sewhappy Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I took three of my many pets to the vet for their shots. I have always as many as possible at one time to save on the office visit charges-vet knows this! any way this time I was there for approx. 20 minutes(10 of this waiting for the vet to come in) She told me they are very healthy and she would love to see others take as good of care of their pets as we do! gave them each one shot (tho 2 shots were two in one) & scurried out the door. After I loaded them in the car I went back to pay my bill- My jaw dropped...$170.73!! I said "what?...What?...WHAT???. I was told they had to charge more because of the economy!! Can you believe that?? That means they are making close to $400.00 an hour!! When I voiced my total disbelief I was told (after the visit) that the tech could have given the shots!! They charged me office visits on each animal and vet services charges on each animal-they even charged me for weighing the animals **I did that** the tech simply wrote down the weight!! I spoke to the owner and told him I felt GOUGed (sp) and completly taken advantage of!! & I will be looking for a new vet. He asked what they could to make it better for me..I told him to look thru our chart of all the pet business they are loosing because of their GREED!! I realize that they have gone to college to learn the trade of their choice...I am more than willing to pay a fair price but I just don't want to be taken advantage of!!! Thanks for letting me vent!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I hope they will give you a Loyal Customer or Multiple Pet discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadWaggle Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Wow. I don't see the vet for shots, the vet tech does it. In some states you can do the shots yourself even rabies. You might want to check out if you can do that in your state. I saved a lot of money doing my own shots before we moved here. Our vet is so affordable that I have not looked into it in NC. I would also look into other vets. They should have told you when they called to confirm your appointment that their charges had increased. That is just bad business. I would have been furious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 That is too bad that they charged the way they did and they should have made you aware that the Tech could have done it for less $$ when you booked the appointment (that would have been a good business decision). I don't blame you for looking for a different Vet. I love my Vet and his wife is the office manager. They have even given me meds for my cat, which can't live without them. Talk about high charges. I went Monday to see my Eye Dr because I developed a large floater in my left eye (it is like looking through a piece of dust on a camera lens) and I have a hole in the right cornea so I do take eye care seriously. Well that bill was $362...thank goodness I have eye care insurance and only pay a deductable. They labeled it an extended business. All that was done was dilation and looking into my eyes with their equipment. It was the okay kind of floater, one that won't cause trouble, which 95% of them are that way, but the other 5% can cause major trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyc Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 That vet was awfully generous to previously charge only 1 clinic visit for multiple pets. In the medical community, each person gets billed for an appt, if they see 3 kids, there are 3 charges. It would have been a much better business practice to have sent out a letter notifying loyal customers that they were making changes. You were blindsided because you went in for business as usual. You would have made a shot appt only and skipped the vet if that was possible. Who knows what their rent is, what they pay employees, people are giving up their pets because of the cost. The economy has a ripple effect everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Yes in Montana you can give your animal...and livestock their shots...you just need to get the supplies at the local Big R or Tractor and Supply.... But more so you need to know where to give the shots and how much....its a bit more than just getting the vaccine and needles. Out here in New York your bill would have been double that so guess maybe I should start coming home to get my animials their annuals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Originally posted by Bonnie Out here in New York your bill would have been double that so guess maybe I should start coming home to get my animials their annuals. Bonnie yes that was what I was thinking! My vet in Malta is pretty reasonable but even with her I think my bill for just the kitty is around 80 or 90! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Last time I took the dog and cat in, annual checkups, annual shots, and meds for fleas and ticks for 6 months for dog, 1t came to $395.95, and I have to travel 1 hour and 20 minutes away to Copake round trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I have to agree, the costs for annual vet visits has become outrageous. Last year when I took my two small dogs for their annual shots, worm checks, got the heartworm preventative pills and flea treatment it was $300.00 Well, this year as money is so much tighter I called and asked and was told just the shots and meds no office visit would still be almost 200 I said no thank you. Luckily we are retired military so I called the base vet clinic and was told that they could do the shots and meds for I believe $125.oo still alot of money but that is 6 months heart worm and flea treatment and yearly shots. better be thinking of sending grandkids to veternarian school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doodlebug Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 my two cents: Barney's vacc are due this month as well. my vet charges $100-$130 for an office visit with vacc (cause they do an exam also) i found out that my local large chain pet store has a monthly vet clinic for vacc. and it cost like $40-$70 depending on weight. guess where i'm going??? so for all you pet owners, don't forget to ask at your local PerSmart, PetCo, or Pet Supermarlet if they have a month vacc. clinic. It cold save alot of money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I hate to even admit this but our last vet bill was only $79 for rabies, worming and office visit. And my DIL only gets charged one o.v. when she takes 2 kids to doctor at the same time. Of course this is in Ash Grove MO (smallsville USA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peglu Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I have to agree that vet costs are getting ridiculous. I just spent $400 for two dogs for shots and checkups, and $1200 for the little one to have teeth pulled. Geez, my son got veneers on six teeth for that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 My bill is usually that amount for 1 dog even if it's the tech doing the shots, etc. I also pay out the rear for the required heart worm/flea preventative. I love my dog, she's worth the price but I know someday the bill will get to high. I'm afraid people will either stop getting animals or just quit getting them their shots and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewhappy Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I know medical care is costly-but they should have told me they had changed the policy & rates!!!!!! If I had known about that high of a bill all of a sudden-I could have found another vet or even booked the appointment at the BEGGINNING of the next month!!! The last time I took any in it was $125.45 for 4 animals!! And she actually looked at all four! Did you not catch the part about me weighing the creatures and being charged for that???? & to blame it on the economy is in my opinion a "cop out". As for the exam....What exam? no temp, no ear check , no nothing!! just came in and told me they were very healthy and gave them the shots! Yet another reason to find a new vet! I do not wish to give my animals their shots-I don't know how. Like I said I don't mind paying a FAIR price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I think in this bad economy it makes MORE sense to bring prices DOWN. That way MORE people can afford to take the animals to the vet!! And the vet makes mo money, honey! JMHO;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Last week I took my dog in for a heart worm blood test and they charged me over $100 after saying she needed a couple of other tests and then charged me $2 for the needle disposal!!!! What!!!! Since when do I have to PAY for them to dispose of the needle??? I am looking for a new vet too. Our current clinic has 5-6 vets and I think they are getting a little too big for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenward Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I think this is happening everywhere. I guess if I'm going to get charged to dispose a needle, include it in the office visit or vacc. charge. I don't like feeling nickeled and dimed. Last year was a bad year for my pets (4 in total). But my one basset was inbred and the older she gets the more health problems she has. I've been so aggrivated with my vet that I did look for another and they charged us $400 to take a broken toenail off my male basset. The others I've called were very much the same with charges. Needless to say we're sticking with the original vet. My sympathies to pet owners with multiple pets......it add's up fast. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingtina Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sewhappy, It is unfair that they raised their prices without informing you, especially since you are clearly a very good customer for them. Everyone is struggling with the economy, and I agree it is a cop out. Do you think they will lower their prices when things eventually improve...doubt it. I know this happens in almost every line of work, but at what point do they care more about the money and less about the reason they went into veterinary medicine? I have been searching for a veterinarian since I moved to NC 3 1/2 years ago. Gone through 5 already and no luck. Trying a new one next week, maybe he's the one! Good luck in finding a new one. I hope you find a wonderful, old-fashioned veterinarian, who charges a minimal office visit fee, does basic treatments at a fair price so you can save your $$$ for those real pet emergencies and treatments. Maybe you'll get someone who actually tells you your options ahead of time and doesn't run costly, unnecessary tests...just because they can (and can charge accordingly). I know, skeptics will say that that no one can stay in business that way...WRONG! It is called VOLUME. Stepping off my soapbox now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Bonnie you must go to the same vet as my mom in Copake. She still drives there from CP. My new vet is in Malta and she is much more reasonable. When Sugar was in for 2 weeks she only charged me $500! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Originally posted by sewhappy Did you not catch the part about me weighing the creatures and being charged for that???? Yeah I got it...and its what I do each time I go to the vet's, I can get the animals to sit better than a stranger and that's what the tech's are strangers..... Doctor's (Vets or human doctors) don't give out notices that their prices are going up....you just deal with as it comes. They don't give out a rate increase either.. Most vets have a cost chart posted in their office someplace...maybe not all, and if you know your last visit was $XYX and the chart now says $YOY there is a difference. I hear your pain, but its the little things we live with when we have kids or critters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 This may be off-topic, and should be on another thread--maybe. I was reading or listening, don't remember, about some website that gives reviews on services like medical, vet, home improvement, etc. The problem with that is you never can trust whether the reviewer is being honest, what the details are, and actually hearing both sides of the story. However, if there is one bad review out of 10, maybe it's believable. I can't remember the name of the site. I know about "Angie's List", which I've never used, but I wonder if something like this could be posted as leverage to keep businesses honest? Think: If a vet got several negative reviews, would he/she make a change or go out of business? Now I remember it is some sort of website in California that reviews restaurants. One owner who was interviewed (NPR) said that he reads the reviews about his restaurant and makes changes where he thinks is appropriate. He asks his customers regularly how he can improve to suit them. It's all about customer service. Just food for thought....sorry to ramble on. I was just being sympathetic and trying to think constructively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koala-T Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Gee, the cost of health care, human and vet, is out of reach for so many. I also agree with checking into finding out if there is a place to get shots for less. Where I live the vets have a month (usually March or Feb) where they do vet clinics. For our dog (70 lb lab) it was $21 for distempter/parvo and rabies shot. The cats didn't need all their shots, as some they get ever 2 or 3 years, so one was $21 and the other $13. I had to take our tom in last year when he'd gotten injured in a fight (we think it was an owl maybe due to the injuries) and, if memory serves me correctly, the bill was less than $100 with meds. I live in a small rural area. I'm sure the vets could charge a lot more than they do, but they don't. I started using this vet 3 years ago and I just love her, her assistant and the staff. Now, I am due to get worm pills for the tom and heartworm for the lab, so there will go about $70. I hope those that are looking for new vets will have success. It's like finding a dr you like, it's not easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 We have 2 small dogs and we take them to the local vet school for the shots each year. Since they are vets in training the fees are quite a bit less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 My vet charges by how many appointment slots we take. I think each is 10 minutes. The first time we took in 6 cats at once they insisted on giving us the whole morning, on the grounds that most owners took 20 min per cat. We were all done 6 cats in 20 minutes and no nurse needed. There is now a note on our record that we are very quick and know how to handle and present the cats so we are the last patients of the day and charged for what we get. It seemed very fair to me. However the bill for all the shots comes to about 500 pounds. They are more than worth it. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I just took one of my dogs in for a rabies shot, I also got 2 fluid bags, 1 line, 18 needles for the cats SQ fluids that I do every night (I know the cost is around $29 for the cat stuff). My bill came to about $45. The rabies shot only needs to be given every 3 years now, at least here in Virginia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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