I Hate E-vets

[Guest myjazzy]

One of my boys got attacked at the dog park by a GSD yesterday. I know...I know, I should avoid those places like the plague, but why should I have to deprive my dogs of fun because there are idiots out there? But I digress...

 

Get to the e-vet and everything is fine until I make sure I go through the list of charges before I sign, because they like to add charges that are not necessary, like the e-collar. I have one, and besides, I would rather use a t-shirt and/or a muzzle. Then there was the cephalexin, 14 500mg capsules for $34.80. I ask them for a script because I can get it at Target for $4 and they get huffy with me and say they don't write scripts and I'll have to ask my regular vet the next day. This ended up deducting $54 from my bill, so I guess they weren't too happy about that. It was still $399, so what are they complaining about? I guess they don't like people who know what's going on and question them. BTW, I have cepahlexin at home because I'm at the end of a course of antibiotics for my girl's happy tail. They gave him a shot of penicillin and I knew that I couldn't give him anything until his stomach settled from the anesthesia, or it would come right back up. His stomach gets upset from the anesthesia and he threw up a little and didn't want anything to do with food last night. His tummy was more settled this morning and I gave him a little food and his antibiotic.

 

I call my vet and the receptionist says they may have to see Moses to prescribe the antibiotic to him, but they will ask the vet to see if they can call it in without me having to bring Moses in. It's not just the money for the visit, but having to cart him to the vet for no good reason. He's doing as well as could be expected and I know when to bring him in if it's needed. I have had 7 greyhounds in the past 11 years and I think I know about these things. Heck, I probably know a lot more about dogs' health than a lot of vet techs out there.

 

I used to live in New Orleans and had the most wonderful vets. It was a large clinic that was also an emergency facility, so whenever there was a problem I took my dogs there and got to see the vets that I always saw and who knew me and my dogs and their charts were there, readily available. They were also very good to work with. It is one of the things I miss most since I moved to Houston. You would think a city this big would have a practice that was also and emergency hospital. I would be there in a heartbeat. Or maybe there is and it's a closely guarded secret? Maybe some Houstonians out there can enlighten me.

 

If this needs to be moved, please do so. I thought that even though it's sort of a rant, it is about a health issue.

[Guest KennelMom]

I hear ya....I'm not too fond of the e-vet here in town. We've found a 24 hour vet that we use for emergencies instead. I had Hanna up to our evet for stitches once. They *should* have been able to do a local and stapled her right up, but the vet insisted she be put under and put back together (it wasn't a very big wound, we got right to the vet after it happened, the edges were smooth and the wound was clean). But, whatever...I said that was fine. When the vet had me sign the estimate, she had tramadol on there for pain after I picked Hanna up the next morning. I told her I didn't need that, as we have plenty of tramadol at home. That should have taken $30 off the bill. Instead, when I picked her up the vet had decided that tramadol wasn't what she needed and instead prescribed another pain reliever.

 

I was like...uh....no, I don't think so. If tramadol was OK when the vet thought we would pay for it and suddenly not ok when she found out she couldn't tack it on our bill, then they can piss off. If Hanna really needed this other pain reliever, then I'd drive all the way across town and buy if from OUR vet on principle. Our vet said the tramadol was fine.

 

I don't mind paying for vet care...but I can't stand being nickel and dimed to death or charged for unnecessary items. As it is, they've now lost $500 in business since we won't go back there and we've been to the other 24 hour e-vet twice now with Grandpa. Our primary vet learned a long time ago that when someone has 12+ dogs and some cats...you're gonna make a pile of money off of them eventually.

[Guest DoofBert]

We are very fortunate... our e vet is also our regular vet. I do agree the cost of vet prescribed meds is over the top.

[BootsyCollins]

We are lucky. Our regular vet is also an e-vet so they know us and remember things like the fact that we have an e-collar, or they tell us where to go get the cheaper meds when we can. Glad to hear your stood your ground. That's what people need to do! Hope your boy feels better soon!

[Jiffer]

I hear ya. We've only gone to ours twice. The first time, I was a new grey mom and Icarus had walked on a broken bottle and hand a piece lodge in his pad. He would scream when he walked so I took him to see the evet.

Our Evet makes you sign a sheet saying you'll pay the $96 visit fee before the vet will even see your dog. $96 is an awful lot to say "He may have glass in there, but I can't see it. If there is some, it'll come out on it's own in a few days."

[carronstar]

I feel your pain. The closest eVet to me is staggeringly expensive. Yes, I understand that NYC is expensive in general but the also add rudeness in to the mix which just makes it worse. When I lost Morgaine it cost me over $2,000 for them to examine her, administer valium, and have two techs hold her on the table during the seizure. An additional $500 to cremate her. When they called me the day after I lost her to look for more money I nearly went ballistic.

 

The same practice did the same thing years earlier when Scarlett developed a blood clot after surgery there. The eVet refused to call me back from his home since I had caller ID (like I wanted to call him at home?) and then when we got there tried to stop me from leaving because he didn't know how to use the computer system to access the credit card number on file.

 

I'm more than willing to pay whatever it takes to give my girls the best care, I just don't understand why within the same city (the Animal Medical Center -- the BIG eVet) costs far less. Unfortunately, in both of these cases, closeness counted.

[Sighthounds4me]

Yeah, when Manero went to the evet a couple years ago, I was dumbe enough not to look at the bill before I paid it. Won't do that again.

 

But at least they didn't try to send me home with an e-collar. I would have told them no. But they were already pissed at me because I refused the blood clotting test. Um, well, simply not being neutered, and having never had surgeries before was not a good reason for me. He had a severed artery. It's not gonna stop bleeding without help! And I know his family: no one has a clotting issue, and his breed is not prone to them...I can't think of a good reason to spend the extra $$.

 

But they did overcharge on a few things. That was the least of my worries, though, after the way we'd been treated all day!

[Guest GiJenn51]

I can't stand them. We have so many scripts here. I don't need drugs. So take 'em off the bill!!!

[PatricksMom]

I'm so glad the main vet clinic mine is owned by is open 24/7. I pay a flat fee of $50 extra to come in off hours, but all the other prices are the same. But at least they're seen by a vet I'm at least familiar with, even if it's not my vet.

[Guest myjazzy]

Thanks, guys. It is sad that I'm not alone. There just has to be a better way. I talked to a resident at one of the specialist practices here in town when my bridge girl Darla was sick, and she said it was a political thing. There is actually an emergency facility in the same building, but they are not related at all. Of course, people think they are the same practice. BTW Darla died at that e-vet facility, I took her there because at least she was in the same building and she could have just been taken upstairs in the morning, but she didn't make it 'till the morning. Now I realize she was just too sick to have gotten better, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. I have gone to three different e-vet facilities, because it takes about the same amount of time to get to any of them (about 1/2 and hour), and have not been pleased with any.

[Guest md7nd]

*palm to the forehead* I've been reading the post and until now, had wondered what is an e-vet. It finally dawn on me what it is...duh.... wheres my sign?

do i get a second chance?? the worst is that i deal with acronyms all day for work....

[Guest myjazzy]

Don't feel bad, I have spent time wondering what a lot of the acronyms used here on Greytalk are. At first it was ETS (Escaped Tongue Syndrome), then it was GSOD (Greyhound Scream of Death), and so on. If you keep reading, eventually someone asks what it means and you find out and don't have to feel dumb for asking.

[6greyhounds]

I am lucky with both e-vets we have used if you ask for a script they will give you one and understand if you tell them that you have that rx at home. Our Hershey did cost us $1600 and we had to put a down payment of $1200 when she had the double blockage but they did examine her without having to put in writting you will pay the office fee

[Sighthounds4me]

*palm to the forehead* I've been reading the post and until now, had wondered what is an e-vet. It finally dawn on me what it is...duh.... wheres my sign?

do i get a second chance?? the worst is that i deal with acronyms all day for work....

 

Well, it is Monday...

[CaliforniaGreys]

That's where I ended up with Misty at 5:30 Sunday morning. I know their charges are inflated, but when it's an off time, I'm sure glad they're there. What bothered me this trip is the vet tells me they are giving Misty a shot for pain.I told him not to give her Rimadyl because she has kidney disease. He yells at the tech to hold on and then thanks me for telling him. I can't believe they didn't ask!!

Edited June 30, 2008 by cbudshome

[Guest myjazzy]

I agree that there need to be places open after-hours for emergencies, but the system should be set up differently. I guess I just got spoiled when I was in New Orleans. I remember a time when my 6 lb chi/doxie mix scarfed up one of my medicine pills that dropped on the floor. I freaked out because at 6 lbs., just about anything could result in an overdose. I called the clinic where I usually took my pets. They have a 24-hour attendant who was able to tell me to give her hydrogen peroxide while he called the vet on call and she called me. Within a few minutes, the vet called me back. She hadn't thrown up, so she told me to give her more and that if she didn't throw up within 10 minutes, to call her back and she would meet me at the hospital. Thankfully, my baby threw up the pill while I was talking to the vet and that was the end of that. Total cost $0.

 

My vet went ahead and called in the antibiotic prescription. At least I can work with my vet. Now all I have to do is hope and pray that nothing happens to my pets after-hours.

[Guest paulamariez]

I can certainly feel your pain. When Bueller got attacked at our park, (a regular park, NOT even a dog park!!) we had to go the the e-vet on a Sunday morning. The thing that I was most offended of, besides the outrageous cost, was that the place I went to made us pay up front and when we didn't have enough money for all they wanted to do, they basically were going to send Bueller back out, bleeding to death, because we couldn't scrape up the money to pay them before hand. I found that REALLY offensive. They would rather my dog DIED rather than do anything for him, if we couldn't pay up front! My gosh, we were only asking to wait until Friday when DH got paid and had about 1/2 the cash, so it's not like they were getting nothing.