vet bill?

[pixxi]

My dog has a fat abscess and keeps growing. The vet said even if we drain it, it will keep refilling. I asked her to take a sample to make sure it's not cancer. Which it wasn't.

Now the abscess is huge and making the dog limp, he's an 11 yr old who has bad joints/hip for a long time. I told my husband we need to drain the area it's behind his front leg by shoulder area.

He called the vet and asked how much it would cost....$1500....then she called back and said maybe $700. Would getting pet insurance help this? Anyone have other options/opinions/suggestions?

 

[wilkeliza]

My dog has a fat abscess and keeps growing. The vet said even if we drain it, it will keep refilling. I asked her to take a sample to make sure it's not cancer. Which it wasn't.

Now the abscess is huge and making the dog limp, he's an 11 yr old who has bad joints/hip for a long time. I told my husband we need to drain the area it's behind his front leg by shoulder area.

He called the vet and asked how much it would cost....$1500....then she called back and said maybe $700. Would getting pet insurance help this? Anyone have other options/opinions/suggestions?

The time for getting pet insurance has long past. They wouldn't cover this as it is now preexsisting since it has already been diagnosed and treated once before.

What does draining the abcess involve? I'm in NYC and an 8 tooth dental extraction for one dog and neuter for the other was less than that! Tooth extraction was 1400 and neuter was 800.

 

[havaneselover]

We have a low cost surgery clinic in Richmond, VA. Maybe there's something like that nearby???

 

[smokeyblue]

Pet insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions and would probably be prohibitively expensive for an 11 year old dog, especially if it's a large breed. Are you sure $1,500 isn't to remove the fatty tumor? That seems like a lot of money to drain an abscess.

 

[supersnoop]

and neuter was 800

Good lord! A neuter around her is about $60.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

As others have mentioned, it's too late for pet insurance. It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion. However, $700 doesn't seem that far fetched

 

[Marionnette]

My dog has a fat abscess and keeps growing. The vet said even if we drain it, it will keep refilling. I asked her to take a sample to make sure it's not cancer. Which it wasn't.

Now the abscess is huge and making the dog limp, he's an 11 yr old who has bad joints/hip for a long time. I told my husband we need to drain the area it's behind his front leg by shoulder area.

He called the vet and asked how much it would cost....$1500....then she called back and said maybe $700. Would getting pet insurance help this? Anyone have other options/opinions/suggestions?

Check into Care Credit if you have trouble shouldering the cost in one lump sum. It's basically a short-term loan. They pay the vet, you pay Care Credit back (with interest). The vet gets their money right away, so they're happy. You provide your dog with the care he needs, so he's happy. And you don't have to save up for months while your dog suffers, so you're happy.

 

[laura3773]

Also, if you have a vet school nearby sometimes you can get less expensive care through them.

 

[Judique]

My vet is always negotiable. Tell them what you can afford.

 

[afan]

I would find out what they do to drain it. If they need to put him under than the 700 Makes sense. My dog had herniated disc surgery on his neck last fall, just to the surgery place was 3200. Xrays at his get when we started trying to find the problem I think were 300-400, an MRI another day was around 1000. They are higher because they always have to put them under for things people wouldn't need to be under for.

 

[old feller]

Is Spay Neuter All Pets still out there

 

[Narnia_girl]

Sorry about your pet. My dog had a growth cut off his foot last week. Because he needed to be put under anesthesia the vet said it was cheaper if they coded it as a dental procedure, so they planned to do his teeth while he was under. The cost they quoted me was about $700. So it's possible they could wiggle around the billing. Also, ask for an itemized estimate, you may be able to decline some parts of the procedure if they are not essential.

(The pre-surgery blood tests revealed my dog has Cushing's Disease, so we are really looking at some major $$ if we treat that. )

 

[Cadiewampus]

Have you thought about doing it yourself? I am no vet but I do give my dogs all their shots (except rabies state won't allow it). Seems to me this would be just the opposite of giving a shot. Get a syringe and draw it out.

 

[tvguy]

My vet is always negotiable. Tell them what you can afford.

An independent vet can be negotiable. But most of the Vets around here got bought up by the chain vet clinics and the prices are fixed.
And the local University Vet School clinic is even more expensive.......in part because local vets complained that they were being driving out of business by low prices.

 

[Judique]

An independent vet can be negotiable. But most of the Vets around here got bought up by the chain vet clinics and the prices are fixed.
And the local University Vet School clinic is even more expensive.......in part because local vets complained that they were being driving out of business by low prices.

Does the OP live in your town?

We have the chains around here also, but there are still some independent clinics.

I have 6 pets - 2 cats, 2 dogs and 2 birds. The cats and dogs go to a regular vet.
(And no plans to add any more to this menagerie - three came as rescues.)

The birds are seen by a specialized vet.

I've had no problem discussing treatments and procedures and both offices have been very reasonable to deal with.

 

[tvguy]

Does the OP live in your town?

We have the chains around here also, but there are still some independent clinics.

I have 6 pets - 2 cats, 2 dogs and 2 birds. The cats and dogs go to a regular vet.
(And no plans to add any more to this menagerie - three came as rescues.)

The birds are seen by a specialized vet.

I've had no problem discussing treatments and procedures and both offices have been very reasonable to deal with.

OP does not live in my town, but VCA is in their state, one of their 700 vet hospitals in 41 states.

 

[Judique]

Sorry about your pet. My dog had a growth cut off his foot last week. Because he needed to be put under anesthesia the vet said it was cheaper if they coded it as a dental procedure, so they planned to do his teeth while he was under. The cost they quoted me was about $700. So it's possible they could wiggle around the billing. Also, ask for an itemized estimate, you may be able to decline some parts of the procedure if they are not essential.

(The pre-surgery blood tests revealed my dog has Cushing's Disease, so we are really looking at some major $$ if we treat that. )

Exactly! My vet tells us what they can do and then we can decline some testing and other options.

For example in one emergency procedure, a pet was to be kept monitored over night. I asked what the over night treatment and monitoring consisted of and if it was possible for me to do it myself at home. The answer was 'yes' and the emergency bill went from 1100 to 450.

 

[Judique]

OP does not live in my town, but VCA is in their state, one of their 700 vet hospitals in 41 states.

Yes, they appear to be quite active but they haven't quite cut out all the independant practices yet. They are advertising on their website to buy up vet practices.

They are not as large as Banfield.

 

[TwoMisfits]

My dog has a fat abscess and keeps growing. The vet said even if we drain it, it will keep refilling. I asked her to take a sample to make sure it's not cancer. Which it wasn't.

Now the abscess is huge and making the dog limp, he's an 11 yr old who has bad joints/hip for a long time. I told my husband we need to drain the area it's behind his front leg by shoulder area.

He called the vet and asked how much it would cost....$1500....then she called back and said maybe $700. Would getting pet insurance help this? Anyone have other options/opinions/suggestions?

Give the dog to a shelter? If the dog is in pain all the time with a condition that will continually occur...it's a tough choice, but if you won't have the money to handle the issue, you may want to give up the dog (or if you're okay with it, putting the dog down - I know many who would never do this, but if you give it to a shelter which is not no kill, they may do it anyway)...

 

[js]

The time for getting pet insurance has long past. They wouldn't cover this as it is now preexsisting since it has already been diagnosed and treated once before.

What does draining the abcess involve? I'm in NYC and an 8 tooth dental extraction for one dog and neuter for the other was less than that! Tooth extraction was 1400 and neuter was 800.

Yikes! Im in Staten Island and my Yorkie had four teeth extracted when he got neutered and it was $40 a tooth.