Is it expensive....
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
you posted in this in the wrong place but i'll anwser anyway...
Not really but i think the rabies is kinda but not by much our vet charged like 50 dollars for cujos and our vet charges only 20 somethin dollars a visit with a shot i think...But i dont know about your vet :?
Not really but i think the rabies is kinda but not by much our vet charged like 50 dollars for cujos and our vet charges only 20 somethin dollars a visit with a shot i think...But i dont know about your vet :?
Yeah, it can be pretty expensive, depending what you're going for. My vet is very reasonable and Ruby's last pre-op check ups were free (dont know if that is the norm or not). You never know what's going to go wrong, so don't just factor in shots and check ups when doing equations. my advice is hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and unless you have around $1000+available at all times pet insurance is probably the best bet. If something does go wrong (which it often does) you can be expected to come up with that sort of money very quickly. For one of ruby's legs to have luxating patella surgery cost $400US which I think was relatively cheap in comparison to some vets, and we had to come up with it in a couple of weeks.
Joined
·
3,815 Posts
Vets seem expensive, but area actually relatively cheap compared to the cost of human medicine. If you ever pay attention to medical insurance billing, a trip to the doctor costs you $15 co-pay, and the exam is usually around $150. Any sort of "diagnostics" is extra, vaccines like Hepatitis B are around $80 per booster, and basic x-rays are around $800 and $500-1000 for someone to read them. A prescription of Ciproflaxacin costs $200 but you pay $15 with insurance.. Whatever your insurance doesn't pay for (you pay monthly for insurance too) you are responsible for out of pocket, but it usually doesn't come out to much.
The average veterinarian charges $40 for an exam, $15 per vaccine, $100 for x-rays which includes reading them. Enroflaxacin (Baytril) tabs cost about a dollar each. They rely on owner's willingness to pay for their animal's medical care, and have to deal with monetary issues up front (not behind the shield of insurance).
A veterinarian isn't just a physician, he/she is also a laboratory diagnostician, a radiologist, a dentist, a surgeon, a psychologist, an emergency doctor, and manager, and a businessman that must deal with health issues for dozens of different species who's only way of communication are the clues can be clinically observed.
Next time you spend a considerable sum of money at the vet's office, take a moment to think about all the things they do, and how relatively little they are paid. The average salary of US veterinarians in 2004 was $45,000 a year, many are making less, and many are making more, but compared to human medicine, this is chump change.
One of the reasons why they are paid so little is because they can only charge what people are willing to pay since medical care for animals is an option rather than a necessity to most people. When the goals of a veterinarian are to relieve the suffering of animals, they cannot charge prices that prevent animals from being treated, but they also must make a living so that they can continue to do their work. This is also one of the main reasons why there are so few men going into the veterinary field, in 2004, less than 10% of applicants to veterinary schools were male. If you don't own a practice or specialize, it is difficult to make a living that can provide for you and your family, and pay off 8 years of college at the same time. They go through the same (and even more) education and training as human doctors, and still don't get the same kind of respect, especially when it comes to costs for care.
This all being said, vets are expensive since you pay entirely out of pocket, but we should look at it in a different perspective. Companion animal ownership is the expensive thing, veterinary care is necessary and part of responsible ownership. If we need to skip out on quality medical care because of the cost, we should rethink our ability to be owners in the first place.
I'm so glad everyone on this site is so conscious of their pets health and treat their pets like they would treat their own kids (and even better in some cases =)! Your chis are so lucky to have you!
-Nate
The average veterinarian charges $40 for an exam, $15 per vaccine, $100 for x-rays which includes reading them. Enroflaxacin (Baytril) tabs cost about a dollar each. They rely on owner's willingness to pay for their animal's medical care, and have to deal with monetary issues up front (not behind the shield of insurance).
A veterinarian isn't just a physician, he/she is also a laboratory diagnostician, a radiologist, a dentist, a surgeon, a psychologist, an emergency doctor, and manager, and a businessman that must deal with health issues for dozens of different species who's only way of communication are the clues can be clinically observed.
Next time you spend a considerable sum of money at the vet's office, take a moment to think about all the things they do, and how relatively little they are paid. The average salary of US veterinarians in 2004 was $45,000 a year, many are making less, and many are making more, but compared to human medicine, this is chump change.
One of the reasons why they are paid so little is because they can only charge what people are willing to pay since medical care for animals is an option rather than a necessity to most people. When the goals of a veterinarian are to relieve the suffering of animals, they cannot charge prices that prevent animals from being treated, but they also must make a living so that they can continue to do their work. This is also one of the main reasons why there are so few men going into the veterinary field, in 2004, less than 10% of applicants to veterinary schools were male. If you don't own a practice or specialize, it is difficult to make a living that can provide for you and your family, and pay off 8 years of college at the same time. They go through the same (and even more) education and training as human doctors, and still don't get the same kind of respect, especially when it comes to costs for care.
This all being said, vets are expensive since you pay entirely out of pocket, but we should look at it in a different perspective. Companion animal ownership is the expensive thing, veterinary care is necessary and part of responsible ownership. If we need to skip out on quality medical care because of the cost, we should rethink our ability to be owners in the first place.
I'm so glad everyone on this site is so conscious of their pets health and treat their pets like they would treat their own kids (and even better in some cases =)! Your chis are so lucky to have you!
-Nate
Joined
·
8,578 Posts
vets in belgium are a bit more expensive !! i pay for a regular visit with vaccination (+overall check-up) 50 USD ,i paid 500 USD for the ct-scan for viper , and next month i'm getting paris and cosmo both neutered and spayed. normally i was getting cosmo neutered this week but the docter is always putting it off :evil: well maybe it's best to get them both done .....so i'm not sure what i'm going to have to pay ......i'm thinking again 500 USD .....so i would say vets are not cheap :wink:
kisses nat
kisses nat
I totally agree with you, was training to be a vet nurse so I remember the long hours and complex procedures, plus as a vet nurse they really take the piss with pay in the uk it was £9,000 a year and thats inside london. Vet nurses also have to learn quite a bit more than a human nurse, i.e. dentistry, radiography and theatre practise.ilovesadie said:Vets seem expensive, but area actually relatively cheap compared to the cost of human medicine. If you ever pay attention to medical insurance billing, a trip to the doctor costs you $15 co-pay, and the exam is usually around $150. Any sort of "diagnostics" is extra, vaccines like Hepatitis B are around $80 per booster, and basic x-rays are around $800 and $500-1000 for someone to read them. A prescription of Ciproflaxacin costs $200 but you pay $15 with insurance.. Whatever your insurance doesn't pay for (you pay monthly for insurance too) you are responsible for out of pocket, but it usually doesn't come out to much.
The average veterinarian charges $40 for an exam, $15 per vaccine, $100 for x-rays which includes reading them. Enroflaxacin (Baytril) tabs cost about a dollar each. They rely on owner's willingness to pay for their animal's medical care, and have to deal with monetary issues up front (not behind the shield of insurance).
A veterinarian isn't just a physician, he/she is also a laboratory diagnostician, a radiologist, a dentist, a surgeon, a psychologist, an emergency doctor, and manager, and a businessman that must deal with health issues for dozens of different species who's only way of communication are the clues can be clinically observed.
Next time you spend a considerable sum of money at the vet's office, take a moment to think about all the things they do, and how relatively little they are paid. The average salary of US veterinarians in 2004 was $45,000 a year, many are making less, and many are making more, but compared to human medicine, this is chump change.
One of the reasons why they are paid so little is because they can only charge what people are willing to pay since medical care for animals is an option rather than a necessity to most people. When the goals of a veterinarian are to relieve the suffering of animals, they cannot charge prices that prevent animals from being treated, but they also must make a living so that they can continue to do their work. This is also one of the main reasons why there are so few men going into the veterinary field, in 2004, less than 10% of applicants to veterinary schools were male. If you don't own a practice or specialize, it is difficult to make a living that can provide for you and your family, and pay off 8 years of college at the same time. They go through the same (and even more) education and training as human doctors, and still don't get the same kind of respect, especially when it comes to costs for care.
This all being said, vets are expensive since you pay entirely out of pocket, but we should look at it in a different perspective. Companion animal ownership is the expensive thing, veterinary care is necessary and part of responsible ownership. If we need to skip out on quality medical care because of the cost, we should rethink our ability to be owners in the first place.
I'm so glad everyone on this site is so conscious of their pets health and treat their pets like they would treat their own kids (and even better in some cases =)! Your chis are so lucky to have you!
-Nate
What makes veterinary treatment seem expensive is because everyone has to pay in one go for something and not everyone can find over £1000, plus I think it's more expensive in the Uk when Nemo has his puppy vaccinations and we dont have the rabies jab here it cost £60 for 2 injections and I think the current conversion rate is almost 2 to 1 US dollars to pounds so around $110 just for his injections.
So shop around try and find a insurance that you can afford monthly and I recommed you find one with the lowest excess possible for the most return in treatment.
Sarah
Joined
·
5,807 Posts
I would definitely recommend pet insurance, especially for a puppy. I had pet insurance for Lily for awhile but there were so many things NOT covered due to pre-existing conditions, that I finally canceled it. It's not the standard stuff that's hard to pay for, it's the emergencies and complicated procedures. If the insurance wasn't going to cover those, then there was no point in having it.
I agree wholeheartedly that vet fees are reasonable. Lily recently spent a day at a top-notch animal hospital (Foster Small Animal Hospital, part of Tufts Veterinary - Nate, I know you're familiar with their reputation) where she had dental surgery including one extraction and a cleaning, with an anesthesiologist present... for only $600. Sure, that's a lot of money but think of what all that would cost for a person in a human hospital. You could barely get in the door for $600.
There's really no way to answer a question like "is it expensive to take your pets to the vet?" :lol: But routine stuff such as annual visits and shots don't seem expensive to me.
I agree wholeheartedly that vet fees are reasonable. Lily recently spent a day at a top-notch animal hospital (Foster Small Animal Hospital, part of Tufts Veterinary - Nate, I know you're familiar with their reputation) where she had dental surgery including one extraction and a cleaning, with an anesthesiologist present... for only $600. Sure, that's a lot of money but think of what all that would cost for a person in a human hospital. You could barely get in the door for $600.
There's really no way to answer a question like "is it expensive to take your pets to the vet?" :lol: But routine stuff such as annual visits and shots don't seem expensive to me.
Joined
·
7,716 Posts
care credit rocks too!
Extremely well put, Nate. Most vets don't go into the field expecting to get rich. My granddaughter graduates high school this year, and is planning on going into veterinary medicine-not for the money, but because she genuinely cares deeply about all animals and loves working with animals I think this is why most vets are in this field.
My boys' vet I think is really reasonably priced and I really like them. Just for a couple examples, Exam charge-$25, X-Rays-$80, Rabies-$16, Booster-$12. The neutering runs about $150 which is double compared to some other places. But I believe they get treated really well so it's worth it. :wink:
Most of the vets in our area have specialized in equine medicine which is nice for when something happens to one of the horses but it's the only way they can make a living. We have very few general practitioner vets left. Luckily I really like the one I have for Marcus and he is very reasonable.
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
Join the discussion
Chihuahua People Forum
A forum community dedicated to Chihuahua owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Recommended Communities
Join now to ask and comment!