Agenda - Council - 05/12/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 30, 1981 ANOKA-WEST PET HOSPITAL W. K. BRUNELL. D. V. M. M. J. COOK. O. V. M. Ramsey Councilmembers: I have a couple words to say concerning the Ramsey Rabies Clinic. For years, the Anoka-West Pet Hospital conducted Rabies vaccination clinics for the community of Ramsey. We priced the vaccines at 30 - 35% of the usual hospital rate as a service to the city to encourage rabies vacci- nations in the interest of public health. At these reduced fees, profit was obviously not a major consideration. During the past two years, the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association has come forward to provide guidelines to aid veterinarians in conducting clinics. In part, their guidelines recommend v~ccinations for rabies only, since of the diseases for which we have vaccine, only rabies is of public health significance. Rather than providing other vaccinations at public clinics, the M.V.M.A. suggests encouraging owners to have their pets v~cci- nated for other diseases, as well as having them heartworm tested, etc, at private veterinary hospitals so that an adequate exam can be performed and questions concerning animal health can be answered. This is not possible at mass vaccination clinics. Our hospital has suggested this change in the Ramsey Clinic, but apparently the council has decided against this change in favor of allowing even further diversification in the v~ccines administered at the clinic. This brings me to the second point of this letter. The past two or three clln- ics have been conducted by veterinary operations from outside the city of Ramsey. The f,~ll lines of v~ccines offered were at prices so low as to preclude profit and indeed make one wonder if the fees weren't set solely to encourage pet owners in this community to seek lower fees elsewhere on a regular basis. I am not suggesting what someone else's fees should be. They are a personal matter. I am suggesting that the city not play a role, no matter how innocent, in encouraging low fees for services not related to the public well being. In summary, let me re-suggest a change to rabies-only clinics in the future. If someone wants to give free rabies vaccinations, that's fine with me, since it is unquestionably in the public interest. I would give free vaccinations myself but my overhead from real estate taxes alone pre- cludes such an offer. But then that~ another story... St~cerel~ W. K. Brunsll, D.V.M. Anoka-West Pet Hospital