Vet prices--holy cow!!!

[Southpaw]

So I decided to bring Lucy to the vet today just for a wellness check-up--she is 5 years old and hasn't been since she was a puppy. So I wanted an exam, a heartworm test, and just a small chemistry profile to make sure she's functioning normally lol.

$256

I wanted to cry lol. Noooo way expecting that!! The chem profile itself was $140... I don't even know what that includes, for that price I hope it's a CBC and lots of meaningful values. And I ended up agreeing to a rabies vax even though I didn't want to... but I suppose legally it's a good idea.

It's going to make me even sadder when they call with the results and tell me she's normal normal normal.

 

[SaraB]

Ouch!! Normal is good though... that means no extra money spent on additional tests or meds.... oh and a healthy dog too. LOL

 

[HayleyMarie]

HOLY FREAKING MOLY!!

I would have wanted to cry as well. But its better to know that not to know I guess. But I am sure that Lucy will be all normal and healthy

 

[JessLough]

ewww. That is A LOT :yikes: Normal would be good, though!

 

[release the hounds]

just wait, as the older small animal and farm vets keep retiring and leaving practice and are replaced by newer grads with large debts, and the increase in pet insurance and 3rd party pay for animal "health care", prices are going to only grow by a lot. Hang on to your pocket books

 

[Bigpoodleperson]

For labwork (at the price you paid), exam, rabies vaccine, and county tag fee, my clinic would only be 20$ less then what you paid. I find that pretty reasonable. You will be happy when it comes back normal! Just think, if it comes back abnormal you will have to spend even more money to find out whats wrong.

 

[elegy]

yup. it's expensive. if you really want to hurt, try the emergency vet.

normal is good though and having a baseline is even better. my cats are all getting older, so i've been trying to get basic bloodwork on all of them just to catch anything that may be going on. they're all normal normal, which is good. not cheap, but the peace of mind is good.

 

[Moth]

I feel you there...we just payed almost $ 800 for Maeve's dental with extractions. *sigh*

 

[Southpaw]

It's silly because I could just bring her to work lol and get a huge discount. But I'd rather just stick to one clinic for consistency.

I didn't think the profile would be so expensive, its probably bigger than what I wanted but oh well. Don't really need a CBC, probably should have asked what was included before I said I wanted it lol. My mom was supposed to pay me back but I don't think that will be happening now!

 

[Punkygirl0101]

My mom has been going to the same Vets office (Family owned) since she got her first dog when she was in her 20s (And shes in her 50s now). He gives us amazing discounts, a lot of the time doesn't even charge us for office visits, just the medication or surgery or whatever. And if we bring one animal in because it has ear mites, he will give us enough to treat everyone for a much discounted price. Hes awesome. I didn't spend a lot at the vet today for Bob's eye (Which ended up being a foxtail...)

 

[skittledoo]

When I lived in Virginia I spent a fortune every time I went to the vet. I used the same vet that the rescue Cristy volunteers at (FOHA) uses and I had a lot of things I didn't like about them, price being one of those things. When I moved back to New Mexico, vet bills dropped a ton. My first vet bill in NM was only $20 and that was for a full exam, vaccinations and deworming... whereas if I had done the same at my last vet in VA I would have been looking at a $100 bill probably. Since I'm moving back to VA I'm going to be doing some serious vet shopping because not only would I like a vet that charges less, I really want a vet that isn't going to harp me about spaying Cricket every time she goes in and moreso I want a vet that isn't going to give me a hard time when I eventually go back to feeding raw. Last time I fed raw my vet gave me an absolute earful about how I'm going to kill my dog that way.

 

[Romy]

Ouch! When I brought Strider to our vet for a 3 year checkup, the office visit, checkup, rabies booster, and full blood panel (including thyroid and stuff) was only $110. And she only did the panel because I kept asking her to, she kept saying he looked really healthy and was young enough she didn't see any reason to do one.

Same vet was awesome when Kaia broke her toe. It was supposed to be $27 a week to get her bandages and splint changed, but she only charged us for the supplies. She's a super nice vet. I was sad to move away from her.

 

[Shakou]

Ugh... I love my current vet. The price you were charged is about the same price I got charged for having the same things done for BOTH my dog and cat in the same visit! Our last vet out in Arizona however was going to charge us $600 to have a small, raised cyst removed on Charlotte's paw. They had injected a needle into the cyst to get a cell sample, and apparently it drained almost imediatly and went away completely within a couple of days, so we lucked out.

 

[ChrisWB]

When I moved back to New Mexico, vet bills dropped a ton. My first vet bill in NM was only $20 and that was for a full exam, vaccinations and deworming... whereas if I had done the same at my last vet in VA I would have been looking at a $100 bill probably.

I've had the same experience. My vet bills here in Albuquerque are minuscule compared to what I paid when I lived in Chicago! One of the few benefits of being a New Mexican.

 

[skittledoo]

I've had the same experience. My vet bills here in Albuquerque are minuscule compared to what I paid when I lived in Chicago! One of the few benefits of being a New Mexican.

Oh ya. I felt spoiled the past couple years living in Albuquerque. I'm so not looking forward to having to pay an arm, leg and a kidney again for vet visits but you gotta do what you gotta do I guess haha.

 

[Southpaw]

It's too bad our old vet turned out to be a jerk, because his prices were very reasonable and we were such long-term clients that we would get discounts. Siiiiigh.

And the vet did not call today with the results of all this testing, so now thanks to Memorial Day I have to wait until Tuesday to receive confirmation that my dog is normal--boooo.

 

[SamKass]

btw, I recently signed up with Pet Assure (my company offers it as an employee benefit) and I saved tons on vet bills already. It's so easy--you get a membership card from them, go to one of their vets, and you get 25% off the bill every single time you go. That's it! (You could sign up with them directly if you don't get it as an employee benefit.)