Quote Originally Posted by Vela
Seems to me it's a sorry excuse for a vet to let an animal suffer over money, when they could set up a payment plan.

I'm not picking on you personally, however I simply HAVE to respond to comments like that.

If you had ever seen the bills for a vet hospital or seen a PILE of files sent to collections for bad checks and non payment people who swore on their child's life they'd be in first thing in the morning with payment, you'd be a little less harsh. I've personally seen several of my very financially conservative employer's bills all of which are sent by companies that expect to be paid NOW not later, not on a payment plan.

If the vet doesn't have the medicines/equipment etc, then they are of little help to people's pets, if the vet can't afford to pay the employee wages he goes out of buisiness helping no one's animals then. If the vet can't pay for the hospital's utilities/rent/taxes then he gets shut down helping no one's animals then. If the vet can't pay for his personal house/car/utilities then he has to find another career that can helping no one's animals. This is not even counting his student loan fee's of many thousands of dollars that must be paid back, or the cost of aquiring the initial start up inventory/equipment (again many thousands of dollars) to be able to be in business in the first place.


I think this site explains it fairly well as a response to the question why vet's cost, what pet owner's percieve as, "so much".

http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/costspay.html


Also, there are responsible pet owners who ask a perfectly honest and reasonable question, "Why does it cost so much?" Well, I'm going to tell you why.

1. Education: There are only 27 universities in the United States that provide Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degrees. They accept only one out of ten qualified applicants. Students may be accepted for the four years of professional veterinary school only after three to four years of pre-veterinary studies. Therefore, there are seven to eight years' minimum of college preparation, studying such topics as biochemistry, physics, comparative anatomy, microbiology, genetics, pharmacology, surgery, etc., etc. No home correspondence courses here! According to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges the costs incurred by a student to achieve a D.V.M. degree in Wisconsin [these are 1990 figures, TJD] is $8,000.00 per year tuition ($11,500.00 if you are from out of state), $4,300.00 per year for room/board, and $1,800.00 for books and supplies. These figures are only school related costs! Not everyone is able or willing to make the educational/financial sacrifice to earn the B.S., D.V.M. degrees. I'm one of the lucky ones!

2. Licensure: After graduation the veterinarian may only practice if a license is obtained through intensive examinations for a particular state. I am licensed to practice in Wisconsin and Florida; I cannot simply move to any state and start a new animal hospital. There are regulations I must follow and minimum requirements of knowledge and expertise I must possess.

3. Business: An animal hospital owner is generally self-employed. For me that means that I am responsible for payback of the loans I took out to establish the business. For example, real estate, hospital equipment, inventory suppliers, employee wages, advertising, insurance, telephone bills, etc., etc., are all my responsibility. Nobody provides me with insurance benefits, paid vacations, retirement funds, bonuses for hard work or pats on the back for maintaining a positive attitude. There are no corporate expense accounts or perks, no government grants or subsidies.


Every small business owner is in business to make a profit, and profit is what's left over AFTER all the expenses (supplies, equipment, rent, wages, etc.) are paid. Then with that profit the self-employed business owner has to take care of personal expenses such as car, house, insurance, food, utilities, etc., just like everyone else. If the self-employed business owner is fortunate, a little profit is left over after all those ordinary expenses for savings or retirement. In general, people do not perceive veterinarians as small business owners, but we really are no different from the shoe store operator, the dentist, the plumber, or carpenter. We get paid for our ability to perform a service.

The choice to obtain a pet presupposes some forethought concerning it's care. Nobody forces or requires you to own a pet. Neither is pet ownership a preconferred right, but rather a responsibility and commitment freely undertaken; and any reasonable person knows pet ownership will require expenses for food, shelter and occasional medical care.

I personally believe it is unfair and illogical to assert that "If you vets truly had humanitarian feelings for pets like you're supposed to, you wouldn't charge so much for 'fixing' them. That's why there are so many unwanted pets. And maybe if you did it for free, all those animals wouldn't be put to sleep in animal shelters."

Sometimes I'll respond to these questions with equally illogical statements of my own like, "Why don't the dentists give away free tooth reconstructions to people who can't afford it; or the shoe store owner give away basketball shoes to kids whose torn shoes affect foot care and posture? Or why doesn't the heating specialist fix that furnace for a bargain price for old folks on a fixed income; or why doesn't the guy who runs the clothing store sell winter coats at cost to people who "just can't afford" warm winter clothes? After all, we're talkin' HUMAN HEALTH here! If these business people had any humanitarian empathy toward their fellow human beings, they wouldn't charge so much for those things!"

Veterinarians, through their understanding of medicine and surgery, are available to assist and promote pet population control. And, like any other service provider, they charge a fee for your use of their knowledge, skill, and time... just like a plumber, cab driver or neurosurgeon.


And another site....
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/s...cle.cfm?id=397

"A veterinarian is a combination of all doctors: a surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist, pharmacist, dermatologist, and the list goes on and on. A veterinary clinic is a 'one-stop shop' where your pet can get it all done. Most services can be provided the same day, without the hassle of scheduling different appointments with a variety of doctors," comments Dr. Merle.

Veterinarians typically spend 8 years in college to earn a doctoral degree, and many study further to specialize. Compared with other professionals with similar educational levels, veterinarians usually earn much less-and they graduate with high student loan debt. Their love of animals does not diminish that they deserve a fair wage for their knowledge and services.

Likewise, a veterinary clinic is a business, and overhead costs have risen with technological advances. X-ray and ultrasound machines are now commonplace at local clinics. Supplies and equipment must be stocked for patients ranging from Chihuahuas to Great Danes. A large staff is required to do everything from animal restraint to treatment to clean up.

"Prices for basic veterinary care have not risen much in the last 30 years, while in human medicine the cost of services has skyrocketed. It is less expensive to treat your dog than your child for the same illness," says Dr. Merle.

And another....

http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com/...nding-Less/301

Today we’re blessed with many diagnostic tools and procedures that weren’t available years ago. Problem is, all these advancements come with a large price tag. And pet owners are often caught in the middle. They love their pets like family members but sometimes can’t afford to take them to the doctor or pay for life-saving procedures. As a veterinary technician it’s one of the hardest things I have to deal with on a daily basis.

Here we are with all the tools and skills available to help a pet, but the owner simply doesn’t have the funds to pay.

Have you ever taken your car to the shop and said, “Gee I don’t have money to pay for that new transmission. Can I float you a loan?” or gone to the supermarket and said, “Sorry, I don’t have enough money for this cart full of food. Can I pay you later?”

It sounds harsh, but veterinarians have businesses to run just like everybody else. And too many with good intentions and big hearts have gotten burned by offering “credit” or “payment plans” to non-paying clients. The result?

It’s virtually impossible to find a veterinarian willing to offer services today with payment tomorrow.

Let’s face it, quality vet care isn’t cheap. Think about it though—would you want it to be? Because if it was cheap—I’d be worried. Because it would be your pet’s health that had to suffer!



I repeat that I am not picking on you personally, just responding to the comment in general regardless of whom had said it.