For those of us being driven to seek an alternative career might I suggest becoming a veterinary surgeon, a profession probably almost as old as ours.

Our poor old terminally ill cat suffered a serious seizure on Bank Holiday Monday.

Knowing that the inevitable had unfortunately arrived and not wanting to see him suffering any more, we called our family vet who duly agreed to meet us 15 minutes later at his surgery to deliver the chemical coup de grâce.

Nothing was said about anything so sordid as cost.

He arrived late wearing his best funereal jeans and sweatshirt and we left him five minutes later with the corpse in a small box.

We attended the next day to be presented with the bill by his receptionist – a call out fee of £120, £35 for giving the injection, plus VAT, plus a small fortune for the drugs involved.

We paid fairly cheerfully, if that is the right word to describe our feelings the day after the loss of an old friend.

Considering that the animals he deals with are often much more civilised than our clients, and that he will occasionally get the chance to kill off the ones who are not very pleasant, I think a life as a vet might be more profitable and satisfying than being a solicitor.

Steve Butler, Butler & Kandler, Ilkley, West Yorkshire