Grr Vet Visits are so expensive! Vent ahead!

Usually groomers will do it externally while vets do it internally and not all of them know how to do it right. I had to tell our groomer not to do it because my poodle would have a very irritated back end afterward. I’m pretty sure that when my dog’s gland burst it was the result of the groomer expressing her glands the week prior.

I wish my last visit was only $200. I paid $1100 for the annual wellness program which covers a TON of things, including teeth cleaning. While it is a lot, it covers more than $1100 worth of procedures. Then when he was under on Monday for his teeth cleaning (we brushed his teeth every day), he had such bad dental disease (maltese and poodles are notorious for this) they had to extract 17 teeth. He has 3 left. The bill for the items that were not covered under the wellness plan was $2200. The vet told us over the phone it would be between $800 and $1500. When I got there, I nearly died. I said something to the vet and she did a courtesy adjustment of $650. The bill was $1500 in the end. At his checkup, it still cost us another $350 for the years worth of heartworm and flea and tick preventative.

We took all the prescription scripts and took them to our local pharmacy and used Good RX to get them filled. It was so much cheaper!

My question is why do you not take your animals for yearly exams?

Yes a groomer can do anal glands - our last dog - a Maltese terrier - who went to the same groomer for 11 years and she checked his anal glands and did what ever needed to do in the price of the grooming. She charged $AU65 each time. Which was for doing a wash, dry, clip, nails, ears and glands. Good value I think. 

I love love my pup, but he's an "adventurous" eater - yeah 2 trips to the emergency er later - love you but you can pass or not pass, I'm not paying another $3,000 for them to tell me that you ate something stupid.

Vet bills have been a cause for concern here too, (UK) to the point that there is going to be a formal probe into the industry by The Competition and Markets Authority.

BBC

A cap on vets' prescription fees is one of the measures being considered by the UK's competition body as it investigates the sector.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is forging ahead with a formal probe of the vets market amid concerns that pet owners are overpaying for treatments.

It said it had heard from people who were struggling to pay vet bills and did not always know the best treatment options for their pets.

The British Veterinary Association said regulation of the sector was "woefully out of date" as it welcomed the review.

The CMA said estimates suggest that as many as 16 million households in the UK have at least one pet.

It said the Office for National Statistics has estimated that the cost of veterinary and other pet services has increased by around 50% since 2015, much higher than the overall rate of inflation.

The watchdog launched a review last year to ask people if they had any concerns that they could be paying too much, and received 56,000 responses from pet owners, vets and charities.

Earlier this year it flagged concerns that pet owners might not be getting basic information like price lists online and were not always informed of the cost of treatment at a vets before agreeing to it.

The CMA is now launching a formal investigation, which means it could intervene directly in the market.

More in artice

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx00dl5gwp8o


I noticed the last time we had to go to the vets, there was a limited price list of sorts on the wall, divided into cat and dog columns.
The other issue I see is that individual practices are being absorbed into bigger companies and reducing competition.

At vets here the yearly is for shots. And if you want you can add on labs. Dental is done separately.

Our male dog gets labs 2x a year separate from yearly due to cancer and only shot he gets is Cytopoint as needed.

In the US, we can’t even get this for humans! Wouldn’t his be a great bill to have pass. 

I really sympathize. Vet bills make my eyebrows shoot up, but if you compare it to human health care, it is a bargain.

Last year I had 2 elderly cats. One of them had kidney disease and and hyperthyroidism and the other one had lung cancer. I spent 4000 dollars. I wasn't trying to prolong their lives, either. I was just trying to make them as comfortable as possible. I had meds, special food, blood tests, a sonogram, subcutaneous fluid, a surgery ($2000 right there)...

One died on July 4th and the other Christmas day. Holidays weren't great last year.

I have a new, young healthy kitty this year. I can't remember what it cost to take him in to the vet. I got him for $40 from a shelter and he came with shots already, so he has been cheap so far- just a wellness visit- I think it was about $80. I do get his nails trimmed regularly, which is $27 a time. I could probably save money doing it myself, but I think I would be ripped to shreds and he would be traumatized.

I am also boarding him next week while I go to the beach. So there is 10 days of boarding, plus I'm paying for extra one-on-one time, and a nail trim.

Add in the cost of food- I buy a mid price one, toys, cat trees, cat carrier, litter, etc...

Pets are expensive- it is just something people have to figure in when they get one. So many people don't think ahead and the animals suffer.

My FIL is a retired large animal vet. He did a lot of large animals but mostly horses. His business partner did small animal. While my FIL did very well for himself, his partner did much, much better.
Neither my DH nor his brother had any interest in being a vet based on how much time away my FIL's kept him from the family. Lot's of missed dinners and holidays and or leaving early for events and not coming home until very late. When a large animal is sick the only option is a home visit.

He has kept up his license to volunteer vet trail rides. He's doing his last one next month and then will be letting it lapse.

Large Animal practice is not for the faint of heart! It is getting harder to find vets that go that route. Our vets are brothers and one wife. Two of their daughters have joined them as DVM's - so it is a big family operation. Mostly large animal and a big focus on AI and their own herd genetics. We are lucky to have them. But they have had shoulders replaced and hips replaced. It is physically very rough. My husband, as a cattleman who raises cow/calf and finishes has had a lot of bodily injuries too. Broken bones, countless stitches, and bad knees and shoulders. Those big animals are hard on people!