SUMMARY: Ouch. There goes the tax refund--and more.
Tika's total bill for the tooth thang: $913, plus $389 for additional requested services. I'm guessing that there are less-expensive vets, but I really like mine and have been going to that facility for nearly 30 years; not inclined to try to find another. Maybe I'm foolish about that.
- Exam/consultation: $62
- Pills (10 days antibiotics, 7 days Rimadyl): $61
- Half a day hospitalization: $63
- Meds at hospital, injected (antibiotics, anti-inflammatory): $50
- Tech assistance: $45
- sedative: $37.50
- anesthetic procedure: $220
- surgery: $90
- surgical pack/etc.: $15.50
- Heart/oxygen/etc. monitors: $50
- Toxic waste/env. fee: $4
- Venipuncture: $14
- Lab fees for blood test: $124
- X-ray of tooth: $77
(I'll have to double-check on lab fees--blood test was presurgery to be sure she was healthy enough, but I don't know what all the test entailed for that $124!)
Additional services at the same time:
- X-ray consultation: $60
- 3 Xrays of neck, back, hips: $249
- Teeth cleaning: $80
(X-ray consultation--not sure whether that would've been charged for just the tooth, or whether that was only for the additional x-rays.)
I don't think you're foolish for sticking with a vet you know is good. It's so hard to find a good vet at any price. But yikes that's an expensive problem she had. Though you don't want to know what I paid to have Cody's shoulder scoped. And I was talking to a woman out at the training field who had to give up remodeling her kitchen to pay for her young dog's shoulder & hip surgery. I spend more on health care for the dogs than I do for myself.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and spending a little time on the VPI pet insurance site, I'd currently be spending a minimum of about $400/year for insurance if I had it for the last 6 years, and maybe half of her fees would have been covered on this. So I'd have put out about $2400 and saved about $500. (OK, there might have been some other things over time that I'd have gotten some coverage for, and her rate would probably have been lower as a younger dog. But still. She could've been like my husky and had hardly a sick day in the 16 years we had her.)
ReplyDeleteSo insurance won't help. I think I've published here in the past that pet insurance doesn't rate well for lining anyone's pockets except the ins. company.
-ellen
Yep, that was a whopper of a bill! About insurance, I did get Johann a catastrophic policy through QuickCare (pays for first time accidents and illnesses) when he was 6 months old. Pay about $10-12 a month.
ReplyDeleteHave to say that it's been worth it - he's up to about $5,000 with three major injuries in three years and insurance has paid about $2200 of his bills.
But I most certainly agree with you about insurance for maintenance purposes, not worth it!
Ack! That takes a bite out of the old budget :-(
ReplyDeleteStill, I had to pay over $1000.00 to have a crown done at my dentist so compared to that it doesn't seem so bad.