Vets!! I forgot how expensive they are!!

[christy]

Seeing eye dogs bills are covered by Guide Dogs Australia... So give deep to Guide dogs!!!

[krysalyss]

It still seems a little bit pricy if they only looked at it, flushed it and put on the AB cream (although some of those creams are pretty exxy), plus the E collar. Did they also put some fluoroscein in to check for scratches? But you did say last night - was it an after hours consult?

[misty]

Agree with christy about the reasons for the costs, but it doesn't make it any easier.

My parents spent over $15k a couple of months ago when one of their husky's got sick (don't tell my mum, dad stopped telling her the costs at $7k). Unfortunately she go better for a couple of weeks and then started to get sick again - mum and dad had no option but to have her put down, they simply couldn't afford to spend any more money and the vet still wasn't 100% sure of the cause. It is very sad, they have one 11yr old husky left pining for her sister, who she had never spent a day apart from before this.

[human bean]

Yep don't get me wrong, I do understand the need for the high costs - heck I tend to whinge about anything that cost me money lol

I cannot fault my vet, they are always really helpful and happy to answer Q over the phone for simple things, plus we drop in now and then to use their scales to keep an eye on our dog's weight. They don't tend to agree with the raw diet she's on but know that I'm paranoid of having a dog with weight issues (like her owner ha ha) so they help me keep an eye on how she's going.

The actually hinted at tea bags to help with her eyes too so goes to show they are genuinely helpful and aware of the costs involved.

Anyway sorry to go off on a tangent Sunshine - how is the cat today?

[BrightSparkles]

It still seems a little bit pricy if they only looked at it, flushed it and put on the AB cream (although some of those creams are pretty exxy), plus the E collar. Did they also put some fluoroscein in to check for scratches? But you did say last night - was it an after hours consult?

Dh went in. He didn't say anything about fluroscien?
It was at the RSPCA vet. They close at 7 and we got there at about 6.45/6.50 so not sure if they charged an after hours fee or not? Oh well...what has to be done has to be done.

[somewoman]

if in Melbourne I would always recommend lort smith animal hospital. My cat had a blockage in his intestines a few years back, and the university hospital (using vets in training!!!!) wanted me to pay $3000 in advance for the surgery, after $800 for xrays (and not including the lengthy stay that he would have needed for his recovery)!!! Lort smith did the same thing for $1200 including keeping him there for 5 days after surgery. Saved his life, AND gave me a payment plan so that I could afford to do it over time.

Don't get me wrong - I would have paid the 3k if I didn't have another option... I'd already lined up a loan from my parents until my finances weren't so tied up (I was in the process of seeling my house and buying a new one, and everything from my savings was paid as a deposit to the new place until the settlement of the previous house came through). The payment plan at Lort Smith allowed me to pay them once all the settlements took place and I had available funds again, although they basically said "pay what you can, when you can. It doesn't matter if it takes 6 months or a year" They were awesome.

When DH and I married a couple of years ago we requested no gifts, and instead asked people to donate to Lort Smith. I think the well and truly earned more than the damned vet training hospital would have (albeit about 4 years later)

I'm sure that there are other non-profit vets around, but LS are the ones I know of in Melbourne.