very good advice!!! i hope she posts back today with better news. i feel so sorry for the baby.:(

How's Coco this morning?? I agree with Doortego....an open wound is very serious and she needs that fixed ASAP! If the vet won't do it for free, go to another vet and put it on a credit card or ask for a payment plan. GOOD LUCK, Jessica! Keep us updated!

Poor Coco...I hope she gets the vet attention she deserves!! How rediulous they want you to pay again for something THEY messed up!! I would definetly go higher up!! Let us know how Coco is feeling and of any updates from that vet...hugs Coco..

Dawn

When Piper was spayed, she ended up getting an infection from the stitches. I took her in as soon as I noticed it, within a couple of days. The Vet took care of it at NO Charge. My Vet sent me home with Pain Meds for both girls.
That's why CoCo is shaking. The way I look at it is, If I had a hysterectomy I would be wanting meds. Our furbabies might heal faster than us, but they have to be in pain for a few days. I'm not letting mine suffer.
Hope CoCo is feeling better soon.

The vet opens at 8 so I will be going back in a few minutes. She's awake but she's still very calm and just laying on me. I feel so bad :(

This scares me. I have to make my appt for Britain to be spayed soon. I will be a nervous wreck worrying about anything happening. I dont have actual children so she really is my baby and I do anything for her. I do more for her than my bf which annoys the hell out of him but oh well. This does sound unethical to me that they would charge you to stitch her back up. But regardless get it done! Whether its that vet or you take her to another she needs help. I dont think the cost would matter to me. If I didnt have it I would borrow or maybe steal. Hell I might even offer sexual favors. But I definatly would get my pupperface taken care of no matter what!
Please update us on Coco I hope she is doing better today. Britain sends puppy kisses to her.

That is diabolical!!!! It should have been considered a follow up definately. And what vet would let you leave with your baby in this condition just because you didnt have the money???? Im sorry but vets like him should be struck off. Not everything is about money! T****r

Poor baby. If Coco didn't jump and wasn't running around, regular movement shouldn't have opened the incision, which would lead me to believe it wasn't closed properly. Even if she has to be put back under $150 is still too much. The cost of anesthesia at my vet is only $65 and they are higher than the norm. There should at least be a reduced fee!!

Many vets do not give pain meds. I would tell the vet you want her on them for at least a day or two. Good luck and please let us know how she (and you) are doing.

I can't believe that would not be included in the original charge. Did you actually get to speak to the vet or was it just the receptionish that said you would have to pay more? I can't believe they just let you leave with an open wound because of a money issue. As far as pain meds are concerned, my husband had shoulder surgery and decided to toss out the pain meds after a short while because he didn't want to become dependent of them and his doctor reprimanded him and perscribed more because he said being in pain will prevent you from sleeping well and not sleeping well will prevent healing. I would imagine that goes for dogs too. I hope you had better luck with the vet this morning.

Ok for starters not to dog on you or anything but you should always have emergency funds just incase something like this arrises and she needs medical care or for any other emergency. yorkies need alot of care. and my anna hasnt been fixed but she did have to have surgery on her eye and they told me that anything i had to have done to her eye afterwards was covered in the initial payment for the surgery which was only 92 dollars or something like that. that was for the surgery, eye drops, and the anesthesia needed to do her surgery. this also covered the stitches getting taken out 10 days later and the anestheisa shot she had to have to get her to sit still for the stitches to be removed. i cant beleive they didnt give you some kind of thing like that. that would only make sense to me. they did the surgery they should be able to cover anything that goes wrong with the surgery afterwards.

i don't want to sound rude but i don't think that comment was necissary.. i think jess is more than aware of the cost of a yorkie and is very responsible with Coco... no one ever expects this to happen to their pup and i'd worry that your comment will make her feel like she is irresponsible... she just needs support.. not to be told what she did wrong.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: very true.

Well, let's not get too off subject right now. Hopefully the whole thing gets straightened out. Main thing is that the baby gets taken care of first, then you can worry about how to rectify the charges. Let the vet bill you, or else go to another vet and have the incision put back together and charge it. Unfortunately, if you go to another vet and they charge you, they will be justified in charging since this is a new case for them, so you won't be able to dispute the charges. I do not know why the vet doesn't just use the surgical glue that our vet used which put the incision together again quite nicely. It cost us nothing. But every vet uses their own methods I guess. Our vet did not use anesthesia the second time when they glued it as that wasn't necessary for glueing it shut, so that is probably why there was no charge.

Anyway, I hope that your little girl gets help and can recover without some sort of infection setting in. That is the important thing, and over the long run, the sooner you close the cut, and don't leave it open to infection, the less the whole thing will wind up costing.

Btw, just as an aside, I'd think about getting pet insurance after this as they will cover such unexpected complications and other illnesses and you can get some reimbursement for extra costs. After having paid for vet costs for our kitty, we signed both the kitty and our furbaby up for insurance and have already received reimbursement for several things that were unexpected such as treatment for reactions to vaccinations.

Jessica, How's Coco? How was the vet visit?? We're all keeping our fingers crossed here!!!!!! Let us know something when you get home!

Just checking in also....hope to hear good news & that CoCo is on the mend...

I think its unfair for them to charge you too but I think you need to get it stitched up right away regardless of what it costs. I am worried about her getting infected

Oh I hope it all works out. What a horrible expereince for you. Please keep us posted :)

suture repair
 

worked for a vet for many, many years....the incision opening up whether the dog removed the staples or stitches is still follow up and should be no charge.
Medications are charged for, she needs to be antibiotics! All spays went home with antibiotics and a elizabethan collar so she can't remove her own staples....

Hope everything is alright with your baby...it won't heal correctly on its own..I've seen dogs pull their own stitches out (and internal organs were coming out ..owners didn't use the e-collar....)

I would have it repaired ASAP...but then speak to the owner/vet or office manager privately as they have the power to remove charges.

roxanne in nc:(

any new news?!

This morning I went to the vet and they still insist on charging me but I left her anyways because I couldn't take seeing her like that. I asked them if they could bill me and they said no that I have to pay for it when I pick her up. I'm going to be borrowing money from friends and I'm going to try to get a hold of the owner to talk to them and hopefully get the money back. How do I go about getting in touch with the owner?


- Also, maybe I'm not the most responsible person in the world right now but I'm going through a lot and just don't have that much money to put aside since I am also paying my own medical bills.

I wasnt implying anything just merely making a suggestion. I didnt mean to make anyone mad. I was just merely pointing out that things happen and if you arent prepared to pay for emergency vet bills then your dog might not be able to get the attention it needs. I know from experience ive seen many dogs in my life get no medical attention due to lack of money so there fore i make sure i always have a way to pay for emergency problems. when i was a little girl my dog got shot by a deer hunter and my parents did not take her to the vet due to lack of money and i had to watch her suffer and i would prefer none of my dogs to have to go threw that. my dog lived and lived on for many many more years after being shot but i think alot of us were shocked. so sorry for my rude coment.

I wasnt implying anything just merely making a suggestion. I didnt mean to make anyone mad. I was just merely pointing out that things happen and if you arent prepared to pay for emergency vet bills then your dog might not be able to get the attention it needs. I know from experience ive seen many dogs in my life get no medical attention due to lack of money so there fore i make sure i always have a way to pay for emergency problems. when i was a little girl my dog got shot by a deer hunter and my parents did not take her to the vet due to lack of money and i had to watch her suffer and i would prefer none of my dogs to have to go threw that. my dog lived and lived on for many many more years after being shot but i think alot of us were shocked. so sorry for my rude coment.

I am so glad she is getting taken care of. Sometimes we forget how hard it is starting out and truly not having money for unexpected things. You have a lot on your plate and I hope things get easier from here on.

OMG i just seen this, that is horrible, no way in h#$% would i have left that vet without them fixing her up , i would of screamed at the top of my lungs and made shure allot of people hearing me, poor Baby ! All this should of been covered specialy since they did a s$$y job at that baby's expence ! Girl please find a different vet that is a little more passionate. On top of that i would report him ! Sorry for the rant , but that realy upset me, as i hate seeing any helpless animal in pain :( I hope she is feeling better !

Ohhh hun,Just now read the posts.... Good luck tomorow...Ya know...It really gauls me that these "vets" are suppose to "care" for animals and then they just care about the MONEY more! Geeeeez.....After this is over I would definately try to find another vet. Although my vet is very good I think Im going to start shopping around too because he is very very expensive and always wants the $$$$ right away! good LUck!!

I would most definitely speak with the doctor, not the staff. They are doing what they are told, however, there is a Code of Ethics which says:

PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR

1. Veterinarians should first consider the needs of the patient: to relieve disease, suffering, or disability while minimizing pain or fear.

Good luck; this is ridiculous. Also, a thing you need to do is when you go to pick up your baby. Demand to speak to someone in authority. Complain that the incision opened the day after the surgery, and if they insist on charging you $150.00 you will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Explain that you are a part of a Yorkie community, and everyone in that community will hear about your complaints.

When you leave the office make a point commenting on how you can't believe that they would actually allow a dog that had surgery to leave in that condition. And question if this is how they make extra money. Do this loud enough for any customers to hear. Also there should be a vet licensing board you can complain to. Look at the licenses on the wall, and don't be shy about write down organizations in a notebook(especially if it sounds local). The Better Business can also direct you on what other actions you can take.

Don't be shy about this -- what they are doing here is wrong!!!! And you most likely aren't the 1st.

First of all you need to find out WHY the incision opened. If she was chewing on the stitches then it would certainly be your responsibility to pay for re-stitching her. If her incision opened because of inadequate stiching or because the vet used surgical glue then that is another story. If it is the vet's fault you need to confront him. At any rate the vet/owner needs to know how you were treated. I can't fathom them letting that puppy go without so much as a bandage!

Let us know and good luck