Expensive Vet Bills...Give me a Freaking Break!!

[kalina82]

Personally i do not think that's a lot of money at all.

Vets and groomers are hurting for money too. They can't lower their prices or they'd go under.

i know its expensive right now for people with no job or one income. I do not have a job right now and i had to take the cat to the vet a few weeks ago and then last week i had to take morgan in. Those two vet visits cost me a few hundred bucks, but i'd rather spend the money then worry about my pets health.

Also there are things you can do at home to cut costs.
Make sure you are keeping up with their groomings at home. A lot of people right now are cutting back on their grooming appts going every 8-10 weeks instead of every 6-8 weeks. This could be cost efficient for you but you need to remember to brush daily and keep the coat in good condition. If the coat is matted the groomer will charge more because it takes more time to groom them.
Take care of their teeth - brush daily.
Give heartworm preventative year round so you don't have to get yearly heartworm tests. If you give it every month you can get heartworms tests done every 2-3 years instead.
Prevent fleas year round as well. Just because its winter doesn't mean they can't get fleas. Fleas do not hibernate like ticks. In the winter they will come in the house to get out of the cold.
Don't skimp on their diet because its cheaper. A good diet prevents health problems as well.
Distemper vaccines do not need to be given every year anymore. You can go to every 2-3 years or not give them anymore period after 1 year old. Titers can be performed every few years to make sure their antibioties are ok. Rabies does need to be given every 3 years tho.
Most towns have free rabies clinic every year and some petstores do cheaper vaccinations (petco,petsmart)

[meladori]

Today's dental cleaning and extraction of 6 teeth for my poor rescue kitty that I have had less than a year...$671.91

Yeah, I was really happy about that BUT, Daisy being able to eat pain-free...Priceless.

[yoon714]

Petco has vaccinations for really cheap. Mimi got it done by them, she is due in August again. I will be going ot Petco again =D. They have packages for dogs and cats. Very cheap. Check out the site Pet Vaccinations: Dog Vaccines, Cat Vaccines at Luv My Pet - Petco

[txrosegirl]

it stinks when the vet visits are more than you expect

however i would love to pay $100 for yearly shots and tests...when i took miss buffey and bentley in it was $200 each for the yearly shots and tests

[YorkieOwned5]

Hi Ellie May,
The charges from the vet you posted are Very High, is this some kind of special vet? The $40. for a urinealysis is absurd.. all they do is dipstick it, id nothing shows up on it, then they don't even look under a scope. Did he/she have a problem with a UTI?? My vet dosent' even do that unless it is suspect... The lab prices are very extreme as well.
Not knowing if you live in a beach community or an upper class area, it seems like your vet is really OVER charging for most everything. I would be in the market for someone more reasonable, maybe alittle farther from home or the expensive section of town. Even if I had to drive 30 minutes to save some of that money I sure would.
It really upsets me when I see good people get ripped off or taken advantage of. I sure hope and pray that you baby never gets sick or needs any surgery, the bill would be extreme!!
You might want to get out the old yellow pages and call someother vets to do some price comparising.. I think you will be surprised. You could then use the extra cash to go out to dinner or something fun..
Sorry this is long, just wanted to share byer be ware & to make a point. We Must stand up for ourselves with the vets and groomers.
Just to give you an idea, our male will be neurtered in a couple of weeks and with pre op labwork and all the charges for surgery is only gonna be about 230.00. We are in Tampa. Our TN vet is even more reasonable in prices. My female will need knee surgery and it will be around
400-450.000..done in CHattanooga..
Good luck, God Bless. Sharon

[Shelby&Seymour]

The cost for vaccines here are not as expensive.. about $50, but I have had blood panels done on them which adds to the cost....another $80.... I must say that with the economy issues it is difficult for those that have lost their jobs or have been cut hours of work. I DO agree....... there are some places that will give you a break on the cost (I personally wouldn't want to go to Petland, but if it was a choice of Petland or the chance that my Pet not get the needed vaccines to prevent serious issues...... I wouldn't have much of a choice).
I have invested THOUSANDS in Medical bills for my 2 in the last couple of years........... it wasn't easy... but have been working full time and was able to manage. We just need to hang in there....... times are tough, but hopefully they will get better.

[Dina_Nichole]

I'm sorry your bill was higher than expected but in all honesty that is cheap compared to my vet. You wanna switch, jk. Since we're on this topic I would like to say want ticks me off. I have four babies and I would do anything in the world for them. I'd chop off my arm to get money if that was the only way. Unless one of the babies get sick, they mostly all go to the vet at the same time. Perhaps I'm wrong but I think it's wrong to charge me $45 per dog just to be seen. They're all there together at the same time. That's practically $200 just to been seen by the vet and that doesn't include any shots, meds, testings and anything else that may arise. I don't know but that just really gets to me because my old vet (moved away) only charged for one office visit whether I brought one, two or all four babies along. What can I do though? They need this stuff so we just deal with it.

[Honeypaute]

Originally Posted by ~Yorkie~Mommy~

I was under the impression that the shots were going to be around 60 bucks well BOY was I WRONG!! I got to the counter to pay and it was 96.00 WOWWW a hundred dollars!!

I feel your pain!! I took Tater in a week and a half ago for his vaccines. I typically administer 8 in ones myself unless he needs a rabies which then since I am already paying and exam fee etc. etc. Anyways, I called ahead and got a price. It was going to be about $60-70 tops. After the appt I was hit with a whopping $160 bill!!!! Worst part is once I got there she advised he doesn't need Rabies until next year. I don't mind paying for medical procedures etc. But I know how long it takes to administer a vaccine and check his temp and it's not $160 worth of time. This is why I have 2 vets. I go to the close one for routine checkups/vaccines, but for surgeries, dentals etc. I drive nearly an hour. I love that vet, he takes the time to speak directly with me, and he's cheap ($90 for dental which includes any necessary extractions, $60 for spay/neuter via laser) but an hour one-way is a long drive for a shot.

[YorkieOwned5]

Hi, When we had 3 babies our vet gave us a breeders discount even thou we are not. He usually only charged 1 office visit charge or if it took extra time he just charged the minimum visit charge. they usually have 3 price ranges. Self pay, breeder, insurance. I do plan to get insurance on my two 5 month old pups so the upcoming surgeries like for the knee will be covered at 80%. It's less than 35.00 a month each and ofcourse you can cancel anytime. knowing I have the knee surg, spaying, dental coming up they are all comverd at 80% reimbursement anything like lab work ECG, medications are all covered. They also have a puppy plan for all of those shots...Wish I had gotten it just when we got them, could have saved some moola.. I will probably keep it for a couple of years to cover any other puppy things that arise. You might want to check the ins out online.. there are a couple so it's worth looking for sure.. Good luck.. God Bless. I would ASK the Vet if he can allow any kind of discount for multiplies...

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by YorkieOwned5

Hi Ellie May,
The charges from the vet you posted are Very High, is this some kind of special vet? The $40. for a urinealysis is absurd.. all they do is dipstick it, id nothing shows up on it, then they don't even look under a scope. Did he/she have a problem with a UTI?? My vet dosent' even do that unless it is suspect... The lab prices are very extreme as well.
Not knowing if you live in a beach community or an upper class area, it seems like your vet is really OVER charging for most everything. I would be in the market for someone more reasonable, maybe alittle farther from home or the expensive section of town. Even if I had to drive 30 minutes to save some of that money I sure would.
It really upsets me when I see good people get ripped off or taken advantage of. I sure hope and pray that you baby never gets sick or needs any surgery, the bill would be extreme!!
You might want to get out the old yellow pages and call someother vets to do some price comparising.. I think you will be surprised. You could then use the extra cash to go out to dinner or something fun..
Sorry this is long, just wanted to share byer be ware & to make a point. We Must stand up for ourselves with the vets and groomers.
Just to give you an idea, our male will be neurtered in a couple of weeks and with pre op labwork and all the charges for surgery is only gonna be about 230.00. We are in Tampa. Our TN vet is even more reasonable in prices. My female will need knee surgery and it will be around
400-450.000..done in CHattanooga..
Good luck, God Bless. Sharon

Yup, it is a bit pricey but not too bad.
I agree on the urinalysis though. I think $25 is fair but this office charges $40 and I can't really figure out why. Ellie's vet is no the owner and does not set prices. We follow her wherever she goes... The lab prices are probably about the average between two places we have gone. The titers seem pretty standard as does the heartworm test.

A urinalysis is done anytime a UTI is suspected (Ellie has had issues with this in the past) and I also request one at her yearly exam. It is the full thing with specific gravity, sediment, protein, etc. and is sent to an outside lab.

We are very happy with Ellie's vet and we are treated very well.
Ellie does have medical problems and we do pay quite a bit but it's worth it.

I have no idea what we'd do if we couldn't afford routine care though.
That has to stress lots of owners out.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Dina_Nichole

I'm sorry your bill was higher than expected but in all honesty that is cheap compared to my vet. You wanna switch, jk. Since we're on this topic I would like to say want ticks me off. I have four babies and I would do anything in the world for them. I'd chop off my arm to get money if that was the only way. Unless one of the babies get sick, they mostly all go to the vet at the same time. Perhaps I'm wrong but I think it's wrong to charge me $45 per dog just to be seen. They're all there together at the same time. That's practically $200 just to been seen by the vet and that doesn't include any shots, meds, testings and anything else that may arise. I don't know but that just really gets to me because my old vet (moved away) only charged for one office visit whether I brought one, two or all four babies along. What can I do though? They need this stuff so we just deal with it.

Most vets will charge you for each pet because its taking up an appointment slot. for example: the last regular vet hosp i worked at had 20 minute appointment slots for regular appts (annuals and checkups) and 40 minute appointments slots for new clients. say your bring in 4 dogs, each of those dogs will get a 20 minute appointment slot so that each dog gets the same thorough check up. Maybe they'll cut it to 60 minutes instead of 80 minutes for 4 yorkies, but its still taking up a few appointment slots. They need to charge for each pet because its taking up a time slot. that price per time slot covers each dogs thorough check up. i hope i explained that so it makes sense. LOL

yeah it sucks, but despite their prices vets don't make a lot of money, unless they specialize in something like surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, etc... Also at a general hospital, there are usually more then one vet. Only the owners of the hospital are making a nice profit, the other doctors usually aren't. These other doctors are also usually younger and still paying off vet school. Vet school takes decades usually for them to pay off. I've worked with many vets and MOST were still paying off loans. it sucks for everyone involoved. vets and pet owners. i've even known some vets in teh area that have had to close up shop because their business was going under. its sad

[FlDebra]

It always costs me over $100 each dog for their annual visits and shots. One of the vets I was using did give discounts for 2 or more pets at the same visit, in fact they were less expensive on everything. But the one I use now is closer and I really like the main vet, so I pay a little more. I plan for it. I just figure it's my responsibility to provide health care for my pets.

Several have already mentioned low cost shot clinics that are usually available through the county or city. You could also call around, there are usually a wide range of prices from different vets. Might also want to look in to pet insurance. There are some very inexpensive policies that could give you peace of mind. If things are really that bad that a true medical emergency would cost more than you could afford, then insurance is the way to go. At least then you know you are going to be able to provide for your pet.

As far as the grooming goes, I would learn to do it yourself. It is not that hard if you are keeping yours in a short cut. There are some free how-to videos posted here in the Grooming forum and there are a couple of sites online with more instruction. I have a video I bought to learn the basics. I have clippers, a trimmer, scissors etc. so I know that I can do the grooming in a pinch. But I usually defer to the professional. Still, if money was tight, I would do it myself.

Sometimes it just feels better to rant on money issues though -- I understand that too. One of my favorite rants is the way restaurants overcharge for drinks. I like my coffee and sweet tea -- but they tack on a couple of bucks just for a drink with dinner. Water with lemon is usually free and in reality that lemon probably costs them more than the little dab of grounds they used for my coffee. There -- now I feel better too.

[mypreciouspups]

Girlie I am used to vet bills like this.. Canada is nothing but cheap..breeding for me and getting shots at the vets and the dew claws and tails docked.. I get charged 50 per dog for tail docking and dew claws removed.. x what ever amount I have in the litter.. and people wonder why yorkies are not cheap.. I get xrays each time.. one xray is 100.00 it all adds up pretty fast I can tell you that..

anne

[YorkieOwned5]

DITTO, DITTO, DITTO on resturant drink charges.... sometimes I will get h20 just to save 2-3 bucks.... such a scam. Years ago my hubby who is now a retired cop, would always get free coffee with their meal and maybe a little 10% discount, but now a days they don't even get free coffee. Guess they don't realize that if there is a patrol car in the parking lot they're security is secure.. dump ppl.. oh well...

[Dina_Nichole]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Most vets will charge you for each pet because its taking up an appointment slot. for example: the last regular vet hosp i worked at had 20 minute appointment slots for regular appts (annuals and checkups) and 40 minute appointments slots for new clients. say your bring in 4 dogs, each of those dogs will get a 20 minute appointment slot so that each dog gets the same thorough check up. Maybe they'll cut it to 60 minutes instead of 80 minutes for 4 yorkies, but its still taking up a few appointment slots. They need to charge for each pet because its taking up a time slot. that price per time slot covers each dogs thorough check up. i hope i explained that so it makes sense. LOL

yeah it sucks, but despite their prices vets don't make a lot of money, unless they specialize in something like surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, etc... Also at a general hospital, there are usually more then one vet. Only the owners of the hospital are making a nice profit, the other doctors usually aren't. These other doctors are also usually younger and still paying off vet school. Vet school takes decades usually for them to pay off. I've worked with many vets and MOST were still paying off loans. it sucks for everyone involoved. vets and pet owners. i've even known some vets in teh area that have had to close up shop because their business was going under. its sad

I definately get what you're saying. I guess I was just spoiled a little from our old vet. The office visit was $35 there and covered all four. This $45 per baby now just seems steep. I know of a few other vets in our area that offer a discount for multiple babies but I prefer this new vet more and will deal with the extra $$$ for hopefully better care. It adds up for sure but I love my babies to death and they're worth every penny and more.