Veterinarians: what happened to reasonable rates?

Pets have lived with us all our married lives and before that, too. I can’t imagine a life without them.

But veterinarians today are not making it easy to be a good person and take proper care of our friends. Yet they insist that you do so, and wag their collective index fingers at you if you don’t do everything they say to do. And pay the associated fees, of course.

Vets are getting greedy regarding fees. There’s no longer anything altruistic about the veterinarian industry. On one hand, they want everyone to adopt an animal. On the other hand, you’ve just handed over a hefty adoption fee and saved a little friend from foul circumstances. That matters not. The vets of American are insisting numerous tests are necessary for your new friend. Expensive tests.

Can’t have it both ways, people.

A friend of mine just recounted on Facebook the passing of her beloved dog. For a diagnosis and then, for a burial fee, it cost her $1,000 to say goodbye to her dog.

Bella, the land manatee 

She’s a good person and would have done anything for her dog. Apparently, her vet was petting the dog with one hand and tallying up the damage on a calculator with the other hand.

I very much emphasize with her.

Shortly after we rescued Bella, my wife noticed a lump in her throat, and Bella hadn’t been watching anything traumatic on television. It was off to the vet for us.

After a little hmmmmmming and probing of the lump, first with fingers, then with a needle for a biopsy, we were told by our vet, whose bedside manners had vanished, that the lump had to be surgically removed. Only then would we know if the lump was malignant or benign.

So, of course, we had it removed. Then came the biopsy. Another expensive item, yet we had to be sure the lump wasn’t malignant. Turns out, it wasn't.

Bella spent the night at the vet’s and I could hear the tote board running for lodging fees. When we picked Bella up the next day, and this is important, she had a drain sticking out of the side of her throat. We were told to leave the drain in for a couple days.

Bella had other ideas. The next day when I came home from work, Bella proudly presented me with the drain, which she had pulled out of her neck. She was fine. I called the vet and said this case is history – we don’t need to come in and have the drain removed.

Oh, but you do, Mr. Sherman, the receptionist cooed. We have to make sure all of the drain was removed. Please bring Bella back as soon as possible.

I did so, reluctantly, as Bella had done an excellent job. All they did was say yup yup yup, your dog got all of the drain.

The cost of all this? Just shy of $1,600, American money. The vet tried to charge for removing the drain, too, and I learned that for a medium-sized overnight cage with no HBO or Internet, we got dinged $80.

I asked our vet about all this. He told me that– ta da – there is now pet insurance, all the while agreeing with me that veterinary care was becoming very expensive.

It must be difficult to talk out of both sides of your face simultaneously. Veterinarians don’t do it very well. I guess it’s one of those talents best left to the professional liars – our politicians.