http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2011/08/thatll-do-horse-thatll-do.html
on what farm is that considered funny yet alone encouraged or allowed?
its no wonder this led to the death of at least one sheep at Jenna Woginrich's property.
chasing sheep is no laughing matter.
generally this behavior is seen in a donkey or mule (I was on a farm where a mule seriously injured a sheep) but indeed here it is in a pony.
stomping deaths are no laughing matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esZIhxxNpmk
ReplyDeleteLook at what happens when equines decide to maltreat ovines.
I wonder if those nitwits are still following this "farmer." I wonder if they know she ditched the pony because he wasn't cool enough. Unbelievable that she was warned that this could happen, ignored the experienced advice, and that lamb died.
ReplyDeleteSounds similar to the advice she's now ignoring about her new puppy. It just occurred to me that she's got new animals like some women get designer handbags to show off. Last year's models like Annie are never heard of or quietly discarded like Jasper.
BTW, the person poring over the Cold Antler Farm related posts here might rather spend the same effort at Jenna Woginrich 's blog and read about events like this happening over and over.
I'll assume that was directed toward myself and have admitted to reading both blogs. JW does live in an odd world all her own. Now with that said I read number of homesteading and farming blogs where you see things happen that make you wonder WTH. Mishaps predator attacks the gambit.
ReplyDeleteNow I'll admit to having finally allowed some of the post on here to get under my skin a little. Some are cute and funny but a number hold an edge directed not just JW but any who does not fit your thought on how a person should be or act. I know a number of rural families who are just trying to keep the lights on and a meal on the table. would you confront them in the same manner say for having to put down a dog that's started running deer or trying to treat an animal without seeking a vet they couldn't afford.
I haven't picked up on comments like that.
DeletePersonally I'd rather see a dog humanely euthanized than shot or hit by a car running deer.
Trying to treat is better than willful neglect any day.
My thought was not that you shouldn't read Cold Antler Farm 's blog, but rather that you should go way back and read everything. You'd see that the same problems arise at the same time every year, and that her unwillingness to be educated in "farming" harms her animals, that her business practices seem shady (just recently double selling the same pork shares), and that she repeatedly seems to manipulate readers/followers to fund this behavior. Well, if they want to support these practices, we can certainly point out the ironies and deceptions here.
DeleteThat pony chased by Jasper had nothing to do with vet money. Most of the animal problems are related to their keeping not vet bills. Jenna constantly reminds people that she has no problem butchering her animals, so there's no excuse for not putting them down. Heaven knows, she has soooo many friends that one of them could help her out if she couldn't bear it.
Please, go back and read the thing. Make notes even. I'm sure you'll see what is so obvious to may of us.
I'll add that vets have a unique position when it comes to payment for services. Yes, everyone deserves to be paid for their work, but the vets around here (I can't speak for other areas) absolutely REFUSE to take payments. They really have you over a barrel when you have an animal emergency. I've been in a position where I had the ability to make payments, but not pay the entire thing up front. They're heartless. No payments, no treatment. I thought these people were supposed to like animals? They'd let the ones around here die on their doorstep.
ReplyDeleteOne more P.S. to my post above. Got a flock of chickens? Ducks? Oh! They are considered "exotic" animals and if you want an exam for them, they will charge you accordingly. Sheesh, it's not like I have a freaking elephant here.
DeleteAre there any farm vets in your area? Sounds like you have a pet vet.
DeleteLook at it from the vet's perspective-- you could buy a pretty nice house for what it costs to go to vet school, they don't earn a paycheck until they're in their mid-twenties, they typically earn less money than other people that went to college for eight years and they have tremendous overhead. If someone leaves them in the lurch for a few thousand it's not like they can repo the dog and recoup what they're owed. If a vet has a no payment policy they've likely had their fill of people running up bills without paying them and they're not being heartless so much as just trying to keep their doors open. Also, the vet may not be a in a position to carry all the customers that want to make payments even if they're good for it.
DeleteYou cannot ask a vet to carry a balance for you - it destroys their bottom line, and a vast majority of people don't pay. I work for a vet and have a folder full of people who SWORE they'd make payments, but when the time came...crickets. We send them to collections and made it a policy that we don't take payments. We can't afford to and keep running the clinic. And don't give me this "heartless" BS - we're underpaid, overworked, and donate a TON to rescues. We have to keep the clinic running or NO ONE gets helped. If you have a pet, you need to be prepared for an emergency - that means setting aside money for this eventuality.
DeleteI agree with the above poster--while I wish my vet would take a payment plan, I completely understand why they can't. A few bad apples ruins it for everyone else. That's why the company CareCredit exists. I've never had to use it, but I've had friends who have and said that they are a pretty easy company to deal with. I'm sure the interest rates are high, but if you're in a pinch what can you do? My dentist even takes CareCredit now.
DeleteOn the subject of animals being billed as "Exotics"--look at it this way. A medical doctor for humans only has to know one species, inside and out--humans. Your average pet veterinarian knows two species inside and out--cats and dogs. An Exotics vet typically knows cats, dogs, avian species (birds), rabbits, guinea pigs, potbelly pigs, ferrets, etc. inside and out, to the best of their ability. To become an "Exotics" vet, they have to take extra classes in school and do an extra residency, plus tons of learning on their own time (my exotics vet went to school for an extra two years to specialize in exotics). I have a pet house rabbit named Wilbur (I don't care if you judge me, rabbits do have sweet, funny personalities and are amazing pets if you give them a chance!), and I take him to an exotics vet in my area. When I first got Wilbur, I asked my new vet what the difference with "Exotics" was, and that was his explanation. I hope that makes Anon 12:02pm a little more understanding! Vets work hard and deserve to be paid for their knowledge, especially if it's above and beyond the norm!
I have a slightly different opinion. I worked at a vet's office one summer and was amazed at the seminars one of the vets would get mail for, all about increasing profitability and encouraging customers to spend more -- with breakout sessions like "how to increase your bottom line by complete laboratory work" or "how to sell additional goods and services to your customers," etc. You can't generalize about vets -- some have big hearts and only want to bring healing into their patients' world,and some ARE heartless and in it for the money. It's the difference between taking your dog in for a bladder infection and getting some antibiotics and instructions that if it doesn't improve in three days to come back in for further tests, (that first visit will cost about $75) versus the vet wanting to do complete bloodwork, a urinalysis, and a kidney ultrasound right off the bat ($600 or more). Since most bladder infections are bacterial in nature, it makes sense to start at the $60 treatment protocol....unless you want to make a lot of money -- then you sell the $600 protocol instead and refuse to do anything else, knowing you have the customer in a vulnerable spot....and these vets take comfort in telling themselves they are just providing first-rate care. Believe me, I've seen both ends of the spectrum.
DeleteI'm going to have to disagree with you there. While there are corporate-owned clinics (coughBanfieldcough) that might push the idea of maximizing profit at the expense of client's ignorance, the truth is, medical science (for both humans and animals) has grown considerably in what it can offer for not only length of life, but quality and health. But these options aren't cheap. The machines needed, the training required to use them, and a variety of other costs come into play any time you upgrade.
DeleteThere are "old school" vets who will try the easiest and cheapest route first, but in all honesty, they do more harm than good. Most vets will give you all of the options, suggest what they think is most effective, and go with what you decide.
Being an informed consumer is essential in all things, including medicine. If you are working with someone who will ONLY offer one level of service, be it "first rate" or "old school," I'd be looking elsewhere.
--Anon 2:58
I'm just saying that there is an entire industry dedicated to helping vets make their practices more lucrative, and vets must be attending or they wouldn't keep putting them on. Oh, and at a friend's vet office across town recently, the doctors got a free trip to Science Diet headquarters with LOTS of perks (meals, golf, sightseeing etc) to spend a day at their labs learning about how superior their dog food was as an incentive to push it a little more in their office visits. The veterinary industry is no different than the medical industry in this regard, and I will take the "old school" vet any day over the vet who just put in an MRI machine and needs to pay it off. Just look at how much yearly or bi-yearly vaccinations are pushed when there is AMPLE veterinary information out there that proves after two years of vaccinating, dogs and cats have lifetime immunity to most of the diseases they received vaccines for and do not need ANY boosters (except rabies, and then only because its required by law).
DeleteThank you, hotflash. That's what I was getting at, but you explained it much better than I. It's no different than the pharmaceutical/medical industry. I transcribe for these "advisory board" meetings wherein they discuss the best way to get a drug approved. It has nothing to do with how many people the drug can save, it's how much money they can make. Thanks again.
DeleteThat's really what I was getting at is the "up-selling." It's disgusting, and is rampant in most industries and businesses now it seems. They've even cornered the vets.
DeleteWell, to each their own. You need to be able to trust your health-care provider, be it for yourself or your pets. I don't deny the medical industry at large lost its focus long ago about what's more important - health or money - but I don't believe people who go into the veterinary industry do it to get rich. And I don't believe the majority of them are heartless - in fact, I think most of them are too sensitive, which ends up making the job that much harder on them.
DeleteMoney-grubbing weasels find their way into every industry, and when the pet industry as a whole was one of the very few that maintained and even flourished during the recent "Recession," they turned their beady little eyes towards the potential profit.
Educate yourself, ask questions, and find someone you trust - that's all any of us can do in situations like this.
--Anon 2:58
Heartless? I was a special education paraeducator for eight years, speaking of underpaid, overwroked, and donating my emotional and physical energy. Just because I have a diff opinion than you, you don't need to call my post BS.
ReplyDeleteBut did you ever not get paid? Or did you get a regular paycheck?
DeleteSpecifically, I was calling BS on you saying veterinarians are heartless. Believe me, NOTHING is more heartbreaking to people who work in this field than to have to turn away suffering animals because their owners didn't prepare sufficiently to care for them. We do what we can, and work hard with local rescues to help as many as possible, but we cannot take on the responsibilities of every pet owner. A pet is not a right, it's a responsibility.
DeleteThis is in part why I find Jenna so galling. She thinks she's "deserves" to have all these animals because they fit some fantasy lifestyle she wants, but she doesn't take the responsibility for caring for them. On a smaller level, that's what we see when people come in with pets and no way to pay for their care. Now imagine that dozens of times a week. Hundreds of times a year. Veterinarians have one of the highest suicides rates of any profession, in part, I think, because of the constant emotional labor of dealing with situations like that.
--Anon 2:58
Do you really think the drug companies would sell to a hospital that didn't pay their bills? Is the utilities company heartless for asking the animal hospital to pay for their services? What about the people who made the fax machine used to send and receive lab results and records? Since they demanded to be paid to buy and maintain the machine, are they heartless too? Vets care deeply about animals and it hurts them emotionally to have to turn people away who can't afford services. In fact, the profession has the highest suicide rate because they burn out from people such as yourself attacking and questioning them. They do the best they can with what they have. If you have a pet, be prepared to take responsibility for it, even if that means putting it down because it is suffering and you can't afford its care.
DeleteDid I ever say I attacked them? No. And everyone does the best they can with what they have, including. me. Unforeseen circumstances do arise.
DeleteAs a matter of fact, the state reduced our pay (all teachers/paras) for a period of three years. I'm an independent contractor now, so yes, I do know about not getting paid.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Jenna's dusting off Clan Cold Antler-- for $5/month or more you can read about "much more personal, spiritual, and challenging things."
ReplyDeleteHey, just the other day we were treated to a lengthy description of her sudsing up al fresco and it was free--- I'm almost afraid to ask what paying readers will be hearing about over on the Clan blog.
My thoughts of most vet practices lean towards somewhat negative myself. They aren't only providing a service but running a business. I have numerous horror stories about vets, not just dealing with money but even surgery I did not ok.
ReplyDeleteI dropped cali off to be spayed and have her leg amputated and they took it upon themselves to do a totally different surgery and I went to pick her up and she still had the limb. It was a nightmare. They got additional hundreds of dollars of bandage changes out if me and 3 years later I took her to an orthopedics specialist who said the only thing...the only ethical thing to do was remove the leg. Bingo!
So, a few weeks ago Jenna was selling her fiddle. Now, she's giving a fiddle workshop and everyone leaves with a fiddle? Wow, fiddles must fall out of the sky or something!
ReplyDeleteeta, forgot to sign/initial post.
ReplyDeleteC.
No wonder it takes her four hours to do farm chores--- she spends all that time looking for animals that have escaped.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would be worried Merlin wasn't well-- hiding in an unusual place and not whinnying like he normally would.
That's what I was thinking, too, about Merlin. She should keep an eye on him and maybe get him checked out. I guess that's too much to ask for though......
ReplyDelete