Take care of your pets!

All three of the veterinarians who have come to Saipan to live and run a full-service animal hospital have the same story to tell.
We all came to offer a service where there was none. This had to be one of the more noble things that anyone could do, considering that all of us came on our own dime. There was no contract, no guarantee of money, or financial stability. We all paid our own travel expenses, and the freight for our equipment. We came for the work and the opportunity to help the animals and the people of the CNMI. All of this at no cost to the government or people of the CNMI.

Since we were charging for our work, some people said we were all “just in it for the money.” This attitude has persisted to this day in spite of evidence to the contrary.

As a result we were all demonized to the point that the first two veterinarians left and, although I have stayed, it is wearing very thin and I am too old to want to deal with this much longer. The truly amazing claim against me was that I have a monopoly and abuse my clients because of this. How silly, how unthinking.

I have come up with a few suggestions to solve this problem of having to pay for services delivered.  

1. The government of the CNMI could hire me as a practicing veterinarian. They could put me on salary and pay for the running and upkeep of the hospital. They do this for the physicians.

2. The “rich” people of the island could contribute a portion of their income, say 80 to 90 percent for the running of the hospital, and 10 to 20 percent for my salary (what I pay and what I get), and whatever else is needed for incidentals.

3. The government of the CNMI could give me tax exempt status (including customs tax), give me space in one of the buildings they rent/own, and give me government employees as my staff (just like the Department of Lands and Natural Resources clinic), pay me a salary, and pay for my supplies and equipment.

4. One of the many “grant writers” on the island could apply for and get me a grant to practice veterinary medicine in an “underserved” area, and collect donations to run and equip the hospital.

5. Barring this financial support I could close the animal hospital and wait for another two to three veterinarians to come to Saipan, thus eliminating any accusations of a “monopoly.”

6. Or…this is a long shot…people could simply quit complaining that everything is “expensive” in 2017, and simply take care of your pets in a manner that is consistent with the stories you tell about how much you love animals in general and your pet specifically (known as walk the talk), and pay me for the service I provide and I will deal with the rent, equipment, supplies, employees, personal salary, and expertise necessary for the service…oh yeah, quit vilifying and demonizing me for doing my job. I am not in the money-saving business. I am in the lifesaving business and that can’t be done on some imaginary, Walt Disney World budget, especially if people here (mainlanders especially) refuse to mitigate the really expensive stuff by not practicing preventative medicine with their pets. Hope is not a strategy, guys!

Ed Tudor, DVM is a practicing veterinarian and runs the animal hospital on Saipan