Nov
26
2009
Don’t You Think If I Paid $3,000 To Have Cataract Surgery For My Dog, That The Vet Could Give Me A Break?
Posted by: in Cataract Eye Drops, tags: $3000, Cataract, Could, Don't, Give, Have, Paid, Surgery, That, Think
So my dog got cataracts and so I spent $3,000 for him to have the surgery.
First off the 3k was for both eyes, it would have only been $1,500 for one eye, but both had the cataracts. THE point is, the doc said…oh well the lense was too thin for the one eye, so we couldnt fix it.
So now my dog can only see out of 1 eye, and runs into walls and things.
Then we go for our “follow up” visits which are $120 dollars for the visit and $130 for 4 bottles of eye drops that he needs.
So every month that is $250 dollars! Come on doc, you are killin me here.
Do I have the right to ask him for a price break or for a $1,500 refund of the one eye since he didnt fix that one? Or what should I do?
Entries (RSS)
November 26th, 2009 at 7:08 am
sounds like you should talk to the office manager and let them know that you are having a hard time keeping up with all the follow ups.
But I don’t think you can get a refund for the surgery because it still used anesthesia, a vet tech to monitor you dog during the surgery and after, as well as the vet to try to fix the eye.
The eye drops you can get a script for and try to find a cheaper place to get it.
I am sorry that you are feeling a little ripped but you will not find good answers online, just talk to whoever takes care of the finical agreements (usually not the vet).
I would like to add vets are doctors and should be treated as them, as well as tech should be treated for nurses, x–ray technicians, dental assistant/ hygienists, and surgical nurses because that is what they are. Not too many people have health insurance for there pets, which already drives down the costs because most of it comes out of pocket to the client, and if there are no clients there is no business, but the money made goes out to the employees to feed there families, not all are money hungry
eterinarians who have pursued specialty training beyond the required 4 years of veterinary school. To become a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist one must complete veterinary school, perform a one year internship in either small or large animal medicine and surgery then complete a 3 year approved residency in veterinary ophthalmology. Your credentials are then submitted to the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, ACVO, to be accepted to sit for the certification testing process, then pass all portions of that test. Becoming a Diplomate in a specialty college is the highest standard a veterinarian can accomplish and indicates dedication to their area of specialization. A veterinarian can not legally call him or herself a specialist in any field unless they are board certified in a specialty recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association, AVMA.
November 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Depends on if he is nice or not. Depends on his character. Also…think of it this way. You payed all that money for your pet. You must love him/her, so charish him/her. =] You’ll make it through if he doesn’t refund. ((Well…it’s also depending on the person who runs things as well))
November 26th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Yes i would ask for refund if he didn’t fix the one eye why should you pay for it? That’s to bad that your dog had cataracts. I got pet insurance for my dog so any surgery is covered 90% by them thank god.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Suggest you ask around and find another vet your friends can positively recommend.
Then ask that vet if what your vet did was unethical, or just plain wrong.
Sounds wrong to me.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:42 am
You can ask but you really should quite your whinning! Its called responsibily! You took it on now deal with it!
November 27th, 2009 at 6:36 am
You could ask, or you could start shopping around for another vet.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:52 am
There are 2 types of veterinary practices out there.
-There are large hospitals with large numbers of doctors and staff who are all there to work for work’s sake.
-And then there are small 1-2 vet owned practices that work because they love and care for animals.
I am happy to be working at the second of the two. I would suggest looking for another practice. Our practice charges 50 dollars for an office visit and I think close to half of that for follow-ups or rechecks. The practice you’re going to is really taking advantage of you.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:52 am
You aren’t going to get the $1500 back. They tried to fix it, but due to the dogs lens it couldn’t be done. If you went into the hospital to have surgery and once they got in there discovered that they couldn’t fix it for whatever reason, they wouldn’t refund you for the surgery…..Vets are doctors too and need to make a living. They are highly skilled and make much, much less than their human doctor counterparts.
They may be willing to reduce the office visit fee if you ask, but that’s about all you can hope for.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:33 am
my old vet was going to worm one of my dogs and I told him I had already done that the day before he then said well it wont hurt him and gave it to him anyway! the reason I worm them at home is to save what little money I can where I can and not wanting to pay him for things I can do myself! I now have a new vet that is charging me nothing to treat our very ill dog as we have already spent thousands on her vet care trying to find out what was wrong with her. after 6 months and 3 vet visits a week it depleted our savings and she understood so now she still treats her because she cares about her! too late to make a long story short lol speak to your vet and tell him whats going on and if he Truly cares he will work with you.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
It sounds like your vet just doesn’t care about the dog – gee what a surprise lol. In the mean time, find another vet.
My cat had cataracts…our vet operated on one eye at a time – as in not both in the same day. He also did tests to make sure there was a point in even operating…he should have known he couldn’t operate on the other eye in my opinion.
Your dog also shouldn’t be running into walls just because he’s lost sight in one eye! lol
Talk to your vet or go to another one. Our vet only did 2 follow-ups I think – one immediately after and the other a couple of months later.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Do you think I should have ask my heart surgeon for a discount on the $125,000.00 dollar bill I had for my open heart surgery,? Or maybe the hospital for their bill or any of the other doctors.
Vets don’t ask any body for discounts on paying the $100,000.00 it cost them for the schooling they have to go through. He went to school to provide a service for you and many others. And don’t forget he also has double the bills to pay his office bills and home bills
November 28th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Sorry to hear about your buddy (Pet) You could ask for some of the money back since the vet did try to fix the poor doggies eye with no luck and he can see with one and I do understand where you are coming from had a dog go blind and she would walk into Everything till she got the house down then she did great But the vet does need to give you a HUGE break in the cost of his/her treatments such as no charge for the office vists when the dog goes in or split the cost of the meds for the dog he makes it look like he needs the bucks no so.You may ask for a discount for this dog from now on or better yet seek out a careing vet who will work with you for the dogs sake Good Luck and hope your dog gets better in the home (as in getting around)
November 28th, 2009 at 8:55 am
You certainly can ask for some slack! EVERYTHING is negotiable. Unfortunately, some vets are blinded by dollar signs (just like anyone else), so you may not have any luck. However, if you have good relationship with the vet and have been a loyal patient, they may either give you a break or come up with a different payment plan.
Sorry your dog lost vision in one eye! Loss of depth perception is hard on animals.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Hell yeah I would ask for a refund of the 1500 since he only did one eye. What are you waiting for. Either that or run up a bill and don’t pay. Either way I would get back my 1500.
November 28th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Vets are not in the business of giving breaks.