[Gpdd] Health: Vets and $

[joan fagalde]

Hi Alge.  That was me that said vet care is not cheap.  That statement was based on my experience with Lady Bug and her spay which she fortunately didn't need but the local vets thought she did.
   
  I've spent $3000 on her at the vets since the end of February of this year.  She's had blood, fecal and urine tests of course but the tests that proved the most worrying were the ultra-sound and x-rays and she's had a total of three of each.
   
  I found one local vet who was willing to do a spay for $600.  That was the vet alone, no help and no follow-up.  Another was around $800 with one assistant to monitor LB while under and no follow-up or meds.  Meds were extra in both cases.
   
  I went to U C Davis (a hundred miles away from me) which is where she got her 3rd round of testing and found out that what was supposedly cysts on her uterus were actually cysts on her adrenal glands, hence, no spay necessary.  (The uterus and adrenal gland are next to each other.  U C Davis has better equipment able to get better resolutions.)  I went to Davis fully prepared to have the Bugster spayed that day.  They charge $1000 but that includes a doctor, two different people to monitor her heart and breathing as well as an assistant to the doctor.  It also included any meds as well as a follow-up. 
   
  I, by no means, mean this as a condemnation of any vet and there are angels in the vet world, but I have found, sadly, that you pretty much get what you pay for.  I begged, scrimped and borrowed the $1000 as I wanted the LB to have the best possible outcome and lets face it, Davis does more spays in a year even on Guinea Pigs than the average vet.
   
  So, anyway, my comment "a good vet is not cheap".  Shop around, ask questions and demand answers.
   
  Joan, slave to The Lady Bug
  

 

       
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