| Author |
Message |
Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 12:36 pm 
RN I had to take Dolly to the vet, and this trip was $430! My GOD.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 1:14 pm
RN: oh, my! Is she ok?
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 1:25 pm
RN She's been coughing, but she is immunized for already kennel cough. They said there are different strains so it still could be. They took x-rays of her chest and said her lungs look "angry". So she's on antibiotics and cough suppressants.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 1:33 pm
RN: Poor Dolly.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 1:34 pm
RN the guy did make it to the gas station and he likes my truck. I told him I was in no hurry and sleep on it.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Friday, May 02, 2025 - 4:24 pm
My last vet bills were over $1200.
I hope Dolly is all perfect after her meds.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 6:53 am
((DOLLY))
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Maris
Member
03-27-2002
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 7:29 am
I was scheduling my pup to get spayed, and my vet quoted me 1800 bucks. That is crazy. She just went through her first heat so now I am shopping around to try and find a better cost.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 8:00 am
Omg! That is insane!
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 8:49 am
RN I found this on reddit from 2 years ago, Maris. I googled because I was shocked at the price. Then I was thinking about how much it cost this winter to get my dog's tail docked. It was more than what was quoted to you for the spay. And there's nothing intricate or delicate about that. Now I'm wondering if I should have looked around.
Is the quote all inclusive? Or will you be charged extra for pre surgery blood tests and what not? I paid extra for all that and the meds.
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From Reddit:
My vet just sent me an estimate to spay my pom mix puppy.. and the "low end" is $1375. The high end estimate is a few hundred higher. She is 5.5lbs, not sure if it's more expensive to spay a smaller dog... does this sound reasonable? It is more than I had expected based on the experiences of others we know and, Google. I like our vet and don't really want to shop around for a "deal" for something so important, but i also want to make sure it isn't an obviously inflated price. (I live in Massachusetts, but not within the Boston area.)
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paintedcrows
2y ago
Edited 2y ago
Used to work for vets, that sounds like an accurate estimate for that size dog from a mid/high range vet. You're paying for the trained staff, various forms of monitoring, anesthesia, fluids, likely bloodwork, and medications, among other things. Vets use the same medical supplies as your human doctors (with the exception of veterinary specific tools and meds) and get charged similarly.
Lower cost procedures are usually done at high volume facilities that receive grants and donations to help bring the price down. Most of these places offer comparable care, though it can be scaled down where possible and there's typically not much by way of aftercare if needed.
You should take a look at that estimate to determine the difference between the high and low ends. Our high end usually included optional add-ons (ecg, surgical shirt instead of a cone, more inclusive bloodwork panel) that were recommended but not necessary, in addition to potential medications and treatments that couldn't be accurately planned for until the day of the procedure.
ETA: estimate also usually included a couple laser treatments, which help with healing. I highly recommend asking your hospital why the estimate is what it is, because they'll be able to explain what it all includes. I worked both in Houston and a small town in Ohio and pricing was similar in both places.
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lambhearts
•
2y ago
Agreed. OP, you should look at your bill and see what you're actually paying for. It probably includes full labs, small dog experienced vet, extended aftercare monitoring, and a bunch of other stuff. If your vet is close to you in a HCOL area, they're gonna have a higher baseline because of their own costs, you're paying for the convenience of being close by.
Whether or not your dog needs all of that is up to you, but if I could afford it, I would absolutely do all the bells and whistles on a young, small pom with no medical history or pedigree. They're fragile dogs with higher expenses in general. The spay price you got was high, but doesn't surprise me.
A lot of people are recommending low cost options, which are absolutely valid. But I think some people don't know that there are two reasons places like the humane society and income based/low-cost clinics can offer cheap spays and neuters:
Charitable service. These places are usually nonprofits run on grants or donations, usually by vets or students who are volunteering their time, and usually with donated supplies. If you need these places, absolutely use them! That's what they're for and they do great work. On the other hand, taking the free/low-cost service designed for those who can't afford it, and taking up time and cost that could be used for people who really need it is something to consider if you can afford private care.
Bare-bones operations. Overpopulation causes real suffering every day. This incentivizes anyone who loves animals (like those working low-cost clinics) to fix as many animals as ethically possible, and that is a different level of care than you will get at private practice. Often there's no pre-anesthesia bloodwork, little to no pain meds, minimal monitoring after the fact, and a hard-to-swallow ratio of vets and anesthesiologists to patients. This is by far better than not getting your pet fixed, both for your dog and the population in general, but it's not the top vet care the US offers, and that's worth considering when you make your decisions.
Link
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 8:52 am
RN: Remembering some more. It wasn't just a simple tail doxxing. He had a gigantic blood vein that had to be dealt with. So, maybe it's on par with a spay.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 9:47 am
If you get a dog or cat from a shelter the price may include so much.
Spay or neuter, shots, testing, in the case of cats, for FIV and FeLv, free bag of food, microchipped. Sometimes the have discounts for seniors as in the animal and the adopter.
The shelter where I adopted Katniss provided all that (she was full price at 11 months) plus you could bring cats back (dogs too?) for free nail trims for life.
That was a well supported shelter. I was a volunteer there for 4 years.
Some people thought their adoption fee was high, but it covered so much
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 9:50 am
RN, I hope Dolly feels better soon!
Maris - that's a lot, but I think your area is generally more expensive for vet care as well. We get tiny dogs spayed all the time for about $500.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 9:54 am
RN Thanks Kar!
Sea, what are the adoption costs by you? Here, almost every Rescue charges the same. $300 for puppies, $200 for adult, $175 for senior dogs.
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Maris
Member
03-27-2002
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 10:04 am
Certainly NYC is smore expensive. It includes the blood testing and pre surgery work. I think I will go to North Shore Animal League on Long Island and have it done. I think they may be less expensive. There is another vet in my neighborhood and I will check their prices. My vet is on the high end price wise.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 10:10 am
I have never adopted a dog and I think Katniss was two hundred but that was quite a while ago.
Wow.. I checked for that shelter.. Lower than I thought and so much included.
https://cityofirvine.org/irvine-animal-care-center/adopt-pet
Scroll down for prices and inclusions. I forgot Dx cleared and wormed..
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 10:13 am
Irvine is a top shelter, for sure. Very low kill, though there was a director who came in with a vet called Dr Death and that was a really bad time.
Other shelters here are super bad.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 10:46 am
Those adoption prices are really reasonable. Wow. I figured they would be higher.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 10:47 am
RN, FWIW, around here official shelters are subsidized by local municipalities. Rescues are entirely funded by donations and adoption fees.
Our puppies are 400 to 600 (for the rescue), altho our local shelter charges just as much. The smaller the dog, the more we charge, as they are more in demand. We also charge less as the dogs get older, down to $100 for a dog that's 5 or more.
Shelters in neighboring towns are less - more like 300/puppy.
We do have dogs that we lose money on because they needed special medical care. Broken limbs, CCL tears (that's a 4000 surgery), hip surgery, cherry eyes, on and on.
Our kittens are 150 to 200, but we lose money on them after paying for testing, vaccinations, neutering, and microchip.
I see complaints all the time about how much adoption fees are... people say things like if we really wanted the dogs adopted we'd make it more affordable. Well, we have bills too, and those costs per dog add up! As well as our dogs that have higher medical costs. And second, if you can't afford a few hundred for an adoption fee, what are you going to do the first time your adopted pet has medical expenses?
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 11:01 am
RN Oh my goodness, I think adoption is the cheapest route. Especially for a puppy. You'd pay twice as much just for neutering around here.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 11:42 am
Yep. Here too.
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Maris
Member
03-27-2002
| Saturday, May 03, 2025 - 12:29 pm
I have always adopted until ten years ago when I bought a cavalier. I had always wanted one but felt guilty for not adopting. I donate to shelters and rescues to make up for my purchasing my puppy. I think people should pay that price range for adopting because they have to really think about it before they impulse buy at the holidays.
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Dogdoc
Member
09-29-2001
| Sunday, May 04, 2025 - 1:19 am
RN I just paid a little over $400.00 for my shelter dog.
That included her vaccinations, treatment for Lyme disease and spay.
She had seven puppies before being spayed so she would have been in the shelter until they were weaned.
The lady told me the puppies were quickly adopted but nobody wanted the mother.
I wanted her.
I paid an extra $400.00 as a donation to the shelter to support their work.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-06-2000
| Sunday, May 04, 2025 - 2:44 am
Good for you! We always got excited when mama cats got adopted, or senior cats or bonded pairs.. I am sure it was the same in the dog section.
And your $400 could have been much more if you had to pay separately for all they did. As you know of course.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Sunday, May 04, 2025 - 4:52 am
RN I am getting no sleep for the next 2 weeks, but I am sure the last 2 weeks of the month will fill up more soon as well. Hopefully it will be enough to keep my credit card from hitting the next thousand mark. Without a tenant, it's going up fast.
66 more days!
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