Vets turning away patients who can't pay up front

denice

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You don't have to be wealthy to have a pet.  I have a kitty with a chronic illness that took 6 years of vet hopping to get a diagnoses.  He will be eleven shortly, I have had him since he was only 3 weeks old.  I have probably spent right at  $10,000 in vet costs since he was 18 months old and that is in addition to regular vet expenses.  I am far from wealthy, believe me.  
 
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jane11

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You don't have to be wealthy to have a pet.  I have a kitty with a chronic illness that took 6 years of vet hopping to get a diagnoses.  He will be eleven shortly, I have had him since he was only 3 weeks old.  I have probably spent right at  $10,000 in vet costs since he was 18 months old and that is in addition to regular vet expenses.  I am far from wealthy, believe me.  
Denice - you're obviously a great cat mama to do that for a kitty! 

Please don't take what I say here as anything negative, I think we just look at things from a different perspective. But I look at what you wrote about traveling to different vets for six years to try and get a diagnoses and I ask myself if many of those vets should be allowed to continue practicing and charging customers?

If they cannot properly diagnose your cat, who is to say they are properly equipped to treat an emergency case that comes in the door and needs a correct diagnoses that day? We've seen way too many vets over the years who seem to know only a little more than their vet techs.
 

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Hi Jane, people on this site discuss how little the vets get paid. Well unlike human Dr's, who can loose their license if they screw up, a vet will never loose theirs. All that will happen is you will just get reimbursed. Yes vets should be paid but then they should also have the same laws that make them accountable.
I feel if they keep raising their prices they should work out billing the way a human hospital does. They will make it where no one can afford them and for others who treat animals different, they will just refuse to treat their "pet" for that amount. Not everyone thinks of animals like we do.
I feel the Humane society and aspca should prepare suited pet parents on cost of care should a major illness or accident occur. That sad because less will adopt knowing that but if vets refuse to budge on payment issues then it's necessary for the well being of the animal.
I really hate that vets have become so greedy. Yrs ago the vets had offices they could afford. I would go and it was just the Dr, one tech and a receptionist. Now you go where there's several of each. Of course their business expenses are more but they caused that.
 

oneandahalfcats

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There's wiggle room there, for the lawyers to have a good time. 

It's not just the underlined sections.  Read it, in its entirety. 
Wiggle room for what? To get out of doing the right thing?

I guess its all a matter of perspective when it comes to the rights and wrongs of this situation. The underlined passages are to emphasize the key elements of the principles of practice and behavior that vets are supposed to adhere to. Are these things not what you would expect from your vet? Or any vet entering the field of veterinary medicine? Like anything else (the law profession for instance), if the expectations are not there then principles and ethics fall quickly by the way-side.
what it boils Down to is only the rich should have pets. I guess the Humane society and aspca should just close their doors. The rich don't go there.
I disagree with this. I am far from rich but I live comfortably through careful management of the funds I do have. I think rather than needing to be rich, people need to educate themselves about their pets which includes informing themselves about proper nutrition, diseases, vaccinations for the purposes of being proactive rather than reactive, to prevent diseases rather than it happening unforeseen and unbeknownst to them.

@Jane11: Here is a link to the AMVA's website that features the Principles of Veterinary Medicine, in its entirety : https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/Principles-of-Veterinary-Medical-Ethics-of-the-AVMA.aspx
 
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F.    In emergencies, veterinarians have an ethical responsibility to provide essential services for animals when necessary to save life or relieve suffering, subsequent to client agreement. Such emergency care may be limited to euthanasia to relieve suffering, or to stabilization of the patient for transport to another source of animal care.
Thank you for bringing the AVMA quote. To me, it all boils down to the above paragraph. This is how my vets work too. If you bring in a cat or a dog in an emergency, the first thing they do is see them, and if necessary put them on an IV and/or give them pain relief, or if it's a really bad case and there's no other choice, they will euthanize. Discussion of payment comes second to all of that. These kind of procedures cost pennies to the vet and they won't bring their business down. They will keep myself and others coming back and shelling out the money for treating our pets. I think the best kind of advertising for our vet is the one where myself, and other customers like me, go around telling people who these vets really do care for the animals and will treat strays for no cost. 

Again, I'm not talking X-rays, scans, blood work or even medication. I'm talking about the very basic first exam and about putting an animal out of its misery if needs be. I do believe the costs are minimal and the PR benefits to the clinic outweigh them by far. I'm glad to see the AVMA states so clearly that this is an ethical responsibility for every vet. 

@Jane11  perhaps you can pass the AVMA's code of ethics to the gentleman and he can decide whether or not he wants to report that vet to them? I'm not sure what they're going to do about it but it might make that vet think twice next time before declining euthanasia to a dying animal.
 

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I agree people should be educated! Most people can't afford to pay thousands at once for a medical emergency. I've personally helped friends and family who all great pet parents but just couldn't afford these. If they knew ahead of time what their beloved feline or dogs would of cost them they would never of adopted them. Matter of fact they have stated to me that when their furbaby passes they will not replace.

I know personally that my furbabies have cost me more then my human child and he was a sickly baby but I had excellent ins. on him . With pet insurance the
vets want the payment up front. You have to chase the ins. company for the money. Thank God I didn't have to do that when my human child was ill or injured.
As a result I have chosen to opt out on pet ins and have a savings account just for my furbabies but not everyone can afford to do that. People are hurting bad with this economy.
 
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jodiethierry64

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Amen Anne, you have an awesome vet. I wish more were like yours but the majoity are not and it breaks my heart. They are causing suffering on an innocent creature.
 

oneandahalfcats

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I agree people should be educated! Most people can't afford to pay thousands at once for a medical emergency. I've personally helped friends and family who all great pet parents but just couldn't afford these. If they knew ahead of time what their beloved feline or dogs would of cost them they would never of adopted them. Matter of fact they have stated to me that when their furbaby passes they will not replace.

I know personally that my furbabies have cost me more then my human child and he was a sickly baby but I had excellent ins. on him . With pet insurance the
vets want the payment up front. You have to chase the ins. company for the money. Thank God I didn't have to do that when my human child was ill or injured.
As a result I have chosen to opt out on pet ins and have a savings account just for my furbabies but not everyone can afford to do that. People are hurting bad with this acconimy
At our local shelter, potential adopters must read and sign a 3-page document as long as your arm. Then you are interviewed by a shelter staff member who goes over questions about pet care, vaccinations, that are part of the form you sign. This is a form of checks and balances that the shelter performs to ensure that potential adopters can manage, afford and possess a sufficient sense of responsibility in taking on a cat or dog. I would imagine other shelters everywhere have a similar procedure. This is not done to discriminate but to try and protect both animal and human from unfortunate circumstances.

The savings account is a really good idea.
I have some funds tucked away for different emergencies as well.
 
Thank you for bringing the AVMA quote. To me, it all boils down to the above paragraph. This is how my vets work too. If you bring in a cat or a dog in an emergency, the first thing they do is see them, and if necessary put them on an IV and/or give them pain relief, or if it's a really bad case and there's no other choice, they will euthanize. Discussion of payment comes second to all of that. These kind of procedures cost pennies to the vet and they won't bring their business down. They will keep myself and others coming back and shelling out the money for treating our pets. I think the best kind of advertising for our vet is the one where myself, and other customers like me, go around telling people who these vets really do care for the animals and will treat strays for no cost. 

Again, I'm not talking X-rays, scans, blood work or even medication. I'm talking about the very basic first exam and about putting an animal out of its misery if needs be. I do believe the costs are minimal and the PR benefits to the clinic outweigh them by far. I'm glad to see the AVMA states so clearly that this is an ethical responsibility for every vet. 

@Jane11  perhaps you can pass the AVMA's code of ethics to the gentleman and he can decide whether or not he wants to report that vet to them? I'm not sure what they're going to do about it but it might make that vet think twice next time before declining euthanasia to a dying animal.
Yes, I agree ..

My vet(s) and the other vet clinics in our area all contribute significantly discounted services to the local shelter here. In my experiences with them, I don't think there would be any hesitation to offer care, knowing that someone can't pay up front. In fact, I have seen clients come in and pay something towards their balance so I know they must have payment plans and other options available which is nice to know. It's just good business and good for the community as a whole. I have often recommended them.
 
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denice

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Denice - you're obviously a great cat mama to do that for a kitty! 

Please don't take what I say here as anything negative, I think we just look at things from a different perspective. But I look at what you wrote about traveling to different vets for six years to try and get a diagnoses and I ask myself if many of those vets should be allowed to continue practicing and charging customers?

If they cannot properly diagnose your cat, who is to say they are properly equipped to treat an emergency case that comes in the door and needs a correct diagnoses that day? We've seen way too many vets over the years who seem to know only a little more than their vet techs.
I agree that there are a lot of very mediocre vets out there.  I remember many years ago when I was looking at the education requirements for different professions it was actually harder to get into vet school then it was to get into medical school.  That wasn't because their requirements were higher but because their were far fewer vet schools then medical schools.  I don't know how we here in the U.S. have ended up with a surplus of vets.  I know vet schools at one time had a pretty high drop out and fail rate so I don't know what has changed.  

I don't know how difficult it is to get sanctions against a vet or to get their license pulled.  I know that most vets are in essence lawsuit proof because of the way U.S. law is written.  You can't sue for pain and suffering for an animal only the monetary worth of the animal.  The only vets who could be sued are the vets, mostly equine vets that work with animals that have a high dollar value.  I know that a couple are pursuing sanctions against the vet in Wisconsin that is on the Nat Geo series Dr. Pol.
 

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Nerdrock-

We were comfortable enough with what we'd been able to ascertain that we were willing to spend our money to try and help a stranger's dog, even though we are usually strictly involved with cats. I don't know what else to tell you about that.

I would be careful trying to place too much of the onus on the owners. I agree that ten years ago 90% of the cats we took in were entirely due to unprepared or irresponsible owners. That number has changed drastically from what we have seen, and today we figure the problems are caused about 50 percent by bad owners, and 50% by high vet costs, and generally poor or indifferent vets.

We take in a lot of pets whose owners have been presented with vet bills that exceed their weekly take home pay for just an exam and some preliminary tests. Three years ago a simple blood test at one vet here ran $48 - last December the same test was $150. If you can drive another 30 miles, the same test still costs $48 from a different practice, but a lot of people don't know that, or cannot drive that distance in the case of the elderly and disabled. 

Five years ago we took in a cat with hyper thyroid. The vet had told her owner she would need to get methimazole through her clinic each month for the rest of the cat's life. The figure quoted was astronomical, and the vet refused to write her an Rx to take to the pharmacy even the state  law required that she do so.

She was going to have her poor boy euthanized, but brought him to us after a friend suggested it. We took the cat, got the Rx, and got the pills very cheaply. He lived almost 4 more years in good health.
A lot of vets won't script out medication for a couple of reasons. We want to make sure that the pet is on the correct dosage and type of medication, we want to make sure that all of the ingredients in that medication are safe for pets (some pharmacies will use the generic unless specified, this may be harmful and no one would know), we also want to make sure that the pet is staying on the correct dose of medication, which we can check by seeing how often they are getting their medication refilled. In some cases it may be because the vet wants the money from the script fee, but more often than not it's due to client compliance issues. 

In regards to the blood test - were they being done in clinic or sent out to a lab? Were both clinics in the area using the same lab? Costs can vary if you're sending things out vs doing them in house and they can vary quite a bit. Each year the cost goes up, most clinics choose to raise their prices at this point or leave them the same. If they chose to leave them the same, they are effectively making less money than they were previously and depending on the frequency they use the test, this could be just a few dollars a year to hundreds or even thousands.

Again, the owner could have phoned around to other clinics, found one that will script out or carries a cheaper medication and transferred there. The cost would most likely have been the charge of an office fee. 

I can see that this is a point that we're just going to have to agree to disagree on. I just find, especially since I've been working in a clinic, that everyone is quick to blame the vet or practice when there are other simple options that the owner could have pursued and didn't. Some degree of responsibility has to be put on the owners.
 
Thank you for posting this. I'm going to print it out and bring a copy to the next vet we have to argue with. I pray it is not soon. After reading a lot of these posts, I think our last good vet must have spoiled us. I was horrified to read about the vet who now euthanizes cats with a simple blockage if the owner cannot pay up front.

I was wondering how much they must charge that someone could not pay it, but could afford euthanasia? 
I assume that you are referring to what I posted regarding this. Straight forward euthanasia is less than $100, unblocking a cat can be anywhere from a few hundred to well over a thousand depending on the animal and the type of blockage. The pet can be there for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, it all depends. In unblocking cats you have medications for sedation/anaesthesia, IV catheters, urinary catheters (usually a couple), fluids, antibiotics, pain medications, monitoring, suture material, ecollars, etc. The cat also uses staff time, electricity to run the IV pump, litter, laundry (to wash the blankets that always get covered in urine), etc. All of these things cost money and a lot more than most people think. Our costs may be drastically different than yours as I'm in another country.  
what it boils Down to is only the rich should have pets. I guess the Humane society and aspca should just close their doors. The rich don't go there.
I don't think this is necessarily true, I'm not rich by any means and still have a bunch of pets (3 dogs, 3 cats). People do need to think about what they are going to do if an emergency arises though and many don't. I'm lucky that I have been able to save some over the years, I also have other options if I don't have enough and would not think twice about going and getting a payday loan if I had to.
 
You don't have to be wealthy to have a pet.  I have a kitty with a chronic illness that took 6 years of vet hopping to get a diagnoses.  He will be eleven shortly, I have had him since he was only 3 weeks old.  I have probably spent right at  $10,000 in vet costs since he was 18 months old and that is in addition to regular vet expenses.  I am far from wealthy, believe me.  
I was in a similar situation with my first dog, I spent over $5000 in her first year in addition the the regular expenses (vaccinations, spay). At the time, I was also a student but had been good with my money prior to entering college and while I was going there so I had some money saved up.

If you don't mind me asking, what ended up being the diagnosis?
Please don't take what I say here as anything negative, I think we just look at things from a different perspective. But I look at what you wrote about traveling to different vets for six years to try and get a diagnoses and I ask myself if many of those vets should be allowed to continue practicing and charging customers?

If they cannot properly diagnose your cat, who is to say they are properly equipped to treat an emergency case that comes in the door and needs a correct diagnoses that day? We've seen way too many vets over the years who seem to know only a little more than their vet techs.
In general, chronic illnesses can present with as symptoms of other diseases or lead a doctor down one path which may end up being wrong. It happens with people too. I'll use my lemon dog as another example (she's good for that, lol). She started having seizures when she was around 5 months old, not that common in puppies. At first the vet thought she may have a liver shunt, so we did all the testing for that, which came out negative. Next we went on to some sort of poisoning, something she was eating or getting into that I didn't know about. All that testing came out negative. After exhausting many avenues short of taking her for an MRI, we came to the conclusion that she is epileptic. She grew out of it to some extent but still has seizures when she gets extremely excited, so we limit her experiences to places where she stays relatively calm. It can be a crapshoot - sometimes they get it right the first time, sometimes it takes ruling out other things first. Do I wish we would have had the epilepsy diagnosis right at the start? Of course I do, it would have saved me thousands of dollars, but we chose to rule out the major things first. 
Hi Jane, people on this site discuss how little the vets get paid. Well unlike human Dr's, who can loose their license if they screw up, a vet will never loose theirs. All that will happen is you will just get reimbursed. Yes vets should be paid but then they should also have the same laws that make them accountable.
I feel if they keep raising their prices they should work out billing the way a human hospital does. They will make it where no one can afford them and for others who treat animals different, they will just refuse to treat their "pet" for that amount. Not everyone thinks of animals like we do.
I feel the Humane society and aspca should prepare suited pet parents on cost of care should a major illness or accident occur. That sad because less will adopt knowing that but if vets refuse to budge on payment issues then it's necessary for the well being of the animal.
I really hate that vets have become so greedy. Yrs ago the vets had offices they could afford. I would go and it was just the Dr, one tech and a receptionist. Now you go where there's several of each. Of course their business expenses are more but they caused that.
A vet can most certainly lose their license if they screw up. You have to file a complaint with the regulating board for the country that you're in and that board conducts and investigation and rules whether the vet was at fault or not. These are very intense investigations and are not taken lightly. Either the case is dismissed, the doctor is fined, the license is suspended or the license is revoked. You won't just get reimbursed.

Many people have health insurance, many pets do not. If vet offices were run like human hospitals you would see a lot more of them going under for extending payment plans to those that cannot pay or simply won't pay. Collecting on bad debts costs a lot of money and time. Again, there are alternative options for payment that many people simply do not seek out. 

As clientèle at a clinic grows they often have to hire more staff to keep up with the demand. Staff also like and need to take time off on occasion, so you need several of each. Clients have also become more demanding than they were in the past; insisting on more testing done in house, xrays, blood, surgeries, etc and these things cost money and take up room. How is all of that supposed to be paid for without raising prices? It simply can't be, that's one reason that  "country vets" are generally cheaper than ones in the city - they don't have as much equipment and/or aren't serving as many clients so they can keep the costs lower.

It's really a catch 22 - you expand to meet the demand, which increases costs which are partially put on the clients in the form of prices increases, then clients aren't happy because they are paying more for something that they also wanted in the first place.  
 
Thank you for bringing the AVMA quote. To me, it all boils down to the above paragraph. This is how my vets work too. If you bring in a cat or a dog in an emergency, the first thing they do is see them, and if necessary put them on an IV and/or give them pain relief, or if it's a really bad case and there's no other choice, they will euthanize. Discussion of payment comes second to all of that. These kind of procedures cost pennies to the vet and they won't bring their business down. They will keep myself and others coming back and shelling out the money for treating our pets. I think the best kind of advertising for our vet is the one where myself, and other customers like me, go around telling people who these vets really do care for the animals and will treat strays for no cost. 
In response to the bolded section - this is also part of the problem. Word does get out and then you have more and more low costs clients/rescues that want services at cost or even lower. It just isn't feasible to run a business this way unless it's a not for profit (there are not for profit clinics around). For every good client that this type of advertising brings in, there are generally 5 more that want things done for free or at/below cost. I've seen quite a few small local businesses have to close or come close to it due to donating or extending credit when they can't afford to.
 
I agree that there are a lot of very mediocre vets out there.  I remember many years ago when I was looking at the education requirements for different professions it was actually harder to get into vet school then it was to get into medical school.  That wasn't because their requirements were higher but because their were far fewer vet schools then medical schools.  I don't know how we here in the U.S. have ended up with a surplus of vets.  I know vet schools at one time had a pretty high drop out and fail rate so I don't know what has changed.  

I don't know how difficult it is to get sanctions against a vet or to get their license pulled.  I know that most vets are in essence lawsuit proof because of the way U.S. law is written.  You can't sue for pain and suffering for an animal only the monetary worth of the animal.  The only vets who could be sued are the vets, mostly equine vets that work with animals that have a high dollar value.  I know that a couple are pursuing sanctions against the vet in Wisconsin that is on the Nat Geo series Dr. Pol.
You end up with a surplus of vets because of foreign vets coming in that already have their licenses. They do have to do more once they get to the country to be able to practice but it is often at a much lower cost than for a citizen to go through all of the schooling. They are usually able to offer cheaper rates because of this. One thing to remember is that a lot of them were large animal vets in the countries they are from and go into small animal medicine where they go, these are two vastly different types of medicine. Just something to consider. 
 
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jane11

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I agree that there are a lot of very mediocre vets out there.  I remember many years ago when I was looking at the education requirements for different professions it was actually harder to get into vet school then it was to get into medical school.  That wasn't because their requirements were higher but because their were far fewer vet schools then medical schools.  I don't know how we here in the U.S. have ended up with a surplus of vets.  I know vet schools at one time had a pretty high drop out and fail rate so I don't know what has changed.  

I don't know how difficult it is to get sanctions against a vet or to get their license pulled.  I know that most vets are in essence lawsuit proof because of the way U.S. law is written.  You can't sue for pain and suffering for an animal only the monetary worth of the animal.  The only vets who could be sued are the vets, mostly equine vets that work with animals that have a high dollar value.  I know that a couple are pursuing sanctions against the vet in Wisconsin that is on the Nat Geo series Dr. Pol.
Denice -

You are 100% correct that vets are practically lawsuit -proof. There are state veterinary oversight boards but these are usually comprised of 6 or 7 vets, 1 or 2 people with the agriculture industry, and possibly one regular citizen with no ties to either group. Even assuming that these people are of unquestionable integrity, and are absolutely committed to being completely fair and objective, it puts them in a horribly awkward position to pass judgement on another vet, no matter how bad the mistakes may be. Worse still, the law treats animals as property with a fixed value, sometimes as low as $50 in the case of a non-pedigree dog or cat. 

Also, the goal of these boards is remedial, not punitive. Unless the vet is a complete monster he or she will never have their license revoked. They may be reprimanded, or sent for CE classes, but unless it is a pedigree animal they are unlikely to order any real compensation.

Sometimes, if there are poor or unfair business practices involved, it makes more sense to contact the state's attorney general. Even if they cannot help in a certain case, no business wants that sort of attention. In one case I know of a vet who closed his doors overnight and moved on. But then he just reopened in someone else's neighborhood, making life harder on the good vets who try to do things right.
 
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jane11

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Nerdrock -





I understand your points, but we just come things from divergent perspectives. I doubt we're ever going to convince each other, but that's OK.





Just one clarification - I don't know where you live, but in our state the law states that a vet must give a patient an Rx to take the pharmacy of their choice. So once it is prescribed, it is up to the customer where to have the prescription filled. 





From what you wrote I am guessing that law does not exist where you live?
 

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After reading all of this, it breaks my heart. I'd like to take my animals to a vet that CARES more about my animal than the money anyway -- A vet that turns me away with a suffering animal isn't the kind of vet I want to give my money to anyway, because they're not in it for the right reasons. I understand the money issue here, but was this not something they took into consideration upon becoming a vet? Did they become a vet to help animals, or to make money? I think the vet that is going to do the ethically right thing is the only vet I want handling my animal in the first place, and the only vet I want to pay anyway. 

If it seems fishy up front, take your animal elsewhere. Use your guy instinct, if it feels wrong, it probably is, and my furbabies are my family -- just as valuable as a child.

I cannot imagine being a vet for these very reasons. I would want to help every single animal that came through the door, money or not, because I couldn't just hand a suffering animal back to it's owner and say, "Sorry, no money, your animal suffers, have a great day." That's just wrong. If doctors did that to people, it would be considering inhumane, so why is it not inhumane for animals? As pet owners, I think most people would want to do the right thing and pay their vets, but in the case of emergencies, I think this should be something that could be worked out, or at least discussed up front.  In the long run, the caring vet will have more money and more customers either way because they are doing what's right for the animals, not for them.... And word of mouth with treatment of a family member goes a long way. If a doctor turned away treating your toddler because you couldn't pay them, wouldn't you tell everyone in the world to avoid that terrible person? I'd like to think all vets become vets because they love animals and want to help them, not just for a paycheck. Vets know what they're getting into when they choose their profession. Pet owners also know pets can be costly, but accidents happen to animals just like to humans and I think they should be treated as equally serious. 

Just my little two cents, just agreeing with the others that share my opinion.
 

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Thank you ghostlyy, you said it all! That's right they knew what they were getting into. I guess it boils down to the fact that most do it for the money and not for the love of animals! My vet from yrs ago had a small practice that handled all our needs. He and his staff had days off and an on call vet word handle any problems on those days. I guess my old vet wasn't greedy and didn't worry about clients going to the on call vet when he was off. He always gave my babies the best care. He didn't even charge me when my one baby died on the operating table but I wrote him a letter telling him it wasn't his fault and he deserved to be paid so I sent him a check for 3 times what I would of paid had my baby lived. I really appreciated my vet then but he retired and I've never had or seen a caring vet like him since and he retired in 2002.
 

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You know vets use to be like Drs without boarders, who do it for the love and not the money. They've expanded their business because of greed. There's enough vets out there but they want all the pet parents to only depend on them for business so much more money. Now my holistic vet is awesome. I just love her. She's not a money hungry vet. She gave me 6 morphine shots for our baby girl for the price of one shot my other vet charges. I noticed when I got home. I even called her and said, " I think I owe you. I think there was a mistake". She said ,"no you paid the right amount". At my regular vet it would of cost 150 more.
 

denice

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I was in a similar situation with my first dog, I spent over $5000 in her first year in addition the the regular expenses (vaccinations, spay). At the time, I was also a student but had been good with my money prior to entering college and while I was going there so I had some money saved up.

If you don't mind me asking, what ended up being the diagnosis?
It ended up being IBD.  He had atypical symptoms, anorexia, vomiting bile, and constipation.  He was only 18 months old with the first flare which at least at that time is unusual, kitties are usually older when they develop IBD.  He will be 11 this spring, I am now seeing more and more young cats here with IBD.  He was hospitalized on an IV and a lot of Xrays taken with the thought that it was a foreign object which I can understand their thinking there.  A few months later the same thing.  I hung in with that vet for awhile and there was one more hospitalization on an IV.  I then had to take him to an emergency vet because he got sick on a Sunday, I was starting a new job the following day and that vet didn't have evening hours.  I wasn't going to try to wait until the following Saturday and time off from work wasn't an option.

The next vet was a cats only vet.  She diagnosed it as Pancreatitis and put him on a special food.  I asked her about fatty liver disease and she said it wasn't a concern because he wasn't overweight.  He continued to have flares, he would be as sick as before but he would come out of it on his own after a couple of days.  To be honest I was pretty fed up with vets by this point.

He did finally have a flare that he couldn't get over on his own.  I did wait too long because a vet had told me that fatty liver wasn't a concern because he wasn't overweight.  I took him to another cat's only vet clinic on the other side of town and he had fatty liver.  He was hospitalized for almost a week, had 2 ultrasounds with a needle biopsy on his liver but I was only charged for one, had all the labs and a feeding tube put in.  This vet started him on a steroid which he has been on for a little over 3 years now.  So far the steroid has controlled his symptoms.
 

sarahd1987

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I was just looking through the latest vet invoice from when Sophie went in yesterday and I'm really shocked by the price. I have pet insurance and they're doing the claim directly from them so I don't always pay a lot of attention to the bills..

Anyway, the thing that stands out the most on it is the price of surgical staples! Sophie had an accident a few weeks ago and had surgery on her leg to put pins/wire in the bone. She got a sore from the bandage/splint putting pressure on her leg and the wire had broken through the skin. The vet removed the stitches and also bandage and splint now and put around 3 or 4 staples in the sore she's got from the wire breaking through the skin.

I was just looking at the invoice now and I'm so surprised that to put a few staples in the wound it's cost £77.25. I don't know how they justify charging so much! They didn't sedate her or give her any pain medication when doing it, and everything is itemised and so that doesn't include the consultation/stitch removal either. I just had a quick look on ebay for surgical staples and I know the ones on there are like human ones, but for a surgical stapler thing with 35 staples it's around £15 so I don't know how they can justify charging £77.25 for 3 or 4 staples, even if they may be different for animals..

Anyway, even though it's being paid by the pet insurance, I feel like they just try make as much money as possible from sick/injured pets. I think once Sophie is better I'm going to switch to a better value vet because I don't want to support people who are just in it for the money...
 

jodiethierry64

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Nov 29, 2013
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SarahD my point exactly. My baby was just diagnosed
diabetic. 240 for the insulin alone. 180 for the vet visit and 25 for the syringes. I believe Drs should be paid but they will price themselves so high that only a few will be able to afford a pet. So sad.
 

happybird

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Anyway, even though it's being paid by the pet insurance, I feel like they just try make as much money as possible from sick/injured pets. I think once Sophie is better I'm going to switch to a better value vet because I don't want to support people who are just in it for the money...
This is part of the reason why I stopped working for vets and didn't finish my tech certification. :( I worked for quite a few vets who cared little for the animals. I assume they were in it for the money- with the horrible attitudes I saw, it is the only thing that makes sense. Or they were burnt out. Although that is hard to imagine with some of them, because most were pretty young. It was so sad. One vet I was assisting during a cat spay was suturing the poor girl so fast, her back was coming up off the table. I felt like he wanted me to be timing him with a stopwatch. That was my last day there. :( The reason I worked for so many different vets was because if was unhappy with the way they treated the pets and owners, I left. Eventually, I gave up entirely.

Most of the bad experiences I had were at the large, multi-vet practices that have become popular over the last ten years. Of course, not all large practices are going to be uncaring. I personally have had better luck, both professionally and as a client, at single vet practices.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with shopping around for a vet. You and your pet should be totally comfortable with the vet's manner, expertise and even how they charge. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right vet, but it is so worth it when you do. I wish you the best of luck finding the perfect match for you and your babies :)
 

jodiethierry64

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I agree the single vets are so much better. They're not money hungry. I would seriously loose my mind if they treated my babies like that and I knew it.
I was at the E.R. with my baby for stomatitis a couple of weeks ago. They took her in the back and I told them she's hurting bad don't look in her mouth.
Well I heard her SCREAM! I opened the door, stepped in and told them she screams again I'm coming back. So they gave her a pain shot, brought her to me and waited for it to take effect and then proceeded to examine her with me there.Anyone who knows stomatitis knows it's excruciating.
 
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