I READ with great interest your article on the animal hospital. I agree that everyone should pay their fees and, as I am a client at this animal hospital, I can't praise them enough for the wonderful work they do. What has annoyed me is that they are making people out to be criminals!

I have just received a "so called" bill and could not understand why, as we always pay every time we visit the practice. We telephoned to inquire why we had a bill. The apparent reason is that my dog had died in the car park before I could see a vet and they then took him for cremation. As you can imagine we were devastated. We asked them to forward any bills we might have incurred. We then received a condolence card saying sorry for the loss of your friend, which we appreciated very much and thought it was a lovely touch, but no bill, so we assumed we didn't owe anything. Since then, we have visited quite frequently for different reasons and always paid promptly for their services.

Two years on, we have now received a bill for our dog that died all that time ago. It's not our fault we never had a bill. They made me feel like a criminal for not paying this and I feel that other readers should know the situations people have been put in. I'm sure we are not the only ones in this situation. I will, of course, pay this bill and continue to use the practice, but don't let's tar everyone with the same brush. Not all of us want something for nothing and I'm sure most of us really appreciate the services they provide. Let's get the facts right in future, please.

Sue Mennaye, Mennaye Gardens, Broadlane, Redruth