One more reason I don't get a new dog. That and following it around with a poop bag.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:

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Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Vet bills are the new scam

No shit, huh?

Good thing they don't have an office to pay for, staff salaries to cover, equipment to buy, an education to pay off, a mortgage, a car loan, kids to put through school, etc....

Greedy bastards.

Your car loans, kids, and mortgage have nothing to do with the value of the service you provide.

And the scam isn’t so much the services they provide, it’s the scam that you have to provide human levels of care for a pet.

Chemotherapy, brain tumors, etc.

I’m all for taking car of my animals, but they are pets. $1K is about the one time max for a serious condition around here.

When our Boxer got a Liver disease two years ago we ended up spending between $20 and $30K for treatment.
It was not enough and she passed six months later.
We would have done whatever it takes to save her but it was God's will and she is gone.
We miss her.

For many, a pet is a member of the family, to be treated accordingly.

We have two dogs that sleep in bed with us.

I've picked up animals that were hit by cars on the road, and spent a small fortune to ensure they were cared for, including wildlife. A lot of people approach life as having value, and a lot of vets approach their job with the full dedication that is appropriate to the holder of a medical degree who has taken an oath and holds an ethical commitment to care for his or her patient.

Check around with other vets. I'm a vet, know the ins and outs of it, and know that your quote is fairly ridiculous for that procedure (in MY area). Around the Midsouth, you can have a mass removed the correct way, using correct anesthetics, send it off to have histopathology done, and get all of your medications for well South of $1800.00 all day long. At my office it might set you back $800-1000, but then I'm probably less expensive than I should be....

Call around and ask for some quotes, many won't quote you without an office visit (averages under $40 in this area, but YMMV), but some will give you a guesstimate.

Also, because (unfortunately) the price of your business mortgage DOES DIRECTLY AFFECT the price you have to charge clients for services, you might try looking to some suburban vets for estimates. If you drive an hour out of town to find someone (not in the ritzy neighborhoods) who has a nice office that is less costly, and they're not paying Seattle taxes, they might be waaay cheaper.


Good luck!

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Now how in the hell am I supposed to come up with that?!?!?

It’s outrageous. What do people do in these situations?!?! On one hand you want to take care of your dog/family member but at the same time is there a threshold amount that says, “we can’t justify this” ?!?

That’s a lot of money.

Cope, I'm quite sure you can come up with it, it's just painful to do so. I thought you just recently landed a new higher paying job, could be mixing you up with someone else. You drive a luxury SUV, the surgery can't be more than four truck payments.

It sucks, maybe you guys will have to skip a vacation this year, donate less, eat out less, trim back 401k contributions, etc.

It's a commitment you make when you adopt/buy a pet. If the prognosis is good, you sort of have help your little buddy out. If we were talking about a fifteen year old dog and chance of survival was very low, then I could see just putting it down.

Spend the money it's worth it, but shop it around first.

Praying for a speedy recovery for Bella

We had a dog that needed hip surgery by a specialist which exceeded $2000 years ago - As we were deciding, he said if we don't do it he would take her as she was such a wonderful dog. - I have never got over that tactic - yes we had it done and she passed 6mo later -

My Dad put down many cats and dogs when we were kids - now I get it.

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Originally posted by smschulz:
When our Boxer got a Liver disease two years ago we ended up spending between $20 and $30K for treatment.

What!? I'm speechless.

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Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

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Originally posted by smschulz:
When our Boxer got a Liver disease two years ago we ended up spending between $20 and $30K for treatment.

What!? I'm speechless.

Yeah, you aren’t alone.

I get it, if people have the means and think their pet is a human, go for it. That market has surely adopted to cover down on that business model.

I simply don’t agree that adopting a pet means an endless amount of expenditures on the owners part.

But it’s a free country and people are free to spend their cash as they see fit.

Forgot to mention, the fact that your quote came from a specialist automatically jumped the cost way up. Many of today's new vets have the referral mindset, and send everything that isn't routine to a specialist. Some procedures are just too complex for a generalist to perform, I get that. But, I honestly think that mimicking the human model for medicine is a grave error, and that if a generalist can do it, they probably should, within reason.


RGRacing, I hesitate to respond to your post, but I've never been accused of being THAT smart, so here goes: Over the years, I've offered to adopt several dogs that had owners who either could not or would not perform treatments for at a basic level, and it's never been a tactic. In each case, I felt a connection to a great animal that I genuinely wanted to help. In each case, there was some perception on my part that either they had the $$ but wouldn't spend it (hence being more like Rhino, and having the "it's just an animal" mentality) or they were truly unable to provide ongoing care for a great animal that deserved a better chance than euthanasia.

Most of the vets I know went to school to do something that they knew would pay 1/2 or less of medical or dental doctors, cost the same to get a degree in, and make them work sometimes twice the hours. We sometimes joke around the office, when we're staying late to see that shelter freebie dog that has an obstruction, that we're "only in it for the money." The reason it's a joke is that everyone there, staff to doctors, gets paid a fraction of what they'd get if they were working on the human side, and they do it every day with a smile.

And while it might not be apparent here, I'm not a completely heartless asshole.

We did a knee surgery on our Boxer for around $1K years ago, but also said no when he had seizures later in life ("it could be cancer and he needs chemo and it'll be upwards of $5K" said the emergency vet - I disagreed and we upped his heart meds and he lived another 2 years to nearly 12, which is ancient for the breed).

Boston Terrier had multiple smaller issues throughout his life, but when the term dialysis came up when he was between a rock and a hard place later in life (med to save his life was killing his liver), it was time to end his pain.

Great Dane had a kidney infection post neutering, trip to the E-vet for bloodwork was about $600. Thankfully that's all it was and not some $5K deal.

By all means, if you have unlimited means, hire a full time trauma surgeon for your pets if that's how you want to spend your $$$.

But don't try to shame the guys struggling to get by that they need to forgo saving, retirement investments, and vacations for the next 5-10 years for a pet.

Care Credit

Credit card for vet bills. Offers terms for low/no interest.

Ask them if they accept it...most vets do.

I will not remortgage my house for a vet bill on one of my dogs.

If that makes me a mean bastard so be it.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

But don't try to shame the guys struggling to get by that they need to forgo saving, retirement investments, and vacations for the next 5-10 years for a pet.

Indeed.

Care credit as was mentioned a few posts ago. They typically do 0% interest for 6 months. That helped us when I was a resident and our dog needed spine surgery. I wish you and the dog the best of luck. It's not unreasonable to shop around and although you may have to travel 2 or 3 hours it may be well worth it. I would reach out to local pet supply stores and see if they know of reasonably priced vets that they or their customers have used as well. And care credit is available typically regardless of who you use and the price.

That seems really high to me. A couple years ago I had my dog fixed and at the same time had two mast Cell tumors (in two different locations) removed from him - the bill was about $800.

Go to a RURAL area and find a Vet who does large and small animals. $4 grand is insane. Hell...$130 for just an Office visit is nuts!

Or find a Vet School.

Yep, seems like years ago price of owning a pet was minuscule compared to now. It’s one reason that after 20 years of dogs (2 rotties and a Coton de Telear) and their food and vet bills, I swore I’d never have another dog.
The Coton passed on two years ago and I told my wife in no uncertain terms that we were through with dogs.
Well HER golden doodle pup of 5 1/2 months just came in for his daily back rub! It’s the wife’s dog and she’s promised that he’s her responsibility and she’ll own all the bills.
Think that will happen?

There is. And many have mentioned good options, but slabsides IS a vet, so I’d read what he says carefully. I, too, think that estimate is a bit high, but you should be able to find a good generalist that can do this. Be ready to kiss the dog and your $ goodbye if there is a complication (if this is highly vascularized or associated with a major artery, risk goes up), but it sounds like something needs to be done.
I’d hop a plane to a friend’s or relly that can put you up for a short bit- from the sounds of it, you could get a ticket for yourself and pet, and have the surgery done for cheaper including the cost of airfare!
Best of luck.

I have had six different vet in the last ten years.
I now have one that comes to my home for shots and health checkup.
Last Tuesday it cost me $117.00 a pint of honey and a sack of tomatoes.
I have had this vet for three years now
To the O P,time to shop around
Thats four dogs