Michigan has for years fought an economic downturn, says Dr. Stephen Steep, a small-animal practice owner and chair of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association Legislative Advisory Committee. The Michigan proposal also would have added a tax to many services, excluding some in human medicine.

"Our strategy was to try and elevate our profession and acknowledge that they had a difficult task ahead of them, but not to fix it at the expense of veterinary medicine," says Steep, adding many opponents to the service tax argued against it for the sake of their own business. Veterinarians argued for a greater good.

"When we got up in front of the Legislature, we started to talk about the public good. We're worried about people seeking health care for their pets and the spread of disease. We mobilized our veterinarians in the trenches and fought it," he says.

But results are unlikely before the end of the year, says Fenstermaker, adding the governor would have to call a special session of the Legislature. That is unlikely without knowing at least two-thirds of lawmakers will approve the measure, she adds. "There's no way to tell," Grant says.