After the £1,100 quote from the vet in London I drove down the A3 and out the other side of the Hindhead tunnel in search of affordable healthcare for the spaniel.
On the Surrey-Hampshire border, I found a well-recommended vet who had been in practice for 40 years and appeared to be still engaged in the treatment of animals for a small amount of money above the price of the labour and materials, claiming his reasonable costs back from the insurance rather than making the client pay up front.
He was past retirement age and clearly only practising for vocational reasons: a genuine fascination with veterinary medicine, a deep love of his job, and the satisfaction of curing much-loved pets.
The poor man will be censured by the veterinary professional bodies if they find out he is following such an outdated ethical code so I won’t give his identity away.
Rather than the eye-watering amount the London vet quoted me, he said the operation to remove the small lump would be £360 including lab fees.
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