 Barked: Sat Oct 27, '12 7:43pm PST |
 | |  | | Oh for heaven's sake.
Vets are not obligated to lose money when they perform a surgery to be "moral." That's absolutely ridiculous.
If you can find one willing to lose money, then great, good for him. But just because a business charges enough to cover expenses for a surgery and have some profit left over besides, doesn't make them an "immoral" vet.
They've got employees to pay, school loans to pay off (they went long enough to get a doctorate), building rent to pay, supplies for that surgery (consumables like the anesthetics needed, but also capital expenses like the table, monitors, etc)...
$100 on a spay isn't going to cut it. Surgery isn't cheap. And if I'm going to trust a vet to cut open my dog's abdomen and remove part of her body, I'd prefer him to be using state of the art tech, and not be losing money and thereby trying to go as quickly as possible to minimize his loses.
You get what you pay for. If you want a $1000 surgery (FAR less the same thing would cost for a human, but I'm attempting to account for the cut in cost due to frequency of performance) at a tenth of the cost, don't be surprised when complications happen. Not saying they will, I'm saying it's significantly more likely.
Y'all are spoiled expecting to be catered to like that. Yes, there's a shelter problem. But vets also have bills of their own to pay. They're running a business, and it's their choice whether to operate partially as a charity or not, and it doesn't make them "immoral" because they choose not to hemorrhage money by essentially spaying your dog for free. Bully for them if they do. But the entitlement attitude is preposterous.
My vet would charge about $90 to have Samson castrated. I'd also get exactly what I pay for. A rapidly-performed surgery, a larger-than-necessary scar, longer healing time, more bruising, and no pain meds.
It's not because he's a butcher, it's because he's charging $90 for a surgery, and in order to minimize his losses, he's got to do them quickly. Do that same thing at $400 and I expect him to take a bit more time and care.
This is an elective surgery. You do not NEED to have your dog spayed, it is entirely something done for our convenience. If you want top treatment for your pet and can afford it, there's clinics that will offer that. However it is also a moral issue and there are mobile clinics, shelters, rescues, etc, who over subsidized prices for those who can't afford the actual cost of the surgery - surgeries often performed by the same vets who charge more in office.
So take a step back and think exactly what you're saying before accusing veterinarians of being "immoral" and "greedy" just because they have the gall to charge enough not to actually stay ahead.
A dog is a major investment. You have MONTHS to start setting aside money, a little bit at a time. And if you can't get enough set aside, you've got MONTHS more to do it in, or you can get it done at cost. You are not entitled to have your dog spayed at someone else's loss. It's an ELECTIVE surgery. You should feel humbled that such a thing is even made available to you, regardless.
I guarantee you that if we didn't have a population issue with unwanted pets, a $600 spay would be completely the norm, and you'd be laughed out of everywhere you went asking for a $100 elective surgery.
The amount of money a veterinarian is willing to lose (or gain) on a sterilization surgery is not even close to an appropriate measure of how much he cares about animals, and it's appalling to hear that anyone would believe that.Edited by author Sat Oct 27, '12 7:57pm PST
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