Pet Care Costs

That was an easy question, one to which I had a ready answer: Constantly having to juggle medicine and economics.

Let me illustrate with a couple of examples.

Jack had a long history of ear problems. He belonged to a second generation client of our practice, someone I'd known since her childhood. After acquiring a husband, children, and pets of her own, she travelled the country according to the needs of her husband's job.

She entered our hospital one day with Jack, announcing that she'd moved home to stay.

"I've spent a fortune on Jack's ears, and he's been to doctors in every town where we've lived, but the problem just keeps coming back. I've resigned myself to knowing that he'll always have recurrent ear illnesses."

After examining his medical records, I discovered that Jack had never had aggressive diagnostics or treatment, despite the owner's willingness to aggressively pursue a long-term cure for Jack.

We ran tests on the ears themselves, but we also ran tests looking for an underlying reason for Jack to have ear problems in the first place. Our tests on the ears told us what medication to use and we declared an all-out war on Jack's infection. Our other tests found that he had a thyroid hormone deficiency, the underlying reason for his recurrent ear problems.

Armed with that information, aggressive treatment, and education about preventing future ear problems, Jack's owners can expect him to have less, if any, future trouble from his ears.

Let's turn for a moment to the story of Red. Red had a disadvantaged start in life: she didn't know her father, her mother had no prenatal care, and she was thin and ill when she came to live with her new family.

Still, the new owners seemed to care for Red and wanted to see her healthy. Early in the process of beginning preventive care in the form of intestinal parasite treatment, vaccinations and starting heartworm prevention, Red became deathly ill.

We treated her condition aggressively, and she came through with no aftereffects from her illness. Literally, we saved Red's life.

When it came time for the next visit in Red's preventive care series, the owners gave vague reasons for not making an appointment when our staff called. Several more calls got the same result. Then, one day, a hospital across town called us for vaccination history on Red. Red's owners had quietly slipped away to another practice. When we asked the owners why, they replied, "We liked you, and you were good with Red, but we found someone cheaper."

Well, please make this part of the public record: "If I'm ever at death's door, like Red, don't call the cheap doctor!" With less than very, very aggressive treatment, Red would not be at any veterinarian's practice today.

Veterinarians are constantly in a position of trying to guess, or having to ask, "Do you, Mr. and Mrs. Pet Owner, want good care or cheap care for your pet?"

Any veterinarian can do either. And, we're trained to offer you the best we know how to do, as well as to offer other options if you can't afford the best.

But, unlike The Great Kreskin, we're not mindreaders.

We have no way of knowing what your finances are.

And, until we've known you for a while, we don't know what your level of commitment and interest in your pet is.

For instance: some people will do without for themselves to care for their pets, like any other family member.

Other people see animals as disposable: "Whaddaya mean that test costs $20? I'll take him home and shoot him, I got plenty more to take his place."

Let your pet's doctor in on your thoughts. If you're on a budget for pet care, say so. There are options in both treatment and scheduling.

If you don't think enough is being done for your pet's illness, say so. Jack's previous veterinarians probably read his owner wrong. She wanted Jack well, and she was tired of treating the same thing over and over. And she was willing to put in a few hours of overtime at work to pay for the saga to end.