Emergency Vets....exspensive
By applsofgld
@applsofgld (2506)
United States
March 24, 2007 7:42pm CST
Have you ever had to use one of those emergency vet clinics on the weekends? I think they are wonderful to be there, and the 1st time I used them was about a year ago when my beloved kitty was hit by a car and it was so late on a Fri. night, they put him to sleep. They only charged me like less than $20 to check him and give him the shot. I was impressed. Well let me tell you...this morning my little grand dog Chloe, snuck my husband's pill box off the table and proceeded to get one of the 7 days opened. I knew immediately what pill was missing, his Toprol for his heart! Now Chloe is a little poodle, I found bits and pieces of the pill but not enough to satisfy me that she hadn't swallowed some of it. So I immediately snatched her up and drove 20 min. to the nearest animal e.r. They gave her 15cc of peroxide to induce vomiting, she brought it all up. All the dr. did was listen to her heartbeat, look up on the web about the medicine and charged me $75 for an office visit. She goes we'll only charge you an office visit, then said $75!! Wham, I was shocked. Releived that my Chloe is ok, but still. She's still throwing up but I think I feel worse than she does. Do you think that is a bit pricey for an office visit?
5 people like this
19 responses
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I know what you mean..it can be horribly expensive to have to use the emergeny vet. My regular vet is at an emergency animal hospital and they are open 24/7 . They are only about 5 miles away so I am lucky in that respect. They charge a slight bit more than some vets but not as much as others. I rescued some kittens last year and one of them crawled out of the box and got stuck under the cord to an outlet strip. By the time we could find it, we could barely hear it making noise. It's neck and throat had swollen from struggling to get out from under the cord that it could barely breathe. Oh my god I thought it's poor neck was broken, everytime it moved it yowled like I was killing it. We took it in and it slowly recovered alot and all they did was give it 5 minutes or oxygen and an injection of fluids. It cost me 163.00 and then they said the without doing further tests and keeping the cat they couldn't be sure of a brain bleed...We took the little guy home and he was fine within hours...go figure... I was totally ticked off at how much it cost, but what can you do on a sunday night morning at 5 am.
1 person likes this
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
25 Mar 07
The worst thing is I didn't even keep him..lol I sent them all to the shelter after I weaned them. He found a home before he was all the way in the door. But they kept him at the shelter for 2 more weeks because he was just weaned. The other two also found home right away. It is just plain ridiculous sometime what they charge. Sometimes I feel so bad for people that can't afford their own medical yet they make sure their pets are taken care of..and pet insurance is almost as expensive as human insurance.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
What a lucky kitty to have found you! That is outrageous to charge that much. I think this is the reason most people do not get care for their animals, they are afraid too and it's cost more than they can afford. I think if more vets would charge very reasonable fees for "popular" procedures, you know the ones that you hear the most about like spaying/neutering, more people would bring their pets in for care, and in the long run they would make more money and we'd have healthier animals all the way around. But most cannot afford health care for themselves or their kids, let alone pets. It's a sad situation.
@Yestheypayme2dothis (7874)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I am sorry to hear about your kitty. Who would have ever thought at little dog would grab medicine off the table? Don't you like the way the vet did it, too. He acts like he is going you a service by only charging you for office visit and then he tells you it is $75! Why should he charge for anything else? He did not do anything out of the ordinary. When I go to the doctor for an office visit it is a lot less than that. Of course, it is not considered an emergency but still. That is very expensive.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I know, the vet did very little. Actually when I got there they had just opened the doors for the day, about noon. The vet didn't show up for at least another 30-45 minutes. The assistant is the one who gave her the peroxide to induce her stomach. But I was shocked after she told me just an office visit, and then $75!!
@Polly1 (12645)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I had to take my kitty to one of the weekend emergency clinics. I was charged $90, to have him looked at and then I had to have him put to sleep. They do charge alot of money, but I am so glad that they have them for emergencys. I am so glad your pooch is ok.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
Thank you, I'm glad she is ok too. She is feeling kind of puny tonight though. After effects of the peroxide I think. Yes, I am thankful they are there for us, but when they charged such a reasonable rate for my kitty who was really injured and they did more for him than the dog, then to charge an outrageous fee today, I was confused and shocked, to say the least!
@wmg2006 (5381)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I have never had to use one of these yet. We do have one in our town, but my vet will meet you any time of the day or night at his office. He is great and I am glad I do not have to take my Dr. to strange Dr. that she does not know and who does not know here or her history. I would be very upset to pay that much and then my dog be ok or if they did not do anything for her.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
You are very fortunate that your vet offers this service to you. We have several vets in our area and they all take turns working at the emergency vet place. I wish my own vet would have weekend hours though, I usually get a stranger at the animal er and they just don't know our pets like the regular vet does.
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I had to take a kitty to a vet that had emergency hours, and had to have him put to sleep after they told me what we were up against. It cost $50 for the exam, and $50 to put him to sleep, but I was not going to have him continue in so much pain. Yes, they are awfully expensive, and as far as I know they do not even have to have malpractice insurance, though I could be wrong.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I don't think vets have the same malpractice insurance premiums that human doctors do, but I may be mistaken. But still, this is awfully high. I was so grateful for them taking care of my kitty Buckwheat and only charging less than $20. I thought this is fair and a wonderful thing they do. Then today, they made up for it with Chloe and all they did was give her peroxide. But I am thankful she is ok and that they were there for me. I just wished they weren't so exspensive, it may keep some from seeking care for an injured animal b/c they can't pay for it, it's really sad.
@kakemafarm (492)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I don't know where you are but the emergency vets in my area are way more expensive than that. If you need an emergency vet you expect to cough up at least $300 no matter what the problem is.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
Wow, that is exspensive! I could see that if it was an accident and the animal was bleeding or having babies or something major, it's hard for people to pay for animal care when it sometimes costs more than for their own kids.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
25 Mar 07
It's a lot of money bur for ER service I thinks it's about right. I am so glad she is OK. We have been hearing too much lately about pets dying.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I know, the news lately has been so sad. I think they are expecting even more deaths and illnesses from this. My daughter, Chloe's mommy, said she rec'd a notice from Petsmart that she had purchased one of the items being recalled. But she said if she did she no longer has it, and maybe it is what made Chloe sick months ago. I was impressed that Petsmart did this, but so thankful Chloe is still here and is ok.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
25 Mar 07
Yes I do! Wow-- I often say that people should pay for insurance on their pets... If it was reasonable that is!
My cat Bozo was hit by a car last Wed. night-- I called and called him and even looked for him for an hour in the dark Wed. night- Thursday my sig. other found him- He was alive but couldn't move-- Car just got his back end-- He took him to the vet. I met him there- They said that Bozo broke his back-- had spinal injuries--- or just his pelvic.. that he was in alot of pain! I said can he recover?? In order to do x-rays they had to warm him back up-- with a bottled fluid send him back home with us until Tuesday 9the whole time suffering) and then come back- But they were pretty sure that he wouldn't make it through the weekend?? Needless to say I'm never going back to that vet--- Bozo was put to sleep-- It was the hardest decision I have ever made- They charged me $40 office visit-- and another $35 to put him to sleep. I gladly paid it and said thankfully he is no longer in Pain!
But I can't believe the prices they charge-- like losing a member of the family isn't bad enough!
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
25 Mar 07
Well first of all I hope Chloe will be OK. Second,- we don't have emergency Vets' clinics as such here in the UK. We just contact our own Vet in their own surgery, and they will have one of their group of Vets on call 24/7 on a rota system, so they will always treat your pet. To be honest, - I think your $75 is very cheap for anything happening at a weekend. That is the usual charge for a normal weekday Vets' appointment here, and a weekend call will cost around £100.00 (about $200) before they even give any treatment. I guess that is why almost every pet owner in the UK has insurance for their pets!
@Stringbean (1273)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I know what you mean. We were charged $120 for a visit to one of those week-end clinics. They did take a blood test and then said they wouldn't know the results until Monday, and to keep her inside and feed her lots of liquids. By Monday she was well.
But, I am also glad they are there. It does seems as though they could stagger the doctors shifts so one could work on week-ends for several weeks and the other the next several weeks. That way no one would be putting out extra effort, but they know how we pet owners are. They can charge us practically anything they want and we will pay it.
1 person likes this
@applsofgld (2506)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I could see maybe 30 to 40 bucks for the office visit. But they didn't even take her temperature! My own vet doesn't charge that much, I was just shocked. They did more for my kitty that they put to sleep than they did today for Chloe. I am glad they are there, but goodness you are so right about them knowing we will pay for our pets.
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
25 Mar 07
Yes, my cat was hit by a car on Easter Sunday years ago and we had no choice but t orush her to the vet. They ended up keeping her over night and took great care of her. She was mostly bruised internally, but we had to have her checked out. She was never quite the same, as most of the damage was to her head. I think the whole event cost close to $300 to get her cared for, which as a lot of money!
For what you decribe, that does seem like a lot of money. I mean, it wsn't over night and there were no heroic methods put into place. I imagine that was just their minimum charge, the same way mechanics and tow trucks and all the rest make you pay a set fee just for showing up.
@JediSkipdogg (169)
• United States
25 Mar 07
One of them close to me charges $200 for emergency service anytime after 5 pm and before 7 am. Do I think this is outrageous? Not really if you look at how much they are spending themselves. Think about it....they have to pay for enough staff to be on hand to treat your believed pet. And they do this all hoping someone comes in that night. They may have say 3 people on staff then and nobody come in that night. There's a good amount of money wasted. Granted they can do other work then, they can only do limited work loads.
ERs charge more than regular doctors, so the same should apply to emergency vets.
1 person likes this
@tweakpotter (745)
• United States
25 Mar 07
I have used the emergency vet before, and it is really expensive. I look at it a couple of ways though:
1) My pets are part of my family. They are more than worth it.
2) it's no different than going to the emergency room. The ER is expensive, too. It's all about convenience.
@rx4life (1930)
• United States
25 Mar 07
Here in Seattle you would pay at least $250 for an emergency vet appt...it is way out of control..and with this new "poisoning" in the dog food every ER is making a small fortune...it is awful to be taken advantage of during a crisis in your pet's life...Glad Chloe is okay...hope she gets well fast!!
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
15 May 07
they are expensive,but i'll pay the price to save my pet.i have a russian blue cat who seems to have the unerring ability to get sick at 3 am.i've run him in a few times now-he gets congested sometimes.
@breepeace (3014)
• Canada
18 May 07
Only $75?
When I took my cat in last night they wanted to charge me $96 for the exam (ie. office visit) and $87 for the test that would only indicate whether or not I needed to go through with the $1500-2000 treatment or continue on with another $1500 worth of tests. Unfortunately, I'm in a horrible spot financially, so all I can is pray that it's something lesser.
They are horribly overpriced, considering a lot of the things they do can be done for less than half that if it didn't happen at an inopportune time like late at night or on a holiday.
