Vet Fees

[buggerlugs]

We lost our beloved German Shepherd " Charlie " on Monday. He had been crook for about a week with what we thought was a bit of a cold. My wife took him to the local vet on monday morning. They checked him out for 10-15 minutes. Said they thought he might have internal bleeding and needed an ultrasound. They couldn't do the ultrasound as they didn't have the equipment. Sent us over to the coast and gave us a bill for $471.00 for their troubles. Got Charlie to the Coastal Vet. They put him on the table, knocked him out, started doing the ultrasound. Unfortunately while doing the ultrasound he had a heart attack and died. Turns out he had a tumour on his heart. We have now been told it is quite common with Shepherds and Labradors. There bill came to $861.00 less $150.00 "Courtesy Discount" !! I think next time I'll take my pets to the doctors. Might be a bit cheaper........Anyone else gobsmacked at what Vets charge ??
RIP Charlie

[Pinkbits]

Sorry to hear of your loss of Charlie.

As far as the first bill is concerned, i would refuse point blank to pay that.
All it appears to be is a consultation. How do they justify charging that much?

R.I.P Charlie.

[SKITZD]

I agree with Pinkbits, I would refuse to pay the first bill. Its an outrage, a consultation should cost you no more then about $50-60 dollars, certainly not $471.

When my horse developed colic, I had to get the vet out at 3am. He potted around for about half an hour while my horse rolled around in agony to then state she has a twisted bowel. He gave her some injections to euthanize her and then gave me a bill for $1000 for his trouble.

When he left I asked him who can I call to get my horses body removed, he said "I dont know, you could try this mob "insert name here" but youre looking at $500 to remove the body".

I ended up getting the neighbour to bury her using his tractor.

[left]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Ideally the Vet(s) should have outlined the estimated costs to you prior to any "treatment" or investigations being undertaken. Did they give you any hints as to cost??? IMO the fee charged for the initial consultation seems way out of line to me and I would definitely be querying it.

I typically pay $100-150 just for a consult at my local vet (which is also an animal hospital so has all the kit on-site). Close to $500 seems very steep. At the very least you should ask them to itemise their costs for you and explain how they came to the figure.

[Kryton]

There is a thing called Pet Insurance - with that, you wouldnt have had to pay such a high bill.
Unfortunatly for you, you have used their service and now you have no choice but to pay the bill - whatever it is.
You can refuse to pay it but the Debt Collectors will be coming your way shortly.
Ignore them and you'll have bad credit on your file for the next 7 years.

The best bet is to go and see them and make a payment plan and pay it off.
You went to them so the least you can do is pay them (even if you dont agree with the price).

We had a cat that was terminal, i knew he was as he couldnt even stand up and wasnt eating and had blood in the mouth (kidney failure) so i took him to the vet and asked for him to be put down.
They couldnt do it till i had seen a Dr, they cant just put an animal down - unless i had have dumped him there.
So i did the consult, he told me exactly what i already knew and said it was best to put him down - which i had originally asked to happen.
That bill was $95 plus the fee for putting him down.

[SKITZD]

Originally Posted by davway

There is a thing called Pet Insurance - with that, you wouldnt have had to pay such a high bill.

The problem with pet insurance is some of it is so expensive these days and I dont know about everyone else but pet insurance isn't something alot of people can afford.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Anyone else gobsmacked at what Vets charge ??

Try owning a horse, vet bills are an order of magnitude bigger.

I'd query the vet bill but if it's after hours then there is a premium for call out. I had a dog with a tick last year, that was $1K.

[dannyxm]

What a horrible story.

I love German Shepherds, my mother used to breed and show them.

As a Solicitor i would advise you not to not ignore the bill, but speak to the vet about your concerns, as what davway said.

You said it was a Monday morning, surely this is not 'after hours' and the bill should not be that much. You also should have been advised of the cost before agreeing to the consult / scans.

Our Staffy Cross died at the vet in similar circumstances and we got a bill of around $300.00. They spent the better part of an hour and a half trying to save her and told us exactly what was being charged and how much.

Also, my mother has got her new dog insured as a result of the cost in vet bills with all the animals we had on the property throught the years.

Its very cheap and worthwhile.

[csv8]

Sorry to hear the loss of Charlie..I know your pain..


Kelmeny Fraser

January 31, 2010 12:00am

PET owners are being hit with dramatically different vet bills for the same procedures. And some pet owners claim they were charged more than triple the usual cost for after-hours emergency surgery in the absence of any pricing regulation of the unregulated vet industry.

Veterinarians say climbing fees are the price of technological advancements, putting pet care almost on par with human care for the first time. But owners fear the rising trend of pet specialist referrals is leading to unreasonable fees.

Veterinary costs are unregulated and no price guides are available. Pet owners must rely on shopping around.

Inquiries by The Sunday Mail have found desexing an adult female cat can cost from $144 to $235, depending on the veterinary surgery. Desexing a male dog can range from $157 to $330.

Vaccinating an adult female cat can cost from $54 to $87 and microchipping from $42 to $69.

Jimboomba dog breeder Helma Dressler said her records showed caesarean costs had tripled in a decade.

Costs for a caesarean can vary from $660 at Warwick to $1500 in Brisbane and $900 at Redbank Plains, according to breeders.

But Australian Veterinary Association national president Dr Mark Lawrie said while vet fees had risen "dramatically" in the past decade, competition laws made price regulation or issuing price schedules dangerous. He attributed rising costs to advancements such as the rise in MRIs, CAT scans and chemotherapy for animals.

"There have been a lot more services available, such as 24-hour clinics that are very well-equipped and cost a lot of money to run," he said.

Animal specialists now exist for dozens of conditions, with vet surgeries able to refer pet owners to specialists in cancer, dermatology, internal medicine, diagnostic imaging and a range of other fields.

At the Australian Animal Cancer Foundation facility in Albany Creek, north of Brisbane, pet owners pay an average $2500 to $3000 to have cats and dogs treated for cancer by Dr Rod Straw.

Some pet owners have spent six-figure sums on cancer treatment at the facility.

One owner spent almost $100,000 on vet bills over six years to save two 12-year-old pet boxers from cancer.

Government subsidies might have curbed the cost of human medical advances, but pet owners have been left struggling to foot spiralling vet bills.

Some pet owners said they were shocked by bills of more than $4000 for after-hours surgery.

Deception Bay dog breeder Debbie Creagh was hit with a $4400 bill for an emergency after-hours caesarean on her labrador retriever Brooke this month after the 20-month-old swallowed a dog toy.

Among the cost was a $50 fee for a surgical dog gown.

Mrs Creagh said she paid for an emergency caesarean for another dog months earlier costing $2200, but has paid as little as $600 for the same procedure during normal consultation hours.

Another pet owner was shocked at a $954 animal emergency centre bill to save a cat with a blocked bladder.

Sunshine Coast pensioner Ralph Huddy spent close to $7000 to have specialists fix cruciate ligament problems in his cattle dog's hind legs.

fraserk@qnp.newsltd.com.au

[Meg's GT's]

Deception Bay dog breeder Debbie Creagh was hit with a $4400 bill for an emergency after-hours caesarean on her labrador retriever Brooke this month after the 20-month-old swallowed a dog toy.

I sincerely hope that is a journalists error because I sure as hell wouldn't be taking my animal to a vet that performs a caesarean for ingesting a dog toy!

[Falcon Coupe]

Sorry to hear about Charlie, always hard to lose an old mate.

Vet bills are outrageous, one of my dogs has an yeast infection in one ear, an anti inflammatory injection and and bottle of ear drops later gave little change from $200.00.

Proceduores needed stitches used have a free check and removal of stitches after 10 days, now they charge a reduced consultation fee on top of the already exorbitant operation fee, needless to say I have become proficient at removing stitches myself.

Another thing that bothers me is annual vaccinations, do dogs not build up an immunity like humans ?

[buggerlugs]

We were told a rough amount but at the time all we wanted to do was get Charlie fixed up. They did say to cut the tumour out could of been around $7000.00 !!! My wife paid both bills after each consultation.

[buggerlugs]

Charlie and his mate Noah........

[left]

Wow what cute couple! Totally adorable...

Sorry again for your loss, looks like he was a great friend to Noah too :(

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Charlie and his mate Noah........

[FPV8U]

Sorry to hear Buggerlugs, my Grandparents Shepherd suffered similar health issues and i hope everyday my shepherd is lucks and avoids any such issues.

Vet issues aside i wish you all the best in a difficult after losing what im sure was a great friend.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

We lost our beloved German Shepherd " Charlie " on Monday. He had been crook for about a week with what we thought was a bit of a cold. My wife took him to the local vet on monday morning. They checked him out for 10-15 minutes. Said they thought he might have internal bleeding and needed an ultrasound. They couldn't do the ultrasound as they didn't have the equipment. Sent us over to the coast and gave us a bill for $471.00 for their troubles. Got Charlie to the Coastal Vet. They put him on the table, knocked him out, started doing the ultrasound. Unfortunately while doing the ultrasound he had a heart attack and died. Turns out he had a tumour on his heart. We have now been told it is quite common with Shepherds and Labradors. There bill came to $861.00 less $150.00 "Courtesy Discount" !! I think next time I'll take my pets to the doctors. Might be a bit cheaper........Anyone else gobsmacked at what Vets charge ??
RIP Charlie

I TOO owned a german shephard sorry for your loss .
i think you got ripped off the 1st vet .
2ndly outragiously charged for a scan .
i'm sorry that people do things things .
my cocker ate a rock and got blocked up . al up the consultation, scan and operation and then 2 days recovery was $1150. but there was 2 days work involved in that including an operation sutures etc etc .

[buggerlugs]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think we got touched, but I'm a big believer in Karma. Problem is, at the time, all your thinking of is the well being of your beloved dishlicker. As my youngest daughter said that we will have to start locking up everything now. Nothing went missing while Charlie was around.............

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think we got touched, but I'm a big believer in Karma. Problem is, at the time, all your thinking of is the well being of your beloved dishlicker. As my youngest daughter said that we will have to start locking up everything now. Nothing went missing while Charlie was around.............

as a friend said to me when we lost our shephard, once a dog person always a dog person . give it a couple of weeks and get back on the bandwagen and buy another. i waited a few months and didn't want another shephard ,because of loyalty to the one i had so we bought a cockerspanial . i so miss having a germen shephard . the cocker spanial is 1/2 the size and cannot be trusted like a shephard . our cocker will bite us . the shephard never ever did .

[GT]

The problem is that they rely on people being emotional and sentimental about their animals - as we all are! They know that in a crisis most people will say "just do it!" Most owners also have limited animal welfare/health knowledge.

I interviewed 3 vets before settling on the one I now have. I get a quote for any work before I have it done and make a decision based on all factors before proceeding. I have a number of show dogs and want a vet that is available when I need it - not an emergency centre I am sent to out of normal hours that I know will charge like wounded bulls -pardon the pun!

I negotiated on rates (if you are a member of the VCA you get heavily discounted fees) and have built a strong relationship with my vet so I can do a lot of work myself with a smaller bill for the medication they supply me.

Yes, it is easier for me because I have a few dogs and a considerable knowledge, but build the relationship and let your chosen vet know that you are there because you have screened them. As the economy gets tougher, vets are finding that people are using them less, not vaccinating and electing to put dogs down rather than treat them - my own vet confirmed this. They are looking for many ways to increase their client base and puppy schools are one of the main ways.

Regarding vaccinations - the World Veterinary Council are currently discussing the lack of need for annual vaccinations. They were recommending 4 yearly but are now reviewing it again. Remember vaccinations are the bread and butter for a vet and give them the opportunity to provide other services you may not have been seeking. A puppy only needs 2 puppy vaccinations (7 weeks and 4 weeks later). I regularly hear stories of vets trying to convince new owners that the puppy needs 3 or 4 vaccinations. Absolute rubbish these days with the new drugs!

Do plenty of research on your pet and understand a bit of what is going on and most of all, take control BEFORE the crisis comes.

Cheers
Gaela

[fangq]

Originally Posted by GT

The problem is that they rely on people being emotional and sentimental about their animals - as we all are! They know that in a crisis most people will say "just do it!" Most owners also have limited animal welfare/health knowledge.

I interviewed 3 vets before settling on the one I now have. I get a quote for any work before I have it done and make a decision based on all factors before proceeding. I have a number of show dogs and want a vet that is available when I need it - not an emergency centre I am sent to out of normal hours that I know will charge like wounded bulls -pardon the pun!

I negotiated on rates (if you are a member of the VCA you get heavily discounted fees) and have built a strong relationship with my vet so I can do a lot of work myself with a smaller bill for the medication they supply me.

Yes, it is easier for me because I have a few dogs and a considerable knowledge, but build the relationship and let your chosen vet know that you are there because you have screened them. As the economy gets tougher, vets are finding that people are using them less, not vaccinating and electing to put dogs down rather than treat them - my own vet confirmed this. They are looking for many ways to increase their client base and puppy schools are one of the main ways.

Regarding vaccinations - the World Veterinary Council are currently discussing the lack of need for annual vaccinations. They were recommending 4 yearly but are now reviewing it again. Remember vaccinations are the bread and butter for a vet and give them the opportunity to provide other services you may not have been seeking. A puppy only needs 2 puppy vaccinations (7 weeks and 4 weeks later). I regularly hear stories of vets trying to convince new owners that the puppy needs 3 or 4 vaccinations. Absolute rubbish these days with the new drugs!

Do plenty of research on your pet and understand a bit of what is going on and most of all, take control BEFORE the crisis comes.

Cheers
Gaela

Have you got a link to the info re vaccination protocols ? Are we talking core/non core/ etc etc.

Steve

[greens_tuf]

Sorry for your loss mate, I have a 11 1/2 year old Staffy. I love him to death and will cry my eyes out when he goes.

I have spent about $7000 (probably more) over the years on vet fees alone. He has had heaps of operations over the years to remove growths, corn cob from stomach, fatty depostits... and lots more lol

He has even had a blood transfusion!! Every time I have taken him to the vet I ask about the price before hand just to know what I'll be up for...

My vet is very good and very very well priced. My dog once had a part of a corn cob stuck in his stomach and had to have it cut out... cost about $600 from memory. Surgery costs have been resonable at my vet...

I get the feeling that my vet does it for the love of it and not for the money so much...

[Geez Louise]

Bernie...really sorry to hear about Charlie mate...I know our boy Vito is just hanging in there and I am really not looking forward to the day when we have to say goodbye...

The vet has recommended a back operation for him as his tail bone has fused to his back bone resulting in his back legs collapsing. Operation will cost over 10k.

Those of you who say we are MAD for even considering it, he is a member of our family and if one of us needed an operation, the money would just be spent...

Having said that though... Vet bills are ridiculously high. Everytime we take our boy just for a checkup we never walk out with change from $300.

I really hope the pain from your loss eases soon.

Thinking of ya mate

Cheers
Coll

[buggerlugs]

Appreciate the comments. Yes, once you've owned a German Shephard there is no other. Charlie was my third one.

[Romulus]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I forked out $3k in treatment for a snake bite for my cat, only to have him pass away 4 days later. Fortunately for me I was told the cat would survive if it underwent treatment - but it didn't. I was given over $2k off the bill due to the vet's advice.

I now use a vet that knows me and my many cats very well. I have that many of the buggers I get discount from the vet lol

[RepSpec]

sorry to hear bout your best mate, i cant imagine something like that happening to my dog.
i cant believe how much vet bills are.
i did a search bout 3 weeks ago when my dog was crook (ate something and had the runs for a week) insurance for her was only 30 a month, for a high level of care

[XA Sean]

Sorry for your loss Buggerlugs. Beautiful pic of one of the best looking shepherds Ive ever seen.

The more people I get to know, the more I like dogs.

Get another mate

[FPV8U]

Originally Posted by XA Sean

The more people I get to know, the more I like dogs.

Get another mate

+1 on both counts, as has been said once you have a shepherd there is no other real choice.

[3vXT]

Sorry but when you consider the level of study and how many years are involved to become a vet it is not too far off medicine (in fact UAI's are higher for veterinary science than medicine) and they deserve to earn similar rates to doctors imo. If people (myself included) are happy to put the health of their pets on the same level as themselves or their children, why should the people taking care of them earn less when they have worked just as hard to get to that position?

The only reason people are shocked when then see how much vet bills are is because there is no pet-medicare. If we had to pay full price for our own medical care we wouldn't blink at the prices vets charge. Also the prices are supposed to reflect more than just the materials used + the vet and nurses/assistants hourly rate. They have overheads the same as everyone else. There are vets that overcharge in the same way that there are mechanics that overcharge. In my local area most of them charge a similar amount (the vets not the mechanics )

By the way, i'm not a vet and i've complained about the price to get my girl fixed up before but after doing a bit of research (enough to know that studying veterinary science is beyond my capabilities ) i now know better.

[woodsy109]

To compare it to human treatments, I recently had an ultrasound and ct scan, the ultrasound was bulk billed but I think it was around $100-150 and the ct scan cost $495. The specialist that I saw before getting a scan cost $150 per consultation.

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by woodsy109

To compare it to human treatments, I recently had an ultrasound and ct scan, the ultrasound was bulk billed but I think it was around $100-150 and the ct scan cost $495. The specialist that I saw before getting a scan cost $150 per consultation.

Lets put these fees into context.

The radiologist would be getting paid around $500,000 per annum. In comparison a first year vet who has completed a five year degree gets paid a salary in the order of $38,000. This climbs to a paltry $48,000 for experienced vets.

Now if a vet wants to earn any more than that, they pretty much have to go into business for themselves. To do that costs an absolute bomb. There is the cost of fitting out the building, the ultrasound, x-ray, autoclave, anesthetic equipment, theatre lighting, operating tables, monitoring equipment , IV equipment, diagnostics equipment, medical instruments, dental equipment, computers, software, vehicles etc which is probably more like setting up a day surgery than a general practice.

Then there are the running costs. Vets have a lot more support staff then medical centres and the equipment is just as expensive to maintain. They also find themselves treated like a charity with injured wildlife being lobbed on them all the time and people who expect discounts because their pet died.

When it comes to veterinary care, there are no governmental rebates for either labour (consulting, procedures, professional development etc) nor are there any for any drugs or vaccines.

Finally there are the hours. Vets with their own practices are often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No surpise then that their profession has one of the highest divorce and suicide rates of any profession.