[mattdavis11]

I can understand registering with a vet or ER, but some cities and municipalities would like for you register your pet with them. I will not do that.

Back 10 years or so ago, I was pet sitting for my boss and his wife, they were to be gone 2 weeks. Day 2, the male lab becomes lethargic, won't eat and is obviously in discomfort. He'd had been under the weather some recently and had been to his vet and was on meds. I left their other lab at their house and took him to my home to watch over him. His condition did not improve overnight, so I call the dog's vet, they can't see him that day, so I called mine. I have a mobile vet.

She came out, took one look at him and said "you need to get him to vet xxx, I'll make the call". So I took him in, vet xxx calls later in the day and says, "the dog is really sick". Long story short, the next day I have a dog on oxygen, with a tube in his chest cavity for drainage, in the back of suburban headed to the best veterinary clinic in the nation, Texas A&M.

He spends 21 days in ICU for pyothorax at TAMU.

There was not a single balk in the entire process outside of his vet not being able to see him. From the first call to my vet, to the day we picked him up at A&M, everything was smooth. I may have signed a few things, but it was streamlined. All the vets were inline, all the way down to the grad students completing their residency, or whatever they have to do.

All of the vets and grad students called to check on the status regularly, during and after. He became somewhat famous.

The vet my dog sees is still the mobile vet, but if it's in question whether she can treat her, she'll tell me to go to vet xxx. She had a case of mastitis last year, and was admitted with no questions asked. It was nice to reminisce with vet xxx about the "miracle dog".