I feel every time I need to see a veterinary, no matter how small a problem, I end up spending over $500. How do others afford to take care of their pets? I feel these costs have greatly gone up over the last many years. I understand this is a service that is hard for people to turn down, since our pets are our family. Just like healthcare, food and education. Necessary things in life seem to have the largest markup. Where is the rip off coming from? I read veterinarians are not rich. I understand. So what is the problem? Is it the ownership of the company by someone that is only in it for money and makes all the calls? Opaque costs? Lack of transparency? Why does a checkup to see if there is an ear infection cost $500 even if there is no issue and is just over concern from the parent? Why am I charged $80 for an “exam” that literally has nothing to do with the actual exam for the specific problem that brought me in the first place. Why isn’t it just called a visit fee which is exactly what it is. Is it the business owner? Is it the practice? Is it a field that is able to be exploited due to our love for our family pets? Constantly pissed the F*ck off that veterinaries that I used to frequent for years suddenly change and now cost a car payment or mortgage for every non emergency simple visit.

Hi… my dog had that dry flaky piece of onion in his mouth last night.. it was small and he only had it in his mouth for a minute until I noticed and took it out… I’m just super scared he’ll get sick.. any advice?

Hi,

My 1 year old lab was taken for neutering. We were aware that he would be a crytorchild situation as his 1 testicle was not descended. VET did check for 2nd testicle by his abdomen incision but couldn’t find the other testis for a long time. N now recommending to go for a higher level ultrasound with a surgeon..to confirm if there is another testicle or not in the body. N then do the next procedure accordingly.

1. Is that possible to have just one testicle in Labrador dog?

2. If its hard to find the undecended testicle via ultra sound, can we take plan B – the visible n descended testicle is removed n then blood test is done in 4 -5 months for testosterone hormones in blood if anything changes to be sure if there is another testicle in body?

Youemf valuable inputs are much appreciated

Thanks mahesh

hi! my dog is a 3m old shepherd mix and she was attacked by another dog, she has multiple fractures in her jaw. I was referred by Dr. Trout to UPenn but they’re quoting 6-10k and I just dont have it, I’m very young so no one will lend to me and rescues that I’d contacted basically said they would euthanize because of the costly procedure, shes only a baby and I really want to save her, is there any financial aid for hardships like this anyone can recommend? Dr Trout said to get in contact with Dr. Magnifico and her practice referred me here to get in contact with

I feel like when it rains it pours, we just had our dog down for 3 weeks with a herniated disc and IVDD, now, our 2 year old cat started acting weird. Meowing, howling, laying in the litter box. It’s Christmas Day and we cannot afford an emergency vet visit. What do we do? I suspect it’s a UTI, I just want him to be okay until the morning.

5 Yr old rescue cat named Maew. Indoor/outdoor. Severe mega colon with constipation/ostibation related to nerve damage from having her tail removed by a dog when she was a kitten.

We have had her in and out of the vet many times for enemas and have done everything we can to keep her going. Laxatives, lots of exercise, diet changes We are out of options and considering colon surgery.

I need a magical diet/food remedy to help her mega colon issues. She actually did well for a few years on high fiber dry food. But that time is over and we are trying every food option to keep her hydrated and avoid colon issues.

We do regular manual palpitation also.

Help help help!

She’s always been there for us with an encouraging head boop and now we have to be there for her. We will never give up! She’s a survivor and deserves much more time with our family

Can my dog take gabapentin and proxicam together?

PYOMETRA SURGERY QUESTION: I have a question for Dr. Krista. Below is background information and I will include cost info for anyone that might be searching for cost information in the future and stumbles across this website. (also uploading a picture of doggie with stitches to gallery)

My 7.5 year old Shepherd/Husky mix just had surgery for pyometra. It was approximately $2000 at a pet hospital in Tennessee for the surgery. (actual surgery was a little under $900 and then additional things such as anesthesia, overnight boarding charge, IV, antibiotics, e-collar, medication, etc ended up racking up the charges to almost $2000.) Her symptoms that caused me to go to the vet were not eating, depressed, excessive drinking, constant licking her private areas, and I did notice she was drooling a lot as well. Her not eating was the main thing that had me worried as this dog will eat anything and gobble her food up in seconds and then lick the bowl clean searching for any missing bits under normal circumstances, yet she even turned her nose up at her favorite foods. I had initially been worried about blockage since she had eaten some table scrap bones a few days prior (which I now know not to do for future reference), but after googling , I came to the conclusion pyometra was more likely. She had just finished her heat cycle a few weeks prior, so everything lined up on her symptoms matching pyometra. The vet did an x-ray and blood work and it did end up being Pyometra. I had never heard of this before and really wish I had as this was an expensive lesson for us to learn and painful for our poor doggie. If we had spaded her when she was younger, it would have been $250 at the exact same place I just paid $2000 to for pretty much the exact same surgery. (though now much riskier and doggie sick) The vet did the surgery the morning following her initial examination. (the initial exam was $425 for exam, x-ray and blood work and was not included in the cost of surgery. I received a 25% discount off of this price for being a new customer) She had the surgery at 10 AM and stayed the night to get extra fluids and antibiotics as she had a pretty bad infection and keep and eye on her. I picked her up at 2 PM the day after her surgery. My doggie was happy to see me when I picked her up and seemed to be feeling much better. She wagged her tag and happily jumped in the car and was excited about going in our house. Once in the house, she visibly drooped, though. I thought that was probably normal after having surgery and she slept a lot. She ate that night and I gave her the medicine in her food. This morning, however, she once again refuses to eat- even her favorite foods. She drinks normally, but doesn’t eat anything, so I also cannot give her the medication, which consisted of an antibiotic and pain pill. I tried forcing a piece of bread in her mouth with the pill inside it but she just spit it out. My question for Dr. Krista or anyone who has had experience with pyometra…. is this normal for a dog not to want to eat a couple of days after surgery? It has now been almost exactly 48 hours since her surgery. She went to the bathroom a little bit ago and both urinated and had a wet bowel movement. I have tried offering all different kinds of foods and she shows no interest. She is just laying around. She is still drooling more than normal, but seems in better shape than when I initially took her to vet… but worried about her lack of appetite. How I can give her the medication if she will not eat. Any recommendations?

Our dog Addison is having diarrhea. What can I give her to help this go away. Has been for day and a half.
She weighs 95 lbs