Cat rescued from Westlake school bus recovering, but medical bills likely to total $2,500

Cleveland.com ^ | 11/21/2014 | Barb Galbincea

[EBH]

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Margie, a cat rescued from the engine belt of a Westlake school bus last week, is recovering, but her medical bills are piling up.

So far, the Westlake Animal Hospital has provided about $1,800 in care to Margie, who was found stuck in the bus' serpentine belt, according to a news release from the school district.

The 1-year-old cat was discovered after Westlake bus driver Marge Laskowski radioed fellow driver Denise Wering during their morning routes on Nov. 12 to check the back of Wering's bus. When the drivers pulled off of Dover Center Road, they spotted a tail and a paw sticking out of the rear engine.

Westlake Animal Control Officer Jim Wang freed the cat -- now named Margie in honor of Laskowski -- and brought it to veterinarian David Love's Westlake Animal Hospital on Center Ridge Road.

Drivers think the cat crawled into the engine while the bus was parked overnight and plugged in to make it easier to start in cold weather.

Veterinarian Colleen Madden had to amputate one of the cat's legs because of a severe break, and her tail also will have to be amputated.

The hospital staff, which included Megan Hoffman, a registered veterinary technician, discovered that the cat was pregnant. But Margie lost her four kittens this week.

Westlake drivers drivers Leah Vandersluis and Denise Higgins have been among those keeping tabs on Margie while she recovers.

"The staff at the Westlake Animal Hospital has been absolutely phenomenal," Higgins said in the news release "They invite us in to see Margie all the time and let us stay as long as we want. The vets come in and talk to us. Megan (Hoffman) is text messaging us at 9:30 at night to give us updates. They are very dedicated."

The transportation department of the Westlake schools has raised more than $300 for Margie's care, which is likely to total about $2,500 or more.

Anyone who wants to donate to the Westlake Animal Hospital's Good Samaritan Fund can mail or drop off a check at the hospital, 27370 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, 44145. You can also make a credit card donation by calling 440-835-3800.

You can follow Margie's progress on the hospital's Facebook page.

[Slings and Arrows]

Nope.

[Hot Tabasco]

medical supplies are not free - or cheap.

when it comes to animals, they're not as expensive as you think............

[virgil]

Poor little girl.

[justiceseeker93]

Or malpractice claims.

Excellent point!

Question for vetvetdoug: Do veterinarians generally carry professional malpractice insurance?

[vetvetdoug]

We have to carry much of the same insurance as do physicians. Why? Because in the treatment of animals, sometimes the owners get in the way and get hurt by their own animals and the owners sue us for large amounts. We also have malpractice claims that can run into large amounts, especially on racehorses. As for our education, until around the 1980's there were only 27 veterinary colleges within the US and competition was keen; in my entering year out of 800 qualified applicants, 60 were admitted. Many of those that didn't get in went into dental and medical schools. Today the competition is easier and the pool of qualified and exemplary applicants is shallow and many graduates overall are no where near the quality they were 30 years ago.

The veterinary curriculum has also been diluted so more can graduate, so one encounters "average" veterinarians more often. I am amazed at the lack and depth of education of many of my younger colleagues in practice. There are exceptions though but they are few. Mississippi pumps out over 60 veterinarians a year in a state with a population of ~3million. New York graduates around a hundred and NYC alone has 8million people...do the math about the pool of applicants.

[EBH]

What is your opinion of those who attain a Veterinary Diplomat designation post graduation?

[vetvetdoug]

Veterinary Diplomates in specialties are the best of the best. They rival their human counterparts in education and abilities in every aspect. I had a night to think about what someone said about veterinarians not having the education as MD's and thought of dozens of instances where veterinary researchers advanced surgery, orthopaedics, pharmacology, microbiology, neurosurgery, and ophthalmology. I had a local ophthalmologist that wanted to remove the cataracts from his dog's eye. I recommended him to spend a few hours with a friend of mine that was a veterinary ophthalmologist. He returned and decided that he would let the veterinarian do the cataract removal because it was much more difficult than it is in humans because of the dog's vascularity.

I refer cases regularly to the Veterinary diplomates in the specialties. It is what is best for the animal.

[Ditter]

Veterinarians are the best! My brother is one but he just retired and sold his clinic (sob). I just took one of my dogs to a veterinary ophthamologist and he is terrific.

[EBH]

Thank you for answering that question. Two of the three vets at this clinic are dog and cat diplomats, I suspect that is why they seem a bit higher priced.

I started using these guys as my vet as I am a sucker for special needs cats and sometimes an ‘average’ vet just won’t do, but then I guess I am not an average client either. LOL.

[EBH]

PS...as far as the vet researchers go there are lots of instances where they are doing things with animals long before we ever try it on humans.

In some instances it is the vet who is more knowledgeable than the MD.

[EBH]

As I was watching the news this morning the weather report came on reminding us all to enjoy this warm weather because just 1 year ago it was -14 degrees on this very same day. This reminded me of another big event just 1 year ago. Margie was brought into our hospital after being pulled from a Westlake School bus engine. I figured what a great time for an update Margie is doing fantastic! She still lives with Megan, the RVT here at the hospital that has graciously taken her into her home as a long term foster. She spends much of her time on a lap or looking for a sunny spot to stretch out and rest. She has had several fun adventures this summer and we have all learned…Margie LOVES to camp. She has traveled with Megan’s family to as far as Iowa. A great big thank you to all her supporters, those who made donations, and all the well wishes. Margie lives life to the fullest and her quality of life has never been questioned…she’s just a happy cat Don’t forget…as it gets colder tap the hood, or fender of your vehicle before starting it. Margie was just trying to find a warm place to rest on that fateful day.

[EBH]

Kitty ping list update?!