Spaying at the Vet or Clinic? - Page 2

Travis · 08-15-2008, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrd2gt

they shaved practically all the way to her front legs for a freaking 3 inch cut between her legs!!! i was so embarassed for her

poor baby girl, took forever for it to grow back, and it wasnt even faded, just choppy line.

LOL, the thought of a fade for a spay cracks me up.

**Burns** · 08-15-2008, 09:24 PM

The hospital where I work is more expensive than most clinics because we are a specialty feline-only practice. Not too long ago, we had a client who wanted to go the cheap route and got her cat spayed at a cheaper clinic - not even a low cost clinic - just a way cheaper clinic in the area, and the "surgeon" actually tied off one of the kidney ureters rather than a uterine horn. After the surgery, the cat got really sick (obviously), and after a lot of diagnostic work-up (which cost a couple hundred dollars), we found that the tied off kidney had turned dead and necrotic and had to be removed by a specialist (which cost about $900). And after that, and more supportive treatment, the cat still wasn't right and ended up dying.

So in the end, the owner thought they'd saved a couple hundred dollars by having the spay done somewhere cheaper, but ended up paying about $1500 in the whole course of this (not counting whatever the cheap clinic charged for the original spay), and the cat ended up dying from it anyway. Yep, that was sure worth saving a few bucks! Poor poor cat...

rj1204 · 09-01-2008, 02:33 PM

I know great vets that do the spay/neuter at many clinics and they do the same procedures as they do in private practice......it is their charity to the humane society, etc. I also know of a couple of vets that "take shortcuts" where I thought they had a good practice (and these were $300+ vet offices). Many of these clinics only offer the procedure at that price if your dog is a rescue of some sort only (obviously, not all). Ours let us utilize his service because we did rescue a GSD so he did our lab at the same time for the same price. He was a good vet and we brought our pups to his office during regular scheduled hours. Only difference was the price, which we were greatful.

I've been researching ear cropping vets in my area and found the same things. I found a few recommended vets about an hour from me doing crops for $350-400. I found one close by my home with NO recommendations and he is charging over $800 for his cropping. They tell me because he does extra monitoring and uses the "top of the line" products. You do get what you pay for but you just have to do a little research sometimes. Just because the vet is expensive, doesn't mean he is good. Just IMO.

**lolonurse** · 09-01-2008, 11:51 PM

I would also urge you to go to a vet. Do you know your dog's vWD status? I didn't, when we wanted to have our female spayed - and found out that she has a really poor clotting factor. They gave her a couple of units of plasma before the surgery, to bolster her clotting time, and she was fine. If she had been done at a clinic, she could have easily bled to death. Lois

Patches Mom · 09-02-2008, 12:36 AM

DIL brother had his Great Dane neutered at a Clinic he had a raging infection which could happen anywhere really but they had to keep taking this dog to a vet over & over til the infection was cleared up.

Baruch · 09-02-2008, 07:40 AM

We had our pug and boston spayed/neutered at the Human Society due to the price $60 vs. Vet $200+. We had no problems with them, but I can see the concern. I just wonder what makes a vet charge so much for the same proceedure. To me the high price just deters people from doing the right thing in some cases.

rj1204 · 09-03-2008, 01:48 PM

We get our pup at the end of Sept and we are going to get him fixed at 6 months. I called just to find out what he charges and they said $370! The vet tried to explain this covers everything (anastesia, monitoring, meds, and "top of the line laser surgery"). This is our first male in years and I thought the spay was more expensive. I guess I have to start looking around. Too bad, I really like our vet but that is just way too far on the high end. My vet also recommended an ear cropping vet in the area and he was charging over $800! I would not mind paying $200 for my own comfort reasons but almost $400 is ridiculous.