Vets

[Guest bona60]

The only problem I have is that Dr. Feeman doesn't live in western NY and cannot be Monty's doctor. Sam

[Guest sheila]

Emergency tracheotomy with anesthesia and overnight stay, meds and after care (after hrs)-$350

Emergency visit on Sunday for 20+ stitches after a dog fight-$96

Emergency visit at 1:00 AM for seizure + meds-$92

Emergency visit on Saturday afternoon for X-rays on dislocated toe-$50

 

Having a vet who will come in at any hr day/night and take good care of Kiowa and do whatever it takes to help him....PRICELESS!

[SAVED2]

Just left M&G a woman just paid 208.00 for dental in southern ILL. go 50 miles south to our vet and it is 50.00 . office visit 17.00 inculded . he will only be around 2 more years as a new road is wiping out his building and he will retire , then we will be in trouble with this pack of greys.---Dan

[JenniferS]

$45 just to walk in the door! But I don't feel it's my vet in particular who is overpaid. He's wonderful, knowledgable, caring. I think it's the practice that is overpaid. The fees for lab tests, prescriptions, etc. are really high.

 

But my baby's worth it, he loves his vet and so do I!

[TheFullHouse]

I love my vet!!!!!!!! He's absolutely wonderful and because I have 5 and work in adoption he gives me a discount!!!!!

[CleosMom]

I love my vet. She has her own greyhound and understands my concerns. She takes the time to answer all of my questions/concerns without making me feel that I'm stupid or not trusting her ability.

 

Yes, she's expensive but my puppers are worth it!

[Guest shirl]

I love my vets at the practice my dogs go to, the original vet has sold up to 2 girls although he is still there and all 3 of them are fantastic.

The vet that stitched up Moya after her horrible barbed wire fence accident did a perfect job, she dealt with us immedietly, was very careful and caring with Moya and now there isnt hardly a mark on an injuy that was dangerously close (mm's) to main artery.

I think all my dogs have been dealt with at this practice as have both my cats, my mum has used the same vets for years too

 

I think they do the work for the amount of money it costs, yes we moan but isnt that human nature

 

Did I say I love my vets

Edited April 17, 2005 by shirl

[Sirocco_Nikki]

In the case of our vet, Dr. Jon Sheff, the answer is not no but heck no. Sirocco had his annual exam and shots on Friday. I also picked up a 12 month supply of Interceptor for him. The total bill was $152.

 

But more important than cost, I trust him. He has been taking care of all of our dogs for the past 17 years. He knows greys. He is very cautious with the dogs. He said he doesn't want to clean their teeth again until they need it because it is not worth the risk of putting greys under anesthesia. So, when he says that the dogs need something, they really need it. And as icing on the cake, he doesn't laugh at crazy women that bring their dogs in for an exam just because something doesn't seem right. Such as turning down cookies, or a sudden stop to all tail wagging-even during tummy scratches.............

[Guest KennelMom]

LOVE our vet! We switched to him about 9 months ago. He doesn't overcharge....gives us a multi-hound discount and only charges one office visit regardless of how many of our dogs we bring in that day. He always takes the time to talk to us and treats us and our dogs with respect. He's a greyt person and a greyt vet! (Don't tell him, but I think he undercharges! )

 

When he retires I will cry a river I can't even bare to think fo the day....fortunately that should be years and years away

 

He's SOOOOO much better than my previous vet who overcharged and overtested. They totally took advantage of the fact that I'm not a vet...you know the old..."well to be extra sure we need to do x, y and z to rule out every possible other disease". Cost me nearly $400 to get a diagnosis for spay incontinence! And Haley had the most classic of all classic symptoms for spay incontinence!

[Madeara]

Let me add I LOVE MY VET!!!!

 

I do not think he charges too much, office visit 37.00 and revisits are like 22.00 and sometimes he doe not charge that. He always spends time talking to me, explaining different things (as much as I can understand)

 

He went to vet school, and if he wants to drive an expensive car, he deserves it (btyI don't know what he drives)

 

Human medical costs are off the scale imo, but we have insurance. So of course medical procedures will look high for an animal. I am happy that we have advanced in animal care. Just because it is an animal it should not mean that it should cost less.

 

My vet is even consulting with other specialist over Asia's condition. He will be contacting Dr Couto as well. Will he charge me for this, I doubt it.

 

I do know that there are good an bad in every profession, I am sure there are greedy vets out there.

 

I have been going to my vet for 10 years now. I have 3 dogs so I will see him more often than someone with 1 dog. He knows how much I love my animals as they are children to me.

 

He has taken in dogs and cats where owners would have had them put down due to being hit by a car and rehabilitated them and kept them.

[Guest greymom23]

I feel it depends on the vet. I have recently changed vets after 20 years b/c his daughter went into practice with him and now his prices have tripled. No longer does he recommend remedies (ie. chicken and rice cooked at home) etc, but tries to sell me his high priced products. I went to him because he wasn't all about money, but about the welfare of my pet and my wallet. He would even tell me to buy medicated shampoo for humans rather than buy the ones for dogs because it was cheaper. Not now, so I changed vets!

 

I think many vets do overcharge, but there are still some out there that really care about the pet and will not overcharge knowing that the owners can't afford the treatment if the price is too high.

 

As with anything else - you msut "shop around" to find what you need.

[Guest Lori]

When I tell people that the bill for taking our JRT to the vet school was $1600, they nearly flip! But it included:

 

two surgeries (scar revision and spleenectomy) done under 1 anesthesia

2 days hospitalization

ultrasound

pain patch

rimadyl

staple removal (and sedation for that)

 

and much more, but I don't have the bill in front of me. To me, that's pretty cheap. You and I couldn't have a surgery for that! And this was at the vet school where everyone told us it was more expensive.

 

I do kind of cringe when I pay our regular vet bills, but I think that's just me being somewhat of a tightwad! I'm fortunate in that we can afford it (no skinkids), and my pets' well-being is worth it. Plus, our vet is very kind, likes our dogs, and always does something 'free', like trim toenails or even do a quickie teeth-cleaning while they're under anesthsia for something else. The techs and counter staff are so nice too, and that means a lot to me. Once when Ruby was recovering from a procedure where she had to be sedated, I looked in the back and one of the techs was holding and petting her instead of letting her sit in a cage. Can't ask for more caring than that!

 

I don't think they have a lot of greyhound clients, but I did take Damien there when he tore his toenail. Apparently they were quite taken with him (he is a charmer) and did all kinds of tests for free, even though they scared me to death with one of them!

Edited April 18, 2005 by Lori

[Guest sweetgsmom]

My Vet is great, started going to his Dad many years ago(don't want to say how long) now its his Son, he is wonderful and grey savvy.

When we had our first grey and he got sick w/ cancer he was with us the whole time, and when we lost my heart dog Jessie, he sent a beautiful card and flowers.

[Guest GreytgroupLeader]

I feel that my vet's fees are very reasonable. He told me once that his aim was to have "pet health" affordable for everyone. Now that being said, I have a different view of certain E-vets. In the experience that I had with our local E-vet, costs were very off the scale. Your concern, my concern would be at that emergency minute the welfare of our greyts. You are virtually on an emotional roller coaster hearing what needs to be done as opposed to what the costs "could" entail. Long story short - I will be paying off an E-vet bill for the next 7 years. If my local vet had all the equipment that an E-vet facility has, he wouldn't have a need to run any non-related tests.

[feemandvm]

I feel it depends on the vet. I have recently changed vets after 20 years b/c his daughter went into practice with him and now his prices have tripled. No longer does he recommend remedies (ie. chicken and rice cooked at home) etc, but tries to sell me his high priced products. I went to him because he wasn't all about money, but about the welfare of my pet and my wallet. He would even tell me to buy medicated shampoo for humans rather than buy the ones for dogs because it was cheaper. Not now, so I changed vets!

 

I think many vets do overcharge, but there are still some out there that really care about the pet and will not overcharge knowing that the owners can't afford the treatment if the price is too high.

 

As with anything else - you msut "shop around" to find what you need.

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Now to be fair... I don't think a vet is overcharging if they recommend veterinary products. There are some vets out there that still recommend that owners use aspirin instead of the newer and safer veterinary NSAIDs. There are some vets who won't do various tests b/c they feel that owners cannot afford them. I actually talked to an emergency technician who stated that sometimes they tailor recommendations to what an owner can afford. To me that is the worst possible thing anyone can do. It is not a vet's place or a technician's place to decide what an owner can or cannot afford. It is certainly an owner's place to decide what they can and cannot afford but that decision should be their own to make. When I see a sick pet I always tell the owner what the best way to handle it would be. If an owner cannot afford that, then we compromise and try to help the pet as best we can within the budget of the owner.

 

There are some cheap ways of handling some conditions like boiling chicken and rice as a bland diet and I've used those as well but recommending a bland balanced diet like I/D isn't wrong either... and I certainly wouldn't think that vet was price gouging. Nor would recommending a veterinary shampoo... most human shampoos are too drying to dog's skin and have the potential to cause as many problems as they may help to treat.

 

I think there is inherent danger in shopping for price... not that less is less or less is more or more is less or more is more... but that prices do no correlate with quality. Sometimes a $50 dental cleaning is $50 b/c cornors may be cut... sometimes it might be because overhead is lower. As long as you are happy where you are with teh quality of medicine being practiced that is the most important thing.

[Guest Kingsmum]

I've followed this thread with much interest.

 

I had both greys into the vet for their yearly exams, here is the breakdown of fees:

 

Multiple Pet Wellness Exam & Consultation $40.00 (single pet is $45.00)

 

Canine Vaccine DA2PL/CPV-1Year $14.00

 

Boardetalla Vaccination $13.00

 

Lyme Disease Vaccination -1Year $22.00

 

Nail Trim Level I $9.25

 

Fecal Flotation Exam-non-Avian $17.50

 

Heartworm/Lyme Screening II $41.00

------Antigen Test for Heartworm Disease

------Lyme Disease Test

 

Incerceptor WHITE 51-100# box of 6 $48.27

 

 

Total $205.02

 

 

My female's itemized bill is the same except for the

Interceptor....I only get one box at a time....

 

Belle's total $156.75

 

Grand Total $361.77

 

 

I've been with this practice for 14+years. Every year, the walk in fee goes up anywhere from 5 to 10 dolllars. The married vets that started the practice divorced, so they sold it to their partners, 3 other vets who run it now. I also take my two cats to this vet, so I have 4 pets going in yearly.

 

They do not offer emergency vet services. If you need to be seen after hours, you need to go to the Emergency Vet Center which is staffed by a rotating team of vets/tech./nurses from our county. One time my Mom had to take her cat into the e-vet, and ended up seeing her regular vet anyway. The fee to walk into the E-Vet is $100.00.

 

The above fee doesn't include rabies vaccines or Frontline. Both rabies are due in 2007 and I order my Frontline from DrsFosterSmith because it's so much cheaper.

 

They have taken very good care of all of my animals through out the years, but I feel that it's pricey. I also think that they could throw in a nail trim with the yearly exam for free, I take my greys into the vet nurse for nail trims on a regular basis, so my dogs nails are well kept and not very difficult to trim.

I don't feel that my vets are rolling in dough so to speak,I'd like to see them reduce the multiple pet fee a bit more than 5 dollars each, but I don't think that's going to happen. DSXGF is a Vet tech, and she knew what this practice is paying their techs, and it's on the low side of the average.

 

 

Becky

[Guest Greyhrt]

I said it depends. I am in a rural area. I pay $42.50 for a heartworm test. (he wants them done yearly) I think that's too much. I pay upwards of $250.00 for a dental. (we've done 3 this year alone) I think that's too much. I know how much he marks up the flea/tick/heartworm meds. It's obscene. I want him to be comfortable, but I don't want to make him rich. I'm also stupid enough to want to think he would treat an occaisional pet for less if the owner couldn't afford it. (it might help me think that they were in it for the good of the animals and not just for a certain profit margin) I also think that if everyone were serious about spaying or neutering the prices for those services would be a whole lot cheaper.

 

If my Vet would come down in price I would do everything with him. As it is he cares for 7 of my families dogs. Because of his prices, I buy my flea/heartworm stuff online. I will also have to look around for a cheaper heartworm test. He gives a one time only $5.00 discount for a referal, other than that there are no multi-pet discounts etc. If you are trying to rescue animals, these prices are limiting. I think my guy is too high, but the last one I left was higher!

 

I also remember the saying "what do you call a doctor who graduated with low grades?......Doctor!" It's pretty hard to know who is good and who isn't. I don't believe that just because he's "good with people" or "compassionate" that he's necessarily a great vet. I've had what I considered a good vet in the past based on his diagnostic abilities and his willingness to go the extra mile for the animal. I never felt like he was in it for anything but the animal. And I would have paid him anything he asked, because I knew he wasn't taking advantage of me. He had my respect. But I don't see that kind of service much anymore. Some of you seem to have found it. Good for you!!! I'm still looking.

 

But then I remember when doctors made house visits and no one had dental insurance because pretty much everyone could afford it. (sigh)

[Guest 1dogonly]

Our vet is expensive, but we trust him. I also know if he can't handle the problem he'll find someone who can. I'll demand it. Keelin was having severe bouts of IBID when we first got her, after several rounds of antibiotics, he said if it didn't work we would be sent to OhioState. He took wonderful care of our Weim. for 15 years. he's also very greyhound savvy. Oh we could find someone cheaper, but you only get what you pay for in our area. He has 4 other vets in the practice, and has 24 hour emergency service.

[Guest Greensleeves]

I'm with Beth--I recently decided to 'shop around' for a new dentist and family practice MD, because I saw the attention and care my dogs got, and felt absolutely unimportant to MY doctors. I'm still working on it.

 

I know at least one local practice where nobody's getting rich--our greyhound group is something like $20,000 in debt to their vets, and though they're working to pay it off, the vets still treat all the new greys (including vaccinations, dentals, neuters, and all medical care fosters need), even if they'll never get paid for it. (This is not our vet; we went once and hated the office staff and have stuck closer to home ever since).

 

My vets... well, I know one lives in a single-wide mobile home! I'm fairly certain she's not getting rich off us. But I love them and feel they're a part of our family, and will continue to go no matter what they charge. And their costs have increased since their office manager left to be a SAHM (she used to cut us all kinds of breaks).

 

I do question some of the other practices, though. The specialists/e-vets where Whis sees the opthamologist just built a huge beautiful new practice in a *very* expensive neighborhood. I understand needing to expand and update...but surely there's cheaper land and architects out there? We're charged $175+ for a 15-minute consultation, which I do feel is excessive. My vets (granted, not specialists) would probably charge me a tenth of that (brief visit fee is $18; full visit is $35). I can't help but feel that somebody is getting more than necessary (I don't know that it's the vets).

 

Now, I don't think this would bother me one WHIT... if I felt she had time to talk to me, answer my questions, love on my dog, etc. But the last time I brought Whistler in, I didn't have a chance to ask her a single question! She came out, took Whis back for his shot, and a tech brought him back. We never saw the doctor again. I have to admit, it left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm really reluctant to rush right back there...b/c of the ratio of cost to service.

 

And I don't like feeling like that. I want to feel as though I can take my dogs to see a doctor anytime I feel something is not quite right. And while I certainly am able to spend that much money when we need to... I think I deserve better value for my veterninary dollar.

[Guest Greensleeves]

Oh, and feemandvm brings up a good point. One of the reasons medical care for humans is so outrageously high is that doctors must have malpractice insurance. I agree that the law places too little value on our pets, but I would hate to see the day when insurance companies control my access to my vet.

[Guest snoopy]

After changing vets a few times I finally found a vet I like and who practices with his brother so one of them is always there. Their prices are very reasonable for the NYC area and having 5 animals I get a "group discount" whenever possible. To go to a 24 hour emergency facility however is very pricy.

[Guest BaileyandJoesmom]

I really like my vet BUT I'm considering finding a new one because the practice he's in (A VCA run hospital) is really expensive. I knew I was paying way too much in vet bills when my husband and I had to take Joe to the emergency vet and were amazed at how cheap it was. The follow-up visit with my regular vet cost more than the emergency visit.

 

I asked how much it would be for a dental and was quoted $300 as long as no extractions were required. The vet who does the dentals (not my regular vet) also required that Joe have a test for Von Willebrand's because he had a hematoma one time after blood was drawn. (I may be getting some of these terms wrong. That was a while ago. The price, however, I remember quite vividly.) Luckily I am only about an hour from NGAP and can go there for dentals.

 

One of my cats is 17 and her kidneys are failing. She was hospitalized for three days for I.V. fluids. It is not a 24 hour care hospital, so her I.V.'s were disconnected each night. The bill was over $300. I almost fell over when I saw it. That didn't include any blood tests or any other type of testing.

 

As I read through the posts on this topic, I can't believe how cheap some of your vets are. If I was in NYC and real estate was a fortune, I could understand the prices, but I am not in an expensive area.

 

I have absolutely no problem with vets making money. I have no idea what a typical vet makes but the job requires a lot of education and to me that is worth something. I'm looking for reasonable pricing, not necessarily the cheapest.

[Guest Tiffany]

Now to be fair... I don't think a vet is overcharging if they recommend veterinary products.  There are some vets out there that still recommend that owners use aspirin instead of the newer and safer veterinary NSAIDs.  There are some vets who won't do various tests b/c they feel that owners cannot afford them.  I actually talked to an emergency technician who stated that sometimes they tailor recommendations to what an owner can afford.  To me that is the worst possible thing anyone can do.  It is not a vet's place or a technician's place to decide what an owner can or cannot afford.  It is certainly an owner's place to decide what they can and cannot afford but that decision should be their own to make.  When I see a sick pet I always tell the owner what the best way to handle it would be.  If an owner cannot afford that, then we compromise and try to help the pet as best we can within the budget of the owner. 

 

 

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That is what my vet did that made me a little unhappy. I took Casey in February for limping and the vet said it was just arthritis in the shoulder joint, he said the wrist area wasn't a big deal and he didn't really need x-rays as they were expensive. Took him to another vet that was treating my Mom's IG, they did 3 sets of x-rays for what 1 x-ray cost at my vets and after further test, Casey was diagnosed w/ osteosarcoma. He had it back in Feb. He was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and had his leg amputated last week. Cost for for everything (diagnoses/amputation/) at this vet $1000, my vet quoted me a price $1800-2500.

 

The vet I went too was wonderful. The entire staff is as well. He spent a lot of time talking/explaining things, even called the teaching hospital to see if they could offer anything else that might help Casey. I just wish he wasn't 150 miles away!

[Guest FancyPrancer]

My brother's a vet, so I'm biased.

 

He has the same school loans as a people doc, but I know for a fact he earns a lot less than a people doctor. In his case, he's able to supplement his income with a coi husbandry business, but this means 10-12 hour days a lot of the time, and lots of drive time all around the Chicago suburbs.

 

When you compare similar services for humans and pets, vets usually charge a lot less. Who ever heard of major surgery for a human for less than $1,000? I can garauntee a blood transfusion for a person costs a lot more than $120-ish.

 

The biggest exception is dental work; a routine cleaning for a pet is more expensive than for a person simply because of the anesthesia used.

 

I think emergency clinics and university-based teaching vetrinary clinics are also exceptions. Emergency clinics will do everything they can to save your pet, and they have the tools, equipment and staff to do so. The staffing levels at an emergency clinic and the equipment overhead are really drastically different than the average vet clinic.

 

University clinics are also places that will spend however much you ok in the process of trying to help your pet. They're great if you've got a lot of money, but torture for those (like me) who are on budgets. The university clinics exist to trial new proceedures, tests and drugs and to teach veterinary school students. My brother, after his senior year rotations, told me to never bring a pet to a university clinic unless there was no other alternative. He'd seen, too many times, pets being kept alive through extraordinary measures simply because they could be kept alive and their owners were willing to do so. Obviously, it's the owners decision at all times, but working there made him sad because of these sorts of cases.

[Guest greyt_parents]

WE LOVE OUR VET!!!

Having furbabies for 14 years, we have seen many vets but there is no need to look any further b/c we just love Dr. B!

He was recommended by the the greyhound adoption agency for greys but he is also awesome with kitties... One of our kitties got very sick right after Christmas and we were short on $$$ but this wonderful man only asked for a few hundred dollars for a bill that had a grand total of $1800 - he even took her home for New Year's Eve!

He has a 100 acre hobby farm that he has invited us to run our puppers at anytime... Tex our bridge boy is buried there...Dr B truly was a friend when my heart boy went to the bridge...

Sometimes vet costs seem high but it is all worth it for the peace of mind that Dr B. brings us!