Can't afford a vet visit?

Question

why do so many people believe they can't afford a vet visit? but they are willing to spend money on home remedies and take the advice of untrained strangers to help their pets. i don't know where you live but in my area the most expensive office exam is $70 and that's at the emergency clinic. most exam fees are around $30 and even less. How much are you spending on shampoos, different foods, benadryl, over the counter dewormers, walmart flea control, creams, lotions, additives, etc....? i would think most of these over time cost far more than $30 and you still don't know the answer to your question. why not spend the small amount of money to have a vet at least look at your dog and then decided from there with a trained professional what is the best course of action to take to help the dog and not let the dog continue to be miserable while you try great grandma blah blahs home remedy that worked for her back in 1952?

my vet charges $28 for an exam. we are not the cheapest nor the most expensive in our area. so i b*llsh*t you back.

Answer 1

Exam fees are twenty two dollars here for customers. New customers have a set up fee of forty dollars plus the exam fee.

Answer 2

The office visit/exam fee isn't the problem. The problem is paying for tests (fecal tests, blood work, lump removal, skin scrapes, etc). I just started going to a new vet and have only had 1 appointment with him. The new patient office fee was $50, I hope it's not this high for an established patient. My dog had diarhea and the fecal test was $17 even though they didn't find anything. Meds to help soothe her colon and stop the diarhea was a little over $20. The cost of a vet visit QUICKLY adds up.

It would be great if all vets were so good they could look at a dog, knowing the symptoms, and be able to diagnose the problem without a test. But the vets know if they did this and were wrong, the client would be mad about it. Not to mention the additional costs of a second visit, second set of meds, and perhaps the testing that wasn't done the first time. Even with tests, the results may be unclear making it difficult to decide what is wrong.

Answer 3

Well, Lucy L, while we're all just so impressed that you live in an "affluent suburb" you're also in another country where vet costs greatly differ from what they do here in the States. I live in an "affluent suburb" of Seattle, WA and pay $30 for vet visits and extra for whatever tests or meds I needed. $30 - $40 is about average in a lot of areas - even the "affluent suburbs" in the US.

And poster - great comments and I totally agree with you. What's even more unnerving is when you read other posts by these same people and they're asking questions about expensive purses, makeup, video games, etc, etc. So it's not that they don't have the cash for the pet it's that they really don't give a crap. And if they really don't have the money then they have no business owning a pet. Taking in a stray or a shelter animal when you can't afford to give it the care it needs - and deserves - isn't doing an animal any favours. And sad enough to say but an animal would be better off euthanized than in the hands of someone who leaves it untreated with a painful injury or illness - like we see so often on here.

Answer 4

I live 18 miles from the closest vet. He's a wonderful veterinarian but I have no clue what the actual office visit is, because I've never had to pay one.

My Pitbull got into an altercation with a porcupine, the first two days I removed the quills myself and set out a live trap to try to catch the porcupine. The third day, I took her to the vet..she had over 150 quills in her muzzle. (poor thing). The vet charged nothing to remove the quills. Charged me 10 dollars for having to sedate her to do so and for some ear mite medication I needed for another dog.
Total visit: 10 dollars.

Since I live so far from him, he also set up a home "package" of various things I may need ...just in case.
The kit is 35 dollars, it has basic cleaners, an antibiotic, a snake bite kit, two shots (I have to read the box to know which is which..)...and a few other things that I might need in an emergency.

I realize I am lucky. I realize most people do not have the vet I have, but I just had to put in here that not all Vet's are expensive....

Also, there are organizations out there... the Humane Society for one....that will give you a 20 - 40 dollar "coupon" to help with the costs of nueter/spay for your animal. All you have to do is ask....

Never be afraid to ask the vet for help. Never be afraid to admit you don't have the total bill right now but you can pay X amount and will make another payment on ____ date. Most vet's will work with you....at least I've always been able to discuss the bill and set up payments if I can't pay it all at once.

Regardless, I'd spend whatever it took to keep my all of my pets healthy. I wouldn't have them if I couldn't.

Answer 5

I have never been charged more than about $30-35 for an exam fee.. and a few vets were cheaper than that (except for an ER visit). Any medicine needed costs $5-10.. IF its needed.

You probably spend just as much, if not more trying out various "home remedies" that dont work anyways. Much cheaper to go to the vet and get it taken care of the right way. Sometimes home remedies can make the issue WORSE.. by the time you do end up taking the dog to the vet, it costs more.


Most people who "cant afford" vet care just do not want to spend the money on an animal.. they have other luxuries they want to spend it on for themselves.. alchohol, cigarettes, dining out, movies, etc.

Answer 6

I agree that pet owners should be responsible for there pet's health but i have NEVER paid less than $100 at my vet for shots or etc. The puppy c.a.r.e shots that the pup gets its first 16 weeks cost about $150 each visit. I unfort. had to rush my pet to an emergency clinic and the fee alone just for getting the pet an appt. was $90 to do standard tests. I eventaully left the next day with a bill of $1500. This pup i adopted got really sick right after i adopted it and i can understand how some people cant drop $1500 for one vet visit. Owners must prepare for the worst though and know that pets are VERY expensive!

Answer 7

It would be a very rare day if I could get out of the vet clinic for under $100.

I don't ask for veterinary advice here, but sometimes I will do an Internet search to see if something that is happening to my dog might be common and treatable at home. I don't have manicures, go to the movies or out to restaurants. I take brilliant care of my dogs and they go to the vet when needed but yes I might look around to see if I can find the answer on a reputable site first.

I do get scared at some of the advice on Yahoo Answers. Like YES give your dogs cooked lamb bones and YES give them human medication, no worries. Eeek! But I guess people who are asking do care about their pets - at least they are asking - they are just looking for answers in the wrong place.

And please don't say "the small amount to see a vet" - because to some people it is a large amount. OK, they shouldn't have a pet if they can't afford it but $50 or whatever is still a lot of money to a lot of people.

Answer 8

This isn't so much of an answer, but here goes.
I took my rottie to the vet, because I found a lump on him.
I was told the initial visit would cost $40. They informed me that if anything had to be done, they would work with me.
Well, they said they would take a sample of the lump, and then, without consulting me, ran a whole panel of blood work.
Yeah, my $40 turned into over $300. (to find out it was a small fatty deposit, he's 7)And when I asked could I break this up, I was told it was considered the intial visit and I had to pay it all up front. Come to find out this vet does this to everyone. So, it's not that we can't afford it, we just can't afford to have things done to our dogs that are unnecessary.
I have never tried any of gramma's remedies, ya ever smell some of that stuff?????????
I would never do that to my dogs, they're my babies.

Answer 9

Very good question, I wonder this daily. Our vet charges $35 for an office visit, and doesn't charge a dispensing fee for prescriptions.. We get out of there knowing what's wrong, and are on our way to getting it fixed.. Not sure why people would rather spend hundreds on things that don't / won't work, rather than a few bucks to find out for sure. Maybe they don't have a good vet, or don't trust their vet? Maybe they haven't thought about the fact that they are wasting money trying things and could in fact be saving a whole lot by getting the proper diagnosis.. Good Question!

Answer 10

We live in Southern California. Needed to have the cat spayed, she has a hernia, figured it would be easier on her and less expensive if she only had to go under anesthesia once-called around for rates and appointments.
Final bill:
$ 40.00 Spay
Hernia Surgery:(estimated costs $40-50.00)
75.00 Actual Cost
25.00 (enlarged uterus)

Pre surgery estimated costs $80-90.00
$170.00 Actual costs

Another Expected Costs do not equal the Actual Costs.

This not being the first or only incidence where this has occurred. Could this be why some of us(even Grandmas(I'm one)) take what we learn from our vets over the years and use it to treat same situations at home? This would be why I do!

Answer 11

Who knows people are weird, I think these people are very selfish. If the person was ill and was trying natural remedies themselves then that it fine coz they bear the consequences but to not take a dog to a vet but go straight to natural remedies (I mean the situation would be different if vets could not treat the dog and the last resort was natural remedies).

Though giving a dog herbs etc is by far not the worst thing that mankind have done to their best friend...