Took Dog to Vet - UPDATE PAGE 3 GRAPHIC PIC

[Duck Keeper]

Quote:
I know drsfostersmith.com sells vaccines for people to administer at home to their pets.

(As for rabies, we have free rabies vacc at the local fire departments all around us.)

Yet we still get the vaccinations at the vet? Boy how dumb.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Quote:
I think (and don't eat me for saying) that the people here are wanting maybe a little less 'technology' so that good care can still be affordable - without a $100 charge for walking in the lobby.

 

[tharrell]

Foster and Smith is good, but for unbelievable prices check out www.kvvet.com. They will send out a catalog and their prices are literally a third of Petsmart, Petco, ect. They also sell vaccines and they do free 2 day shipping on orders over $50. You can buy rabies vaccines from catalogs, but in most states if you give them yourself they don't "count" for the city or county. A rabies shot is only like $7 anyway. I just buy bones and chew toys from them mostly and I can buy a 4 pack of Nylabones for the same price as just one from the store. I LOVE them. Sorry, a little off track.... They have cat vaccines in there too and I think on their website they have livestock vaccines as well. They also sell "fish" antibiotics like amoxacillian (sp) and others like it. These are the the same as what your vet might charge you $30 for..... I researched it because I was curious why they were in there when they don't sell fish stuff.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
The difficulty is that while a buncha people may want inexpensive basic care from a 'simple' vet practice, a buncha OTHER people get pretty miffed when they find out the vet cannot do an ultrasound, must send them to another clinic but all but the simplest surgery, bloodwork takes 2 days b/c it must be sent out to a lab, the waiting room is 10 ft square and the cats and dogs are in each others' laps, that sort of thing. When an animal has a problem needing those sorts of mid-level technology and a vet can't provide them, clients tend to wander off to other vet practices. Plus of course the VET tends to want reasonable technology available, because no matter what you may think, most vets WANT to figure out what's wrong with an animal and fix it, and get frustrated at being limited by inadequate equipment or facilities.

Most vets AFAIK structure their pricing so that routine health care is partially subsidizing catastrophic healthcare. Which I think is reasonable, and in animals' best interests. Also, the amount of overhead to run what most people would consider a decently-equipped vet clinic is quite considerable. Not just purchase price but employees, utilities, property tax on the clinic (or rental of the space), etc. So remember that your charges are not JUST paying for, like 15 minutes of the vet's time plus twelve inches of suture material and a squirt of betadine; your money has to cover a lot more that is not directly visible at the time.

Believe me, I know how frustrating it is to not be able to afford treatment or diagnostics for your animals that you feel you owe them. Nonetheless, although it varies, the vets I know do not really make all that much money, they are not millionaires, they are living middle to upper middle class lifestyles. (And heaven knows they are not paying their employees rich salaries either

)

I am not sure why one should begrudge a vet the ability to be middle-class or upper-middle-class any more than one should begrudge providers of other equally-necessary services, such as dentists, electricians, mechanics, etc. (All of which I realize people sometimes complain about *their* pricing too, but seldom with the degree of venom that seems to be directed against vets, hereabouts)

It's just a difficult situation and boils down to the same thing in any other part of life - there is never as much money to go around as there are things we'd like it to go around *to*.

Pat

 

[Beekissed]

Our vet had horrible bedside manners but lets you make payments, does things very cheaply, and sometimes for free.

Gruff, but nice on the inside. AND, from the looks of his practice and home, he ain't makin' out like a bandit on the income of a vet practice...

 

[Tala]

The last two times I've taken my dog to the vet it's been a TOTAL waste of time and money, and I ended up treating the *real* problem myself later because the vet didn't have a clue. Heh. I went to a different, supposedly "better" vet hoping for a better doctor the second time too and was still disappointed.

I see my dog EVERY day. I know for fact that she doesn't chew on her tail enough for it to cause what was going on, but she got diagnosed with an infected hot spot and sent away with 10 days of abx. A month later I'm dipping for MANGE that I have no idea where it came from but that's what it very is and the stupid vet couldn't see that. I couldn't convince her that no, we didn't have fleas and no she doesn't excessively chew/scratch untill very sudden like so there must be SOMETHING causing this but......I guess it's too much trouble to actually scrape the skin and test for anything. Heck the exam room was way too dark IMO and they barely looked at her tail!

and it cost $140 for them to basically do nothing.

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Regarding KV Vet Supply. It's the real deal. It was started by a small town vet several years ago in the town nearby where I grew up. They bend over backwards to help out their customers and keep their prices down. It's run by really good people who really care about animals AND people. Check them out - you won't be sorry. They also have large animal supplies for horses and cattle.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
I agree, I think you summed up what allot of people are feeling.

I'm not against anybody making a good living for the education they have taken. I don't have a problem paying for a procedure.
I have a problem with all the up charges and tacked on fees that should be part of the total exam fee.
Most Vets here live on the high end, wealthy neighborhoods (with Doctors, Lawyers, etc) and very expensive properties.

My regular Vet took out the stitches in my dog's lip (for free) and she was shocked at the bill I paid for my dog.
She shook her head, and said that most of the Vets in our area don't see eye to eye when it comes to setting fees and there isn't a regulatory board that controls it.
They can charge what the market will bear and there is allot of very wealthy people moving here and only one Vet clinic that is open in the evening.

Regarding KV Vet Supply
I wish they were legally allowed to ship to Canada, but customs will seize the parcel

 

[runarounbrown]

Hello, I am new to this forum...I have watched it for several months though. I do have chickens...and they are fine. I also have a ten year old cat who has not eaten hardly anything in three weeks. I have been out of work, and without health insurance for two years. I have finally gotten hired on a full time job, but my own medical bills are preventing me from taking this cat to the vet!! I love him dearly, and have tried nightly to get him to eat. I have tried chicken broth, crappie, turkey, yogurt, sour cream..plus he has all the cat food he can eat. I have had a cat get a stopped up urinary tract in the past $475.00!! So, I have fed this one urinary tract formula food for years. He is drinking regularly. His tummy is soft and pliable. He does not appear to be in any pain. When I first noticed him not eating I thought he sounded a bit respiratory, but he does not sound that way anymore.
He has always been a little on the heavy side. I had him neutered in 2000. Now his is thin, and he keeps meowing a lot. I put the hairball treatment on his front paws in case he was stopped up with a hairball...no change. Any ideas??

 

[TipsyDog]

Quote:

and welcome to the forum! I don't know about cats and have no idea what the problem could be. Please post your question in a new thread and perhaps someone out there can help you. PM me if you need help doing that. I'd hate to see your question get buried here and your poor cat doesn't get any help!

Good luck to you!