Veterinarians = Scammers!

[DesmoDog]

Sophia was the only dog I've had from a pup, the others have been rescues that were at least a couple years old when they showed up. Sophia and I got off to a rough start but eventually we worked it out and she became "that" dog to me. All other dogs have to live up to her (Spolier alert; they can't).

Anyway... we got health insurance for her. Not long after, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to be put down a few months later.

A couple weeks after she was put down, we got a check from the vet. They had done the math, and it would have been cheaper to NOT buy the insurance, so they refunded the difference. I have no idea how that works - it was completely unexpected.

Anyway, we've been going to that vet for about 20 years now. They took care of Desmo (my avatar) for 15 years and the day he had to be put down the vet leaned over and kissed him before giving him the shot. I had been keeping things together until then, but that was unexpected too and was the straw that broke the camels back for me.

Long story short, not all vets are bad. We've had at least one I'll NEVER go back to, but our current choice has shown herself to be a good one on more than one occassion.

EDIT: Seeing another post here - our vet did offer to come to our house when Sophia needed to be put down.

 

[Asmith]

Had a 9 month old husky eat a sock and get it lodged in his intestine, FUN.

Vet said "$1500 to open him up and get it out."

My internal heads up display read in flashing red letters NEW DOG

I looked at the wife (at the time) and the tears said it all.

I said "do it and we will make payments."

2 weeks after full recovery same symptoms.

NO NOT AGAIN!!!!

I call the Vet and he says "oh thats too bad, bring him back in."

I countered with "we can't"

He suggested we try a $5 tube of cod liver oil (hairball treatment.)

Worked like a charm pooped that darn sock right out.

Where was that suggestion fifteen hundred dollars ago?

Clearly the vet would rather risk the animals life with general anesthesia and cutting into the GIT while making a tidy margin than offer a safe, free solution to the animals problem.

Business is a for profit endeavor but the way they act like they care about your animal and you is disingenuous

It's all well and good that he pooped the sock out the second time but there is no guarantee a dog can pass it through. Waiting to find out if the dog can pass the sock still poses a serious risk, the digestive tissue could start going necrotic and GA in an otherwise healthy dog isn't really a risk. How many neuters end with a dead animal?

 

[JL_LI]

We have two dogs, insurance for them, and a great vet. She’s definitely not a scammer. With insurance, we just take the dogs whenever something isn’t right and get 70% back. With insurance, we take them. We didn’t have insurance for our last dog and glaucoma and a kidney problem weren’t caught until it was too late. Veterinarian aren’t scammers. Neither are dentists or any other health professionals. Some are better than others. Some are just outstanding. Some I wouldn’t go back to. In that regard, they’re not much different from mechanics, electricians, or luthiers. Find a good one and stick with him or her and understand that their services won’t be cheap.

 

[Blue Bill]

I don't know this for sure, but I have heard remarks within the medical field that its more difficult to get into Veterinarian medical school than accepted at a human medical college.

Apparently, there aren't very many accredited Veterinarian programs in colleges...hence there are WAAAY fewer seats and the Vet schools can afford to be more discriminating and accept only the top candidates.

Think about it...if this is true, then possibly your Pet's Veterinarian may have had better grades in school than your family doctor!!!

Edited to add: Maybe that's why in the mob movies, the Mafia always takes its wounded hitmen to get fixed up at a Veterinarian?? Maybe they were smarter than we were...

The reason vet school is harder to get into is because prospective medical students are scared to get into human medicine, which is fraught with regulation, lawsuits and malpractice insurance, dropping income, pandemic issues, pressure from pharma companies, etc., etc. Much easier to deal with doggies and kitties.

FWIW, just before Thanksgiving, our son's dog was acting lethargic and sad, the vet prescribed some sort of treatment plan, which cost 6 grand, and included prendesone steroids. Turns out it was a sinus infection, which the steroids made much worse, almost killed the poor animal. Another $1200 to drain the infection, kind of a nightmare.

 

[Boreas]

Veterinarians can be sued for malpractice just like any other doctor. They can also lose their licenses. What you were told was what doctors refer to as "the standard of care" - not necessarily the "law", but receptionists may not know the difference. If you don't follow the standard of care, you set yourself up for lawsuits and loss of license. Doesn't really matter - if it is the "office policy", you either comply or go elsewhere. As with other doctors, some are not as likely to follow the standard of care as closely as others and may have looser office policies.

 

[Buckocaster51]

So you left your old vet. Went to a new vet.

Then decided to pop into your old vet. And are miffed the old vet won’t prescribe meds without records and a checkup?

Your post is very difficult to decipher. But if I did, the old vet’s response sounds about right to me.

What am I missing? Other than that agenda posts are prohibited. For good reason.

Yup

Closed