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Do you feel that your vet's salary is more than it deserves to be (or do you feel that vet's fees are excessive)?  

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  1. 1. Do you feel that your vet's salary is more than it deserves to be (or do you feel that vet's fees are excessive)?

    • Yes. It's not like their real doctors.
      2
    • Yes. The vets I know are all very well off.
      9
    • Yes. The fees I pay are way overpriced so they must be.
      29
    • Yes. But I still like me vet.
      39
    • No. The vets I know do not live "high on the hog".
      56
    • No. The fees I believe to be fair for the service provided.
      120
    • No. They only make about 1/4 the salary of human drs.
      28
    • No. Did I mention that I really like my vet!
      58
    • I don't know. But their prices do seem high to me.
      50
    • I don't know. I just like my vet!
      47
    • The fees are too high but vets are not overpaid.
      58
    • It really depends, some are and some are not.
      114


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Guest pleasantsarg

I love my vet & find that for the most part they are reasonable & will give you a $ break. What does bother me is that it cost me 50.00 the last visit when I went to have a small bump checked on bobbys leg. This visit lasted all of 10 minutes.

 

My reason for being annoyed is that I think that I feel like it discourages me from taking him to the vet to check on other small bumps, and that habit could lead to a much more expensive, life threatening, problem later on.

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Guest wannabfarmergirl

I dont know so much if Vets are paid too much for the service they give, its all relative. I do think they deserve a good salary. I was a bit disapointed though when I was in college to become a vet tech and found out that in the GTA techs get somewhere between 9-15 $ an hour. I dont know how statisticly right that is, but everyone I spoke to in this field told me the same thing. I ultimatly didnt complete my last year in part due to this. I ended up getting a better playing job doing something I really dont like. Hmmm if techs were paid a bit more, that would probably be my career. I think considering all the things techs are responsible for, they do deserve a bit more.

Edited by wannabfarmergirl
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Guest ZiaGrey

I said I don't know, but the prices do seem high. And I think mine might be a little higher than the others in this area. I don't know his style of living, and it's none of my business.

 

I love my vet and trust him almost implicitly. There have been several times when I questioned him and he is just wonderful about it. Veterinary service is one of the things I'm willing to pay more for to get better service.

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Guest Joyce_N_DaBoyz
No way. I see people scoff at paying amounts for procedures at their vet's office, who has gone through 8 years of expensive and difficult college and has much more complexity of knowledge with a variety of species vs. what a doctor has to have, that they wouldn't be surprised at from their plumber! The guy cleaning my roof and gutters today is charging more than my vet charges to anesthetize, clean teeth, and provide antibiotics and follow up for my dogs.
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Guest aalvt1971

I agree with Lynn.

 

Over the years, I've learned practices have "customers" AND "clients". Customers are the ones that bounce from vet to vet looking for the lowest price. Clients are the loyal base and the true "owners" of the practice, without them a practice is doomed.

I work for a boarded surgeon in NY (lower Hudson Valley), he gets good rates but is by no means "rich". He does an enormous amount of charity work for Guiding Eyes as well as the local shelters and has several dvms working for him also. He's been doing this for almost 40 years.

 

In ANY profession there are good and bad apples but I believe most vets are in it not for the money but for the love of animals. God knows I didn't become a licensed technician to get rich!

Veterinarians provide a service and compared to MDs, most are woefully underpaid. Who would think of haggling with their own physician over meds or argue over a diagnostic/treatment plan? Or refuse to pay for services already rendered? Then there is the ever popular "no show", that is valuable time put aside to treat a pet that is never seen. Would we ever think of treating our own doctors in this fashion? No way.

 

This "cost" debate is just a symptom of a broader issue, veterinarians do not garner the respect that people have for human doctors.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for.

I drive between 1-2 hours a day to get to work b/c I want to work for a great dvm. I want quality so I go the extra distance and pay the extra cost for it.

 

Angel

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Just as a "For Example"- when I got Joplin, my vet didn't know me from Adam. I had Moe, and she was his vet, but Moe is one of these unusually healthy dogs that only needs annual exams and HW preventative. So, I walk in with Joplin.....

 

We were in there at LEAST twice per week for the first few months, and at one point he was on 14 various pills per day. We paid full price (never left there with less than a $200 bill). As he started to get better and his issues became ones that were chronic rather than acute, prices started coming down. I'd suddenly have the option of the newest, best, most expensive treatment or the treatment that's a few years older, works 99% as well and is much less expensive.

 

As I brought more dogs in, the breaks continued to come. She doesn't require that I do this, but with my fosters that she treats, if the adopter doesn't have a regular vet, I HIGHLY recommend (not quite require, but close) that they remain where I work as a client. It keeps the doctor happy and doing my adoption dogs VERY cheaply.

 

Lynn

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Guest btamarin

I think the true test of a good vet is when something actually goes wrong with your pet.

Cali had ongoing hookworm and have yet to find a vet that isn't defensive or arrogant. When Lynn M gave me some good advice on new hookwormmeds - I asked my vet and she got very defensive - thinking I was questioning her knowledge and experience.

 

I have yet to find a vet I truly "love and respect." All I hope for is competent, and I have to find even that! A good vet is worth any price.

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No, not really. However we did switch where we were having our cats vaccinations done (long story) and I did find the new place pricier.

 

Bill- a few questions.

Do you think pet health insurance is going to push up costs?

Also, how to vets set what their "office visit" price is, is there a lot of fluctuation in that? For instance, when I took Carm in for an infection, we saw the doctor for maybe 5 minutes, and we paid $12 for antibiotics, $34 for the "office visit". I'm not upset about the cost, I'm just wondering how they come up with that, and if it ever varies. I guess that's where a lot of the variation from vet to vet comes in?

 

I went to one vet a few years ago, and I think she had a neat approach. She had you fill out a card about opinions about your pet. "I only want the very very best for my pet", or "I want to make sure my pet is doing well", etc. Hard to explain, but basically gave her an idea of what you were expecting (and probably how much to advertise to you).

Angel Sonny aka Whistlin Bill, 62314; Carmella aka Eg Rain Dust, 81693

Plus Boudreaux, Calzone & Hops the cats, Katie & Tony the humans and our Terrific Skinkids Tommy and Jimmy

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars...Oscar Wilde

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I responded that I thought my vet's fees were probably reasonable.

 

Like most of us, I wish vet visits/services were less costly, particularly since one of my dogs has a serious, chronic health problem that is getting pretty costly. However, I really have no idea what my vet's operating costs are. I suspect that he does his best to strike a fair balance--reasonable profit for himself, reasonable salaries for his staff, and realistic fees for his clients.

 

My opinion may be colored by the fact that I like and trust my vets. There are 2 vets in the practice, the owner and young woman who recently graduated from school. Both vets demonstrate a genuine love for my animals and a respect for me as an involved pet owner. They employ a terrific staff. Everyone from the receptionist through the vet techs is friendly, caring and helpful.

 

I expect my vets to have time to see my pets if they get sick suddenly. I expect my vets to answer my questions, listen to my concerns and address them. I expect them to be available for questions between visits, particularly in managing Piper's epilepsy. I expect my vets to be available in emergencies and while the practice does not have emergency coverage, I know that the emergency vet has called my vet to discuss treatment plans when I have taken one of my guys to the emergency clinic. I expect my vets to listen with patience and respect to all the information I dig up on the internet and to use their expertise to help me decide what is best for my dog. I expect them to research and inform themselves when we are dealing with something out of the ordinary--Piper's cluster seizures, for example.

 

When it comes down to it, I expect a lot from my vets and I am willing to pay a fair price for excellent care for my animals and excellent service for myself. I am getting "good value for my money" from this veterinary practice. I simply would not continue to work with a vet whom I believed was providing anything less.

gallery_2398_3082_9958.jpg
Lucy with Greyhound Nate and OSH Tinker. With loving memories of MoMo (FTH Chyna Moon), Spirit, Miles the slinky kitty (OSH), Piper "The Perfect" (Oneco Chaplin), Winston, Yoda, Hector, and Claire.

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Guest Joyce_N_DaBoyz
I think the true test of a good vet is when something actually goes wrong with your pet.

Cali had ongoing hookworm and have yet to find a vet that isn't defensive or arrogant. When Lynn M gave me some good advice on new hookwormmeds - I asked my vet and she got very defensive - thinking I was questioning her knowledge and experience.

 

I have yet to find a vet I truly "love and respect." All I hope for is competent, and I have to find even that! A good vet is worth any price.

Ya need to move down to Pensacola and I'll hook you up with one :lol

 

Dr. Andy always sits and discusses options with me, says things like "one of the other greyhound owners brought in a new research article about this the other day and it says xxx, I've been investigating it, do you want to try it out?" He was using Propoflo system for anesthesia while all the other vets were still saying it was too expensive and he was charging less! I love scholars :wub:

 

Now I will admit that I buy my Sentinel online, he gives me a prescription for it and doesn't mind at all. In fact he was shocked at the price difference, but I get it for less than HE does for resale! I don't shout it in his waiting room, and refer adopters to his clinic, and don't analyze my bill. In fact I couldn't tell you what the office visit charge is as asked in another thread, I have no idea. I just give them my credit card at the end of any visit and ... whatever... there's never been a total that has freaked me out. Probably the only time I've looked was when I thought they had not charged me for something and I want to make sure he gets paid... was like 5 extractions or something and it seemed like the same price as a regular cleaning, but yep it was on there, $10!

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Guest Greymom

I love my vet and have been with him for 14 years. Whenever we've needed him, e.g., 11pm or 3am for emergencies he's called us and seen us. Having said that he has gotten extremely expensive but since I trust him we'll be staying with him.

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I hear ya, Joyce. People ask me all the time how much it costs for shots or neuter or whatever where I work. I dunno. I think there may be a "price" for various size animals, but I just try to get my animals in for their procedures on a day that the doctor is in a good mood. A cheesecake usually helps, too :)

 

Lynn

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Guest wendigo

I know vet bills seem expensive, but trust me, your vet doesn't make that much. Their supplies, equipment, and rent costs the same that it does a doctors office - but I guarantee you your vet bills are much less than your doctor bill (if you look at them pre-insurance). Plus a doctors office will most likely send you to collection if you can't/don't pay your bills - whereas the vet's I've worked for always had a huge file of people who ran up several thousand dollars in bills and paid them off $20-30 a month, if at all.

 

People who work in the vet field (vets, assistants, techs) work HARD. You have 12 hour days of physically and emotionally draining work. You have to deal with pets who are frightened, sick, in pain and dying. You have to deal with owners who are frightened, confused, angry and belligerant. You work your butt off to find out what is making someones animal sick, only to have them scream at you about the bill. You have people who bring their pets in who are very sick, then decide they don't want to pay that much and simply leave without treatment. Some truly can't afford it, but just as many drive away in a brand new Mercedes. Its disheartening work. Ask anyone who works in the vet field, and I bet they've said a million times "I hope they don't treat their kids this badly when they're sick/hurt." Of course you have good days too, and those owners that you love, but it always seems like they are far and few between.

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I am speaking about my vets' office, only.

 

I think they are very reasonable. I've referred other people to them who complained about how much their former vets charged. Plus my vet has been giving us a 15% discount for several years now just because of pure volume (3 dogs, 4 cats right at this writing, but more critters at other times). This includes meds, preventatives (heartworm and fleas treatments), surgery, etc.

We have never been charged for euthenasia. Toenails are clipped for free. And they always make a donation in our pet's name to the Texas A&M Vet School when one of our furkids dies.

 

Specialists? That's a whole other thread.

Mary in Houston

Everyone has a photographic memory, but not everyone has film.

LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE

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Guest FullMetalFrank

My vet has very reasonable prices. And we really like him. I got a little upset after the Iberia incident when I could not get hold of him after hours, and had to take Iberia to the emergency vet who we did not know, and where we ended up losing him.... So I thought for awhile to look for someone else and it was my DH who reminded me how much I have always appreciated the way our vet treats my animals; he has other greys who visit his practice; I have never walked out of there with a feeling of uncertainty... I know my regular vet isn't getting rich by any means... The emergency vets I've been to, may be another story.

 

I also believe it is the responsibility of the animal's owner to provide all reasonable preventive care that they can. I was watching emergency vets today and there was a nine-year old cat who had not been vaccinated in almost nine years... Poor thing had I think they said FIP; the owner opted to euthanize and said "it was just that cat's time"... Nine is so young for a kitty! There is a lot we can do as owners to keep our vet costs down. I think it costs $33 to get the full vaccinations done for Frankie (which includes rabies, $11, and that's only every third year) HW test is $22. Proper nutrition does not have to cost a lot, either.

 

This last year and a half have been rough on us for vet bills; but if I add up all the years I have been a pet owner (granted greys are more expensive!) I can say honestly that vet care has been a bargain compared to medical for the rest of the family, even with the humans being covered by insurance. Let me see a vet charge $10,000 for an uncomplicated C-section!

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I really LOVE my vet! He's not the cheapest around, but not the most expensive either.

He takes time with my dogs, he KNOWS my dogs and he treats them with love and respect.

He LISTENS to me about what is going on with my dogs. He NEVER poo poo's me an what I have to say.

He puts up with me too, bringing the articles in and asking a 1000 questions about a drug or procedure. He knows that I won't take any crap from anyone and he knows that I'll be the first to tell him when something is not good.

His prices on frontline and heartworm prevet. are HIGH. But he's a one vet office and not a huge vet... turns out he pays more for the Interceptor than I do from Australia. He understands that I have a LOT of dogs and that I MUST get a good price on these kinds of things.

He's compassionate about his work and one of these guys who's not ashamed to look something up in a book or on the internet etc.

He's taken calls from me about fosters whom he'll probably never see, but very willing to give me advice and direction and see them if it's needed.

If I want to go one way with a treatment etc. he's more than willing to work with me and he's great about giving options.

He doesn't charge for trimming toe nails or phone calls.

He will euthanize my dogs here in my home, and that means a lot to me.

Did I mention that I love my vet and trust him to the max!

I recommend him to anyone who needs a vet or who is unhappy with their vet, so he's gotten quite a few new clients because of my big mouth!!!

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I love my Vet, I won't change vets. The office visit charge on top of shots, fecal, etc, charges is the extra that bothers me. Also, I walk the pupper, collect the poop , drive it to the vets, someone peeks at it and the charge for that is about 30$, when the dog and I did most of the work ! lol

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I think that my vet charges a significant amount (for example, $220 for a dental). But I think that relates to the high cost of doing business in the SF Bay Area where everything is expensive. I don't think that he is trying to price gouge. I doubt that other reputable vets in the area would charge differently.

 

I do think that my vet does care about animals and is in for job satisfaction more than making a lot of money.

Edited by greytspud
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FWIW, where I work, if you brought your dog in for a dental alone (ie, not piggybacking it on some other surgery), it would be about the same price. I live in Tallahassee, FL, where the cost of living is pretty low. So, considering how expensive things are in the SF area, you're doing pretty well.

 

Lynn

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Guest FloridaGreyhoundMama

My vet office has a ton of greyhounds that come in. Our GPA office has used them for years. That alone is worth whatever price I am paying. I feel I can trust my vet office and in particular, the vet I TRY to see, because she has a grey herself.

 

My initial reaction was that the costs are high, but when I think about it, they're really not. My vet was charging approximately $34-37 for a routine office visit with my grey, plus any meds. When I think that I just came from the doctor that was charging $100 or more for the 10 minutes he just saw me, the vet is a freakin' bargain!! Of course, when I take one in and have their shots and dental done, plus buy meds at the same time and get a $300 bill, yeah, that seems high, but it's really not for all I'm getting.

 

Don't think we're down on you, feemandvm. Maybe if we had pet insurance, we might not complain so much. Or if we didn't have health insurance for us, that would put it in perspective, because we would see what we're really being charged. Who knows!!!

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I really don't know. Sometimes I think so. I found $300 for a full panel startling, yet when I took in Tansi for 20 stitches, it was under $200 and follow up cost nada. My adoption fee for Jamaica ($175) was less than a spay, and I've paid $65 easy to update shots for one dog.

 

But that said, ppl docs cost a lot more and have less overhead! I've paid $15 for a flu shot, $300+ for anesthesia alone for extractions and $150 for a dental cleaning. I would have paid way more than the $175 I paid for 5 extractions for Scooter if I had the same thing done to myself. If we compare ppl doc fees with vet fees, and costs for equipment that hospitals and their labs provide for physicians, they are not getting what their training entitles them to. And my vet seems to have more time to answer questions and listen than my doctor!

 

I think part of the feelilng they overcharge is often reaction to an unexpected bill and not really because the fee is too high. Or because of charges for what I think of as "extras" that I expect included in the overall charge -- like anesthesia. Rather like my lawyer when he sent me a bill charging for paper, stamps and local phone calls when probating a will! :lol Now that's ripping your client off! Really, if you say the service is going to cost XXX then I'm not expecting extras!

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No, not really. However we did switch where we were having our cats vaccinations done (long story) and I did find the new place pricier.

 

Bill- a few questions.

Do you think pet health insurance is going to push up costs?

Also, how to vets set what their "office visit" price is, is there a lot of fluctuation in that? For instance, when I took Carm in for an infection, we saw the doctor for maybe 5 minutes, and we paid $12 for antibiotics, $34 for the "office visit". I'm not upset about the cost, I'm just wondering how they come up with that, and if it ever varies. I guess that's where a lot of the variation from vet to vet comes in?

 

I went to one vet a few years ago, and I think she had a neat approach. She had you fill out a card about opinions about your pet. "I only want the very very best for my pet", or "I want to make sure my pet is doing well", etc. Hard to explain, but basically gave her an idea of what you were expecting (and probably how much to advertise to you).

I personally do not believe that pet health insurance will drive up prices... at least not VPI (the one through Eukanuba). Most of the paperwork is handled between the owner and the insurance company. The vet only has to provide a diagnosis. The owner pays the bill and the company reimburses the owner. No paperwork for the vet means no increase in cost of service! :)

 

A couple things that can or will drive up the cost of health care though are on the horizon. The more money vets lose in pharmacy products will mean X% net profit loss for the practice. Now granted pharmaceuticals make up less than 20% of the profit, but imagine what would happen if the buisness you worked at suddenly "lost" 15% of its profits!!! The loss of income should it become significant will result in a rise in the costs of services to make up for the loss. I really don't see this becoming that big of an issue though.

One issue that could really KILL veterinary medicine though is one that I am really torn up over. Right now pets are seen as property by the law. Therefore, if your pet is killed by your neighbor you can only sue them for the value of the pet (i.e. a mixed breed may only be like $15 which is RIDICULOUS). However, if that law changes and allows for pain and suffering and larger lawsuits... that will drive malpractice insurance up which will force veterinary service fees to skyrocket!!! I'm disgusted that our law sees our pets as property and nothing more... however, a change in the law could really put costs through the roof!!!!

 

Office visit costs are largely regional. Some areas charge as little as $15 for an office call whereas other places charge as much as $80 (NYC). It is based on a LOT fo factors... real estate costs, services provided (24 hour care, ultrasound, etc.), staffing, etc.

Bill

Lady

Bella and Sky at the bridge

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." -Anabele France

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One other thing with human medicine vs vet med.... unionized support staff. Human nurses are often unionized and as such, they're able to negotiate much larger salaries. (I personally don't care much for unions, and don't think I'd work in a job that required me to be in one, but to each their own.)

 

Even a CVT here barely makes enough to make ends meet. I find it ironic that even my own vet pays me more to do her yard work than she does to work at the clinic.

 

Lynn

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Guest shannonrw

I like the vet that I go to now and used to work with she is very reasonable as well. She is very detail oreinted and always gives me a discount. I am very lucky .

I do save money in other ways with my pets. I buy from the only pet store(Pet Supplies Plus) in town that gives you $5.00 credit for every 199.00 spent there. It is free to sign up and the money adds up buying food, litter,etc. I get my heartgard off the internet and I mail order other supplies for them like supplements. So I feel that if you like your vet, then pay the fees and continue to go to them.

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