregulated. The fees charged for services such as x-rays and ultrasounds often exceed what is charged in a hospital setting for human beings. I am not writing to you to argue the merits of this unregulated fee structure. Rather, I am urging you to help me along with all of the families who will surely follow me. There is currently nothing in law that requires veterinarians to disclose any of the risks and the possibly less aggressive, less expensive alternatives associated with the treatment they are recommending. In Wally’s case, a very aggressive treatment of chemotherapy and prednisone was the only option recommended. As you will read in my letter, I was never told that this treatment is fatal in 5% of the animals that receive it. I was never notified verbally nor does it appear on the diagnoses forms and treatment plans attached. Further, I learned after Wally died that a less aggressive, less expensive alternative of giving him prednisone only could have shrank the tumor to a manageable size for surgical removal. I have consulted with my family vet who said that this treatment is commonly used; it does not have a great a success rate in killing all of the cancer cells but does allow for tumor removal and for a pet to live a longer, healthier life. This alternative was never disclosed. I trusted in what these vets recommended and Wally suffered and died as a result of their hubris, arrogance and possibly even their greed. Wally did not have to die. He should be here at home with my partner and I and his brother Niko.
Legally, pets are considered property and have no voice in our legal system. That is unfortunate given the fact that pets are members of our family. Wally and his brother Niko are part of our family in every way. There is absolutely nothing we would not do for them. They trust us implicitly to do what is best for them. In return, they give us their companionship, unconditional trust and love and make our houses into a home. When a member of our family is ill, we bring them to a doctor. We put our faith and trust in them that they are doing what is best for our family and that they are giving us all of the information available so that we, acting as their voice and on their behalf, can make the right decision. That did not happen here and tragically, Wally died as a result of their negligence. Perhaps I would have made the same decision for treatment had I all the facts, perhaps not. I will never know that now because they decided for me. They took that opportunity to decide away from me and my family. And, there is nothing that I can do about it…or is there?
I am appealing to you as my Senator to help me make Wally’s needless death mean something more than the tragic loss of a family member. I want his death to help others who will undoubtedly face what we just faced. I want veterinarians to be held to a standard befitting the loving souls of those family members we entrust to their care. The veterinary industry is certainly not a “fly by night” industry. Wally’s costs exceed $5,000.00 just while in their care. One would wish that those reaping such financial benefits would be held accountable somehow.
I am not looking for money. I have not hired a lawyer. I am looking for justice for the loving soul we lost to willful negligence. Please help me to find that justice by sponsoring a law, “Wally’s Law” that will legally hold veterinarians to the same standard that medical doctors are held to in treating our human family members. I will do whatever it takes to help in this effort in the name and memory of the soul we lost. We will never forget him. He was a cherished member of our family.
Please read the attached letter. Please read the tribute so you can learn about all that this remarkable soul suffered before he was rescued and all that he overcame. Two and a half years of happiness is all he had before he was taken away from us. It just isn’t fair.
I appreciate your help and your support in this effort on behalf of Wally.
Very truly yours,
Thomas John Bauer
