Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I just wonder what the situation in the USA is with vet charges for dogs etc.?

I know health care is a minefield for people, and very expensive. But is health care for animals more reasonable?

I'd like to have a dog in the US :)

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I think it varies a lot on where you live. I'm in the NYC area so *everything* seemed more expensive and I believe you'll need more shots than you would for a dog in the UK.

From what I remember at the vet I used for our guys a vet visit was $50 (waived if they were getting vaccines) and shots ranged from $35 to $80 ($80 being for the 3 year Rabies vaccine). A 3 month supply of frontline (flea and tick prevention) for a small dog was around $45 and the same for Heartguard (heartworm prevention) was a little more. There were also a lot of miscellaneous charges such as $3 "medical disposal" and I remember being charged for the lampshades (around $8) when I had them spayed. Their annual visit with shots typically cost me around $250 per dog (obviously there's a lot more "start-up" costs when you get a puppy).

There are a couple of ways you can find reasonable care, though:
- If you adopt from a shelter the animal is legally required (at least in NY/NJ) to be up-to-date on shots, spayed/neutered and receiving treatment for any illnesses. Plus, 1/4 dogs in american shelters is a purebred!
- Many shelters also run wellness clinics you can take your pet to for their yearly check up that are lower cost than a vet practice.
- If you do buy a puppy, look up "friends of animals" for spay/neuter certificates. The certificate costs $50-90 and will cover a spay/neuter surgery at various vet practices, though it's worth notiong it doesn't cover pain meds for after or lampshades or anything else the vet decides to do while the dog is under (such as teeth cleaning etc). I also have to add beware the puppy mill puppies that are found in pet shops- my husband and I didn't know when we bought one and he was only with us for 2 and a half years--we lost him to an allergic reaction to a vaccine, which is reportedly common in puppy mill dogs.
- Look into what vaccines your dog really needs. In my experience, most vets will push to have *everything*, but if you're in an area where lyme disease isn't present, your dog shouldn't really need that. The same goes for bordatella/kennel cough if you don't plan to board your dog or visit dog parks. Also, do some research online as many authorities are now starting to realize that most vaccinations (after the puppy series) aren't needed every year (though the vet practices haven't caught up with this yet...probably because they make a huge chunk of their income on vaccines).
- "Luv my pet" vaccine clinics: these are mobile clinics that are around the US that offer lower cost vaccine packages. Google them and you can find their prices online. I wouldn't reccommend you substitute a vet visit with this, but for vaccines they can't be beat.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I think the vet fees are expensive - approx 2 to 3 times the cost where we were in the UK. We went down the insurance route (as we did in the UK). For our 7 year old cat we pay $33 a month and then that only covers about 85% of the fees and we pay a deductible.

They dont really do the insurance like you can get in the UK where you pay £15 and it covers everything with a small (£50 deductible) - which is very similar to human healthcare here.............got to pay for those BMW's and Merc some how. All the vets we know drive "normal" cars in the UK as they actually love animals and don't do it for the money - think (like the human healthcare system here) its more about earning $$$ here.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I'm sorry, but -- on behalf of the wonderful vets who have cared for my many dogs in the US -- I resent the implication that US vets are "only in it for the money." I don't know one vet with a luxury car, they are all devoted to animals, and work extremely long hours taking care of their patients. I have seen people at the vet complaining about being asked to pay their bill, arguing that if the vet loved animals he would provide his services free! That is so stupid -- a veterinary hospital is not a nonprofit organization and the overhead of running one is extremely high. However, many vets do give back to their communities by volunteering at rabies clinics to give low-cost shots, caring for strays or injured animals brought in by good Samaritans, and other acts of kindness of which the public are generally unaware.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

The cost does vary depending on the vet, thier offices and the specialities they do.
Mine is an orthopedic specialist and apparently is considered "more expensive" than others in the area ( ~$100 for an annual checkup). But we used to pay that on par back home in Cambs so don't think they are.
Be aware that emergency vet care is horrendous...... Our cat swallowed a needle ($3500 for emergency vet) and recently had to have her leg amputated (1400 for our regular vet) and although different operations were similar in the breakdown of the bills ( just the dollar amounts differed). but hey - you love "em like children you pay the price....:)

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

We have a great vet who charges about half of what we would have paid in the UK. It does depend on where you live and the facilities available at the clinic. Our clinic is very basic and the one down the road has individual waiting rooms with a TV in each room showing animal programs...needless to say, you pay a lot more if you visit that vet!!! :)

We've always got our dogs from a local rescue and the adoption charge of $80 includes all of their first shots and neutering.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

While I completely agree that tarnishing them all with the same brush is wrong - there will always be great vets and terrible vets - my experience has been rather negative. My little one has seen two vets so far, and they were both money-grabbing bastards. Neither showed any care or compassion for our dog, and both tried to get us to agree to expensive procedures or medicines that were totally unneccessary. Hoping to get a good one next time...

It's different with the insurance companies. You can tarnish them all with the same brush, because they are insurance companies. They're all money-grabbing bastards. :D Ours, for example, assured me when I called to buy the policy that the $50 deductible was for the whole year, only when I later looked at the small print they sent me did I discover that it's actually per visit. :frown:

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I have found most of the vets to be quite cheap in the US, except one just up the road, that wanted to triple the cost for a emergency even though the vet was already there and yes she drivers a red Ferrari :frown:

I have Pet Plan they are great my little kitty had a abscess 2 months ago and they paid up within 10 days of submitting the paperwork.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

You can resent it all you a want - but as I said where we live (Darien Connecticut) all the vets I have seen drive very nice cars and the vet bills are ridiculously high. Now, we lived in Tunbridge Wells in the UK (which is classed as an affluent town just like Darien in the USA) but the vet bills were at least half the cost here.............

I don't expect the vet to provide their services for free, I'm certainly not that nuts - but if they truly wanted to help animals then they would charge less to ensure more animals were helped out.

Perhaps its just the area we live - it's all down to the car you drive and how big your house is here I suppose. I believe the more you show off the less cash you actually have LOL as its probably all on credit anyway.....

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

I have a boxer and fortunately he has had no major issues. I pay about $150 annually for his shots, a vet visit is $45 and his heartworm tablets and Frontline are approx $300 a year - I'm sure I could get them cheaper online.
He also has insurance which is about $500 annually which pays about 80% of the costs - he had an itchy bum last week (allergies) so with the vet visit and medication was $75 which I can claim back most of that. Really read the policy as they exclude so much stuff.
Oscar has a little cyst on his winkie but the vet wont remove it unless (or until) he has to be put under for something else. My experience of vets has fortunately been fantastic.
What does cost a lot here is doggie camp (kennels)- we put him in camp for 8 days last month whilst on vacation - it was $350.
Worth every penny :D

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

We've got a cat who seems to enjoy getting into fights - or at least encounters the wrong sorts of opponents. In the one and a half years he's been with us we've taken him to the vet twice.

The first time was for a bite on his foot - two puncture wounds, top and bottom. It was our usual vet and I believe all of the treatment cost about $280 - exam, x ray I think, on-site treatment, and antibiotics to take home.

The second time he had gotten a bite on his head but, being black furred, we didn't see it until it got infected and the resulting abscess ruptured (yes, it was pretty gross). We took him to the emergency overnight vet since it was about 11 PM when it happened. Treatment, draining, antibiotics and overnight fee came to only about $146. We think it was perhaps subsidized or something to encourage people to seek treatment as soon as it was necessary.

I've no idea what the vet costs are in the UK or how it compares to these. But it's part of pet ownership and I would never hesitate to pay whatever was necessary. I had a friend once who refused to take her cat to the vet when it seemed to be breathing very fast. She said she didn't have the money. I took the cat to the vet instead and paid for it. Turned out the cat had fluid filled lungs, was in extreme distress, and had to be put down.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

Depends.

I've seen plenty of vets rolling in the cash and some do take the mick.

Mate just spent $350 getting a tumour removed from his rat in a 20 min operation...our local vet charges $100 just for a visit, which gets waived it treatment costs more.

I know plenty of folks who have spent a fortune using vets locally and the feeling is many of them are in it for the money whilst some are there to help the animals and they all do love and care for them, most still won't help you out on the huge costs that they charge.

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

In Darien, that indeed does not surprise me -- doesn't virtually everyone?! LOL :D

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

Yes indeed - it's a very funny place (wouldn't buy or stay here long term). We just drive Honda's - I even drive a CRZ Hybrid to work and I think our neighbours think we are strange (I have stopped wearing pink shirts when I drive the little CRZ though ;-) as I think people think I look "gay" enough in the car without wearing pink)

Darien is a funny place - one of our neighbours asked us whether our dryer was broken the other day because we put clothes outside to dry (it was 90 outside) - they were still using their dryers in the summer LOL!

Re: Vet fees as bad as medical fees?
 

That is a definite ROFL! Be happy you're near the Sound today -- the temp is creeping up even more horrendously here inland.