I Am Sooooo Mad!!!!!!

took Bai to the vet today cuz he's been sick and they said it'd be a $30. checkup and $30. rabies shot (to update it) and i was fine with that
well we get there and they gave us some meds for him which we were fine with and then they take him from the room saying they're ''giving him some fluids'' and come back out and give us our receipt and it was over $150.!
those 'fluids' they gave him were IV's and they didn't even ask my permission much less explain what they were doing! and then they gave us a $10. 6 pack of food we didn't ask for and a $20. baggie for a stool sample test we didn't ask for. and the IV's were $50.! they already ruined his vision that's why he's blind in his one eye they did surgery on him last November because he had a ruptured hernia in his eye they said if they did the surgery that he's get almost full sight back and look normal other than a small white dot in his eye
his eye turned completely black and he's blind in it now!
Mom brought that up when she was yelling at them and they said it was our fault for not lubricating it! we had been but then their vet said to stop so we did! and they checked that eye today and didnt say anything was wrong!

I AM SOOOO MAD! I AM CHANGING VETS!!!!!

Ok, please pray for me that I can somehow forgive them and maybe get a refund because I have no money now...
And for Bailey that he doesn't stay sick.

Thanks.. sorry for ranting at you guys.

I always ask what they are doing and how much it's gonna cost. I would have thrown a fit right there when I saw the bill!! They sound like they are just trying to get money. That's not a good vet. Yes, please find a different vet for Bailey.
And I hope Bailey stays healthy so you won't have to worry about a vet trip anytime soon. :D

I wanted to ask but she literally said 'i'm going to go give him fluids' and picked him up and left.. not giving us any time to ask her

I would have been furious, as well. Especially after all that's happened lately. I had a vet do that one time with my horse. Needless to say, I never used her again.

Gosh, it does sound like you need to find a new vet for a lot of reasons. Seems you don't have faith in these folks (don't blame you!) You have to have someone you trust caring for your pet.

Start looking now. Talk with friends about where they go, how they feel about the facility, the techs, the receptionist. Don't leave this to the next time you NEED a vet.

Once you find some place, feel free to stop in and look around, speak with the assistants, tell them you are considering bringing your dog there.

Once you find a place, you need to know that most vets will not see a new pet without getting the records from the prior vet. The only time I have done this, I was the new owner as well, so I needed a written instruction from the prior owner that she was turning the (cat in my case) over to me, and that they should provide me with all the records, medications and other information needed. You ARE the owner, so you probably just tell them you ar changing vets and need all the records. It is best to take them directly to the new place and have the record set up; again, while you DON"T need it, no pressure, no rush for anyone. The place you are leaving may need a day or two to make copies; that was true in my situation. When you do change, the hard thing will be to stay calm, don't start telling them "I hate you guys, you cost too much." None of that emotional stuff. Just calm and professional, you have found another vet that you think will work better for your schedule.

Hope that helps.
Sandra

That's terrible.

I remember when my mom's dog had to have surgery the vet's office quoted her $800. Although the surgery was actually being done at a vet building that does ONLY surgeries not at my mom's usual vet (I am not sure why her vet decided to send Shelby there)

When my mom picked shelby up after the surgery the bill was $1600. the only explanation was "well it's not our fault your vet quoted you the wrong price" :eek:

Totally frustrating and irritating I'm sure.

That vet is very unprofessional. I hope you have luck finding a new one. I would ask other dog owners about their vets & whether they are happy with them. My boss suggested her vet. I hadn't been happy with the vet I was going to (for years). She suggested my current vet and I LOVE THEM! They will call & ask how things are doing (the VET will call - not the assistants). And they act genuily concerned about my animals.

I will pray for little Bailey.

I will pray that Bailey is feeling better soon. I hope you can find a better vet soon.

Also wanted to add, was there a little paper where you could sign either "Do all procedures as the veterinarian sees fit" and "Please contact me before performing any procedures"? Vet hospitals usually have this and, if they don't, I would go back down there and demand that they either place this on their contract or at least give ample verbal notification.

Also, WOW what a horrible case of malpractice! Poor Bailey! Did you document any part of his surgery and when he started to go blind? I would be tempted to sue them or at least report them to the BBB :( So sorry!

Can you explain the error to them and attempt to get a refund? It seems if they said $30, then they should charge only $30. If another problem had surfaced, then they should get your permission to treat it and explain the charge would increase. I honestly don't know how they can get away with this if you present a good argument. If they argue with you, threaten to go to the Better Business Bureau or a veterinarian medical ethics board or something like this. If someone quotes me a price, that's the price I'm going to pay unless something else had been discussed and approved prior to them doing it.

As far as making Bailey blind, that is unforgiveable. Clearly malpractice. I hope you get your money back and find another vet right away.

Just a question.....some of these things may have been medically necessary in their opinion but why the $10/6 pack of dog food? :(

Agree with everything, you should pitch a royal fit, and not to a tech-ask to speak the office manager or the vet him/herself. Usually when they say they're going to give fluids quickly, it's subq (under the skin) and charge maybe $5-$10, plus a biohazard fee ($2). They should have gotten your permission to do an IV set up-can I ask you how long it took, and how many cc's of fluids does it say on the reciept? If it was via IV, it should have taken longer. Can you actually tell that they gave him IV, are there marks on his front leg? Maybe someone put the charges in wrong.

Also, if Bailey is sick, they should not have given him any vaccines. That could be malpractice right there.

well she had him in there for quite a while.. I'd say maybe 15 minutes but I don't know for sure... it was long enough that I was getting worried.. and she said he'd be ''lumpy'' for awhile.. there are two big bulges on his sides right behind his front legs.. I have no idea what they put into him or how they did it.. I haven't seen the receipt.. my mom dealt with that as I'm 17 and she figured she could get through to them better than I could.. she said she wants to go back today and talk to the vet herself (she talked to the receptionist, nurse/intern, and the office manager yesterday).

That sounds like subq fluids. The lumps of liquid should go away very quickly, though, but that is certainly deplorable how they would put Bailey through that without asking for your permission. Were you in there alone or with your mom? If you were in there alone, maybe they didn't consider you the legal owner so they didn't ask you. That doesn't make it okay, though. I would really consider reporting this clinic to the BBB.

If he had bulges under his skin he DEFINITELY didn't get IV fluids. Intravenous fluids are for severaly dehydrated animals who need better hydration NOW, and Subcutaneous is easier to administer, only takes a few minutes, but works more slowly. Jasper was a "camel" for about an hour after he got his SubQ fluids.

Regardless, if they wanted to give him fluids they should have discussed it with you and explained why they wanted to. I would try to get your money back from then and find a vet who is more talkative with you as far as what's going on with your own pet!

I don't like it when human doctors or vets get a god complex like that and don't feel like they have to communicate with their clients.

Ahh, yes..like cathy said he didn't get IV fluids, he got subq fluids. Significantly less expensive. Perhaps they did the charges wrong...mistakes happen. I would bring it to their attention.

WAIT a minute- did I read that right- they gave the dog vaccines when the dog is ill???? That is outrageious! I am taking it that the shots were not over due or something- but why compromise the immune system of a dog that is ill with a vaccine??? I would look for another vet... better yet- knowing me- I would have left if they wanted to give the vaccines if the dog was in fact ill.. They even gave fluids - pure indicator the dog was dehydrated- if in fact-..
Do not pass go- find another vet...

they waited on the rabies vaccine... but as far as the dehydration goes they said he was NOT dehydrated but that I should give him water/fluids to make sure he stayed hydrated. And my mother was in the room when she took him.

Add some none flavored pedialyt to the water and soak the kibble..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BaileysMom

took Bai to the vet today cuz he's been sick and they said it'd be a $30. checkup and $30. rabies shot (to update it) and i was fine with that
well we get there and they gave us some meds for him which we were fine with and then they take him from the room saying they're ''giving him some fluids'' and come back out and give us our receipt and it was over $150.!
those 'fluids' they gave him were IV's and they didn't even ask my permission much less explain what they were doing! and then they gave us a $10. 6 pack of food we didn't ask for and a $20. baggie for a stool sample test we didn't ask for. and the IV's were $50.! they already ruined his vision that's why he's blind in his one eye they did surgery on him last November because he had a ruptured hernia in his eye they said if they did the surgery that he's get almost full sight back and look normal other than a small white dot in his eye
his eye turned completely black and he's blind in it now!
Mom brought that up when she was yelling at them and they said it was our fault for not lubricating it! we had been but then their vet said to stop so we did! and they checked that eye today and didnt say anything was wrong!

I AM SOOOO MAD! I AM CHANGING VETS!!!!!

Ok, please pray for me that I can somehow forgive them and maybe get a refund because I have no money now...
And for Bailey that he doesn't stay sick.

Thanks.. sorry for ranting at you guys.

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Your mom should have questioned the bill and/or refused to pay at the time, and left the room when they took the dog without permission and demanded to know why fluids were being given for a non-dehydrated dog. But that is in the past.

I would definately find a new vet and have my records transfered immediately!

$20 for a stool sample baggie?? Heck we have little sample cups and don't charge for them at all. $20 seems very ridiculous!

Why did your mom keep going back after the eye surgery went badly? Unless they cautioned her that it could happen, I wouldn't go back to a vet that botched a surgery.

Good luck solving this delima and finding a new vet.

My mom did question the bill and did refuse to pay but they made her pay anyway. We had my little brother and sister with us which may be why she waited to say something till I took them to the car. As far a changing vets goes, we had every intention to change after they botched his surgery but with my baby sister in ICU and everything else we haven't had time to look into our options. The vet we saw this time was different than the one that referred the surgery. Same clinic, but I hoped this one would do a better job, I guess not