$500 Vet Bill, $60 Parking Ticket!!!!!

    • Gold Top Dog

    $500 Vet Bill, $60 Parking Ticket!!!!!

     It was one of those days I wished I had stayed in bed!

    I took Kobi for his checkup today. While I was waiting a lady was busy at the reception desk having her charges calculated. When she was handed her bill, she paused, looked at the receptionist and said, "Is that $575!!!!!!" The receptionist said "yes" and proceeded to show her the different charges. The lady just kept shaking her head. Then the receptionist said, "Well just think of it over a year. It's less than $20 a month." At that point the receptionist glanced my way (maybe my jaw had dropped?). I sort of grinned and said "Good try!" The lady just rolled her eyes, paid the bill and left.

    So then it was our turn. The vet was very nice, complimented Kobi's coat, teeth and calm demeanor. She checked his chart, said he was due for another rabies shot. I said I also wanted the vaccine for Lepto as Kobi does wade and drink in the local creeks. She asked me if I use any heartworm prevention which I had decided this year I would. Although I hate the idea of presticides and had not treated him last year, I had decided to kind of hold my nose and do it this year. She recommended Revolution, as it also prevented fleas (never a problem), mange and ear mites. She explained the tick prevention was not for the variety common in this area and I should be checking him just in case. Because he was now having 2 vaccines the vet said she would hold off on the parvo, distemper shot for another year. So that covered his vaccinations. On to his general health.

    I explained that Kobi had been rubbing his rear on the carpet lately and was concerned either he had worms (no evidence) or his glands needed to be emptied. She checked him over and said he seemed a little over weight and asked about his diet. I told her what he was fed and admitted he consumed too many treats. She then stated how herding breeds tend to have thyroid problems and although the test was a little expensive a positive thyroid test was actually good because a simple pill would result in a weight reduction and just putting a dog on a diet takes a long time to get results.  She then walked off with the dog to weigh him and do the heartworm test. While I waited I pondered the thyroid test and decided I would try being more careful with his treats and cut back on his marrow bones. If that didn't work then I would do a thyroid panel.

    So finally she returned with Kobi and said he weighed 85lbs (10 lbs over ideal weight). I asked her what he had weighed last year. She looked at his chart and he was actually down 3lbs. She then said she had done the thyroid panel, heartworm test, given him his vaccines and emptied his anal glands.  He was good to go and I could pick up the Revolution at the front desk. I was a little annoyed with the thyroid bit, but it was done, couldn't hurt. So I made my way to the desk. The receptionist handed me  the Revolution and a bill for $559.30! She obviously saw the shock on my face and just like the lady before me she started to explain how the thyroid test and Revolution was expensive. I asked her how much Revolution she had prescribed.

    "7 MONTH!"

    "Why?", I asked "I thought it was only for the mosquito season?"

     "We are trying to encourage year round treatment and we actually saw a tick last year in November."

    "But the vet said it was not effective for tick!?" Dazed and confused! "What is the expiry date on this?"

    " It's good until Oct.2009"

    "So if I decide not to use it for 7 months, I can use it next season? I'm really not comfortable with long term use. It's too toxic." 

    "Oh, it's actually the least toxic treatment available. Don't worry!"

    I had used Revolution before (from the same clinic) and had only been prescribed enough doses to last until the end of September. Now they say I should use it until December?  I was upset and taken aback and tired of the discussion. I took my prescription, paid my bill and left. I just felt fleeced by the whole ordeal. Do you guys think a thyroid test was necessary before trying to restrict his diet first? Do you think 7 heartworm is too much?

    Here is a breakdown of my bill. Are these charges reasonable to you?

    $ 65     Anual Examination/Consultation

    $36     Ova & Parasite (not even sure what that is - Stool exam?)

    $30+   Blood Collection

    $32      Heartworm Antigen Screen

    $136    Thyroid Panel 2

    $42+    Anal Gland Expression

    $17      Rabies Vaccine

    $10+    Lepto Vaccine

    $163+   Revolution

     

    To add insult to injury I had a $60 parking ticket on my car! 

     


       

    • Gold Top Dog

    I think "resonable" totally depends on the vet and the location.  I live in MI and we have the worse economy in the country right now, and I go to a farm vet.  For me an exam is $18 (if getting vaccinations, otherwise $34), heartworm test is $15, rabies is $19, fecal floats are $15.  I don't know what preventatives cost, but last time I bought 6 doses of Interceptor and 7 doses of Frontline Plus for $120 total. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    i agree with  Liesje.... it depends on the vet. i'd find a new one, if i felt like i'd been fleeced..... my local vet is much like the one she mentioned. but the only draw back is he only open three days a week.... his main office is in Thomasville GA....but this is a small town where half the population i'd wager only comes in for a rabies vac and heart worm treatment.

    when i took my cat there when he was injured i had to leave him there so the vet could drive him to his main office for X-rays because he didnt have the machine. i ended up having to put my cat to sleep anyway, but the vet was nice enough to only charge me $80 for the X-rays... pain killers, exam, and "disposal" was all free.... (and before you ask, he offered to take care of my cat for me because i was too pregnant to move at the time, and he didnt feel right about me driving all the way to an unknown city to pick up my dead cat, sad as it was, i was grateful....  i love that vet lol)

    and one more reason why i love him...... my check bounced.. yeah an 80$ check.. bounced. he was nice enough to wait until i could come back again to pay it and was completely understanding.

     

    and yeah i love farm vets. i miss the one we had when i worked on the horse ranch. not only was he very ver VERY good with the animals, he was also cute, funny and good natured. The only time i ever had a disagreement with him was when he was giving my mom's collie her rabies shot. Maggie wasnt kind to strangers if they got too close, this he knew just by looking at her... i offered to hold her while he gave her the shot.. he said "well i dont want her to bite you, be careful! i said "Bite ME? what?" and he said yeah, bla bla dog in pain/scared will bite.. i laughed and said "yeah she might bite YOU, but i know she wont bite me" and he argued anyway... i just let it go. i knew that dog too well to think for a second she would accidentally bite me. MAYBE if i was dumb enough to stick my hand into a fight involving her and another dog she might, but with just me and the vet and her? i had no doubt who she would nail first lol Still, if that was the man's only fault i'd say i was doing great. AND i only paid $18 for two rabies vacs

    • Gold Top Dog
    Oh gosh I know how you feel.  It is like that every time I go to the Vet and shots are needed and my Vet gives me a 10% discount on all my dog visit because we rescued a Katrina dog!  I love my Vet and he does try at times to recommend alternatives to save us money but our bills are always high.Revolution is also heart worm prevention, so if you are not using any other heartworm preventative then she may have prescribed it as year round prevention.  I use Revolution on my dogs and I also have to use Frontline Plus in-between because the ticks are so bad were I live!Also, what helped us with the over us of treats was carrots.  You can buy the bags of baby carrots and use them instead of treats it really helped drop a few pounds off all my dogs.Sorry for the ticket, that stinks!
    • Gold Top Dog

    Holy smokes!  With Charlie a normal round of vaccines and fecals with flea and heartworm for a few months (I loose them if I get any more at a time) run me about $150!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Wow, that's alot!  Woobie's anal glands only ever cost me $15 and groomers charge even less around here ($8-10!).  I also wouldn't have paid for the thyroid unless I'd approved it.  My vet never charges for the blood draw to do the heartworm test, it's all in one charge ($42-ish, I think).  Revolution is not only crazy expensive, I don't like the all-in-ones anymore because if the dog reacts to something, it's hard to track down which ingredient is causing the problem.  The lepto is pretty reasonable though.  I was shocked when I tried to get it for Woobie and not have it be included as part of a 5-in-1 or a 7-in-1, it was $75!!!!  And that particular one only covered 2 of the 7 serovars!  And finally, I wouldn't pay for stool screening unless I'd approved it or it was indicated (which it might be in your case).  My vet's office thinks I'm crazy because I always ask "How much" when anything comes out of their mouth, but it's bills like that that have caused it.  I also got fleeced with an $86 bath for Indie when he was going to hydrotherapy so I'm jaded now.  They charged $22 for ear cleaning!!!!

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    I haven't bought Revolution in awhile, but that seems really high to me. I never buy it from my vet, but have them fax it to Fosters & Smith. I thought it came in a packet of 6 doses?

    As for the thyroid test, that seems high too, so I'm assuming they're running the full screening? I do think testing the thyroid every few years is a good idea, but I wouldn't appreciate it being done with asking me first.

    I think Calif. has some high prices (on everything) but yeah, that all seems high to me too.

    • Gold Top Dog

    denise m
    $163+   Revolution

    Six months of Revolution from Drs. Foster&Smith is $80.00.  Six months of Interceptor is $40.80.

    Revolution kills heartworms, fleas, and ticks.  It stays in the dog's blood stream all month.

    Interceptor kills heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.  It is out of the dog's system within 48 hours.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    $42 for anal glads seems WAY too high to me. It takes all of 4 seconds, and if you wear golves - it's really not even that bad!

    $30 to pull blood, on top of the $62 exam fee....dang. + $36 for the fecal..... wow!

    But... if you did not want that much revolution - there should be no reason why you should have to get it. It comes in packs of 6, not 7 anyways! My vet does a special on adv, but 6 get one free - so maybe that's what happened there?

    I do all of Casey's vaccines myself, but those prices acutally seem pretty resonable from a vets office.

    The thyroid panel seems pretty on base - that's a test that most often has to be sent out to a lab like Idexx or Antech.

    • Gold Top Dog

    This site has Michigan State University's fees (include thyroid testing):

    http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Misc/Fee_Schedule.pdf

    Unfortunately, my poor old computer can't read that PDF.

    • Gold Top Dog

    did you actually agree to the thyroid test? Seems like to me you were still thinking about it...and they did it anyhow? No way I'd pay for that...nnnnope.

    • Gold Top Dog

    rwbeagles

    did you actually agree to the thyroid test? Seems like to me you were still thinking about it...and they did it anyhow? No way I'd pay for that...nnnnope.

    I was thinking the same thing. NO WAY the vet is authorized to do anything to my dog without my express permission. Especially not if they expect to charge you for it.

    Sounds to me like that one assistant was trying to exploit your indecision to milk you for all you're worth. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    yep...

    Oh and exams here run about $40. HW charge included the blood collection...cuz well...they can't test w/out blood LOL. It's about $85 total like a Brucie test.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Seems high to me too, although Max has never had some of those things (like anal gland expression and a thyroid panel) and I think that receptionist needs to go back and take a refresher course in 3rd. grade math if she really things that $575 comes to less than $20 a month over the course of a year. I'm not sure I'd want her figuring my bills. Embarrassed

    Joyce

    • Gold Top Dog

    Like others I am very lucky to have a farm vet.   He is so wonderful to us.   He has a puppy pkg that I think is very resonable, which can be paid out over 5 weeks.  $250.00 includes 5 visits, micro chip, 3  months of advantix, 6 months of heartguard (not given until 6 months old)  puppy shots and rabies and puppy worming.   Not to mention he has a wonderful staff.

    He worked with us on many occasions with Shadow and even paid the extra for private cremation since we could not afford it after all the other medical expenses when he got sick.  When we lost our Bear 5 years ago due to a heart condition he completly wrote off our balance and paid for cremation.   No, he is not a relative, just a really caring vet.