Who Scams You More for Money - Dentists or Veterinarians?

[Anonymous]

I've decided vet medicine is just like human medicine. Therefore, I now refuse anything that I wouldn't order on a human child. I also no longer take my cats in for vomiting/diarrhea/whatever as long as they are still hydrated and active.

[Anonymous]

Vets. They tug on the ol' heartstrings with peoples un-natural over the top obsession with their pets. They've got you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lost respect for vets when they started charging for an office visit and an exam and for shaving the fur to examine the area. Um what exactly is the "office visit" charge if not for the exam? And what is the exam charge for if it doesn't include shaving the fur -- does it just cover the vet's eyeballs looking at the already shaven area? I'm surprised they don't charge for spraying the table and lifting the animal onto it, too.

FYI, I drove 45 minutes away and it was no better there. That vet charged me for three procedures to find out what was causing a rash and said two of them weren't likely to be the culprit. When I said, uh, why don't you just check for the thing you think it is then, he said, "because that's not the order we do it." Scum.

since when was going to the vet ever free? you used to go to vets that didn't charge you an office visit? also... i don't know if you've ever been to any medical professional, but typically you need to run tests to find a diagnosis...they aren't psychics.

i work in a vet office in my local town and my area is known for "rich people" but is just big homes for cheap with a great high school, and the main vet raises the prices because of the area its in because of the fact its close to DC and everyone in it is rich, when in fact thats completely not true because not even half of the people living there are in fact rich. she rose the price of nail trim from $15, to $25 and then added an extra $15 to it for the amount of people needed to help hold the animal down. and she rose the price of our exam visit prices and made it so that if you called the office on off hours you'd be charged $95 for an over the phone consultation. which is complete B.S because since ive started working there weve lost more than a fourth of our clients and the only clients that come back only come to see the technicians because they dont like the vet at all. the vet likes to argue at the clients and charge them for things they didnt approve of. for example ill give a senerio ( none of the names are real) vet bob is talking to client mrs hill about her dog rufus and vet bob turns and looks at me and says can you take rufus in the back and clip his nails and then tells the client that his nails were long and that vet bob didnt want rufus to scratch her. and on top of it all the head vet has 2 dogs theyre not potty trained so they poop and pee everywhere, they cause dog fights with the paitents, theyve made multipule clients stop coming because the dogs caused so many problems to there pet. and im just the intern i dont get paid, and the head vet puts me in situations where shes lying a client had asked her if we all had our rabies vaccine for humans she said yes, this here is our intern laura ( that is my real name) shes had hers and i straight up said " no actually ive never had that vaccination because i cant pay for it" the client looked swindled she has never came back to our office and shortly after that other clients who knew that one quit coming because the head vet lies. she shows up late, causing the client to go over the time limit and have to pay for an extended visit. its BS i dont take my dog or cat to her because the time i did she charges me $300 for my cat and i asked for was for her to check and make sure her fleas went away, and my dog was charged $400 for an exam, 3 year rabies and bordetella. then i told the manager what happened and she said thats "f#$king crazy you work here for free, everyday open to close and she ( refuring to the vet) couldnt give you a little discount for you even though your here for free, im sorry laura that will never happen again thats f%$ked up of her" after that i stopped taking them there because the head vet blew air from her mouth into my dogs face saying thats how you train them to do what you want. 1. i train dogs and thats the number 1 way to be bitten. and 2. my dog doesnt bite ever but she will bite if you blow in her face and she will hate you. i told the vet dont you dare ever do that to my dog or anyone else dog that is awful and my dog and hopefully others dogs will bite you because no dog likes that.

OMG, learn to make a paragraph!

[Anonymous]

All doctors. There is not one kind of doctor who is in it for the money any less than any other kind of doctor. All of them scam you for whatever they can get.

[Anonymous]

I just switched from a vet office that always seemed to be a lot and constantly tried to upsell us (Wheaton Animal Hospital) to one that's friendlier, with a niceer facility, and much, much more reasonable (Fairland Animal Hospital). I'm so glad I did -- kicking myself for how much I spent at Wheaton.

[Anonymous]

I've had few or no problems with either one.

Choose well and know what you're buying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vets!!!! Why can't they just run shot clinics??? I have absolutely no trouble paying for the shots, but then I have to pay the $85 clinic fee and then blood work... by the time I get out of there it's always at least $200.

And the county demands rabies shots, why can't they host shot clinics??

This is how I feel about doctors. I know what prescriptions I need, but I'm required to stop by for a 5 minute visit that costs $100 or so.

[Anonymous]

I was reading along the nice long post by the vet sympathetically until the part at the end about putting a couple thousands of dollars in a mutual fund, followed by the old " don't you love your pet " bit.
That is precisely what turns people off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog ate 1/2 tube of diaper rash cream but had no symptoms of sickness - To be sure everything would be ok I called the vet in Arlington (Glebe Road near the Giant) and they told me (of course) he needed to come in to be checked "just in case."

When I got there, they talked me in to pumping his stomach because and I quote, "he should be fine, but there is a small chance he will have serious complications that could be fatal." Against my gut feeling, I had the procedure done (for $600). I know, I am foolish, but I could never live with myself if my dog died from eating a freaking quarter tube of diaper rash cream. Even as I am writing this, I am feeling like a dumbass for letting them pump my dog's stomach.

You put your faith in these people because you don't know better yourself. They will take you for a ride whenever they can.

This is my vet and I have never felt pressured to pay for extra procedures. They normally give me options and I choose what I think is best for my dog. I have gone there for years without any issues. Plus my dog LOVES them so I cannot go anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had such good experiences with our vet. She always goes over the financial things before any work is done. There is the work she sees as necessary and those she sees as helpful, but not necessary right now. I've told her that I'll do pretty much anything for my pets and she continues to review the charges every time. I appreciate it. My pets have taken some strange meds over the years and most of them have come from a human pharmacy, not sold by the vet.

sure like the vet asks you how much money do you have to spend today? and then just max that amount out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog ate 1/2 tube of diaper rash cream but had no symptoms of sickness - To be sure everything would be ok I called the vet in Arlington (Glebe Road near the Giant) and they told me (of course) he needed to come in to be checked "just in case."

When I got there, they talked me in to pumping his stomach because and I quote, "he should be fine, but there is a small chance he will have serious complications that could be fatal." Against my gut feeling, I had the procedure done (for $600). I know, I am foolish, but I could never live with myself if my dog died from eating a freaking quarter tube of diaper rash cream. Even as I am writing this, I am feeling like a dumbass for letting them pump my dog's stomach.

You put your faith in these people because you don't know better yourself. They will take you for a ride whenever they can.

This is my vet and I have never felt pressured to pay for extra procedures. They normally give me options and I choose what I think is best for my dog. I have gone there for years without any issues. Plus my dog LOVES them so I cannot go anywhere else.

you choose what is good for your pet? are you the vet? when they give you a list of 5 different antibodies and steroids for a skin infection you lose your mind and choose the wrong options. By the way the skin infection went away with antibacterial shampoo with correct drying and a little coconut oil. He was resistant to meds chosen via culture test you geniuses out there trying to pump dogs with steroids and antibodies so you can get the dog in the "VET CYCLE" More Roids and antibodies now - more infections later- more work to do by you geniuses that are supposadly smarter than MDs. I know a lot of MDs that wish they could be vets instead. YAAAAA RIGHT!@!!@ LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog ate 1/2 tube of diaper rash cream but had no symptoms of sickness - To be sure everything would be ok I called the vet in Arlington (Glebe Road near the Giant) and they told me (of course) he needed to come in to be checked "just in case."

When I got there, they talked me in to pumping his stomach because and I quote, "he should be fine, but there is a small chance he will have serious complications that could be fatal." Against my gut feeling, I had the procedure done (for $600). I know, I am foolish, but I could never live with myself if my dog died from eating a freaking quarter tube of diaper rash cream. Even as I am writing this, I am feeling like a dumbass for letting them pump my dog's stomach.

You put your faith in these people because you don't know better yourself. They will take you for a ride whenever they can.

This is my vet and I have never felt pressured to pay for extra procedures. They normally give me options and I choose what I think is best for my dog. I have gone there for years without any issues. Plus my dog LOVES them so I cannot go anywhere else.

This is my vet too and I would say that the amount of pressure depends on the doctor. I have had some that push procedures (though, they are not there anymore) and others who have been great. It is probably the same in any larger vet practice. They have helped me over the phone several times and their advice stopped me from rushing off to the emergency vet. The emergency vet, however, will never give advice over the phone -- they always need you to come in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog ate 1/2 tube of diaper rash cream but had no symptoms of sickness - To be sure everything would be ok I called the vet in Arlington (Glebe Road near the Giant) and they told me (of course) he needed to come in to be checked "just in case."

When I got there, they talked me in to pumping his stomach because and I quote, "he should be fine, but there is a small chance he will have serious complications that could be fatal." Against my gut feeling, I had the procedure done (for $600). I know, I am foolish, but I could never live with myself if my dog died from eating a freaking quarter tube of diaper rash cream. Even as I am writing this, I am feeling like a dumbass for letting them pump my dog's stomach.

You put your faith in these people because you don't know better yourself. They will take you for a ride whenever they can.

This is my vet and I have never felt pressured to pay for extra procedures. They normally give me options and I choose what I think is best for my dog. I have gone there for years without any issues. Plus my dog LOVES them so I cannot go anywhere else.

This is my vet too and I would say that the amount of pressure depends on the doctor. I have had some that push procedures (though, they are not there anymore) and others who have been great. It is probably the same in any larger vet practice. They have helped me over the phone several times and their advice stopped me from rushing off to the emergency vet. The emergency vet, however, will never give advice over the phone -- they always need you to come in.

Ugh, did not realize this was a super old post. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

I've been ripped off by a few crooked dentists, and it's terrible when you have bad teeth that need serious work done, but you can't trust your health care provider. So I think dentists come out worse. That said, I've also had excellent, ethical dentists.

I walk away when vets talk about excessive procedures for pets. To me it feels like a moral issue, because we have too many people in this country who can't get basic medical procedures, so to spend that money on animals before humans feels wrong. And I don't have the money to begin with. I take good care of my pets, (typically a rescue cat), and when it gets to a point where anything more than basic vet care is needed, and the animal may be suffering, it's euthanasia time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been ripped off by a few crooked dentists, and it's terrible when you have bad teeth that need serious work done, but you can't trust your health care provider. So I think dentists come out worse. That said, I've also had excellent, ethical dentists.

I walk away when vets talk about excessive procedures for pets. To me it feels like a moral issue, because we have too many people in this country who can't get basic medical procedures, so to spend that money on animals before humans feels wrong. And I don't have the money to begin with. I take good care of my pets, (typically a rescue cat), and when it gets to a point where anything more than basic vet care is needed, and the animal may be suffering, it's euthanasia time.

This is the biggest cultural change when it comes to animals. When I was growing up, people would put their pet down once the bill started crossing the $1K threshold. Now? People will spend tens of thousands to keep their pet alive. My colleague has done TWO $7.5K back surgeries on her dachshund, plus recurring costs for doggie physical therapy.

It's insane. We refuse to get a pet because the costs of care has skyrocketed. So many of my friends easily drop $500-$1K every time they go to the vet.