She wrote a couple of notes on patients’ charts. “For my part, if I think a pet’s human is trustworthy—like you—I’ll suggest a home treatment option where it’s feasible. Otherwise, it’s my professional responsibility to see that the animal gets the necessary care. And if that means a paying visit, so be it.”
Sunny remembered Mike’s comment about poking her nose into how people make their living. But Jane had a point.
And the vet was on a roll now. She continued, “It’s not an easy job, Sunny. I treat the pet, but I’ve got to deal with the human side of the partnership. Sometimes that’s difficult. It can take people a while to come to grips with the fact that their pet is extremely ill—or worse, that their pet can’t really be cured. While that process goes on for the human, I have to make sure that the pet isn’t suffering.”
Jane turned to survey her patients in their cages. Some of them were pacing around. Most just lay in a corner, looking unhappy. Sunny couldn’t tell whether their unhappiness came from boredom or illness.
“Sometimes I have to extend treatment longer than I’d like to—beyond what I think is humane,” Jane admitted. “But that’s because the human can’t bring himself—or herself—to make a decision about ending the pet’s suffering, not because it’s adding a bit more profit to my bottom line.”
Sunny nodded somberly. “The other day, I heard about someone who had to give her cat injections, and I was wondering how much harder would it be, deciding to end things for him, if he were so sick—”
“I think you would make the right choice,” Jane said quietly. “Sometimes, it’s worth doing everything you can. But sometimes you realize that it’s selfish, keeping a pet with you when the animal is in terrible pain.”
“I hope you’re right.” Sunny shivered a little, even though the room was warm. “But it must be a terrible decision to make. And it’s easy to see how some people could end up blaming the doctor.”
“Even the nicest folks can get pretty nasty,” Jane agreed. “You have to let them vent their feelings, and if you can, help them get through it. You might not believe me, Sunny, but I think grief counseling comes into this. It’s like losing a member of your family. You’re still pretty new to the experience of having a pet. You have to go through this kind of loss yourself to understand what I’m saying. The problem is, dealing with that kind of grief is a case for a human psychologist, not a vet. We try to do what we can. Whenever we had a euthanasia case, we’d give the person a DVD to watch.”
She gave Sunny an embarrassed smile. “Maybe it doesn’t sound like much, but a lot of people have told me it helped.”
Her expression darkened a little. “Martin and I had a long-running argument over those damned discs. He used to give them to people, and then tack a charge onto their bill—at a big markup.”
Jane knelt by one of the cages, petting the dog inside. “I wonder sometimes what Martin did when he set up his own practice. Did I really change his mind, or did he go back to charging folks for that little bit of comfort?”
“I can’t answer that,” Sunny said, determined to change the subject. “But I think you have a lot to talk about with Tobe Phillips.”
Jane glanced up at her. “What do you mean?”
“From what you say about vets in general, there are probably a lot of people who were seriously annoyed with Martin in particular.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Jane said.
“So you should mention that to Tobe,” Sunny explained, “and he should mention it to Detective Trumbull.”
“If my own practice is anything to go by, the detective would find himself with a lot of possible suspects,” Jane admitted. “But lots of people grouse about the treatments, or the costs. I don’t ever remember a dissatisfied client putting a vet to sleep,” Jane joked. “Sorry, gallows humor.” She smiled, then frowned. “Checking out all those people, though—that’s going to be a major distraction. He’ll end up wasting time that should be used to find the real killer.”
Sunny took a deep breath. How to put this delicately? “Finding the killer isn’t your concern, or Tobe’s. It’s Trumbull’s job. You’re just trying to make sure you don’t get accused of something that you didn’t do.”
