Vet Costs (The difference from one to another)

[savethebulliedbreeds]

My parents Rottweiler has a tumor just beside her bumhole. At first we thought it may be a anal gland and took her to the vet. He told us it was a tumor of some sort and that it needed to be removed. My mom decided to wait and try her on some meds that he had prescribed to try and shrink it before she went the surgery route. Well the meds didn't work and now it is huge. It burst open the other day and was bleeding constantly. She is not in any pain but as we know an open sore will cause infection. She got a quote from our vet....it was $950 low end and $1500 high end for the removal of this tumor. My mom was completely shocked. I explained that the reason it is so much is because of the nerves that are right there. She then decided to call a vet in a small local town because she had been hearing everyone sing the praises of this vet. They are supposedly extremely good and because of them being in a small town they are cheaper than city vets. She called them on Tuesday and the vet went over the risks with her (which she already knew). She was expecting that the cost would be about $800 from there. She was way wrong. They are doing the surgery for $200. What a freaking difference. And the out of town vet is as good, if not better than the city one. Needless to say Molly goes in for surgery tomorrow.

 

[GlassOnion]

Yah some vets are completely outrageous. I hope none of them graduated from my university lol.

One reason I'm glad I'm going this route is, even if I don't become a vet myself, I'll still have enough back ground knowledge to know when I'm getting screwed from working in the clinics and the science behind it.

Like everything else, you gotta shop around, especially if you feel you're being ripped off. And with the internet it's even easier before if your area has a local forum (back home mine does).

 

[doberkim]

My parents Rottweiler has a tumor just beside her bumhole. At first we thought it may be a anal gland and took her to the vet. He told us it was a tumor of some sort and that it needed to be removed. My mom decided to wait and try her on some meds that he had prescribed to try and shrink it before she went the surgery route. Well the meds didn't work and now it is huge. It burst open the other day and was bleeding constantly. She is not in any pain but as we know an open sore will cause infection. She got a quote from our vet....it was $950 low end and $1500 high end for the removal of this tumor. My mom was completely shocked. I explained that the reason it is so much is because of the nerves that are right there. She then decided to call a vet in a small local town because she had been hearing everyone sing the praises of this vet. They are supposedly extremely good and because of them being in a small town they are cheaper than city vets. She called them on Tuesday and the vet went over the risks with her (which she already knew). She was expecting that the cost would be about $800 from there. She was way wrong. They are doing the surgery for $200. What a freaking difference. And the out of town vet is as good, if not better than the city one. Needless to say Molly goes in for surgery tomorrow.

just to be clear, I cannot anesthetize ANY animal safely for 200 dollars, much less do surgery - that price is ridiculously underpriced and I would be concerned as to what corners they are cutting.
FOr anethesia - I have preop bloodworking, perioperative pain meds, the actual anesthetic agents, IV catheter and IV fluids before during and after surgery, and pain meds during surgery - and right there, for a rottie, we are talking EASILY 200 bucks. THen you are talking about antibiotics and pain meds to go home - for a dog a rottie size, you are looking at easily 50 bucks. And then the biopsy of the mass is another 95 -- so right now before I even cut the animal, just to do the BASICS right, we are looking at MINIMAL 350-400 bucks!

I'd be concerned what isn't being done for 200 bucks, or what wasn't included in the estimate.
I hope surgery goes well for the rottie.

 

[Gempress]

I find that my vet is very much the same (small town vet). Much cheaper than larger cities. I don't know what it is about them. For example, it cost me $150 for the annual shots, heartworm, fecal, etc., when I lived in Austin. Here, it costs me $85 for the exact same shots and tests.

I don't know about the surgery, though. I think $200 is a little low, but I also think that the $900-$1,500 is rather high. When my boys both needed stitches after the fight, it came out to about $300 total. Granted, that was two dogs, but it was also a very minor procedure. They were only under sedation for a short period.

I would ask that vet exactly what is included with the $200 fee.

 

[GlassOnion]

Uhm you can anesthesize an animal for less than $200. We do it all the time. Our spays/neuters generally run less than $200, even after the night in the clinic and pain meds (if the owner opts for additional ones it's a bit over $200).

And yah, this includes bloodwork.

 

[bubbatd]

I hope Molly has the best care for that price . Yes , the other seemed high , but I trust my vets .

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

We talked to a lot of people before deciding to take her there. The price was just a bonus. My parents friends have to rotties also and take them there for everything. I feel very safe about taking her there. I should also tell you that the bloodwork was already done at the other vet clinic.

Here is another example. A friend of mine was going to take her APBT to vet A (city vet) and it was going to cost her $400 for the surgery. She called vet B (town vet) and they charged her $150.

ETA: The surgery was a spay.

 

[Aussie Red]

my vet does things so much cheaper then all the rest in town. He has never let me down. They always do a complete blood work up etc everything the more costly one does. I have no problems going there. I agree that they spent many years in school and have the right to make a good living at it but so many animals die because of high costs of care. Very similar to our own health care crisis in this country. People can not afford health care and I stand and applaud a vet who sees that too many pets go untreated because of cost. He told me that he can not stand to see people cry as they chose to PTS because the cost to fix the problem is too high. He also gives major cuts to handicapped or seniors who love their pets and can not afford them due to high cost. If he can do it and vet colleges can do it I dare say others can too. I also say get your pet insured.www.petinsurance.com

 

[midnightbirdgirl]

We have pet insurance, it is great. We pay $135 every 3 months and only have to pay the initial vet visit for each complaint. We have Pets Best, and could not be happier with it.
MBG

 

[squirtsmom]

When we got Squirt spayed, with all the other charges, it cost 350.00. Pretty high for a spay, but they made it sound like if i didn't get all the extra stuff, she might die. we were snookered.

 

[Jynx]

I have had butt surgery done on one of my GSD's and this was over 12 years ago, and at that time it cost me 1000$ for anal gland removal..

When it comes to surgery this serious (anything near the anal area is serious business) you can bet there is no way I'd trust a vet who charges only 200$.

I would ask him how many surgeries AND anal glands he's removed and how many dogs ended up being incontinent?

It pays to find out how much experience and expertise a vet has had regarding specific surgeries prior to having it done.

While I realize surgeries near the anal area can not guarantee incontinence
results(because of the nerves/muscles involved), IF it's done by someone experienced there is little to no chance of this happening.

I honestly hope the dog comes thru just fine, but I would never ever take the chance of having this kind of surgery done by a vet who's charging only 200$. I know what's involved and that is pretty darn cheap.

Please let us know how he makes out.
Diane

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

She came through the surgery just fine, thankfully. The vet has done numerous surgeries like this. Vet care here in Saskatchewan is cheap if you go to the little towns. Cities are expensive. The vet said that the tumor was only in the skin and no nerves were damaged.

I can see what you mean though.

 

[bubbatd]

Good news !

 

[doberkim]

Uhm you can anesthesize an animal for less than $200. We do it all the time. Our spays/neuters generally run less than $200, even after the night in the clinic and pain meds (if the owner opts for additional ones it's a bit over $200).

And yah, this includes bloodwork.

You are talking about a routine procedure, which removing an anal mass on an elderly rottweiler is not.
I can neuter a dog for 120 bucks. That is much different than an invasive risky surgery on an elderly patient.


Glad the surgery went well. Did they biopsy the mass?

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Im not sure. I never asked my mom. The total came out to $280.

 

[FoxyWench]

the differences here are insane.

there are 3 vets in my immediate area.
if my house were the center all 3 would be aprox 5 minutes from my home in each direction.

all 3 have the similar facilities, all 3, have new(ish) 2-3 yrs old, equiptment, all are simimilar sized buildings, with the same number of kennels, same number of vets and same number of techs employed, all 3 are competent vets.

of those vets, for a simple neuter for a 6 month old HEALTHY cocker spaniel, vet A wanted $400 *BLINK* Vet B wanted $300 and Vet C wanted $200
We whent with vet B as a family frined whent there and while everything whent well i just didnt get a good vibe about the vet.
I ended up starting going to Vet C which is in the town (the other 2 are just outside of our small town center), its a boutique town too so nothigns cheap here...
I can honestly say ive never been happier with my desicion, this vets prices are not only lower than the other 2 (and include all the same things as vets A and B, but the vet is much nicer (doesnt talk to you like your a child) and one vet at the practice specilizes in toy breeds another in giant breeds and the other is an all critters vet. so they cover every aspect.

all within not even a mile of eachother and their prices very THAT much.

im glad your rotty did well through the surgery!

 

[SizzleDog]

I've got a quite a few options here, since there is a vet school/teaching hospital five minutes away from my house. I only use the teaching hospital for emergencies though, since they are very expensive - for an emergency, it's $125 just to get in the door, must be paid upfront.

There's a clinic just down the street from my house that charges a $50 exam fee - which, IMO, is outrageous. The average exam fees in this town start at about $40, and go to about $75. The vet down the street also will not release prescriptions, so Ilsa's spay incontinence medication would cost me $80 a months... as opposed to $9.00 a month through KVVet. I believe they are also terrible price-gougers, as 60 tablets of 50mg Proin should NOT cost $80!!!!

Soooo... I go to a small-town vet about 20 miles away. He's great, as is the other vet in the practice who happens to be one of my professors! (She was a designer and design professor, had a midlife crisis and went back to school for her DVM... teehee!). They hardly ever charge office fees, if if they do it's less than $10. They're more than happy to call an Rx in to Omaha Vaccine or KVVet, and they are amazing people. Heck, he charges me $5 for every aspiration he does on Ilsa's little fatty lipomas!

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

We have in my small town area a practice that charges FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS US for an office visit.

I went there to check them out with an eye to switching. They wanted to stitch up a MINOR pad cut (150+), completely disregarded my questions about their position on vaccines and diet.

So I use the country vet here, who is just fine for routine things.

If I need anything special, I go to a specialist.

 

[ToscasMom]

Sizzle, I don't blame you for not using a vet that won't write prescriptions. They charge a fortune if you buy then via their office. They just don't have the purchase volume. Many vets curse the internet. LOL.

 

[bubbatd]

I took Ollie in for his annual last week .Comprehensive Exam - $41 . 3Yr. Rabies Vaccine $20 , DHPP-3 yr. -$27 , Heartworm test $26. Waste Disposal $2.05 , Bordatella - injectable $21 ,Nail trim $9 .....Total $131.44 This is a Clinic privately formed in the 50's with 4 vets .... There are no change -overs except for retirement .... and I trust them all . Might be pricey , but it's peace of mind for me .... they check everything ! Also , if you can get a med cheaper on line , they will match the price with proof .