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Is my vet taking me for a ride???

1K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  Jack Jack's Mom 
#1 ·
apples back knees are both dislocating so she needs to have xrays done on them.....and apple is needing to be spayed so we decided to do the xrays while she is asleep for the spay.......

he knows i have pet insurance and im wondering if hes adding things to my bill just because he knows that part of it is covered..

i got a quote from him today and it came to nearly $700???????

he wants blood work done before the spay to make sure she is healthy enough??? shes not even one years old???? hbow unhealthy can she be???

and hes charging a "mature spay" cost of $25 because she has already gone though one heat???

it just seems crazy for it to be that expensive!!!

what is your opinion??? is he taking advantage of me....cause i really cant afford to be paying more than i have to...i am only 21 and on my own!!
 
#2 · (Edited)
Well, the vets here charge about $185 to $225 for the spay and when I had Reggie x-rayed, it was a single view for $135 and you are going to need one for each back leg and may need more than one view. I have never heard of a mature spay, when was her heat? It is recommended to wait about two to three months after a heat so everything goes back to normal. There is an extra charge if you spay right after a heat because there is more blood supply to the reproductive organs. These things do add up quickly. The surgery to repair the LP is about $1500 per knee, too. I am so sorry Apple and you are going through all this.
 
#3 ·
No he's not taking advantage..

Lots of owners have pre op blood work done it's a sensible idea being that the chis are so small.

Also a spay after a season is mre complicated due to swelling etc and if your bitch has had her season she has therefore matured.

Your spay wouldn't be covered by insurance only the xray
 
#4 ·
thanks for the replys.....everything just sounded alot more simple when we spoke about it together...and then all of a sudden i have all these charges on my bill that were never discussed....and i know her spay would not be covered....i was just surprised at how big my quote came too with all these add ons that were never brought to my attention during my appointment with him.
 
#6 ·
he wants blood work done before the spay to make sure she is healthy enough??? shes not even one years old???? hbow unhealthy can she be???
That's what I used to think, when my Kira was scheduled the be spayed the vet asked to do blood work and I hesitated but then decided 'ok what the heck', well it was good I did because my asymptomatic pup was found to have elevated liver enzymes and is scheduled to got to a specilaist because they think she has a liver shunt.
If they had done the surgery without knowing then they would have used an anestitic that could have killed her because of the liver condition. As it is now when they do do the surgery they will be taking all precautions.
Well worth the extra cost.

I hope all goes well with your pups knees.
 
#7 ·
I'd suggest getting quotes from other vets in terms of the LP surgery, my girls were already spayed when I adopted them so I don't know anything about that. I did a lot of research on LP surgery before I had it done (she had both knees done at the same time) and what i found out is that the cost of the surgery is dependent on how bad the LP is. I received quotes as low as $4K and as high as $8K and I went over 10 different specialists in the Bay Area. If you think your vet is ripping you off you should definately look around before you pull the trigger, IMHO anyway.
 
#8 ·
I hate to tell you this, BUT the knee surgery will probably NOT be covered by insurance. This is considered "genetic" by the company. I had to pay for Emmie's knee surgeries. I used the Care credit card. Most vets have the application. No interest for 12 months. or what ever special the vet has going. I have insurance and it did pay for Zarita's care after she was attacked by the jack russells next door. Sue
 
#9 ·
Personally, I have never had blood work done on any of my dogs prior to being fixed. If I do get Tico done, I will do his as he is so old. Yes, once and a while there is a problem. But in 30 years of owning tons of animals, I have not run into any problems relating to spaying or neutering except Reggie got an infection. But that is me, if you feel better getting her checked, then by all means get it done.
 
#11 ·
It would be about half that much(if not less that than) at the clinic where I work and our vet is very experienced with patella surgeries(orthopedic surgeries in general) But I know prices do vary greatly from place to place. I also have to agree that your insurance is most likely not going to cover patella surgery if/when she needs it.
 
#13 ·
I have Pet Insurance for Dogs and Cats - Petplan Pet Health Insurance for my dogs, and patellas ARE covered as long as they are not diagnosed prior to the beginning of insurance. You must have your dog examined within 30 days before or after the start of the policy, just a regular exam, and FWIW, most vets do not check for patellas on dogs unless you say there is a problem. My girl's knee surgery was covered by our pet insurance.
 
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