Are Veterinarian's Scammers?

[Badchoices03]

I swear veterinarians prey on your emotions for your animals...my 11mo GSP is currently sick, diarrhea and very lethargic, this a-hole dog eats everything in sight, so my thought was that he probably ate something that screwed with him and we should just keep an eye on him and he will get better...but the wife was like no, we have to take him to the vet, vet was closed, she insisted on taking him the ER vet....they ran every test and xray they can think of at the tune of around $1750 and pretty much told us that there wasn't anything wrong with him and essentially gave him some dog pepto bismol and said to make sure he drinks water and he should would get better over the next week or so...smh...

 

[nameisbond]

Yearly vaccines are bull shit. The vaccines stay in the system for years after the first shot.

 

[NicPaus]

Around here all the Vets are being bought up by big corporations. To spay or neuter they went from $400 when my old vet owned it to $1200.

You walk in its $500. Return trip $350. It's a monopoly. Last time I went to the 24 hour emergency they were 8 hour wait and wanted $2500+. My vet still charged $1400 the next morning.

 

[badgas]

IMO most ( not all ) are like crooked car mechanics.

 

[TimeBandit]

What Nic said.

30 years ago I had an old school doc that never charged me even a hundred bucks to see a dog.

For the last 15 years we had a local that was reasonable and honest they got bought out by a big corporation that now sucks.

We started going to an independent down the road but the annual checkup with teeth cleaning is 1300 per small dog.

 

[Badchoices03]

Around here all the Vets are being bought up by big corporations. To spay or neuter they went from $400 when my old vet owned it to $1200.

You walk in its $500. Return trip $350. It's a monopoly. Last time I went to the 24 hour emergency they were 8 hour wait and wanted $2500+. My vet still charged $1400 the next morning.

Our ER wait was 6 hours, but once they check him in, which took about an hour, they said we could leave him there and they will call us when he was ready or we could wait with him....first thing I asked was if they were going to charge me for leaving him there and I was surprised they said no....so we left him and went home and they called me like 6.5 hours later...

 

[MonkeyButt70]

They are the worst. I will not bring my pets to a vet unless absolute emergency. They are cons! They told me 7 years ago that my small dog would die within 1 year if I did not put him on heart meds that were $300 per month. The little dude is still chugging at 14.

 

[PlumLoco]

I'm sure many Vets have gone the way of plumbers, where everyone is now corporate owned. But keep in mind that to become a Veterinarian takes more training and time than to become a physician for people. It takes tremendous dedication to become a Veterinarian, all the while the prices of office space, insurance, and staff continue to climb faster than most incomes.

 

[dribble]

I think they’re scammers. My GF just took her 22 year old cat in for $600.00 worth of blood tests. I’m like of course his blood’s fucked up. He’s 105 in people years.

Don’t even get me started on the prescription pet food they push. Royal Canin and Science Diet Prescription Only Pet Food doesn’t have one regulated ingredient in it. Not one. There is no legal requirement for a prescription. This is a smoke and mirrors show.

Furthermore, the food itself is garbage. The first ingredient is corn. This is a scam between the prescription pet food industry and the vets who tell you to feed that shit and sell it to you at ridiculous prices. This is absolutely the biggest scam in the pet food / veterinary industry.

 

[2Driver]

Friend had a 10 year old cats teeth cleaned and 2 pulled, $3,600. Get a new cat.

Another friend had a dog supposedly get leukemia based on some skin issues. Went to a specialist who now recommends chemo. They have pet insurance that will pay the many thousands of dollars after deductible.

 

[Ducksquasher]

I only go to privately-owned vets....my old vet was great but sold out to a Corp and it went downhill and they are super expensive. I just had to have my 14 year old Lab put down and I used a completely different vet after calling around. It saved me about $200 total and even though it sucked the vet office was fantastic.

I have no problem switching vets if I have issues at one or another...not like the old days for sure.

 

[welldigger00]

I swear to Christ that Doodles are the schiada of dogs. This asshole‘s nick name is “The twenty thousand dollar dog”

 

[beerrun]

I swear veterinarians prey on your emotions for your animals...my 11mo GSP is currently sick, diarrhea and very lethargic, this a-hole dog eats everything in sight, so my thought was that he probably ate something that screwed with him and we should just keep an eye on him and he will get better...but the wife was like no, we have to take him to the vet, vet was closed, she insisted on taking him the ER vet....they ran every test and xray they can think of at the tune of around $1750 and pretty much told us that there wasn't anything wrong with him and essentially gave him some dog pepto bismol and said to make sure he drinks water and he should would get better over the next week or so...smh...

Feed the puppy ground turkey and rice for a few days. If it doesn't eat that its sick but the turkey and rice will calm there stomach

 

[Not So Fast]

Their rates are absolutely ridiculous

 

[Nordie]

There's good vets and bad vets. Some are more expensive than others. We get a lot of calls because my wife is in the industry. She tells people where to go and what it costs.

My biggest complaint is pet insurance, they make it sound so promising and then fight you on every single thing. Sometimes I wonder why we even carry the insurance anymore. They have denied us more than paying for things.

 

[81Sprint]

I feel the same about Dentists.

 

[lbhsbz]

I swear veterinarians prey on your emotions for your animals...my 11mo GSP is currently sick, diarrhea and very lethargic, this a-hole dog eats everything in sight, so my thought was that he probably ate something that screwed with him and we should just keep an eye on him and he will get better...but the wife was like no, we have to take him to the vet, vet was closed, she insisted on taking him the ER vet....they ran every test and xray they can think of at the tune of around $1750 and pretty much told us that there wasn't anything wrong with him and essentially gave him some dog pepto bismol and said to make sure he drinks water and he should would get better over the next week or so...smh...

Like many professions, they'll get sued if they guess wrong and the dog dies....and they also don't make any money with an off the cuff guess and no testing.

Dogs can't explain whats wrong, so there is some level of guess involved.

An ER visit for a human (same basic structure, just less fur (hopefully) will run into the thousands or 10s of thousands for a sniffle....Why should a dog be any different? The reason is that a replacement dog can be acquired for a few hundred dollars at the shelter.

Performing tests to rule out or confirm what they think it might could be is the only way to somewhat accurately diagnose anything, and those tests cost money.

If your son or daughter exhibited the same conditions would you bitch about a human doctor who wanted to run a bunch of tests to rule out something major?....probably not.


That said, there are shitty practitioners in every profession....

It comes down to 2 things....how much do you love your dog and how much money can you afford to spend on it....You (and your wife) made the choice and approved the procedures, not the vet.

 

[evantwheeler]

I think the Vet industry it is no different than the human health care industry. Fantastic at trauma, but you're going to be pretty disappointed and broke if the ailment isn't something obvious and you don't take control of the treatment. My terrier got into it with a pack of yotes a few years back. Couple dozen puncture wounds all over. I think it was $3k at ER Vet to get him cleaned up and stitched up. I was mostly concerned about infection and I believe their services helped him recover without issue.

Few months back, got home and my little heeler was throwing up nonstop and lethargic, wouldn't eat. Kept coughing and hacking like she had something in her throat. Went to ER vet again, and of course, she stopped throwing up and having any symptoms as we were driving down to Oceanside. They came back to me with treatment plan of $2500 to do all these tests and BS. I told them I wasn't spending $2500 for an upset stomach, I wanted them to look down her throat and make sure it was clear. They said not possible without going under anesthesia. I said OK, what is the bare minimum you would do if this was your dog so I can go home and sleep tonight. They did an ultrasound to eliminate fear she ate something big that she wasn't supposed to and gave her an anti-nausea/vomiting medication and said if she kept throwing up after that injection, there was a big problem and I needed to come back. That was $600. Dog recovered fine.

In both cases I went to VEG, and both experiences were positive in the end and I would recommend going to their offices. The young women in these clinics are true animal lovers, but at the end of the day they are trying to do what is necessary for the business. They aren't running charities. I found during both experiences that discussing the options with them using rational thoughts and questions led to getting the best value treatment without falling victim to being upsold.

 

[2Driver]

Pet parents, pet grand-parents, labs with life vests, dogs in sweaters, dogs at restaurant tables and grocery carts, every-other dog wearing a fake service dog vest, overpaying for fresh dog food so “his poops are better”.

Of course they are taking advantage of them, its just that easy. I say go for it.

 

[Englewood]

Like any profession, there are some bad ones.

My mom’s dog had cancer and maybe 6 months to live. She was about to use her credit card to pay for a $20k surgery to keep the dog alive for 6 months until I stepped in.

The previous dog was $500/mo in meds for 10 years.

Same vet. Some of them are absolute scam artists who prey on people’s sadness.

 

[Todd Mohr]

The business has changed tons during my lifetime, in the 80's vet bill were very reasonable. I feel pricing has become fixed between the vet offices, maybe because of being owned by corporations. There are a ton of upsells and fees now that were not there in the past, I was shocked at how much it costs just to get a puppy through their first round of shots, health checks every visit even though you were there 3 weeks prior and have no issues. Tons of upsells every trip in, I get it, you gotta make some money. But if feels dirtier than the car business and all the fees are not told upfront all the time. We have to disclose our fees before any work is done, not so much in the Vet world. I made them go over all fees line by line before for all of the shot rounds and there was no surprises other than the upsell every trip in. I turned them all down and by the last round of shots they were a little easier on the upsell. I'll most likely use the SPCA when its time to chop balls, I'm sure they want a ton to do it at the Vet office.

 

[DLC]

Feed the puppy ground turkey and rice for a few days. If it doesn't eat that its sick but the turkey and rice will calm there stomach

‘With our pack of free loaders

we keep pumpkin around the house just in case - it helps the stomach digest and also helps if it’s upset and wants to yak !

 

[Xring01]

I dont trust Vets at all…
I tell my family straight up, if I am forced to take the dogs to the Vet, their is a high likelihood I will not be coming back with them.

I am not spending $3000, on 8 year old dog, that I got for less than $500 after shots/spay nueter/etc etc etc…

But I was born raised on a ranch and Texas, so I view dogs more as tool than a pet. Yes my dogs are pets to me, but not in the same mindset as most “pet owners”.

Owe my god… I about snorted coffee out my noise the first time I saw “Pet health insurance”…
WTF… most people can not afford their own health insurance, but Pet Insurance… that one cracked me the fuck up.
Dont get me started on one of my former neighbors who was spending $400-$500 month on prescriptions and custom dog food. They did that for 8 years, then I moved away… if that dog is still alive they are still doing it…

Not going to happen with a dog I own, Time for a one way walk… They are free to spend their $$$ any way they want.

Most of you will think I am an asshole for sure when it comes to dogs…

Growing up, we started out a hog hunt with 6 dogs and wouldn’t come home with all of them the majority of the time. Again… Hog dogs on a ranch are a tool… not a pet. We had 3 classification of dogs, ranch dogs, house dogs, hunting dogs. We had lots of them. No the “house dogs” where not allowed in the house… No dog we ever owned was allowed in the house.
Ranch dogs would round of the cattle
House dogs would alert to coyotes/armidillos/snakes/strangers etc
Hunting dogs - thats pretty obvious. Again, they didnt have long life spans thats for sure.. way to many hogs in South West Texas.

 

[lbhsbz]

The business has changed tons during my lifetime, in the 80's vet bill were very reasonable.

In the '80s a new truck was $10,000 too

 

[DLC]

Lucky ate some foam from her bedding and it wouldn’t pass !
She was plugged and wouldn’t eat, so the vet had to add a zipper on her tummy !

all better now!

 

[Gelcoater]

Whatever you do, don’t give the vet your email address.
Made that mistake during the Covid years.3-4 emails a week, sometimes 2x in a day.
Hit the opt out button countless times.
Had to stop by on the way home from work and had some words.

 

[Blue Oval]

My wife works at a vets that got sold out to a big corporation. The Doctors sold their soul. They regret it. But your bill is still controlled by individual Doctor. One of the Doctors runs every test she can on a pet. At first she thought it was because she didn’t want to miss anything. She quit working on Fridays , that way she could avoid working with her. She gets a commission of each of her tests she does. She is all about the money. A scam or a careful Vet?

 

[76sanger]

Absolutely! One of my best friends is a vet. He said on the cattle and horse side of the spectrum there is constant research being done to help the animals. (kinda like humans)
But on the canine side there is actually very little progress to be made, or serious interest in progress. Why? There is very little grant money that gets invested into the research and development to find cures for canines. Be it cancer to hip dysplasia. It's sad, but just how it is. Now if you have "THE MONEY" there is vets that will work on the cancer and other problems, but the fact still remains, theres very little in the world of progress for canines. So yes, vets literally are for the most part, a scam.

 

[Deckin Around]

To spay or neuter they went from $400 when my old vet owned it to $1200.

My same thought as we are about to have our pup spayed but I learned there is a big cost difference between the regular slice and dice vs less invasive Laparoscopic surgery with a faster recovery time which we were quoted $1100.


From last week: This zig zag line on our pup's hip is the whole vile of red colored rabies vaccine that was part of a $180 check-up and shots visit. I watched it happen the nurse was trying to distract her and the doc totally missed with the syringe and sprayed it like a squirt gun then told me "It's ok she got enough in there."

 

[Socalx09]

I go to a privately owned vet with two vets that I absolutely trust in corona. They know I’m an open checkbook when it comes to my dogs and they never abuse it. Toby is 14, and every time he goes in, I fast him the night before and let the vet know he can run bloodwork if they would like. They usually say no. And, they are always cautious when prescribing high cost medicine. Toby has an inhaler for chronic bronchitis and the staff was able to find the inhaler at a reasonable cost for me.

For ERs, I try to go to corona animal emergency hospital which I believe is privately owned. They have been very fair with their prices. One of my dogs had emergency surgery and the bill looked like it would have came from my vet besides the emergency visit fee. The issue is the training and the cost of the equipment. Which is why the corporate ER places have all the equipment. If your dog needs a specialist fast, and there is a long wait to see the specialist, the fastest way is through the ER instead of waiting for an appointment. VCA tends to have all the specialists. Robert thinks I’m absolutely nuts the two times I paid a ridiculous amount of money to save my dogs. I think any ER trip with a dog is going to be a minimum of 2k. Dogs can’t communicate and usually don't show they are sick until they are pretty sick, especially bigger dogs. VCA has been the most expensive and they will run everything, but they always give me an estimate before and have given me two treatment options. I have heard of ER vets saying a torn acl surgery is required, when a dog can be managed on pain meds, limit activity and wait until your local vets office can schedule it. It won’t have all the emergency costs and will be outpatient.

I have insurance and I don’t send in a claim unless it’s a major bill. FIGO has yet to deny a claim or not renew. Also, I have a care credit card that usually has 0% interest incase of these emergencies.

 

[Sportin' Wood]

Corporations are the problem. Followed up closely by Private Equity. Different vessel, same problem.

Too many Pikers eating at the trough.

 

[530RL]

There is an old saying about locking your wife and your dog in the trunk for a couple hours.

With that in mind, the vet comes to the house like Doctor Welby on TV. Worth every penny.

They are not pets, they are family. If someone intentionally hurts them, we aren’t having a funeral, we’re having a hunting trip culminating with a deep abandoned mine shaft and a couple bags of lime.

 

[Croz]

My dog lost a bunch of weight quickly. The Vet charges me $600 to tell me my dog has an auto immune disease or bone marrow cancer and that it would be a rabbit hole to find the real problem. Turns out he ate a whole roll of duct tape. He’s happier and healthier than shit, vet told me my dog was dying…he ate duct tape. Yes, cons.

 

[Havasu blue label]

Our ER wait was 6 hours, but once they check him in, which took about an hour, they said we could leave him there and they will call us when he was ready or we could wait with him....first thing I asked was if they were going to charge me for leaving him there and I was surprised they said no....so we left him and went home and they called me like 6.5 hours later...

There a great vet in la Habra

 

[stephenkatsea]

A worthwhile VIN. LHC - When that dreaded day arrived when we knew it was time to put down our wonderful Newfoundland, we called her Vet. She had been seeing this guy for years. The receptionist told me they could get to her in 10 days. I asked if she fully understood why I was calling. She replied yes, but they were very busy. Don’t know if I should blame the Vet or his girl on the phone. I hung up and called the Vet nearest to our home, Dr McGuire. Our dog had never seen him before. Bu, they responded to our needs promptly with grace, understanding and professionalism. They suggested our dog be their last patient of the day. We understood and arrived at about 4:45. They met us as we parked.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Didn't read all the responses but YES to your question.
I had a lab wife gave him a steak bone while I was at work he got it turned sideways between his upper teeth started pawing crying and coughing. She called saying your dog is acting weird and was panicked I said call the vet and hauled but home. he came running I looked in his mouth and saw it removed it, and dummy wanted to keep eating it, but I tossed it.

Vet said bring him in for checkup and x-rays and 2500.00 worth of crap I laughed, and he was fine for years. Another round he had kennel cough Boradella and they said he needed blood x-rays and more so walked out took him to a new vet said it was kennel cough 150.00 later all better.

Yes, they are scammers same as most dentists, but I digress.

 

[Todd Mohr]

In the '80s a new truck was $10,000 too

I bought a new truck in 88, it was 19k, same truck today is under 40k if you can find one that basic. Vet bills have a lot more fees and upcharges that were never charged 30 years ago. They got together and figured out how to make money if everyone went along. In the car business they are called Dealer 20 meetings and everyone shares ideas to make more money, vet business is the same. Nobody needs a new car and nobody needs to cure an ailing pet, so I guess it's the same.

 

[Todd Mohr]

I love my pets, they are family to me, but I see the upsells and do my best to make the right choice about their care. I don't like the guilt trip about turning down the upsell, but I understand they need to ask and they have every right to make as much per visit as possible.

 

[DaytonaBabe]

I have a good vet that I trust and don't feel like I've ever been gouged for anything which they could totally do, as I'd be willing to spend an obscene amount of money on our dogs, if necessary.

When she was young, our mini Aussie used to love to eat everything she could find on the sandbar at the river and would end up with firehose diarrhea two days later. The bloody diarrhea always hit after office hours for my regular vet...FML. Made a mistake one time and went to a new emergency vet that is closer to us and it was like visiting a Jiffy Lube. They tried to upsell everything and did their best to scare the shit out of me about "what it could be". Fortunately, I had been through that situation several times before with the same goofus dog and knew she just needed a certain med. They really tried to guilt me into running additional tests, etc. Told them to fuck off with all of that extra BS they tried to pull on me. There's another emergency vet that we've actually had pretty good experiences with, so I'll continue to go back to them (hopefully not though )

 

[Blue Oval]

In respect to the good ones out there. My wife adjusts her schedule to work with the two Doctors she trusts. They are great people and care about what they are doing. Dr Kurt comps things all the time for the elderly that can afford the services and to the dogs they can't save. There are some good ones out there.

 

[Outdrive1]

Scammers for sure. Novak in Havasu is one of them. They bring in the vet for the upscale at the end every time. We only go for shots so we can board them when we travel. Complete waste of time. De-wormers, DNA checks the list goes on and on. Check their DNA for possible problems later in life? Gtfo. I’ll deal with it if they get sick.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Some are good and some are bad. Any good one will have insane pricing. I‘m pretty sure I’ve spent more on medical for my dogs than I ever have on myself…and that’s with their insurance which is now touching $300/mo.

 

[81Sprint]

Wasn't gonna write this, it still strikes a nerve. My wife took our 6 month old Frenchie "Nacho" in to get Neutered in Dec 2020, the Vet office and Doc were supposed to be very experienced in flat faced dogs. We get a call, the one you don't ever want, Nacho had passed during the operation. We race over there, my wife is hysterical. Doctor comes in and says he coded coming out of Anestesia without offering more info. I pressed him, turns out they did not oxygenate Nacho correctly and pulled the breathing tube out to early and tried to put it back in. These dogs you leave the tube in until they are fully awake and basically coughing it up so to speak. So basically the dog suffocated. He said, "of course we will cover the cremation for free." I have never wanted to beat the shit out of someone like I did that day, I had to leave the room because if I heard him continue to talk things wouldn't go well. I'm no Doctor but I learned a lot after this all happened from research and talking to real Frenchie vets. Nacho was a really cool pup with great temperament. I don't care for Vets. or Dentists.

 

[GETBOATS]

Most of you have the same sentiments as I do, for 35 years, our large animal Vet handled our dogs, 14 of them. The last visit was to a barn where Steve (the Vet) was working. Two hay bales for a table and our 1 year old Jack was nutless! 10 minutes, done. Hundred bucks and a bottle of wine. Steve has now retired, so the future remains uncertain for the ranch dogs.

 

[yz450mm]

You guys think small animal vets are bad? Just be lucky your wife isn't into horses. One of these things coughs or stubs it's hoof, and holy s*** stop everything and get the vet over here to make sure it's not dying.

Did I mention that they all have different diets and daily supplements, because the vet "suggested it"?

Yeah they're beautiful, and cool most of the time, unless of course a butterfly or leaf floats by then they turn into complete psychopaths.

 

[FishSniper]

Scammers for sure. Novak in Havasu is one of them. They bring in the vet for the upscale at the end every time. We only go for shots so we can board them when we travel. Complete waste of time. De-wormers, DNA checks the list goes on and on. Check their DNA for possible problems later in life? Gtfo. I’ll deal with it if they get sick.

Novak is ridiculous I tried to buy a medicated shampoo that we had a prescription for our dog from them and they would not sell it to us without having their vet see him.

 

[mobldj]

pets aren't cheap.i have pet insurance.when my jax broke his leg vet bill was 7000.insurance paid half.3 weeks ago to put my eva girl down and cremate her was 650. but what are you gonna do,pets 1st,humans 2nd in my world

 

[DWC]

Took our Jack Russell to the vet 10ish years ago. He was shaking and stumbling all over the place. Rushed him to the nearest vet. Turns out eating snail bait isn’t good for them. . They told me for $1,500 they’d pump his stomach and give him meds. All good, it’s my fault. Paid my money and picked him up the next morning. While he was in the entire family scoured the backyard and got rid of all the remaining poison. All except for some behind the pool equipment. F’r ate it again, comes in trembling and off we went. Told the Vet that we need the bargain fix. $200 or less or put him down. Turns out they could make it work. Not sure if they ripped me off the first time or gave me a deal the second.

 

[monkeyswrench]

My son has a cat. It is his cat, and won't give another human the time of day. It will, however, come out of his room and get us if something is up and we need to check. Pretty F'n weird. A couple years ago, it's lip swelled, and was really lethargic. My son was in tears, I loaded the cat and hauled ass to the other side of town...ER kind of place.

The cat had cut it's lip, probably sparring with the other. It was infected. They lanced it, drained and did a couple stitches, gave me some meds to take home with her. It was a few hundred bucks I really didn't have. I'm not a super cuddly animal type. If it would have been more money, I'd have sold a kidney or something.

Damn cat still won't give me the time of day...Sometimes things aren't about the cost, or value to you, it's about something else more important, either to you or a family member.

 

[Long Way Home]

Seal Beach Animal Hospital Is corporation own now, But if you go there ask for Dr Annie, she has been our vet for years, she is old school and will only do what is necessary for you pet, no upsell on drugs, test or food.


*1190 Pacific Coast Hwy Suite D, Seal Beach, CA 90740