My little pooch spent the weekend in the hospital

[mercman]

I dont think anyone got ripped off here.Medical attention is very expensive, whether for a human or an aminal. We seldom see the bills our doctors are sending in to the Gov, but you can bet they are high.

My wife and i have been doing IVF, and the cost of that, not including the Meds, is over 18,000.This year it is covered by medicare, but not the first time we tried.

With Vet bills, they seem high because we have to pay cash from our pockets, so we see the cost right away.Plus, they recieve no subsidies from the Gov for new equipment or training.

 

Paul

 

 

[jedimaster]

Anytime I have taken my dog to a vet I always start off with if its going to be too much money let me know how much it is to have him put down. I have never seen a vet bill more than a few hundred dollars. Went to Vet1 with our beagle for a sore leg we thought may have been broken, the vet said gonn need xrays, pills blah blah, initial upfront of 1.5k . went to vet 2 said if its bad just tell me how much to put him down. They looked him over for 50 bucks, said he was fine.

[lew]

My little buddy will be 15 in October and I've always done everything I could to give him the best life possible. Last month he needed some dental work, plus treatment for a bad cough. The bill came in at $1400 and I never even blinked when it came time to write the cheque and I'd have gladly payed twice that much to be sure he's healthy, happy and pain free.

 

The absolute love and loyalty a dog gives throughout his life is worth much more than a few $$$$

[Gregoire]

We had our our chi at the animal hospital a month or so ago. We have insurance, so it could have been worse. For us the peace of mind is worth it.

[Teressa]

We too have been lucky with our vet. Our middle dog Brandy , a miniature poodle, had this huge lump (larger than a baseball) coming out the side of her neck when she was almost a year old. 1 over night stay, surgery and meds + free follow up visits cost us just under $500.

 

Our oldest dog Angel, a toy poodle/bichon, was attacked by a standard poodle (we had origionally rescued her from an abusive home - and after the 2nd attack was put down) when she was 12 years old. Not once but twice. Needed surgery, over night stays, meds...the vet actually lost count of the amount of stitches both inside her neck and out, again free check-ups afterwards, again under $500.

 

Our guy loves our babies almost as much as we do. I cant count the number of times we have gone in to see him and he says "No charge today". He is the only vet I will ever take my dogs to. Now Angel is turning 15, Brandy 5 and Cosmo is turning 1. We are actually seeing him next week for the rabies shots.

[coreyhkh]

We spent thousands on my dog when I was younger I hate vets I feel they really take advantage. On another note everyone should get pet insurance it could save you a small fortune.

[cynmar]

Oh yeah, been there , done that, family pet just a mutt part husky, part golden lab, put his knee out. $1300.00 later . My father who was alive at the time looked at me and said, you're dumber than the dog is. Wife and daughter had to have him though. He's still a pain in the @#$% , has real attitude problems but we love him.

 

Bill

[Rustic-Fisher]

Use caution when exploring different pet insurance company's , I got jammed good on our last dog.

Read the fine, fine, fine print.

Glad the pup is alright

Edited April 21, 2011 by Jaspers on point

[Jewelbee]

I know a lot of people don't believe in pet insurance, but the way a vet bill can add up so fast, I keep it on my boys! I find one trip a year and it's paid for itself!

I'm sorry your puppy was so sick! Hope he recovers quickly!

Jewel

[skeeter]

With all these replies about cheap vets and pet insurance, why has no one listed the name of there good cheap vet and the good pet insurance company?

How much do you pay for your pet insurance?

:dunno:

[DRIFTER_016]

With all these replies about cheap vets and pet insurance, why has no one listed the name of there good cheap vet and the good pet insurance company?

How much do you pay for your pet insurance?

:dunno:

 

 

The vet I took my pooch to in Alaska is named.............. wait for it................. Dr. Tim Bowser!!!!

I $#!& you not!!!

Here's his card.

 

[smally21]

i have a friend with a vet clinic, always busting her chops about the bills. she raised an interesting point. an overnight hospital stay for a human patient with some doctors care, a few tests and an xray is likely to run up a bill of around 10000, maybe even 2-3 times that (sick, but true). we've all heard the story of the broken leg on the US hockey trip with the 40000 bill from the american hospital.

 

so she points out that the dog hospital uses all of the same equipment, follows the same procedures, and is staffed by doctors with similar (read expensive and long) educations. and the bill is say 1200 and everyone freaks out.

 

not sure how valid the argument is but it did give me something to chew on.

 

hope for speedy recovery!

[motion]

Thanks for all the kind words and encougement. Toby had a better day today with tons of puppy energy and no vomitting. Hopefully keeping him away from the crap in the yard may help speed up his recovery. Other than the shaved area on his leg and a few pounds lighter, he is starting to look like he used to.

[nofish4me]

Glad he's doing better.

I don't want to end up on "Mod Que", so I'll just leave it at that.

[bigugli]

i have a friend with a vet clinic, always busting her chops about the bills. she raised an interesting point. an overnight hospital stay for a human patient with some doctors care, a few tests and an xray is likely to run up a bill of around 10000, maybe even 2-3 times that (sick, but true). we've all heard the story of the broken leg on the US hockey trip with the 40000 bill from the american hospital.

 

so she points out that the dog hospital uses all of the same equipment, follows the same procedures, and is staffed by doctors with similar (read expensive and long) educations. and the bill is say 1200 and everyone freaks out.

 

not sure how valid the argument is but it did give me something to chew on.

 

hope for speedy recovery!

The point was made a couple of times, but has been overlooked?

 

In an Emergency vet clinic you will have 3-4 staff on hand at all times. That is the Vets fees plus $600 per shift to pay out in wages, let alone the medical supply costs. There are all the other costs as well.

Against that you have a number of pets in house for treatment. Some vets are more reasonable than others, but the Emerg clinic is a business without ties, or loyalties, to clientele. It exists to provide a service for a profit. No different than a private hospital or clinic for people.

Edited April 21, 2011 by bigugli

[BillsTheBassMan]

As a lifelong lab owner I've got to tell you that big vet bills are not uncommon.

 

My last lab required a $2500 surgery at the age of 2 (granted that was accident related).

 

What I find is common among labs are the consistent ear infections and symptoms from growing too big or too fast.

 

As far as eating stuff goes, I once saw one of my labs pass a piece of tinfoil with an entire chicken breast and bone in it. He got into the neighbours garbage and the rest is history.

 

Best dogs ever but they have their share of issues health-wise.

 

Thankfully, since their so friendly, people will go out of their way to help them out. When my last fella got cancer he was enrolled for free treatment in a program at the University of Guelph (the best vet school in the country). Initially it was said he only had three months left at 10 1/2 and he lived to 14 due to that program.

 

Best of luck and get the pet insurance next time. With most labs you'll make your money back in the first two years on ear infections alone.