PET PEEVE OVER BENNY WIDELY FELT.

Byline: KIMIT MUSTON Local View

I have been writing weekly columns about politics and life in Los Angeles for about seven years now. I welcomed the Democrats to town in 2000. I said goodbye to Gov. Gray Davis and Cody Cluff, who once ran our local film office. I argued for Valley independence, and I still think it's a good idea. I still wage a lonely campaign against daylight-saving time. (I don't think you folks believe I'm serious about that, but I am.) And I am primarily responsible for the success of the Ides of March, that celebration of back-stabbing politicians held on the anniversary of Julius Caesar's assignation in 44 B.C. Today, thanks to my efforts, the Ides is almost as popular in Southern California as Guy Fawkes Day.

Most weeks I receive four or five e-mails for my efforts. But two weeks ago, I wrote about the treatment my little dog Benny received during his last hour on Earth, from a vet who left him seizing on the exam table for an hour because we still owed the pet hospital $500. Only after my wife made a scene in the crowded waiting room did the vet reappear and administer the few pennies worth of poison that released Benny. And that little story generated 87 e-mail responses. That is by far the most messages one of my columns has ever generated.

If you wrote, please bear with me. I am trying to respond to all of you, but it will take a little time. I was overwhelmed by the intense response - literally. My e-mail box melted. I'm sure that Benny, had he ever learned to read, would have been warmed by the number of people he didn't know who cared so much about him.

Most of the notes I received were words of comfort for my wife and me. And they were greatly appreciated. Many offered suggestions as to vets we might consult in the future who had shown themselves to be caring and compassionate with their customers and their patients. One man wrote that although he now lives in North Hollywood, he still drives halfway across the Valley to a vet he trusts. And we were even invited to attend a ``grieving day'' at another pet hospital, to share with those who had lost a beloved companion over the past year.

But there were also letters that were a good deal less than comforting. Two notes related similar experiences to ours at the very same pet hospital where Benny had suffered. And worse, a handful of other notes told similar horror stories to ours, but these happened at other veterinary hospitals. It now seems to me that there might be a dirty little secret in the veterinary community. Evidently a number of vets believe that holding a suffering animal hostage will be a surer method to wring payment out of their owners.

Vets, like human doctors, are small-businessmen and -businesswomen. Their economic survival depends upon customers who pay their bills. But in my opinion, holding a terminal animal hostage for payment of a debt before they will be put down is bordering on animal cruelty.

Veterinarians in California are licensed by the Veterinary Medical Board, at vmb.ca.gov, where you will find a complaint form ready to be printed up. As the board says, ``Anyone who witnesses or believes that a licensed veterinarian's ... behavior or activities may cause harm ... to animal patients (and) may be illegal, and can file a complaint.''

The Veterinary Medical Board promises to look into all complaints filed with them within 30 days of receiving them. After an investigation the VMB will then either issue an immediate citation and fine, or forward its data to the Department for Consumer Affairs for further investigations, or simply close the case.

But what the board doesn't know about, it can't investigate. And if it only receives half the complaint forms it should, then it may dismiss a problem that ought to be dealt with.

I certainly hope you never have to file a complaint about your vet. But if you do, you might also consider giving the following telephone number a call between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; [phone]. That is the University of California, Davis, pet loss support line, and a vet in training will offer you as much comfort as possible - without waiting until you pay the bill.