Best place to get clipped?

[Cass C]

As far as spaying and neutering both of my cats and Lyka were spayed by the shelter before I adopted them, but Lily being from a breeder was not. I had every intention of taking advantage of my local shelter clinic, as I had no issues with my other three animals and it is a fraction of the price the vet wanted to charge me. My Grandma, however insisted that I use the family vet. She was so intent on it that she offered to pay for it, so I ended up using her vet.

 

Although I personally saw nothing wrong with using the shelter spay/neuter clinic my grandma was convinced that the cheap vet wouldn't do the same quality of job as her vet. From what I saw there was no difference in my other three animals recovery or health afterward and Lily's.

 

I think like others have said it depends on the clinic as to whether or not it is a good choice. If it was a dirty non-reliable clinic I would be worried and definitely wouldn't let them spay/neuter my pets. If it is a reliable place like a good shelter clinic, or a regular vet that also works at a low cost clinic to help those with financial troubles I would have no issues trusting them with my pet.

[simba]

What I wonder about is how far it's possible to tell if you have a good vet. I mean, if my vet wasn't following the guidelines, or diagnosing my dog properly- how would I ever tell? The people who went to Dr Pol thought he was great.

 

You can tell of course if he seems to be compassionate, caring, if the place is clean, if he has a good bedside manner. But I have no way of checking out his diagnosis for example. I'm not up on the latest vet research on treatments. Even bad vets have people who go back to them.

[CMP]

Vets are like doctors - each with their own take on things.

 

I have two vets, both very respected in their individual fields, who disagree as to the diagnosis of my youngest dog. It was up to me to pick which thesis made the most sense to me - a non-vet. I really hated that.

[Maralynn]

Remember that you are your dog's advocate. A vet sees a snapshot of you dog when you bring it in. A snapshot that may not even be entirely accurate due to the stress of being in the office. A vet evaluates your dog against a normal standard in general, but you know what's normal for your dog. If something doesn't feel right, ask more questions, give more information, explain why you don't feel it's normal for your dog, ask about further testing or get a second opinion. In the case of Dr. Pol, I would have been insisting on something more a lot sooner than they did. No excuse for how the vet and staff neglected that case but I would have insisted on more testing or gotten a second opinion a heck of a lot faster.

[CMP]

^^ yep.

 

A very good vet will also want a second opinion on anything not cut and dried. A very good vet will want the best for your animal - even if it is not THEM who can provide it.

[juliepoudrier]

^^Exactly. When my Jill was injured, I asked my regular vet to please work with my rehab vet, and he happily agreed. I think the fact that they worked together made a huge difference in her recovery and eventual return to work.

 

J.

[Lizabeth]

I went to the low cost vet for Gidget... I had gotten her license through the animal shelter it came with a 50 dollar off on the spay.... When I went in to have the job done I did pay a little extra for some things, and I insisted she have stitches not staples, as with a BC I felt staples would not hold up on her calmest days. I paid a bit more then the average price, however I insisted that I spoke with the assistant and the vet even called me before the operation which was impressive. I did not ask to speak to the vet nor did I ask for a phone call before the procedure.

 

They treated me great, were very good to Gidget. If for one moment I had been uncomfortable I would have paid extra and had her vet do the operation. The shots and the chip were much less to have them done there. Our family vet understood the reason as to why I brought her there.

[Olivia]

I just had my 7 year old girl spayed at the shelter clinic on Thursday and so far I am very pleased with the results. The cost difference was around $300 and as she is a very healthy, fit girl I decided that the shelter would work well for her. I have had general bloodwork done this year which was good. They did use sutures and gave pain medication before she left though she did not get any to take home. I do keep Tramadol at home for the dogs for various pain reasons (my boy has neck problems that need occasional pain control) that I was able to give her and she only needed it for a day and a half. I dropped her off at 8:00am and picked her up at 4:30pm. I would rather her be at home with me rather than left at my usual clinic as there is no one there at night and if she had problems no one would be there to see until they got in at 7:00am the next morning. I can watch her just fine at home.

 

The clinic was very professional and kind when I dropped her off and when I picked her up they commented on how very sweet she is and the guy asked her for kisses before she left. The surgery site is clipped well with no clipper burn and the incision is very clean.

 

I had many of the same reservations on this thread but this was a good experience for me and I will definitely consider using them in the future as long as she continues to recover as well as it looks like she is going to.

[CMP]

I don't think I have a sense that clinics and othher low cost options are not just as safe or capable. I am sure most are.

 

For me, it's practical and part of my world view. I use my regular vet because they have good equipment, lots of staff, a very nice facility, constantly upgrade their education and practical knowledge and know me and my animals.

 

Part of the reason they can have those things is because they make enough money to buy/pay for them.

 

If I take away the profitable bits and only come for the other bits, soon they will not have the good equipment, lots of staff and so on.

 

I realize that I say this from a position to be able to afford to do so. But, still, it stands that I do not believe it is wise - in a big picture way - for me to economize in that area.

 

EVeryone's mileage may and will vary and I have no bone to pick with any particular point of view - this is just mine.

[Shetlander]

How do you know if a vet is any good? I guess it can become clear over time or in one telling experience. About twelve years ago, I left a vet who insisted nothing was wrong with my dog despite a drastic change in his stool and weight that was rapidly going up and down. The basic blood work came back fine and the dog's weight had just returned to normal, so clearly I was a loon with my return visit and concerns. It turned out the dog had Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, something I figured out on my own before I saw a vet who believed me and ran the appropriate test.

 

My current vet confers with other vets and researches issues, refers out whenever he feels something is needed that he can't provide and encourages second opinions. Plus, he saved my Lhasa's life several years ago and treats my concerns and opinions with respect. I hold him in great esteem.

 

There is also word of mouth/reputation, which is a guide if you are looking for a vet. I know a few people who are very happy with the vet who blew me off when my dog developed EPI. I assume they are having good experiences with his practice, but I would never return or recommend him. Just recently, I took Quinn to a chiropractic/acupuncturist vet who I have heard good things about. That is all I had to go on and I gave him a try. Happily, my experience with him to date has been extremely positive and my confidence in him is building.

[Crawford Dogs]

As a vet tech working at a low cost spay/neuter clinic for 2 yrs now I'd have to completely agree with Liz P's post earlier in the thread. You truly do get what you pay for when it comes to medical care. Imagine 1 tech helping 2 vets doing surgery at the same time in separate rooms while helping a third vet in an exam room. That's how it is every day at my job. So yes, spay/neuter clinics typically have very low quality of care. For my pups, they go to a full-service clinic for their surgeries even though I can get them at practically no cost through work. Yes, you really do get what you pay for. . .

 

And yes, I do believe I work for good vets. However they are vets whose standard of care is dictated by the practice owner and what the client wants. You can have it cheap or good but not both.

[juliepoudrier]

Maybe it's a regional thing (or the broad brush thing, who knows?). The clinics I have been to have been well staffed and I've been able to discuss care directly with the vet doing the procedure. Then again, I worked for vets in an era when emergency vets didn't exist and techs were just coming into the picture, so non-techs did all the assistance in surgery and everything else that a tech would do now. I don't think the standard of care was lower because of that. But whatever--people need to make choices based on their personal knowledge of the situation and their own comfort level.

 

J.

[alligande]

It might depend on the type of clinic, the one I took my foster dogs to, was a non-profit ran by all the major animal shelters in the area. Rather than rely on the volunteer services of local vets they thought it would be more efficient to open a dedicated clinic, and open it to members of the public and small volunteer rescue groups. It certainly was not under staffed, my fosters came home with pain killers. My comments about using my own vet, was based entirely on the fact I had cultivated a relationship with the staff, and I always feel you get better service where you are well known.. Regardless of what that service is, and I mean no disrespect to the medical professions.

[Tommy Coyote]

_{Don't all of the staff at most clinics go home for the night? Wouldn't it be safer to take your dog home with you before the clinic closes so that you could monitor at home during the night?}

 

_{I don't think I would take my dogs to a low cost clinic unless I was broke and didn't have a choice. I feel like they are just safer with my vets who know us pretty well.}

 

_{It's not about the money. I just prefer it that way.}

 

_{One vet got in all kinds of trouble here. It was at a shelter. She was letting the vet techs do the surgery. That is a pretty scary concept.}

[jvw]

I take my dogs to a low cost clinic for HW tests and preventative. That is one of the only ways I can afford to take my old dog to a cardiologist for her heart condition or to an ophthalmologist when she had a tumor in her eye.

 

I go to my regular vet for annual exams and when problems crop up, which for a while there seemed to be every month!

[MrSnappy]

I have two vets - one is expensive, very fancy clinic, and they lean toward a specialty in sport dogs and related injuries. They have a rehab portion to the clinic as well. This was the vet that diagnosed - and surgically corrected - Tweed's sesamoid issues when several other vets had failed to identify the problem. Including other pricey vets.

 

The other is a low cost vet that is just down the road. I take fosters to this vet routinely for spay/neuter etc. But I also take my own dogs there, especially for emergencies as he has given me his home number and will meet me there after hours when the need arises. He has twice saved Piper's life - once at 11PM when she was bleeding to death down her throat after puncturing the lingual artery in her tongue (still a mystery, as we do not play with sticks or anything pointy). He's never charged me an emergency surcharge for after hours anything, and his costs are incredibly reasonable. Piper's emergency cost me $350. The ER vet, whose skills I do not have any faith in, would have bankrupted me.

 

His surgeries have always been clean and my dogs are always offered IV fluids and pain meds. I use him for all sorts of routine things (and emergencies) and have been happy with the cost and results. But when I had Dex neutered, I went to my pricey vet. Dex was cryptorchid and there was no clue at all where those little suckers were hiding. My vet quoted me $800 for surgery, but it ended up being about $400 and he came home with a "certificate of bravery" which I thought was a sweet touch. I have no doubt that the cheaper vet could have done the surgery just as well, but I felt more comfortable having my sport dog done at my sport vet, even if his surgery was not sport related.

 

When Piper needed her ACL repaired I did not go to my sport vet because I could not afford him ($5K) no matter how many times I squinted at my finances. I ended up using still another low cost clinic (not my emergency guy) because they had a good reputation for doing ACL repairs for another local rescue. It cost me $1100 all in, including bloodwork and follow up visits.

 

I guess all I am really saying is that I try to be an informed consumer. My income is limited, so I do the best I can with the resources available to me, and I really don't feel guilty about spreading my business around. I appreciate my vets for their skills and the good turns they have done me, but my #1 focus is providing for my dogs, not keeping a vet in business.

 

RDM

[Maralynn]

I think that it's good to remember that the more dogs one has, the more business they'll give to a vet. For me for the past several years things like ordering HW meds and flea/tick prevention online has in part enabled me to have more than one dog (which leads to more business via HW tests, rabies shots, office visits, etc)

[highway61]

I decided to go with my usual vet hospital, a difference of $170 I'll be paying over what the Spay & Neuter clinic charges. I'm all about shopping clearance bins, using coupons but I have (finally) decided I don't want to skimp on my pup. He goes in on Thursday morning and I pick him up the next morning. Wish us luck!

[Gideon's girl]

My regular vet takes veterinary students in their last year on externships and they live in an apartment upstairs. They check on patients that spend the night. And they have a Tech that can stay the night, if they have something that needs monitoring at that level.

 

Our local spay/neuter doesn't even intubate or catheterize. It's been year since I worked for my regular vet, but we used to get dogs and cats with problems from the clinic all the time, to the point that all of the regular vets in town finally got together and forced the clinic to adopt certain standards, some improvement, not enough.

[brady's mom]

Sorry to bump an old thread!

 

I would personally go to my normal vet. We've been going to the same practice since we moved to the PNW eleven years ago and have an established relationship with the entire staff. It's a three vet clinic (they've grown quite a bit) and Brady sees the same one every time. She's know him since he was a pup and, when I was going to school, I would drive him home four hours just to go to his appointments. Because he's quite possibly the most graceless, unself-aware dog on the planet, we're fairly established there. Sometimes she doesn't charge for visits if they're just little injury check-ups and what not. They call me to see how he's doing and even send me a Christmas card, lol. That alone makes me want to give them as much of my business as possible, and I'm a broke recent college graduate with loans to pay off. When he was neutered, I think it cost me a grand total of MAYBE 400 bucks? I think it was more like 350? And that was with an overnight stay where they have a tech and a kennel assistant who stay overnight to tend the animals. She's phenomenal at what she does and I love going to the clinic. I even buy my flea medications there. It's only 40 dollars for the three month with a free fourth application or 60 dollars for the six month and two free applications.

 

Edited to add: his neuter also included bloodwork because, at the time, I was a paranoid, nervous, 20-year-old first time pet owner and wanted all my bases covered and she suggested it as well.

[highway61]

Sammy was neutered last Thursday at his usual vet clinic. $270 plus $52 for the pre blood work. They tried to charge me $10 for the party hat but I had them take it off him and the bill. I was told it would be ideal if he kept it on for two weeks, I laughed and thought he won't have it on for two minutes! The one other time I had a cone on him he cracked and then ripped the plastic from the edges (his movements in the house are very maniacal!). I'm lucky though, haven't seen him put his mouth there once and the sutures are looking good still so all is well.