I'm angry at my local ASPCA!?!?

Question

I took my puppy to be neutered there. At lunch time I checked my cell phone for calls and saw I had 11 missed called from them. They said that they put my puppy under anesthesia but then found out that he's testicles haven't dropped. I called around to 3 other vets and spoke the vets personally they said it should be pretty visible( I always wondered why I couldn't see his testicle).My vet never mentioned it( I'm firing him, he's rude) Either way they are charging me $40 for the anesthesia. I know that stuff is expensive but he didnt get to benefit from it because of their mistake. They could do the two surgeries he would of needed today. Now I can't get it down for 2 more weeks.

So do you think its right for them to charge me for anesthesia for something other vets say it could of been visually examined? And when do testicles for dogs usually drop??

they called me 11 times to tell me that he need to be picked up. thats it. i had to ask why they were asking me to pick him up early. i couldnt answer my phone because at my work ( a school) they block out cell phone signals) . they didnt call me work phone number for some odd reason like they didnt have it.

im a first time puppy owner so i really didnt know that they were supposed to drop. he got a bump where his testicles should go so i figured thats how it would be. hes still pretty small.

they said they couldnt do the surgery that day!!!!!

Answer 1

its obvious THEY made a mistake...but they will not admit it!!! you may want to speak to the supervisor of this place, and tell him/her of how neglected they are. it could have been worse!!! and let them know how you feel. and no, you shouldnt have to pay. but if they say otherwise contact consumer affairs.

Answer 2

This is what kind of Vets we all have deal with today. They keep raising their prices higher & higher.

People will spend a lot of money on their pets and the Vet's know how attached we get to them & is taking advantage of more and more pet people.

That Vet could feel the testicles without cutting on the dog at all. And you should have been aware of it too. Those clinic's run so many dogs through there like assembly work that sometimes it's just slip out of a pair of gloves just to put on another pair.

Your dog went through the intake all the way to surgery and NO BODY saw that the pup had no nuts? Something is wrong with their system.

I have assisted in both spaying & neutering and both are very simple procedures but why they charge an arm and a leg is way beyond me. The most expensive part of the surgery is the anesthesia and that bepends on the weight of the dog. They are taking advantage of our need for them grows.

There are several books on, "Be Your Own Vet" and some that are vey similar.

Back in the old days people did not run to the vet.

I would go back to the clinic and talk to who ever is in charge of billings. Take your share of the blame but also tell of the neglect off all clinic personel that handled the dog from intake to surgery.

Answer 3

I say you shouldn't have to pay the $40. It sounds like they're mistake. They should've checked your dog over before giving the anesthesia. If I were you I'd get a letter written up by the vet you take him to for the surgery. They should be able to write you up some kind of letter that clearly states how something like a dropped testical should be clearly visible before putting a dog under anesthesia and should be check for before doing so. They don't have to mention anything about wether or not you should be charged. Write your own letter to send with it stating that you will not be paying the $40 since they should've known not to give the dog the anesthesia. Make photo copys of both letters and send them, keep the copies.

Answer 4

Oh My that is a pretty big decision to make on a family member and not even tell them how old the pup was??Age should be a pretty good gage for determining if he should be fully developed or not.Regardless of whether you knew or not whoever was in charge of admission of the pet should be the one to blame.............There are occasions when testes do not drop ever ,but the vet will retrieve them once they become old enough.They say that cancer can develope there if they do not drop.And no...no...no I would NOT PAY THEM ONE CENT.....

Answer 5

most M pups have testes in the scrotum by 5 weeks - they should both be dropped by 8 wks/56 days, and if one or both are NOT down by 12 to 16 weeks, any M dog should be neutered - this is a highly-heritable problem, causing a higher than normal chance of cancer, and also a higher testosterone-level from the retained testis(one)
/testes (two).

the heightened testosterone-level leads to more aggro behavior - more fighting, more biting, more resource-guarding. so an early desex on any dog who is a cryptorchid is a very good prophylactic measure - the sooner they come out, the sooner the testosterone levels fall, and the pup is less-likely to LEARN a bad-habit of aggression:

fighting with other dogs, threatening/biting people, and so on.

so don't wait - get this lil guy snipped ASAP, and don't blame the ASPCA - they may very well inject/induce anaesthesia BEFORE a full exam, so that they can do their desex surgeries as quickly and efficiently as possible.

the problem-testes were a problem that Ur own vet should have noted,
and/or U should have been aware of (sorry, but true...). :-(

Answer 6

All I know is that where I work it would run about 300.00 for a crypt-orchid (only one retained testicle) so take it from there. You are getting a great deal from what I can tell. A lot of ASPCA clinics take in pets and do physicals just prior to surgery, in that case that is when they would have found the problem. They tried to call you 11 times, sufficient in my book. Wait the 2 weeks and be happy you did the right thing.

Answer 7

They can not perform another surgery that you didn't authorize, so they had to wake him up if they could not contact you.
If the dog had been to a vet before, they should have made you aware of that. At spay/neuter clinics, they do not do complete physical before each surgery....it just is not possible. Usually, they get the dog under and go from there. You ASSUME that owners have taken the pet to a vet before of would also have NOT seen testicles.

Either way, it wasn't all their fault!!! YOU could not see them, you never mentioned that. YOUR vet never mentioned it either.

Pay it and move on. If you don't like the service at the spay/neuter clinic....pay the full price at a regular vet!!!! That is YOUR choice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you were not available by phone so they could talk about it when the dog was under!!!

Testicles normally are descended at birth, some drop as late as 3-5 months.

Answer 8

As both the vet and you should have been aware that the testicals hadn't decended, I think you were both responsible.

Calmly ask them how you can come to a financial arrangement that will suit both parties. I'd only pay half.

Good luck with what ever you decide upon.

Answer 9

Yes I feel it is right for them to charge you.

Unlike your vet, they are a non-profit and don't have the extra money to eat the cost of the anesthetic.

But if I were you I would go in and offer them $20. Explain to them that since the situation should have been noticed before anesthetic, not after, that you feel that is fair. They will probably take you up on the offer and mark your bill paid in full.

Good luck

Answer 10

it can be visually examined, pay for it but say you won;t pay for it when you bring your dog in two weeks because they messed up. or the other way around, don't pay and then when your dog finally is nutered, only pay for it once.

but also remeber that when you do pay you are helping a good cause, they do homeless animals for free with that money. so don't be too angry with them. see if you can pay for it at cost, so they aren't making a profit.

Answer 11

If they used it on your dog, you owe them the money. My question is if you knew your dog was having surgery why didn't you provide them with a number they could reach you at immediately. Don't blame them for your lack of forethought or for what your vet didn't inform you of. They are providing services at no or low cost to people and their pets.