My vet is bleeding me dry!!!

[NellaBean]

When i worked at an animal shelter, buying vaccines in bulk made them cost about $1-2 each. Maybe less.

$36 for a 3 year rabies shot is ridiculous. Guess what, that is what 2 different vets out here quoted me. Or $12-15 for a single year vaccine. Cracks me up how they charge more to make it "good" longer.

You can get a single dose 7way spectra vaccine, including needle......for $5 from upco.com. I do my shots at the vet because I always need proof of them and most places dont consider doing it at home "proof" of vaccatination.


On a sidenote, I do have accident only insurance on my 2 young dogs. $13/month each. To get actual insurance that covers a little bit of a few things it is abotu $30-50 per dog per month and considering what it covers I always saw it as a bit of a waste. You still have ridiculous copays and deductible and lots of restrictions.


In all honesty, the competenece level I have witness at my new "less expensive" vet office and my old expensive vet office is actually higher. The tech who did the dental on my old dog very much knew what he was doing.

Maybe I am used to different services as I am from LA and there are clinics all over....dont' get me wrong, there are plenty of vets who will charge you an arm and a leg out there.....but if you know where to go for what, you can get great services at very low prices.

ABC out there does low cost spay/neuters, as does GSHS.....I had 3 kittens (2 spay, 1 neuter) done for $43 total. GSHS does male cat neuters for $19 and male dog neuters for about $1/lb, minimum of $25.....surgery cost only, anything else (pain meds, overnight stay, etc) is extra. That is what they do. They don't do anything fancy. they dont even do xrays. So they keep their costs down by doing only basic services. I see nothing wrong with having vets who do only basic services. I see no need to finance their fancy schmancy ultrasound machine that I could never afford to even use, by having them give my dog shots at 10-20x the cost.

Its just getting harder and harder to find vets who want to provide basic services at a decent cost.......

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

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Oh, that's horrible. I hate it when vets won't even mention the word euthanasia for fear of losing a patient / client and thereby lose the income. It's so sad and useless. People just want honesty, and if they'd give them that, they'd have clients for life. There have been lots of times when people have transferred their animals to our ER clinic for overnight care, and after our doctor does an exam and gives the clients a dose of honesty, they put their animals down rather than spend thousands of dollars only for their pets to suffer and still have only a few months with them...

 

[Raen]

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I used to be a vet tech, and I don't recall ever having to sedate an animal for an x-ray. If your vet is doing that, I'd be suspicious.

Regarding the heartworm stuff, you don't actually have to use the ivermectin (heartguard) marketed for dogs. You can get the exact same stuff marketed for horses or cows at any farm store. Here is dosing information . Many large kennels do this, and we do it with our three dogs as well. It is way, way cheaper.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

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I used to be a vet tech, and I don't recall ever having to sedate an animal for an x-ray. If your vet is doing that, I'd be suspicious.

That's the "new" way that the medical boards are saying it should be done now. Apparently, no one should be in the room when the xray is taken. Yeah, right...

 

[funnybirds]

Our vet is a great guy but sadly on the expensive side. I hate the nickel and dime treatment options because it seems I always spend more money in the long run trying to save money. We have a Bernese mountain dog, who as many of you know are pretty prone to health issues. We got pet insurance from Trupanion for 50 bucks a month and 0 deductable. We also got a hip writer because with large dogs it's likely that they will develop some sort of hip issues.

We have had the insurance roughly 6 months and it has already paid for itself in monthly premium costs. I know 50 dollars is a lot per month, but we can easily spend 5 times that with one case of unrelenting diarrhea, special diagnostic labs or a limp, so it has been worth it. We don't have all of our pets insured, but we insure Charlie our Berner. It’s one less sudden financial stress for us to cover and so far Trupanion has paid out 90% of all claim costs (minus the office visit and regular maintenance treatments .) So far, so good. I wish all insurance worked this well…

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

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That's awesome that it's working well for you. Your are very smart to insure a Berner!

 

[redhen]

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I used to be a vet tech, and I don't recall ever having to sedate an animal for an x-ray. If your vet is doing that, I'd be suspicious.

Regarding the heartworm stuff, you don't actually have to use the ivermectin (heartguard) marketed for dogs. You can get the exact same stuff marketed for horses or cows at any farm store. Here is dosing information . Many large kennels do this, and we do it with our three dogs as well. It is way, way cheaper.

Can you use the ivermection 1% for cattle? Is it the same as Ivermectin for horses?

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

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I understand that rates have gone up. I get frustrated because this particular vet, who used to give back more to the community, doesn't do so now because of the huge elaborate facility that was built. I don't begrudge them their dream, however, they've stopped giving discounts to rescues and inflating prices because they now have a huge mortgage to pay.

I've worked for a vet that, as you point out, was having unlicensed and untrained personnel performing euthanasias, x-rays, teeth cleaning, you name it. I'm aware of what goes on behind the scenes. I also think that vet. offices need to work with their patients to make sure that pets are being treated properly. Many people aren't taking their pets to the vet because they can't afford it. Therefore, vets aren't making any money and charging the ones that are taking the pets. I think my vet would have been more prudent to not charge me a $23 "hospital stay" and keep my business, which over the last few years has been in the thousands of dollars, then to risk losing my business over a made-up fee. I'm not asking vets to lose money on clients, but c'mon. I live 30 mins. from the vet. Once I asked if they could mail me the meds that they didn't have in stock the day I needed them. They mailed them to me then charged me $15 for the handling fee. So, based on not just one incident, but several, I'm switching.

 

[FourPawz]

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Haven't you ever seen x-rays done for OFA screening (hip dysplasia)?

 

[goldenluver]

yup, and also any ultra sound on pregnant dogs, they are sedated.
my dog was sedated when they cleaned her ears out because of an infection. they said it would be cheaper to have her teath cleaned at the same time, something about a flat rate for the anethesiesiologist for the dental, so total cost was $450 intead of $495. and had both done at same time