I THINK the animal lovers in this area, and I know there are many, would like to be made aware of the fact that there is a lamentable lack of after hours care for our pets.

I THINK the animal lovers in this area, and I know there are many, would like to be made aware of the fact that there is a lamentable lack of after hours care for our pets.

For instance, when my daughter's dog was taken seriously ill with a fit recently at about 10pm she naturally thought she would ring her vet and he would call but this was not the case.

She was given an out-of-hours number which was answered by a very unsympathetic vet who told her that she would have to bring the animal to the surgery as she was the only one on duty and was covering all the veterinary practices in the area and she also had sick animals to care for at their surgery.

What kind of cover is that - one vet for such a large area, what if the dog had collapsed in the street?

As my daughter was on her own and her pet was a German Shepherd weighing nine stone, there was no way she could have got him to the surgery. Apart from the fact, that the poor dog was in throw of a seizure at the time, thrashing about and foaming at the mouth.

This vet also said she must bring a fee of �80, the money seemed more important than anything else.

Actually, there was no need for her to mention it as my daughter spends thousands of pounds in vet bills as she had three animals with medical problems. And yet, when she most needs him, her vet let her down.

Her sister and myself also tried to get a vet to attend but all to no avail. My daughter had no option but to wait until the next day, trying to comfort her pet and do what she could for him herself, and she herself was shaking and ill with the worry of the situation.

The next day her own vet did turn up and the decision was made to put the dog to sleep to save his any further suffering. As you can imagine my daughter is totally devastated.

Many of your readers will know the dog, Sparky, as they will have seen my daughter walking him in the park, together with her black German Shepherd, Boo.

Everyone loved him; he was like a great big teddy bear.

I hope the pet owners in the area will make it clear to their vets that this situation is intolerable and insist they provide the 24 hour care our pets are entitled to and which their owners pay handsomely for.

After all if the vets want a nine to five job, perhaps they should have chosen a different profession.

MRS JOAN DAVIES

Alma Street, Weston

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Weston Mercury phoned the Veterinary Surgeon who felt this dog's owner was mistaken.