Upset with Vet, Need advice

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I have two dogs who are very loved and well cared for. They've gone to the same vet since I've had both (4 years for my doxie and 7 years for my corgi)

Here's my problem, I'm pissed off at my vet who I've actually never met, just talked to over the phone. She's new at my old vets office.

On a promotion dog teeth cleaning I called yesterday to have my doxie's teeth cleaned, they really did need to be cleaned. I was told the total charge would be $140-$170.00 because I had committed to purchasing a new cleaning -or sealant kit for $30.00.

I took my doxie in at 8.00am as requested and received a call at 11:00am from the vet saying that she had EXTRATED a molar, mind you my Doxie is only 4 years old and had his teeth cleaned a year ago. OK I don't brush his teeth everyday, but I do about once a week and give him and my corgi chews to help keep teeth clean. She said the root looked bad from the x-rays but the crown was fine. I was shocked that she didn't call me PRIOR to doing this or even asking if it would be OK to do this.

I also failed to mention that I was also in an argument with the husband over getting his teeth cleaned at all, he was absolute that he would not pay for it. My husband also warned me in advance that vets are getting notorious for adding miscellaneous charges to the bill.

So imagine my shock when I went to pick-up my doxie and found out the bill was $240.00. Ok some of you might think this is normal, but I'm paying for this from my funds without any help from the defiant husband (who wanted the doxie in the first place)

My question is to anyone who's run into this situation. Do you pay for unauthorized services and charges?

We've run into this before with this vet office, but I want to know if this is acceptable business practice in the vet world.

P.S. I did finally talk with the vet and told her I would NOT PAY FOR unauthorized services.

Sounds like it to me... I say file a complaint on them!

First did you sign anything when you brought the dog in ? Some vets do that and you approve further treatment without them having to notify you. Read the paper work you signed if you did.
Second if your vet does do that you may want to go shopping for another one.
Anyone that practices things like this don't get a return from me.
My dog is like my child and also I never enjoy having my pocket picked.

that's ridiculous! I'd be livid. Does your old vet still work at that office or have any say in what goes on? I'd talk to him if he does. Definitely don't pay for it. I expect my vet to call me for ANY extra work they do even if it's vital.

This past summer, I had an issue with my (horse's) vet. Similar situation - my usual vet is the owner of the practice, a different vet came to see my horse. There was a serious miscommunication of the treatment plan that could have really set my horse's recovery back.

I ended up writing a letter to my usual vet since I am horrible at conversations like that. I explained what had happened, said I respected him and wanted him to remain my vet, but was very upset and concerned about what had happened, and then asked him to contact me at his convenience.

It worked out as well as I think it could have. He was very apologetic and understanding, did free follow-up for the rest of the treatment, and offered to cancel the bill for my previous appointment (which I ended up paying, just because I was grateful for his response).

The moral of the story? Vets are businessmen. You are a client, and they want you happy. Let them know, politely, that you are not pleased with the situation, and see what they are willing to do about it. You may be pleasantly surprised.

When they spayed my uncles dog they extracted some teeth without telling him and then charged him for it. he had a huge argument and did not have to pay. I want to get my dog's teeth cleaned but that will cost us $400. I think it is ridiculous the prices they charge. it's like they would rather the dog suffer than to lower there prices. they do not even do payment plans, you either pay it all up front or you can't have the procedure done. that is our major problem with going to the vet on anything.

You know, I did sign something but I didn't have my glasses on so I didn't take the time really scrutinize it, but I assumed it was a liability waver, since they were putting him under or they make me sign whenever I board them. What's a corgimom to do? I'm screwed one way or another and I guess. I was a little upset with the vet when she called back. Honestly I was trying to be nice, but when it comes to my babies I get upset if anyone causes them unnecessary pain.

My little doxie was in pain all afternoon from having his molar pulled. I asked to see the molar so I can see if the roots look decayed (Ok I have it now). Anyway my husband doesn't want me to get to upset with them since they're so close by to where we live, and the girl who takes care of the boarded dogs is wonderful. I should say my doxie is a rescue dog. His former owner abused him but he's doing so well now you'd never know it.

I'd refuse to pay it

If it was an emergency situation like they were going to bleed to death or maybe even a tumor I'd say suck it up but it was a tooth. they should have at least called you or just said they'll wait for your consent.

That happened to me ONCE...............now we have a new vet (well not new now, 8 years new )
It was the same old vet that charged us for unauthorized services that I warned my hubby's grandparents about. Well they kept on going to him and decided to board their chiuaua with him once while going out of town. Their office re-vaccinated their dog and wanted payment for that service when they picked up their dog. They were like :yikes: You have all his records here, you know he is up to date on everything!! Needless to say they had to go home and retrieve their own records before that Vet would release their dog to them without payment for the Vacs!! (luckily they didn't kill the little 6 pound terror with over vaccinating!)
While it's true that Vets are business men, Some business men are great with customer service and others don't give a @#$%$

I say stick to your guns and get it worked out fairly! AND find a new vet.

I'd be more POed that the tooth had been pulled without notifying me than about the extra charge.

Do go over what you signed first.

Do tell your regular vet what happened and that you are very unhappy.

Do refuse to allow the vet who did that to treat your animals again, since you like your original vet there.

And there is always the board of professional responsibility that you can send a written complaint to. Even when no one is fined or reprimanded, it's still a royal pain because the vet will have to respond in writing to every single thing you file

Yes, I guess I am more POed that she pulled the tooth without notifiying me first than the bill.

But I'm still POed about the bill too because my husband is telling me "I told you so" but to tell you the truth I think my husband is feeling a little guilty and offered to pay the balance I refused to pay.

Seeing as you took the dog in for a dental cleaning, it only makes sense to me that they would pull teeth that require pulling. With dogs being put under anesthesia to get their teeth cleaned, it's not like they can notice it and tell you that next time you come it it has to be removed. Honestly, I would be MORE upset if they had finished the cleaning, woke up my dog, and THEN told me that he needed a tooth out - that would mean more anesthesia, and anesthesia combined with my dogs scare me.

I would find out what you signed. I know that when I had my two dog's dentals done I did have to sign a form authorizing extraction if necessary. The dog is under anesthesia. I don't want the vet to take extra time to try to get ahold of me to ask if a tooth can be pulled. I want my dog under and awake as quickly as possible, and I expect my vet NOT to leave the dental operating room, get my file, find my number, get to a phone, call me, get back to the OR without too many people stopping her, scrub up again, and go back to work.

Find out what you signed before you get your back up. I truly believe a dental surgery release is much different than a spay/neuter/boarding release.

Note to self: READ all medical releases for my dogs (AND myself) prior to signing.

That's what I thought too. Trey got a tooth pulled that we didn't specifically ask to get pulled when we took him in to get his teeth cleaned. A paper we signed at the vet's said that they were authorized to pull any teeth that had problems and perform a few other procedures that were deemed needed while trey was under. The tooth was horribly decayed in the root and had to be pulled. He seemed fine without it and I doubt he even noticed. I'd rather him lose one tooth than potentially lose more because he did not get one pulled. The only difference is that Trey's an old sheltie.

I like whatever it is that keeps the dogs under the least amount of time. I always worry when we have dental cleanings for my dogs, especially the younger ones. Both are going in in a week or two for dental work (Beau's getting a cleaning and Harry is getting two puppy teeth pulled) , so i'm all worried. Luckily our vet is a papillon person and understands how dangerous it is to put a little dog under.

Luckily none of my dogs have ever needed dental cleaning ...but if they did and the vet saw a root problem ( which sometimes don't show up until the scraping ) , I'd be glad they went ahead . ( I trust my vets ) . To me an oral cleaning should include an oral examination . If something is neccessary , why wait and have to put them under again .

I'm inclined to agree with Grammy....I'll bet it said something in the papers you signed that they might need to do that. When I asked my vet about teeth cleaning for my two...she said it would be about 250.00 per dog.

PS...I also have a Corgi & a Dachshund.

Nope, when you sign my estimates for my dentals, you ok (AND ITS BOLDED) any extraction i need, to the tune of up to 100 per tooth if necessary).

If they pulled the tooth, it needed to come out. Fractures, resorptive lesions, deep pockets with abscesses - if the dog was under anesthesia and the tooth needed to come out, it needed to come out.

I would read what you signed before you get angry - it is likely you agreed to the dental extraction when you signed the anesthesia release form and agreed to pay for it as well.

If you didn't understand what could potentially have occurred (including extractions) with the dental, that is lacking on the veterinary clinics part - but no vet did anything illegal or unethical by pulling this tooth if it needed to be pulled. The tooth likely was dead already.

I am glad that you did tell them you would not pay for anything that was not authorized by you.
We too have ran into this problem, I don't know why they do this, but they should DEFINATELY ask the owner before doing something even if they think it is needed. I can see if it is an emergency, but if it isn't then they need to call you and ask before doing that. If you keep going to them then I would write a paper stating that they can't do anything before asking and make them sign it and you keep that, so that way when they do something like that then you can bring that to them and say well, look you signed this saying you wouldn't do anything without asking, so I am not paying for it.
Hope this helps!

After having experience dealing with this exact situation for about 5 years, I can honestly say that I agree and disagree.

When a dog is in for a dental cleaning it is routine to remove any teeth that are rotting, broken or badly infected etc. Vets don't just remove teeth to remove teeth. They do it for a reason and to better the health of the animal. What kind of vet would leave a tooth is a dog's mouth that could cause it pain or further infection/oral problems? They can't really call you first when the dog is under anesthesia. A good vet wants to limit the time the procedure takes and get your dog out from under anesthesia in as little time as possible. They also can't tell you about the extraction ahead of time. The dog needs to be under to get a good look.

On the other hand, your vet should have told you about the additional cost if any teeth had to be removed. We always had people initial the part where it stated the extra charged for extractions. We also made them aware of the fact that we can't call and tell them ahead of time. We aren't going to chat on the phone while the dog waits under anesthetic!

My girl Chihuahua just had a dental. Her teeth were getting bad...worse than I thought. When the receptionist told me what it would cost, she said whatever it was PLUS aproximately whatever if any teeth need to be extracted, which they did. She had a few teeth pulled and the bill was $110.00 for the whole thing including about $7.00 for antibiotics to take for the next week or so.

I've bounced around with vets and finally I think I've hit on a good one whom I trust and like at least so far. I've only gone to him about 3 or 4 times. I'd recommend hunting around some more for someone you feel better about.

I too would rather they take care of my dog while he's under so he doesn't require more anesthesia but they should have told you that the cleaning is such and such and if teeth are pulled, depending on whatever....it could be more...as much as _______. If I took my dog in for a teeth cleaning and the vet disovered a tumor, I'd rather he take that out too while he's in there. If my dog had to have surgery for one thing...say a tumor somewhere else in his body, and there was a charge for that but they discovered something else and needed to charge for that, I'd rather they take care of my dog. But again, they should warn you that this is the charge baring any unforseen things, in which case it could be whatever...even ball park is good enough for me.

I don't see how they can call you and discuss something which comes up, once they're in there, unless it's going to be a quick call that the receptionist can make. They're all scrubbed up for surgery and they can't take all day or the anesthesia will wear off.

Thank you all for your thoughts on the subject. I'm starting to calm down a little and now understand that the vet probably did the right thing taking the tooth out. I would have never thought he'd need an extraction at only 4 years old tho.

I would have preferred to have had the receptionist or SOMEONE call me to let me know (or prepare me emotionally) before they do anything...actually the receptionist said they usually DO CALL PRIOR to rendering unauthorized services.