Comment by Dan:

I know just what you mean. Every time I take my dogs in for a shot the office visit is $45 and the shots are extra. I can’t even feel that the service is worth it but I can’t shop around because this vet is the cheapest.

Comment by Marilyn:

Funny because just before I read this, I had made an appointment with the vets. I have to drop off my oldest of three dogs at the vets for the day so it can be determined what is wrong with him; what the treatment will be and of course, how much it will cost. Since I do not have any money budgeted for the vets as I live paycheck to paycheck, I will have to pay for this with my grocery money. Who needs groceries anyway?

Comment by Grace:

I totally agree with you! We have 4 dogs and 3 cats and one new kitten. I know we have spent many, many thousands on their care and airline travels and kennel cost when we have moved from across America. We love our pets so much and they give us great joy. I have thought about getting some books and studying on how to give shots checkups etc. I do not even know if there is such an item and then I also wonder how to get the injections they need yearly. Anyone know? How about Holistic for animals?

Comment by Stephanie:

We have veterinary insurance on our cat. Yes, our cat has the health insurance that we can’t afford. It’s been worth it, due to two urinary tract blockages and a life-threatening liver disorder (all before the cat turned 4!) The insurance reimburses about 40% of our vet bills, including routine vaccinations and physicals, and it costs us about $30/month.

You might ask your new vet office if you can have a vet tech do the routine vaccinations, especially if the pups haven’t had any serious illnesses and they’re just getting booster shots, with no symptoms. If you’re an attentive pet owner, you’ll know when your animals aren’t feeling well.

To Marilyn: Ask your vet about payment options. Some vets will set you up with a repayment schedule, or let you file for a veterinary services loan to cover the costs.

To Grace: You’ll have a hard time finding a non-veterinary source for the vaccinations for your housepets, but knowing pet first aid can be very handy (the Red Cross has a course, and there are several books available). Some basic techniques to learn: Diagnosing dehydration (pinch the skin and pull it away from the animal’s body– it should spring back immediately), fixing and disinfecting minor cuts (betadine to clean the cut, bandages or sutures to patch it up. Don’t bandage tails– it never works), fixing broken/bleeding toenails (corn starch to stop the bleeding if it’s a bad nail trim, or disinfectant+bandaging+vetwrap for broken nails). Knowing what medications are toxic to which pets (don’t give anything to a cat without vet approval– their livers do not process toxins the way humans and dogs do and a single ibuprofen can kill a cat), and what doses. It’s also helpful to know how to give subcutaneous fluids to a pet and how to give a shot (both of these your vet will teach you if you have a need for it), because being able to take home a cat who only needs a shot or daily fluids will save you kennel costs and overnight care.

You can also save some by collecting urine/fecal samples on your own when you need to take a pet into the vet. Fecal’s pretty obvious– just make sure you know which pet left the sample (label your baggies!) Urine samples are harder. For dogs, bring a soup ladle and tip it under the dog until the dog finishes their business. For cats, fill the litter box with unpopped popcorn. After the cat uses the box, drain out the urine into your sample container (obtained from the vet– these are sterile containers). Urine samples are tough, though, because it’s ideal to get a sample that hasn’t been exposed to the bacteria in the urethra or in the litterbox, so having the vet extract it is best. Also, if you’re doing a UA to check for crystals, the sample needs to be under the microscope as fast as possible– crystals can form spontaneously even after the cat’s peed, and that can lead to a misdiagnosis of urinary tract problems.

The best holistic medicine you can give your pets is to feed them a raw food diet that they like, give them lots of exercise, and clean places to do their business.

Comment by Gina:

I’m appalled at the cost of vetinary care. I went in to get my cats worm medicine and they wouldn’t give me any because it has been over a year since they have seen them. And what is this thing with them pushing you to get your dogs teeth cleaned? I love my pets but they are animals not children. We got along fine in the past with very little vetinary care, now I’m forced to make a decision of whether to get my pet help or just let it die. That’s just wrong.

Comment by Richard:

Hey folks. I have to disagree with the sentiment expressed by some here.

Veterinary medicine has changed, and though vets can still be sensitive to your needs when you set a financial limit before the appointment (in some cases, they can provide a “syptomatic diagnosis” for example, rather than tests…but not always), you can’t expect them to devote time and care to your animal, then to provide state-of-the-art diagnostics and standard-of-care treatment, and then at the end say “sorry, but I can’t afford to pay you”. Many procedures are performed at a price below cost, yet the clients still think they have been overcharged. The spay is perhaps the best example of this, where veterinarians often perform a spay for less than it costs the clinic, in order to establish their first contact with a client and begin a longer relationship with them. The vet is performing what in humans would be referred to as an “ovariohysterectomy” (I’m not a vet…but I believe that is correct), and regardless of whether this is performed quickly in the vet hospital, it still requires induction of anesthesia, the anesthesia itself (the anesthetics are often quite expensive), continual monitoring … often by the technician…during the procedure. In addition, whatever portion of the day is taken up by performing the spay has to bring in revenue to pay for the operation of the vet hospital or clinic, including lease/mortgage, staff, utilities, supplies, etc. Vets don’t make a very good income, yet they deliver a service that has required a huge commitment to education (typically 8 years to get through vet school) plus they had to pay for a Licensing exam in each state in which they are allowed to practice (or be licensed in states with reciprocal agreements), and they are required to meet minimum continuing education requirements (which they often have to pay for), and if they perform emergency services or other specialty services with a Board Certification, they have also received an additional training (3 years for an emergency vet).

Just like you, they have to balance the budget. As a group, in general, veterinarians are among the most compassionate individuals you will ever meet. They went to vet school (typically) because of their love of animals and they worked hard to get there (vet schools are considered to have the toughest entry requirements of any program – exceeding law school and medical school).

There work is not covered (typically) by insurance, so you see the full bill, which you rarely do for medical bills…but remember, they are just as responsible for the life of the animal as MDs are for the people they treat…and though they don’t have as fancy a surgical suite as a modern MD surgeon, they have to perform a procedure that is often comparably difficult to that performed by a human physician…and make sure the animal lives. Their patients can’t talk to them, so they often have to employ a very scientific approach to obtain a diagnosis. They are also (increasingly) subject to malpractice lawsuits…so they too have to pay malpractice insurance … and increasingly, they are targeted by people seeing another way to make some money.

Lastly, remember that a veterinarian has to have a knowledge of many animal species, often including dogs, cats, many types of birds, many types of rodents, sometimes including reptiles and amphibians. All of these species they treat have different “normal” blood values and “normal” physiological parameters (temperature, blood pressure, heart rate) and they all metabolize drugs differently (many human drugs are very toxic to animals…because they are different than humans!).

The reason the veterinarian performs a physical exam prior to a vaccination is to make sure that the animal is in a healthy state to handle the vaccination without a complication. Remember, even vaccines can cause reactions.

Personally, I think veterinarians often perform heroically. They are kind and compassionate, and nearly all of them really want the patient to go home healthy and the client to be happy, and they work very hard at low pay to make that happen.

Comment by PC:

In my state, IL, the pet owner can buy and administer their own vaccines with the exception of rabies. It’s a simple subcutanous injection or for kennel cough, an internasal spray. I buy my vaccines at either a feed store or a local pet supply store. Make sure this is legal in your state and there is no substitute for a regular examination for a pet. My vet taught me how to do the under-the-skin injection. With four dogs and three cats, this is a significant way to save money. He also allows me to do rehydration and anti-biotic injections at home to spare me the daily trip to the vet when a dog is ill.

I peel the labels off the vaccine bottle, glue them to a sheet of paper and photocopy them for each pet. Keeping proof of vaccination in an easy to locate file is important for vet emergencies.

My vet is fine with owners giving their own shots but he is also an older vet who is pretty low tech and no-nonsense. Home-administered vaccines are better than none at all, in his opinion. Most boarding places will accept this form of documentation as well. But to stress the point, check your state laws for yourself to make sure this is legal.

The other caution, buy vaccines from reputable feed stores and pet suppliers and check expiration dates carefully. Last time I bought the five-in-one, it was under six bucks at the feed store. I buy mine in person. Never checked out mail order sources and not sure I would since I can’t check out the product before purchase. Some vaccines have to be kept refrigerated so that is another reason I’m leary of on-line shopping for these products.

The local county health department also organizes low-cost rabies vaccination clinic days in my area. It might be worth checking if this is an option in your area.

My area also has some pretty hefty fines for not vaccinating. If a pet is found wandering and impounded, we can also be fined by animal control and the fine is very steep if the lost animal is not current on shots. If you leave a pet in a car when the temperatures are over 75 degrees or under 30 degrees, local ordinance allows a fine of $275 per animal. Needless to say, I don’t take my pets much of anywhere.

Comment by Henry C.:

My small dog (Maltese) ingested poison of some sort last week. I took her to an emergency clinic and they hooked her up to an IV, gave her some shots and in one hour charged me $440. I then brought her to our vet clinic. They treated her the first day and charged me $450. They don’t keep pets overnight and watch them, so I had to bring the dog back to the emergency clinic overnight. The next morning, they charged me $300. I told the doctor that this was getting expensive and I couldn’t afford $1,000 per day to save my dog. She just said if it was getting too expensive, they would put her to sleep for me. Boy, did that callous remark get me mad.
Then back to the vet clinic for another day of treatment, tests and medicine. I told the doctor that this was getting too expensive when she said the dog would need to got back to the emergency clinic a few more nights and back to the clinic during the day. I said give me a break! She said they don’t treat pets for free. I told her I wasn’t asking for free treatment and I have already payed $1,300 the first day and next morning.
I ended up taking the dog home the next day, after the dog stayed overnight in the vet clinic where they charge slightly less than the emergency clinic because no one is there overnight to watch the animals. I was charged in the end $740 by the emergency clinic and over $1,360 by the vet. Now the vet clinic is calling to say that I should bring the dog back for more tests.

Luckily, she is getting better. Their treatment worked. But I don’t feel much gratitude in my heart to the doctors. I feel they have become so greedy, and have put their quest for big bucks first over love and care for the pets.
They seem to be taking advantage of the knowledge that pet owners will pay any price to insure good health for their pets or to save their lives.
They won’t even look at your pet before you give a deposit of a few hundred dollars with a credit card.