So, I work reception at a very busy Animal hospital. It's been in the community for over 30 years, and the two doctors that started it are still there. Yes, we're more expensive than other animal hospitals in the area, for a variety of reasons. However, despite being more expensive we're still booked solid for appointments almost every day, so we must be doing something right.
Today, the LAST call I take before I get to flee and go home, it just, made me
Person on the other end of the line says her dog has been diagnosed with bladder stones, and they won't pass and can't be broken up by diet change, too big. So that means a laparoscopic surgery to remove the stones, and she wants a general estimate.
Luckily (I suppose) we just had a dog that went through that procedure so I had a fairly accurate estimate on the computer which I pull up. Roughly $2,300 - including testing the stones to see what they were made of. We require that because if we know what they were made of, we can make recommendations to not have them reform in the future.
Let me just tell you know, while that may seem very expensive there is a reason why. You see, the drugs we use for anesthesia are human quality drugs. We don't use cheaper, veterinary only drugs to put the dogs under. We use drugs that you would probably also find in a human hospital. We also have an experienced surgery technician there to monitor the dog/cat on all their vital signs the entire time the dog or cat is sedated. The doctor doing said surgery has been doing surgeries for over 30 years, and he's really good at what he does.
Anyway.
The person flips her lid at me. Declares that I'm the reason people can't afford to have pets anymore. They aren't people, they're dogs and it shouldn't cost that much. I mention that a lot of people now are looking into pet insurances that are only about $30-$50/month that cover upwards of 90% of costs.
"I can't afford that! I can't afford $30/month for death insurances I'm certainly not going to pay that for my DOG."
I was one micrometer away from just slamming my phone down on her.
Sorry, lady, we're expensive because we only use the best. The best anesthetics, the best vaccines, the best quality for everything. That's what your money is getting you. Gone are the times where you could just pick up a mutt, feed it some cheap-o brand of food and that's it. Animal medicine is evolving even faster than human medicine at this point, and if you want the best for your animal, you're going to pay.
Today, the LAST call I take before I get to flee and go home, it just, made me
Person on the other end of the line says her dog has been diagnosed with bladder stones, and they won't pass and can't be broken up by diet change, too big. So that means a laparoscopic surgery to remove the stones, and she wants a general estimate.
Luckily (I suppose) we just had a dog that went through that procedure so I had a fairly accurate estimate on the computer which I pull up. Roughly $2,300 - including testing the stones to see what they were made of. We require that because if we know what they were made of, we can make recommendations to not have them reform in the future.
Let me just tell you know, while that may seem very expensive there is a reason why. You see, the drugs we use for anesthesia are human quality drugs. We don't use cheaper, veterinary only drugs to put the dogs under. We use drugs that you would probably also find in a human hospital. We also have an experienced surgery technician there to monitor the dog/cat on all their vital signs the entire time the dog or cat is sedated. The doctor doing said surgery has been doing surgeries for over 30 years, and he's really good at what he does.
Anyway.
The person flips her lid at me. Declares that I'm the reason people can't afford to have pets anymore. They aren't people, they're dogs and it shouldn't cost that much. I mention that a lot of people now are looking into pet insurances that are only about $30-$50/month that cover upwards of 90% of costs.
"I can't afford that! I can't afford $30/month for death insurances I'm certainly not going to pay that for my DOG."
I was one micrometer away from just slamming my phone down on her.
Sorry, lady, we're expensive because we only use the best. The best anesthetics, the best vaccines, the best quality for everything. That's what your money is getting you. Gone are the times where you could just pick up a mutt, feed it some cheap-o brand of food and that's it. Animal medicine is evolving even faster than human medicine at this point, and if you want the best for your animal, you're going to pay.
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