What did you pay at the vet?

It has recently been brought to my attention that many, many people are being over charged for vet procedures from a health care check, dental, spay or neuter, vaccines etc. I have done lots of investigating to find there is No standards in pricing! This is crazy to me, why should the prices vary so much and why is not being regulated?

Vet bills can be difficult to compare. Different clinics have their own ways of breaking down costs, and costs for procedures can depend on the needs of an individual pet, the equipment used and other factors. As always, if you have questions about what’s on your vet bill, talk to your pet care professional.

When I asked the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) about costs, here’s what they told me: “We are very cognizant of what is going on with the economy right now and that clients are stretched,” CVMA president Dr. Jim Berry told me. “We live in the same economy, we’re working in it, and veterinarians will do whatever we can to make sure that the health care choices that we are working with her, with your pet, to deliver, are the appropriate ones for the pet’s health and welfare and certainly we will do whatever we can to make sure those healthcare options are affordable.”

Well most vets are not affordable!! This is one of the highest reasons why people abandon or surrender their pets, they can not afford to pay for healthcare e.g. spay or neuter, vaccines, x-rays, medications, dental, emergencies etc. well that’s not fair on society to assume responsibility for your animals. Humane societies, foster homes, rescues are at their breaking points, they do fundraisers, charity work what ever it takes to pay for your animals and sometimes spend thousands on these animals to save their lives, and many get saved by these great people and organizations to then put these animals up on the adoption block for the usual fee of $300-$500 that is at a cut rate of %50 or more, then the people that abandoned their animals come back to ” adopt them” what a hell of a deal! Abandon your animal, let someone else cover the costs, and adopt them back!! This is disgusting and their is no way to track these people because most animals come in with no back history, most are found abandoned in dog parks, running loose, dropped off the list can go on.

Most of this can be avoided if there was some regulation on vet procedures and pricing and also if more vets would help with billing, most not all vets will not take a payment plan, I understand why which is most people don’t repay their bill, but this a small percentage. I believe most people are honest and would pay their bills if more vets were willing to work with VS against pet owners. We cannot just the masses by the few bad eggs, hard to do in this industry but we need to find a way. Not all vets are created equal! Do your research and ask questions before you make any decisions, ask if they do a payment plan, ask what they are willing to do to work with you so you can afford the bill and keep your pets. Ask friends who they recommend, go to pet groups on social media and ask about vets in your city and surrounding cities sometimes its worth a 20 min drive to the next town to save hundreds of dollars. So I would like to start a conversation about this very thing, lets keep everyone informed of their options, please fill out and add your comments below I would love to hear from you. If we want to change the game rules we have to start talking and demanding standard pricing for vets. Be the change you want, be part of the solution!

who do you use?

where are they located?,

would you recommend them?

What breed and age of your animal?

what did you have done?

what did it cost you?

How were you treated?

Do you feel they were about the animal or the money?

Did they try and work with you on billing and options?

Please fill out the above questions and share your story to help others and possibly yourself, please tell us your story so we can share on social media to evoke change, you do not have to give us your name or your pets name we respect your right to privacy and understand this may make folks angry. Well maybe if enough people get angry change will happen?