Is this Vet bill very expensive or am I just out of touch?

Daughter has just been charged £700 for sedation and x ray!.Thought dog had eaten a toy after being sick but nothing was found. Luckily she was insured.

Think I may have posted this in the wrong section!!

Advice please.
I have a 9yr old Labrador who was a rescue. He was a rescue because he occasionally has seizures. In the 7 1/2 years we have had him he has had 14 seizures. The longest period he went without a seizure was almost 14 months. I have kept a diary of his seizures and can not find a common link between them. I have been away, he's had an episode, my husband has been away, he's had an episode. We've both been away and nothing. It's not thunderstorms, food, enviiroment. So the conclusion it that it is genetic.
When we first had him I took him to my vet for an assessment and was told the doseage of phenobarbital was so low as to not be effective and to stop. Watch and monitor the seizures he has. So in the last 13 months he has had 4, the last one, last week, was quite severe and he took a while to come out of it properly. Husband and I concerned so made appointment with vet. New vet as we have recently relocated. Vet had only seen dog to have claws clipped. Did blood test, suggested we start medication and gave doseage as 2 x 100mgs daily exactly 12 hours apart. Charged $510 Aus dollars. Dog became a zombie, lurching around, bumping into walls, furniture etc. This was over a weekend, phoned Vet on Monday explained how dog had been and was told to cut morning doseage by half. Have started this today. he is not quite so sluggish, but not his normal silly self. I appreciate getting the doseage correct can take a while.
Sorry this is so long winded but I'm wondering if it would have been better not to have the medication and to let things be as they were. Or does anyone have recommendations for a natural therapy. Obviously the seizures are horrible to watch and he's normally sleepy for the rest of the day after a seizure. They always happen around 5.00am
Apoloogies for being so long winded but I want to do the right thing by him as he is such a beautiful natured dog. Thanks for reading.

Sarnia

Vets bills are astronomical. One way my daughter reduces cost is not to buy medication from the vets. She asks for the prescription and gets it on-line. Last example, an eye cream prescribed for her dog would have cost £39 at the vets and she bought the identical cream on-line for £6. Quite a mark up. Anyone without pet insurance these days is taking a huge gamble.

As ours would be without the NHS.

Sincere Condolences icanhandthemback. Our dogs bring such love to our lives.

My dogs are insured, it’s expensive and I often ponder a savings account instead. Several years ago, very suddenly my 6 year old dog became ill. He was put to sleep at hone by our lovely vet 24 days later. She wept with me after he slipped peacefully away, his suffering over. A week later my 10 year old dog had a fit. MRI scans etc. She needed surgery but lived 3 more good years. The cost for these 2 totally unexpected illnesses was almost £12,000. The insurance paid.

My vets are good clinically, they’re friendly, knowledgable and good with my dogs. Private health cover for humans is astronomical. £250 per consultation is the norm. I pay about £40 for my vet to thoroughly examine, diagnose and prescribe.

LucyW

Just wanted to add that I used to have insurance for both dogs but prices rocketed after one had extensive treatment after he was savaged by another dog. Reckon the meds cost will still be less than I would have paid over the last 5 years since insurance lapsed. The PDSA helps those who cannot afford vets fees and is a wonderful charity.

I switched insurance companies in January. We have a three year old Jack Russell. Never claimed on the insurance at all but the premium went up from £30 last year to £55 this year. Found better cover from Insured By Many for £35. Some companies just rip you off, so it pays to shop around.

The official protocol says that dog vaccinations last years. For 10 years many vets have kept quiet about this and go on giving unnecessary annual boosters.
My vets charge for prescriptions the difference between their price and the on-line price.
The vet’s first question is, “Is he insured?” and they charge more if he is.
Despite my cynicism I know that I will pay any amount to have the clever vet treat my poor sick animals.

We gave up pet insurance when it went up to £60 a month. A mistake she just broke her front leg it was either put her down, a very healthy spaniel despite being 12 years today or have it mended. It cost £7k including a pin put in the other fissure that was discovered under X ray. Previously our vet had said that her occasional limp was arthritis it too was a fissure, if they had suggested and Xray then ( four months earlier ) rather than just blaming it on arthritis both legs could haver been pinned strengthening them rather than the main bone going later due to the weakness of part of the knee. I am in desperately needing a hip operation, reduced to walking with crutches. We cannot really afford to go privately but we could not leg our dog down. I do think it was ridiculously expensive. I took the stitches out myself and decided not to keep visiting for check ups each of which would have cost another £ 105. She is well recovered.

I’m so pleased that they were kind to you and to him. I’m sure the love and companionship and the happy memories he gave you over the years are priceless. They leave a big hole in our lives don’t they.?

Germanshepherdsmum, thank you. He was a big boy so £100 was the cremation fee. Although the bill seemed huge, they treated me and my dog with such kindness that, although it made my credit card creak, it was worth the money.

I’m so sorry to hear about your dog icanhandthemback. I know how upsetting it is, even though you’re doing the kindest thing. I expect a big chunk of the money would be for the cremation.?

Vet's bills are very high nowadays, I think it's sad. The mental health positives to owning a pet are well proven and there are physical benefits too, but a lot of people who need their company most can't afford to keep them. My grandparents had 11 children, my gran went without anything but basics to keep body & soul together but they always had a dog. You didn't have to be in the high income bracket to own a pet not so long ago. On the other hand, pet insurance does mean that many more diseases can be treated and complex specialist surgery performed. I don't think I'd spend 10k on a heroic op to try to save a suffering pet. I'd say we've had a wonderful time together, but don't want to put you through any more suffering. And put 5k to a homeless charity or save the children, & 5k for my pension (in theory anyway).Thankfully not been in that position though.

Just wanted to add that I used to have insurance for both dogs but prices rocketed after one had extensive treatment after he was savaged by another dog. Reckon the meds cost will still be less than I would have paid over the last 5 years since insurance lapsed. The PDSA helps those who cannot afford vets fees and is a wonderful charity.

Just had my old dog at the vet this week. He has heart trouble which didn't come as a surprise. £20 for the consultation and £160 for one month's supply of medication. Very steep for the pills but intend to buy them online after I get prescription from vet. I know from experience that out vet in Kirkcudbrightshire is much cheaper than the vets we used when we lived i the Home Counties. Vet we saw this week was exceptionally gentle and transpires she has done a gentle caring course which is all about putting pets at ease in a stressful situation. I am already thinking of ways to economise to pay the medication bills but wouldn't be without my two dogs.

I'd been paying insurance for my two 12 year old jack Russell's since they were pups, first time l had to claim was last year, the claim started at the end of the insurance year and ended after the start of the next insurance year, they charged me the excess twice, it was hardly worth claiming ?

2507C0

Do you know of a trusted on line veterinarian pharmacy please?

Have you tried Viovet?
www.viovet.co.uk/

£80 sounds about average.
Our Springer has an appointment with our Vet tomorrow for a recurring ear problem common in dogs with floppy ears. We usually have to take him every 2-3 months for more drops at £60-70 a time. The medication is available online much cheaper with a vet's prescription, but our vet won't give us a prescription as he insists on seeing our dog every time. Last year he had a small cyst removed at a cost of £800, we claimed on his insurance for that. Pet ownership is expensive now but worth every penny.

Thank you Dabi This is not a Vet bashing stance - my own Vets are wonderful - but they are not Gods. Pet owners need to do their own serious research for the good of their pets.

My poor dog had to be put to sleep last week. It cost £462 although some of that included cremation because he was too big to bury in the garden. That was more than I paid for him in the first place.

I took Ruby to the vet yesterday for a blood test. He decided that she may have a urinary infection because her levels are very high and her diabetes isn't being stabilised. So two little flacons of insulin, blood test and antibiotics cost me 120 euros.
Looks as though I got off quite lightly.

When we first moved to Suffolk one of my cats was hit by a car. We rushed her to the vets - out of surgery hours. She was xrayed and then operated on the next day because her hip was smashed. I remember the price because I queried it because I thought that it was cheap - £59.

I'd no idea that prices were so high in the UK now.

Dianehillbilly1957

Step through the vets door and your virtually bankrupt!!
I do appreciate they have longer training to get through and the drugs are incredibly expensive. I know that a prescription for human ibropen costs the NHS £10, that's why I buy from a supermarket!! So imagine what antibiotics cost!! Unfortunately we can't do this so much for our pets. My rescue dog was ill last year and it cost me £500, thankfully she's insured and I got £400 back.
So many animals could be rehomed, but the vet bills put people off, such a shame!

The NHS buys the ibuprofen at cost price and makes a profit on it. However that is balanced out by medication that is very expensive but still only costs the patient £10.

12 years ago I had a vet bill for £12,000. I wonder how much that would be today. Insurance covered everything except the small excess charge. I would absolutely never NOT have insurance. OP, the charge for the dog you took was about right.

I’m afraid it’s not at all unreasonable. I’m lucky to be able to afford my dog’s medication but so many can’t and perhaps don’t take vet costs into account when acquiring a pet. As the pet ages, costs increase. There’s no NHS for pets, therefore I support the PDSA who give free treatment to the pets of people who can’t afford to go to a private vet.

You can't put a dog or cat into kennels/cattery without proof they're fully vaccinated.

That bill sounds very reasonable to me. Our vet charges £34.50 for the consultation.

Grannynannywanny

My son asked me to take their dog to the vet today while they are at work. Mild infection in one ear and a sticky eye. Antibiotic drops prescribed for both. Fluorescent drop used by vet in eye before shining lamp to exclude any abrasion. We were back out at reception in less than 10 mins to pay the bill which was £80.13 ?

I haven’t owned my own dog for many years so have no recent experience of vet bills. Am I wrong to think that was very expensive?

Sounds about right. A few years ago my cat developed Lymphoma. Luckily he was insured and embarked on an 18 month course of treatment which gave him an extended period of good quality life he wouldn’t otherwise have had. The total bill for treatment at the small animal hospital was just short of £10,000 when he passed away - and that didn’t include the cost of euthanasia and disposal of his body. Insurance didnt cover that and it was about £300.