A Strange Chain of Events

       “He had no idea what was wrong with the cow, but that did not stop him from charging us a big bill! And to make it worse, he tried to collect a bill that we had already paid! That guy is just no good! Those words, plus a whole lot more, were spoken by an obviously angry person. The shocking thing was that I realized he was talking about me, even though I had never met him. 

     The saga begins with me making a routine call to Brown’s dairy farm near Brodheadsville, PA. Besides the dairy herd, they had a “jug” store, meaning they processed their milk and sold it to the public through a retail store on the farm.  Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown, and their son Arnold were all involved in the business, but I had only ever met Arnold. In the past, whenever the call was finished, Arnold would ask for the bill, and then go into the store, and come back with a check. On this particular visit, he requested a gallon of sulfur solution, but I did not know the price. I suggested that we send the bill after I had been able to learn the proper price for it. He agreed. When I returned to our office, I looked up the price, finished the bill, and turned it over to our bookkeeper.

     A couple of months went by, and they once again called for service, this time for a cow that was not able to rise. Before I left the office, our bookkeeper told me that the bill from my previous visit had not been paid. I presumed it had been overlooked at the farm and took it along. When I arrived, my patient was on a grassy area near the barn. She was alert and eating. Arnold explained that she had been fine the previous evening but was not able to rise this morning. They had rolled her onto a skid and got her off of the concreate floor of the barn to make her more comfortable.

     I did a physical examination and found nothing abnormal. I encouraged her to rise by slapping her on the rump a few times. She tried to get up, but soon settled back to the ground. There are a number of causes that can cause cows to be unable to stand. Severe systemic illness can produce weakness, but this cow showed no signs of illness. Nerve damage from a fall that no one witnessed was a possibility, as was a tumor putting pressure on an essential nerve. Another option was a fractured pelvis, which is difficult to diagnose because the pelvis is not accessible for complete examination. One last possibility was low blood calcium, which results in muscle weakness. However, that usually occurs soon after delivering a calf, and this was not the case with this cow.

     With no diagnosis, the best I could do was to give the cow some calcium, and some anti-inflammatory medication to help with a pinched nerve. I suggested to Arnold that they give her a few days out on the grass, keeping her supplied with food and water. Hopefully the anti-inflammatory drug and some time would bring healing.

     Having finished with the cow, I told Arnold that there had apparently been a mix-up over the bill for my previous visit, because it had not been paid. I thought I spoke in a pleasant, non-accusatory tone. He seemed surprised and took the bill into the store. A few minutes later a short, stocky, woman came out and strode toward me with an angry look on her face. I presumed she was Mrs. Brown. As soon as she was in voice range she said “What are you trying to pull here? We always pay at the time of the call. We have never had a bill with you.” 

     I remained calm, and explained the circumstances of the previous call, and why a bill had been sent later, rather than presented on the spot. She did not seem to believe me, saying over and over that they always paid immediately, and never charged anything with us. After some more discussion, she pledged to look for a cancelled check for that call but did not have time to do so immediately. I readily agreed to this plan. She asked for today’s bill, and I gave her that. She went back into the store, and soon Arnold returned with the check. “Mom tends to over-react if she thinks anyone is questioning our honesty,” he offered. “I’m sorry that is how she interpreted things,” I responded. “I’m sure it is simply a misunderstanding.”

     By the time I got back to the office, our bookkeeper told me that Mrs. Brown had called, saying she had a cancelled check proving that they had paid the bill.  She said Mrs. Brown seemed very angry over the situation. Our bookkeeper apologized and owned the mistake. I presumed that the issue was resolved.

Some time passed until one day I was making farm calls in the same area as the Brown’s farm and store. Another one of our employees asked me to stop at their store and purchase some buttermilk for her. I was waiting in line to pay for it when I overheard the conversation described at the beginning of this chapter. I presumed the speaker was Mr. Brown, whom I had never met. This turned out to be correct.

After realizing that he was talking about me, I simply listened for another minute or two. He was truly vehement in his condemnation of me. I learned that a few days after I had examined the down cow, she showed no improvement, so they had her slaughtered for beef. The butchering process revealed that she had a broken pelvis. I had mentioned that possibility to Arnold the day I examined her but could neither confirm nor deny it by physical exam.

     Finally, I spoke up, interrupting the speaker with this statement. “Hi, I’m not sure of your name, but I am Dr. Gardner. I  think you are talking about me. The fact is that there was no way I could know that your cow had a broken pelvis, and I explained that to Arnold that day. And the issue regarding the bill was caused by an honest mistake, and not one that I made. I think you owe me an apology!”

     Mr. Brown at first looked truly shocked by my words, but quickly returned to his angry onslaught regarding my ability and my character. There was no indication of any remorse, and definitely no apology. When I got to the cash register, I encountered Mrs. Brown, who glared at me while accepting payment for the buttermilk.

     As you can imagine, I drove away from the store in a high state of agitation. I had done nothing wrong, but I was being angrily condemned by one person who had never met me to a second person who had also never met me. I could only imagine how many others had heard, or would later hear, a similar rendition of false information.

     One final event occurred to bring this story to a close. I shared the above facts with my partners later that day. They were sympathetic, and of course rather amazed that I happened to be standing in line at the very moment I was being verbally attacked. One morning a few weeks later, the phone in the office rang, and my partner answered it. I heard him say “Well, before we come out an apology to Dr. Gardner is needed.” There was a short pause, and then my partner said, “Well, I guess you will have to call someone else, because we will not be coming.” I appreciated the support from my partner. We never heard from the Brown family again.