On Feb. 21, I brought my 12-week-old Sphynx kitten, Mystic, to Riverview Animal Hospital’s Urgent Care Clinic in Durango in obvious medical crisis. She was severely dehydrated, lethargic and not eating – she needed immediate care. I was told the appropriate course of treatment was IV fluids and overnight hospitalization to stabilize her. I explained that I had $500 available that day and could obtain the remaining balance by Monday. Because I could not pay the full amount upfront, no diagnostic tests were performed.
Instead of receiving emergency stabilization, Mystic was sent home with home-care instructions.
Mystic died.
This is not simply about cost – it is about policy, and what happens when financial requirements override emergency medical judgment. In human medicine, emergency departments are legally required to stabilize patients before discussing payment. In veterinary medicine, animals in crisis can be delayed or denied care based solely on an owner’s ability to pay upfront. The result is preventable suffering and loss of life.
Animals cannot advocate for themselves. In communities across the region, where veterinary options are limited and emergencies often occur after hours or on weekends, this gap in care is especially devastating. When emergency treatment is withheld and death is a foreseeable outcome, that failure should be recognized as neglect – and in severe cases, animal abuse.
This is not about demanding free care. Clinics must remain financially viable. But basic emergency stabilization – pain relief, fluids, oxygen – should never be contingent on full payment upfront.
Care before cost should not be a slogan. It should be the standard.
Sharmi Ann Hill
Cortez
