Spay at shelter

Pawz4me wrote:
The vet's price likely includes pre-anesthesia blood work and more pain control (both pre- and post-surgery) than the clinic price.

I've never been behind-the-scenes at a low cost clinic so I don't know for sure, but it's possible they skip some of the things that a private vet might do as their normal procedure, such as administering fluid to keep BP up or inserting an IV catheter so that if something goes wrong the vet can quickly administer any needed medication. The equipment many vet hospitals use for monitoring pets during surgery rivals the monitoring humans get. All that monitoring equipment (and improved anesthesia drugs) are why anesthesia for pets isn't as risky as it used to be. But it costs.

Pretty accurate. Also, many of the shelters operate on a tax-free basis where your vet does not. This makes a huge difference in the costs.

Bottom line is you can't really tell if things are done "right" or not. You can't really even know that with your vet, that's where the relationship you have developed over time is important.

One fact finding task you can do: ask to see the surgery facilities and explain what is done. If they say NO - walk away.

Granted there are times you shouldn't be allowed behind the doors, but if there is no time that they are willing to show you and explain what's going to happen, it's a huge red flag.

Doug, DVM

BTW, costs vary greatly by the area you live in. The taxes, personnel costs, etc. in my area are not the same as rural areas or generally as high as some areas like NY, California. So what someone else pays has very little value in assessing what you should be paying. $350 is pretty typical in our area for a full service spay, pre-op blood, catheter, fluids, pre-op pain meds, post-op pain meds, certified tech monitoring, suture removal, surgery, hospitalization and disposables.