My dog needs surgery - Best Cheap Vet?

[Lee~]

Hey gang,

So my chocolate lab is having all sorts of problems. He's growing a tumor underneath his eyelid and it's literally pushing into his eye. It looks super uncomfortable.

We took him to the vet and they need to remove it before it gets too big, but they quoted me at $2000 (they also want to remove a tumor on his leg, and send it in for testing to make sure it's not cancer).

Unfortunately I lost my job 6 months ago - bad economy and I was an electrician. So money is really tight for us. we're calling around trying to find a vet that might be able to do it for a reasonable price. Anyone have any suggestions?



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[bagofpucks]

Really sorry to hear. I have heard small town vets are less expensive. We go to eastern slopes in Black Diamond and they are great, but I'm not sure if it's any cheaper? Maybe call around to chestermere, airdrie and okotoks and see? We went through something similar with our friendbeast and he had $7000 surgery on his back. We definitely paid a premium and he had his surgery at the clinic in heritage meadows. One thing though is all of our follow up appointments were free, so keep in mind paying more up front doesn't necessarily mean you pay more in the long run.

[Snuffleupagus]

That totally sucks

Unfortunately you may need to go a road trip to find what you might consider cheap. like maybe northern Saskatchewan.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Really sorry to hear. I have heard small town vets are less expensive. We go to eastern slopes in Black Diamond and they are great, but I'm not sure if it's any cheaper? Maybe call around to chestermere, airdrie and okotoks and see? We went through something similar with our friendbeast and he had $7000 surgery on his back. We definitely paid a premium and he had his surgery at the clinic in heritage meadows. One thing though is all of our follow up appointments were free, so keep in mind paying more up front doesn't necessarily mean you pay more in the long run.

I'm a huge animal lover but I have to say I would never hand over $7000 to a vet for any operation, I would take my companion on a holiday to Mexico first and pay 5% of that.

I guess the rumors are true that vets make more money than human doctors.

I think it's time for some price regulations.

[AltaGuy]

Elizabeth Street Pet Hospital in Okotoks. Great place, quite a bit cheaper than Calgary.

Hope your pooch feels better!

[ASP#26525]

Sorry, I don't have any vet recommendations, but maybe you could consider a Go Fund Me page? I just recently contributed to a fund for my colleague's friend's dog who got attacked by a neighbour's dog that now refuses to help pay the $7k vet bill I would contribute to your fund if that's what you decide to do.

Good luck, hope your puppy feels better soon!

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Vets in Rimby are wayyy cheaper

[bagofpucks]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I'm a huge animal lover but I have to say I would never hand over $7000 to a vet for any operation, I would take my companion on a holiday to Mexico first and pay 5% of that.

I guess the rumors are true that vets make more money than human doctors.

I think it's time for some price regulations.

Meh, it was a very serious surgery and he was only 4 years old at the time and his breed is expected to live 12-14 years. Had he been older we would have maybe made a different decision. He makes us laugh every single day and is a part of our family, so as much as we didn't love shelling out that type of dough it was the right decision. If you aren't willing to make these types of decisions you shouldn't make the decision to purchase or adopt an animal.

[Amethyst]

I've heard from many people that Beddington Vet is cheaper than most. However, they were recently in the news, for burning a cat in their care or something like that (I didn't see the actual news story, only outraged FB posts) so I'm not sure of the details. I've been there in the past with foster dogs and never had any concerns, but it was only for minor things.

Vets in smaller towns are reportedly cheaper as well, but if you have to travel a long distance for numerous follow-up appointments, it negates the savings quickly.

A couple other resources:
-Tails of Help provides assistance to financially challenged pet owners: http://www.tailsofhelp.com
-Pet Card, like a credit card for vet expenses: https://www.petcard.ca

Outside the box suggestion: Maybe an animal rescue could help out in some way, in exchange for providing electrician services?

Good luck and hope all goes well for your pup.

[Lee~]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Really sorry to hear. I have heard small town vets are less expensive. We go to eastern slopes in Black Diamond and they are great, but I'm not sure if it's any cheaper? Maybe call around to chestermere, airdrie and okotoks and see? We went through something similar with our friendbeast and he had $7000 surgery on his back. We definitely paid a premium and he had his surgery at the clinic in heritage meadows. One thing though is all of our follow up appointments were free, so keep in mind paying more up front doesn't necessarily mean you pay more in the long run.

I'll definitely call around the small towns and check if they have a smaller quote for me. Thanks.

[Lee~]

Originally Posted by ASP#26525

Sorry, I don't have any vet recommendations, but maybe you could consider a Go Fund Me page? I just recently contributed to a fund for my colleague's friend's dog who got attacked by a neighbour's dog that now refuses to help pay the $7k vet bill I would contribute to your fund if that's what you decide to do.

Good luck, hope your puppy feels better soon!

Thank you, I hadn't thought of a Go Fund Me, I'll certainly consider it if we can't find any solution soon.

I'll take everyone's suggestions here and call around tomorrow and hopefully find a decent quote, and then decide what to do next. Thanks for helping!

[Sainters7]

My longtime cat started to go shortly after we moved back to Calgary when I was employment challenged and stressed about cash. Took her to Fish Creek animal hospital a few times during that span and they always gave me "compassionate pricing", I love the main veterinarian there. He didn't even charge me at all one time, and definitely gave my cat a couple extra years. Highly recommend

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I'm a huge animal lover but I have to say I would never hand over $7000 to a vet for any operation, I would take my companion on a holiday to Mexico first and pay 5% of that.

I guess the rumors are true that vets make more money than human doctors.

I think it's time for some price regulations.

Are you saying you took your dog to Mexico for surgery or for a holiday?

A friend told me that she takes her pets to a vet in Montana. She says it's half of what it is up here (anywhere)

[chedder]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

A friend told me that she takes her pets to a vet in Montana. She says it's half of what it is up here (anywhere)

Yup. I've heard of lots of people that go to Eureka. May not be as cheap now with the dollar though.

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[bossy22]

a friend of mine takes her dogs to the vet in Sundre. Way cheaper than my vet in Calgary

[CaptainYooh]

Vet clinic in Claresholm is much cheaper than Calgary. I've had both of my dogs' dental work done there for half the amount quoted in Calgary. Nanton is affordable too.

[dre]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I'm a huge animal lover but I have to say I would never hand over $7000 to a vet for any operation, I would take my companion on a holiday to Mexico first and pay 5% of that.

I guess the rumors are true that vets make more money than human doctors.

I think it's time for some price regulations.

Most of the surgeries are covered for us humans. Not so much for animals.
That is why it seems expensive.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Are you saying you took your dog to Mexico for surgery or for a holiday?

I'm saying before I would pay a Vet $7000.00 I would pack him up and take him to Mexico where veterinary costs are sometimes under 10% of the costs here. But yeah since I'm there on the cheap maybe recovery on the beach would be nice.

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Meh, it was a very serious surgery and he was only 4 years old at the time and his breed is expected to live 12-14 years. Had he been older we would have maybe made a different decision. He makes us laugh every single day and is a part of our family, so as much as we didn't love shelling out that type of dough it was the right decision. If you aren't willing to make these types of decisions you shouldn't make the decision to purchase or adopt an animal.

I didn't say I wouldn't have the operation, I said I would never pay that outrageous amount. of course you want to save your pet but there are other options.

Originally Posted by dre

Most of the surgeries are covered for us humans. Not so much for animals.
That is why it seems expensive.

which is why I mentioned "it's time for some price regulations"

Vets are crooks here because they are allowed to be.

[mikephoen]

Some good suggestions in this thread already. You also might want to ask some of these vet clinics if they need any electrical work done. Maybe changing over their clinic to LEDs? Might be able to work off your dog's bill that way.

Good luck with it, and I'm hoping for the best for your guy.