Holy Vet Bills!

[ShantisMom]

I have had several of those types of trips. Shocking! May you have many months vet bill free after that!!!

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Well...I'm off to the kennel to buy the "sticks" that I use to clean their teeth...lol OMG 10,000 in vet bills? I would be homeless...WE would all be homeless, the seven of us! I'm in shock that the surgeries and dentals cost so much. That's depressing!

[Guest Swifthounds]

I used to think small animal vets were more expensive than the equine vets since they had more overhead (office, office staff, etc.). However, my equine vet built a large new clinic a few years ago (clicky). The clinic has state-of-the art equipment to handle x-rays, surgeries, etc. and is fully staffed with office staff, vet techs and assistants. Yet, their prices didn't go up when their clinic opened.

 

I'm baffled now why my dogs vet visits cost so much more than my horse.

 

Dog/cat vets charge more than equine or large animal vets because they can! Plain and simply, if they charged most horse owners or cattle farmers the way small animal vets charge, they'd simply have less clients. Large animal folks also overwhelmingly know more of the things they can do themselves than do dog owners, so there isn't as much convenience money to be made.

 

When the economy tanked, spending on everything, including food, was way down - everything except spending on pets.

[Guest TeddysMom]

Just for curiosity sake I checked with my vet when I was in today on the price of a dental. $65 for the dental and $30 dollars for the pre-surgical blood work no matter what size the dog. When we had dentals on the foster boxers in FL it was $175, no bloodwork and that was with a discount for rescue. That is a huge difference.

[RobinM]

Welcome to our world! We do get 20% off due to greyhound adoption and multiple dogs.

[Guest SuperiorItaly]

Mine was $500 for Italy's last check-up. Granted that included Frontline and flea medicine. It's like having a kid...but better.

[Guest TaraCoachCougar]

One day I'm going to get brave and add up all the vet bills in Cougar's notebook since last June. Not only did we have to continue with his 3-4 week corn removal rotation (around $26 each time), he had spleen surgery at the specialist emergency vet on a Sunday after seeing their ultrasound specialist and spending Saturday night at the regular e-vet who did their own ultrasounds. This was followed by 6 oncologist trips 3 weeks apart that ran from $250 - $650 each to administer the "free" Ohio State chemo depending on if x-rays and ultrasounds were involved. And of course there was the bloodwork check trip one week after the chemo but that was at regular vet and we tried to double those up with the corn removals. Then when chemo was finished we started leukeran tablets which ran about $115 for a 15 day prescription so basically $230 per month in addition to the 3 pain meds and then the pred for his LS. There were also other various trips and the accupuncturist we tried a few times and then the chiropractor we found near the end. I can only imagine how close to 5 figures I came in that 8 month period.

 

I don't regret a penny of it. I have a good stable job as does DH. The savings were wiped out, but the tax refund will take care of the rest of the credit card debt (which we don't usually carry). There are several projects that have to wait and I have no down-payment fund when my Sorento gives out, but I would do it again for him. Did I mention that we are taking an extended break now?

[Guest zoolaine]

One day I'm going to get brave and add up all the vet bills in Cougar's notebook since last June. Not only did we have to continue with his 3-4 week corn removal rotation (around $26 each time), he had spleen surgery at the specialist emergency vet on a Sunday after seeing their ultrasound specialist and spending Saturday night at the regular e-vet who did their own ultrasounds. This was followed by 6 oncologist trips 3 weeks apart that ran from $250 - $650 each to administer the "free" Ohio State chemo depending on if x-rays and ultrasounds were involved. And of course there was the bloodwork check trip one week after the chemo but that was at regular vet and we tried to double those up with the corn removals. Then when chemo was finished we started leukeran tablets which ran about $115 for a 15 day prescription so basically $230 per month in addition to the 3 pain meds and then the pred for his LS. There were also other various trips and the accupuncturist we tried a few times and then the chiropractor we found near the end. I can only imagine how close to 5 figures I came in that 8 month period.

 

I don't regret a penny of it. I have a good stable job as does DH. The savings were wiped out, but the tax refund will take care of the rest of the credit card debt (which we don't usually carry). There are several projects that have to wait and I have no down-payment fund when my Sorento gives out, but I would do it again for him. Did I mention that we are taking an extended break now?

 

 

Yeah, Sunny's chemo last week was $379 even though the chemo drug itself was only $21.20. Crazy!

[Wonder]

Passion needs a dental and I expect it to be that much

[GreytNut]

You must go to my vet. They're the only greyhound-savvy place in the area, so I still go to them... but man, they charge an arm and a leg. There's another clinic a short distance away that charges 1/3 that price, but since Raven goes into malignant hyperthermia every time she goes under anesthesia, I'd rather pay the extra $$$ to have her with people who are ready for it.

 

The reason large animal vets don't charge as much is because their clientele won't pay for it (especially in rural farming areas). If old Bossy cow faces a potential $12,000 vet bill, then Bossy is going to be a hamburger. The exception would be high-end horse show/competition folks who have the means to plunk down big bucks without batting an eyelash.

[Guest FLT]

We are over 15k in the last 12 months. We lost Chester to Hemangiosarcoma in early April '09, Drake's first surgery was in mid-May (and boy have we gone through the ringer with him since then), and Kaylee has had 2 expensive dentals.

 

It is rough, especially since I'm unemployed and have gone back to school full time. Now hubby is looking at changing jobs to one that pays significantly less (but his sanity is important).

[Guest Swifthounds]

The reason large animal vets don't charge as much is because their clientele won't pay for it (especially in rural farming areas). If old Bossy cow faces a potential $12,000 vet bill, then Bossy is going to be a hamburger. The exception would be high-end horse show/competition folks who have the means to plunk down big bucks without batting an eyelash.

 

Even there, the owners aren't likely to relish a 700% percent mark-up. They're not going to buy food from you or supplies and they are often much more in tune with when they're being overcharged. As a wealthy horse farm owning friend of mine is fond of saying: you don't get rich by spending money foolishly, and you don't stay rich if you pay more for something than its worth.

 

I certainly don't begrudge the fees for professional time, if it's for the professional opinion, but not when it's to promote crap food they make a profit off of, dentals that bring in income instead of dietary changes, and promoting unnecessary "annual" vaccines despite the fact that vet hospitals and AAHA have been recommending vaccines no more often then every 3 years. The kicker is that the dentals, with the exception of extractions, aren't even necessarily done by the vet (usually a tech).

[Guest kydie]

I agree with GreyNut, that is one reason why rural vet's charges are less even for pets, in my area, if a vet bill is outragious, most dog owners here cure the problem with a 22 shell, and my vet told me that once, so he keeps charges as low as he can

[cleptogrey]

try the ny metro area....especially an e vet, your hair will turn gray or fall out! the only reason i can afford to keep a dog is my old time vet who i have used for the past 30+ years is very reasonable also very low tech. between both health care industries- human and canine and having out of pocket expenses we all can either go broke or die from lack of funding. it stinks...i am personally waiting for my subsidized cobra to end then i will go to my vet for my care!

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

I should feel guilty.. Silver had a dental (no extractions needed) yesterday and that, including the clindamycin (sp) for a week's follow up cost me $75.00. My vet had a special going-- think I will duck and run now.. but seriously, she's amazing. This isn't my regular vet because it's a bit of a drive but she used to be the track vet at Lincoln and while her office is pretty bare bones -- she is really really good with her veterinary care of my Greyhounds, so I use her when I can.

[winnie]

The reason large animal vets don't charge as much is because their clientele won't pay for it (especially in rural farming areas). If old Bossy cow faces a potential $12,000 vet bill, then Bossy is going to be a hamburger. The exception would be high-end horse show/competition folks who have the means to plunk down big bucks without batting an eyelash.

 

Not sure I would agree with that... at least not around me. Large animal ownership in my area is expensive. Anyone can own a dog or cat, but very few people can own horses or cattle - the land is simply not readily available. Those that do own horses are lucky to have one or two - not a herd - so they tend to take exceptional care of them. Owning lawn ornaments is simply too expensive and slaughter is no longer an outlet. The equine vets could make a fortune around here if they chose to, but their prices are extremely reasonable compared to the small animal vets.

[winnie]

Dog/cat vets charge more than equine or large animal vets because they can! Plain and simply, if they charged most horse owners or cattle farmers the way small animal vets charge, they'd simply have less clients. Large animal folks also overwhelmingly know more of the things they can do themselves than do dog owners, so there isn't as much convenience money to be made.

 

Large animal folks are definitely more inclined to give their own vaccinations. You don't need a script to purchase many large animal vaccines. Still, you'd think that since large animal vets aren't making money off routine vaccines that they'd charge a fortune for non-routine things - yet they don't. I've had x-rays and ultrasounds performed on my mare that cost way less than what my small animal vet would charge for the same things. My equine vet has just as much overhead as my small animal vet too. Go figure...

 

I do think I get a much better payouts on my equine insurance claims since there simply are way less equines than dogs and cats. If small animal insurance paid 100% on claims, they'd probably go bankrupt.

[heartdogs]

My dd's oldest grey had a dental today, lost 28 teeth and her bill was $425.00. When we got home "Momma Dog" wasn't happy but she will feel so much better when her gums heal!

[winnie]

My dd's oldest grey had a dental today, lost 28 teeth and her bill was $425.00. When we got home "Momma Dog" wasn't happy but she will feel so much better when her gums heal!

 

28 teeth! I hope your DD's pup feels better soon.

[stlgrey]

Wow $800 plus for dentals. That seems very high. I only paid around $250 per dog (both seniors)a year ago. They are both due now and I might have a slightly higher cost due to Ali who always has a few extractions. Sierra's histo treatment cleaned the bank. However, I still have my hound though.

[Guest kar]

Wow, guess I don't feel as bad as i did about paying $550 for scotch's xrays. At least I know he is ok. I felt a little sick when i was handed the bill though.

[rschultz]

wow ..that seems high but I guess it depends where you live too. dh and i were saying we spend more money on our one greys food than our own food..lol..she eats better too..lol