Thanks for reading my story :::

TexasShadow wrote:
Tether line idea is a good one.
re vets' gouging... some are gougers and some are not. you need to shop around when it isn't an emergency. down here in Texas we have opportunities to get rabies shots cheap at places like Tractor Supply, once a year in the late spring.
we ran into one vet where there was an anesthesia charge as well as the procedure charge, made the cost almost double. he didn't get the job.
we found a vet who is reasonable after looking around.

Anesthesia and surgery are two different processes, and require a surgeon and an anesthetist. To have a fee for the anesthesia and surgery is common practice. Students attending veterinary school these days come out with a tremendous debt. This is one factor that has caused veterinary bills to climb. Add in the cost of running a business, supply costs, and you can see how common procedure costs have increased. I would not call this gouging, but balancing the books. Now, as a general rule I think you will find that client costs in metropolitan areas will be more then in a more rural setting, where livestock costs, etc, affect the cost of the service.