Vet Costs

[jolinar of malkshor]

My wife and I rescued two puppies last October. It is getting about that time to have them spayed and neuter them. The rescue agency we got them from has a deal with a vet up in barhead which is almost 2 hours from where I live. That vet will do both dogs for $135.00 each which I think is reasonable, especially for the female. I called around to some vets in my home town and in Edmonton to see if I could get a similar price. No chance. One vet want $550 for both docs and another vet wanted $625 for both dogs. I called a few others and they were in the same ball park.

IMO those prices are way to high. No wonder people don't fix their pets. For me I would have done it no matter the cost but there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't be able to afford those costs. If I had to pay the going rate it would cost more to fix my two puppies than it did to geld my two horses.

On another note, my Grandma has a cat that has a infected tooth. She took the cat to the vet and the vet said it would cost her $1000 to pull the teeth. The operation would take 15 mins. Unbelievable.

Anyhow, what do you guys think? How much have you paid for these services?

[AFireInside]

This little maniac broke her leg when she was about 6 - 7 months old (just a couple months ago now). She was trying to reach cat food on a higher ledge a few feet from the couch we turned out back for a second and bam! Broken leg. I never want to hear that noise come out of an animal again. Her shing broke apart, and one part was still attached to her patella tendon so her quad wasn't working anymore...

So final cost was around $4000 she needed pins in her leg. Luckily, we had pet insurance because she is a bulldog and there are potential health problems. We pay about 50 dollars/month, with no questions asked they sent us a cheque for our max pay out for the year which was 2500.. SO that lessened the blow quite a bit, can't recommend the pet insurance enough!

I think it was like 400 to get her spayed.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Here are my two.

[Devils'Advocate]

I will NEVER, EVER have pets again after the current ones pass away. I've had a dog and now have a couple cats and THEY COST A FORTUNE. One cat is on Tapizol - 2 pills a day, so about $60 per month plus the vet wants blood tests done every 3 months at $150 per test. My last annual cost $580. They keep trying to tell me about the teeth cleaning for only $900.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by AFireInside

This little maniac broke her leg when she was about 6 - 7 months old (just a couple months ago now). She was trying to reach cat food on a higher ledge a few feet from the couch we turned out back for a second and bam! Broken leg. I never want to hear that noise come out of an animal again. Her shing broke apart, and one part was still attached to her patella tendon so her quad wasn't working anymore...

So final cost was around $4000. Luckily, we had pet insurance because she is a bulldog and there are potential health problems. We pay about 50 dollars/month, with no questions asked they sent us a cheque for our max pay out for the year which was 2500.. SO that lessened the blow quite a bit, can't recommend the pet insurance enough!

I think it was like 400 to get her spayed.

Couldn't agree more on pet insurance. I have a daschund which are known to have back problems that can potentially run in the tens of thousands of dollars. I have a plan through pet secure that runs about 40 bucks a month and covers her up to $5000 per year, and has preventitive dental attached to it as well. It may seem like a lot now, but if you add up vet bills over the year, it isn't that bad for the piece of mind knowing your pet will get the best care no questions asked.

I do find it funny however that my dogs health care costs more than mine...LOL.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I will NEVER, EVER have pets again after the current ones pass away. I've had a dog and now have a couple cats and THEY COST A FORTUNE. One cat is on Tapizol - 2 pills a day, so about $60 per month plus the vet wants blood tests done every 3 months at $150 per test. My last annual cost $580. They keep trying to tell me about the teeth cleaning for only $900.

Crazy isn't it. The problem is once the pets you have now are gone, you may change your mind. They do enrich your life.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by pylon

Couldn't agree more on pet insurance. I have a daschund which are known to have back problems that can potentially run in the tens of thousands of dollars. I have a plan through pet secure that runs about 40 bucks a month and covers her up to $5000 per year, and has preventitive dental attached to it as well. It may seem like a lot now, but if you add up vet bills over the year, it isn't that bad for the piece of mind knowing your pet will get the best care no questions asked.

I do find it funny however that my dogs health care costs more than mine...LOL.

Haha absolutely... My gf set the plan up... Ours doesn't cover up to $5000 per your however. I wonder if the breed has something to do with it.. I believe ours is pet secure as well....

[Devils'Advocate]

FYI - Here is the thread I started on pet insurance. I never did get it as I heard too many stories about rejected claims. I guess the people in this current thread have had different experiences:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ight=insurance

[pylon]

Originally Posted by AFireInside

Haha absolutely... My gf set the plan up... Ours doesn't cover up to $5000 per your however. I wonder if the breed has something to do with it.. I believe ours is pet secure as well....

It depends on what level of coverage and what deductable you select. I have plan 3 with a 250 deductable.

here is their slection of plans.

http://www.petsecure.com/pet_insuran...insurance.aspx

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I will NEVER, EVER have pets again after the current ones pass away. I've had a dog and now have a couple cats and THEY COST A FORTUNE. One cat is on Tapizol - 2 pills a day, so about $60 per month plus the vet wants blood tests done every 3 months at $150 per test. My last annual cost $580. They keep trying to tell me about the teeth cleaning for only $900.

Here is my cat.



I went to get something out of the pantry one morning and this is what I found.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

FYI - Here is the thread I started on pet insurance. I never did get it as I heard too many stories about rejected claims. I guess the people in this current thread have had different experiences:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ight=insurance

I had to place a claim with them a few months back and had zero issues. Paid the bill, sent in the forms, and 2 weeks later got a cheque in the mail minus deductable. And the cool thing with these plans is that the deductables are annually calculated. So for the rest of the year, all pet repairs are deductable free.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

FYI - Here is the thread I started on pet insurance. I never did get it as I heard too many stories about rejected claims. I guess the people in this current thread have had different experiences:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ight=insurance

Yeah I thought it would be a little harder. However they didn't even question us. We sent in the forms, and 3 weeks later we got a cheque.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I will NEVER, EVER have pets again after the current ones pass away. I've had a dog and now have a couple cats and THEY COST A FORTUNE. One cat is on Tapizol - 2 pills a day, so about $60 per month plus the vet wants blood tests done every 3 months at $150 per test. My last annual cost $580. They keep trying to tell me about the teeth cleaning for only $900.

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

FYI - Here is the thread I started on pet insurance. I never did get it as I heard too many stories about rejected claims. I guess the people in this current thread have had different experiences:
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ight=insurance

Pets are not science projects. Are you serious?

Could you honestly speak for surgery for a brother who could not?

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Pets are not science projects. Are you serious? Could you honestly speak for surgery for a brother who could not?

What are you going on about?

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Here is my cat.
I went to get something out of the pantry one morning and this is what I found.

I love the "WTF are you doing?" look.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Here is my cat.


I went to get something out of the pantry one morning and this is what I found.

And that is why I am a dog person.

[Cowperson]

Even before spending $11,000 to render the dog below cancer-free, our vet had taken my wife and I into Calgary in a stretch limo for her office Christmas party at a fancy Italian restaurant.

And she made a 10 p.m. housecall to de-skunkify both mutts when we were in Toronto once.

So . . . . that probably tells you how much we might routinely spend in a year for the care of two Golden's and four cats.

Keeper, ironically named by her former owners, was a tattered sight after three operations that saved her life. A year-and-a-half later, she's lovin' life and remains cancer-free.

But, I remember once spending $1,500 to fix a cat when it meant a lot more than $11,000 today. It's a tough call. But, if you can't care for them, don't have one.



Cowperson

[Table 5]

People sometimes don't realize that "fixing" a pet is actual surgery. Just because it's common, does not mean it's not complicated. Neutering is often cheaper because it's less of a procedure, but spaying is much more complicated, thus the hire price. If you don't want to pay a lot, get a male animal.

What people tend not to realize is that vet's have to buy the same type of medical equipment, and use the same type of medicine that hospital and human medical center due, except that they have to do this privately. This stuff is bloody expensive....some of the machines can easily cost $50,000. Going to a human doctor is really expensive too....just not for you, so you don't actually realize the types of costs you're really incurring. Vets have to spend a ton of money to buy the medical equipment to treat your pets without any sort of public funding. They are dealing with life, not retail goods, so don't walk in there thinking you are just going to Walmart to pick up some cheap socks because they are on sale.

My dad's a veterinarian and he highly recommends insurance for most people. It's not cheap, but in the end it really does make sense, as all pets will need some major medical attention at one point or another. At the end of the day, there will come at a time where you are faced with a pretty hefty bill. As he says "if you don't have insurance, be prepared to put your pet down at any time".

Pet's are a big responsibility. Before you get one, make sure you can afford to take care of the sick version of your pet, not just the cute fluffy kitten during ideal conditions. In the end they are amazing companions, and make it worth it, but the experience of owning gives you all the complexities of life.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Table 5

People sometimes don't realize that "fixing" a pet is actual surgery. Just because it's common, does not mean it's not complicated. Neutering is often cheaper because it's less of a procedure, but spaying is much more complicated, thus the hire price. If you don't want to pay a lot, get a male animal.

What people tend not to realize is that vet's have to buy the same type of medical equipment, and use the same type of medicine that hospital and human medical center due, except that they have to do this privately. This stuff is bloody expensive....some of the machines can easily cost $50,000. Going to a human doctor is really expensive too....just not for you, so you don't actually realize the types of costs you're really incurring. Vets have to spend a ton of money to buy the medical equipment to treat your pets without any sort of public funding. They are dealing with life, not retail goods, so don't walk in there thinking you are just going to Walmart to pick up some cheap socks because they are on sale.

My dad's a veterinarian and he highly recommends insurance for most people. It's not cheap, but in the end it really does make sense, as all pets will need some major medical attention at one point or another. At the end of the day, there will come at a time where you are faced with a pretty hefty bill. As he says "if you don't have insurance, be prepared to put your pet down at any time".

Pet's are a big responsibility. Before you get one, make sure you can afford to take care of the sick version of your pet, not just the cute fluffy kitten during ideal conditions.

This is true for a lot of medical care for the pet. However, as far as fixing your pet, the single most expensive cost is usually the anesthetic (as long as there are no complications). I have had pets my entire life and it wasn't that long ago that the cost of fixing your dog was right around $100. Like I said above, it should not cost the same or more to fix my male dog as it does to geld my 2 year old horse. The amount of anesthetic used for the horse is way more than the dog and you most certainly need two people to deal with the horse.

Anyhow, you are right that pets are a big responsibility and one needs to be prepared to financially support them.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

This is true for a lot of medical care for the pet. However, as far as fixing your pet, the single most expensive cost is usually the anesthetic (as long as there are no complications). I have had pets my entire life and it wasn't that long ago that the cost of fixing your dog was right around $100.

That, and you need to buy the anesthetic machine (easily 30-40k), operating table, tools and pay for a vet technician to assist, as well as the vet himself.

Remember that it's still a business and there has to be a profit margin (and from what I hear, spaying/neutering is not a really much of a profit generator). As I mentioned before, vets need don't get any medical subsidies like human doctors do, yet still need to be price competitive. When is the last time you had surgery, and it cost 200 bucks? Going to a regular human doctor in Canada costs considerably higher in monetary value, but people don't ever really see the bill. So I can understand why vet bills can sometimes be a shock, but at the end of the day, these are medical experts dealing with the life of your pet...pets that to a lot of people are as important as their own children (and sometimes treated even better, ha).

Btw, I'm not really sure what prices are these days for spaying/neutering, but I'm going to guess that $100 dog was male? As mentioned, males are a lot less complicated to do then females, thus are often a lot cheaper in terms of vet costs.