The Veterinary Industrial Complex

4X4Dodger wrote:


(Respectful brevity snip)

I dont expect perfection or easy answers. I have had cancer myself so I know. But I do know that the system is out of whack.

I know exactly what you're talking about. My vet was once like the 3 person operation you mentioned. His prices were also affordable for all but the poorest people. But then he went wild with expansion - a huge new Animal Hosp with all the goodies, then added a boarding facility plus grooming! He now has several times the number of employees and his prices go up constantly. CONSTANTLY! And they're all young graduates. They only stay a year or two and move on. So we're paying a premium price for inexperienced novices. His clients, both working and retired sure aren't getting raises as quickly. He is now only affordable to the upper income people of this county. And this in only 5 years. He does no charity work (low-cost) for Rescues or Fosters.

I wont go into the waste of money on tests they did on one of our cats that started using throw rugs or anything cloth she found on the floor to urinate on. Nothing they suggested worked - and they were evasive when asked for more information on the "bladder infection" evidence they found. They did run several tests and they were expensive. I don't like that they now take your pet in the "back room" and leave you standing there in the exam room staring at the wall. You have no clue what, if anything, they are actually doing in the back room. What did we pay all the money for? Months later, she is still doing it but we are not going to keep filling his coffers with one useless med and/or test after another. She has no bladder infection.

And vaccines! The veterinarians I worked for in NYC knew that yearly boosters are no more necessary for cats and dogs than they are for our children and ourselves. They were only recommended for show dogs and cats plus hunting dogs with high exposure to other animals. But they want you to bring them all in for these boosters anyway, plus the new money maker, the so-called "wellness exam" = to the tune of $75 or more per pet. I almost popped a button when I demanded I stay there and watch this exam. It was a joke. It took no more than 5 minutes and the cost was something like $40. Those of us not in the higher income bracket, the retired with more than one pet, simply cannot afford these prices and super-speedy "wellness exams." Where will this all end, with only the wealthy able to get care for their cats and dogs? That's the direction it's heading.

Price health Ins for your pets if you're a multi-pet household. Who can afford it? The prices keep going up as the vets raise their fees.

I understand they too have to make a living and have many expenses but they seem to be more and more out of wack with the cost of everything else.

I now take them to a vet in FL we found (we're snowbirds) who is a 4 person Animal Hosp. They don't take your pet in the back room. They don't sell you wellness-exams if the pet needs to be vaccinated. It's included in the visit. They don't have you spend 10+ minutes waiting in the exam room to see the vet after some tech comes in for the info. It's vet medicine as it was and should be and it's affordable.