A friend’s dog got porcupine quills in his snout following an outdoor walk. The dog was taken to the vet where all kinds of tests were performed and the . 15-20 quills that were extracted. The bill was $500 for this service. Plus the dog had an ear infection and was told it would be $150 for the medication to treat it. Charging such prices is fucking criminal, in my opinion. If you’re a person on a fixed income, like my friend, you’re screwed. —Pissed and pissed some more
This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2013.
Personally we bought pet insurance, treat it the same as regular health care. Covers dental and other regular checkups every year as well as up to 5 thousand in emergency procedures and costs us 4 dollars a month.
Brandon are you missing a zero in that figure? I have pet insurance on molly & the noofer, and get a bit of a discount, but the monthly is $43. not 4.
it doesn’t *cover* regular checkups, it *requires* regular checkups to keep it in effect. much like car warranties, you have to have the thing serviced at your own cost to maintain the warranty.
but if you do have such a plan, let us know where!
I have to cancel my plan since the whole damn thing ( and I have been paying for 4 years) is null and void because I won’t vaccinate them every year.
If your dog gets a snout full of porcupine quills, this is The Captain’s solution.
– Have a friend (preferably a strong, burly one) hold down your pooch so they can’t squirm around.
– Use sharp scissors (sharp!) to cut all the quills in half. They’re hollow, which is why you have to do this (suction holds them under the skin, so you’ll get a little blood oozing out (have no fear!).
– Grab some pliers and a bowl.
– While your burly buddy holds on tight, grab a quill by the tip and yank.
– Repeat (quickly) for remaining quills.
– This will suck for your dog, obviously, but will save you $500 at the vet that you can maybe buy some ‘sorry-for-doing-that-to-you’ Doggy treats with.
The Captain has preformed this operation numerous times. Be careful pulling the quills out, nobody want to lose a chunk of face!
Vote Captain!
Ummmm…4 dollars a month? Not possible!!!! I just got insurance for our puppy after an expensive operation for our older dog and, the minimum I found was 22/m and I opted for a more deluxe plan for 43/m. Either your plan is somehow subsidized, either corporate or government. If its government, please post the link so I can take advantage.
Just imagine what it would cost to have porcupine quills taken out of your face if we did not have state supplied medicare.
Check out the attached table showing how expensive it is to become a vet, and once again, this part of the country is the most expensive.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/s…
Fixed income? What? I don’t understand the fixed income part here at all. Yes, things cost money and things happen that put a wrench in the finances every now and then but that happens to everyone not just those on a “fixed income”.
hey captain, the noofer got quilled twice. the first time I had diane sit on him while I did the cut n pull. it was awful. there were only 10 quills. the next time, I ran him to the vet and begged them to accept my 450$. he screamed to get the needle that knocked him out, but after that he slept thru it all, instead of having the trauma.
I am just saving a little chunk weekly for vet bills instead of the insurance. knock wood none of them will get cancer since I am light on vaccinations, refuse to poison them with flea/tick shit, and feed them as organic as possible.
Yes, I can see why you’d want to shell out for the ‘all inclusive vet getaway package’ the second time around. It’s never a pleasant experience for anyone involved, no matter the care and delicacy applied to the task.
But, The Captain is frugal so the Vet will not be getting his rupees! As well, should the Captain fall on the wrong side of a porcupine the hope would be that his friends would leap to the rescue, holding him down and pulling free the embedded quills… despite the numerous cry-baby protests
We have 2 cats and yes i just double checked for both of them $9.57 has been coming out of my bank account for the past 14 months. It is thru pet secure. I don’t know if we got some sort of deal because we adopted one with the SPCA and the other through fairview animal hospital but that is all that i pay, and i just got a 300 cheque from them the other day
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh is this the price difference betwixt cats n dogs then?????
I never bothered with insurance for my cats, but one time I paid just over 2K for boogers radiation treatment, so at 4/month it would have been a good deal.
I thought pet insurance covers bona fide “accidents” such as those OB described (porcupine quills) but not illnesses/conditions that require major interventions. The main thing I would be concerned about would be certain high probability conditions (due to genetic predisposition) that require expensive treatment but are not the outcome of an accident (hip surgery, cataracts, etc). Are these things covered by most insurance policies? I haven’t been able to convince myself that pet insurance is not a scam.
Also, GDM, is there a specific reason why you don’t vaccinate your dogs? Are there negative side effects of vaccination?
$23.55 comes out of my account every month. That covers two cats (ones adopted so he’s not the favorite), and a dog.
I think that breaks down to about 5 bucks a cat and around $14 for the dog.
As for the need for vaccinations, its the same (conspiracy) theory that people have about their own yearly shots.
You also need to consider possible influences such as anthesia, sterilization, payroll for both the vet and vet tech to handle a large dog – none of which are covered by a government health care program.
Pet insurance is a great idea, but porcupine quills can be removed on your own (if phyiscally capable and responsible) but I would still suggest visiting a professional.
vaccinations are a good thing, and have saved millions of lives. human and otherwise. but not needed yearly for many of them. and the booster shot cocktails are a slam to the system.
there is a blood test that vet can do called a titre test. it measures the amount of coverage left in the bloodstream, and some dogs will only need rabies once in 5 years. some just once. there’s a lot of stuff via google. I walk a middle ground.
on flea & tick, I won’t go near the poisons. I do a hand search on the dogs each evening. they have never had fleas, ever. they do get ticks, but never for more than 24hours. I was very tick phobic before I got the dogs. now, meh! I crush those little bastards with glee.
the best defense against illness is good health. good food. clean water. non-toxic environment. lots of exercise. and hybrid vigor, which I believe in.
Vets are like any other business, some good some not. They use equipment and medication that, for humans, are subsidized. Without pet insurance you’ll pay a small fortune like I have over the last couple of months. If you really value that furry family member, it’s not rip-off.
If you can’t afford to properly take care of your pet (which includes medical treatment when necessary), you have no right having a pet. I have two cats. I’d love to get another, but it would be irresponsible because I can only afford the ones I have.
It’s deplorable when people have animals and can’t afford vet care (or insurance for their animals) and let their animals suffer because of it. That includes people who get animals and don’t spay/neuter them because of the cost. Can’t afford to spay/neuter your animal? Then don’t get one.
Three words. Weste Animal Hospital.
It’s a drive to get there but worth every bit. They keep costs low and hire only experts that really care about animals and not about money. It took me forever to find them. Dr. Weste can be a bit hard around the edges but animals really love her. And Dr. Zia is a sweet man with a wonderful nature.
SERIOUSLY. Weste Animal Hospital.
Also if you are low income, the SPCA will spay and give your pet their shots for almost nothing. If you can prove you have an income below a certain bracket.
Do your homework op. For the sake of your pets.
I’m kind of confuzzled about the fixed income part.
Don’t get me wrong, I love animals. I have had pets in the past, but they get expensive when they get old, or injured, or sick. Now I have kids, and I can’t afford to have pets too.
Pets are optional, and if you can’t afford their care you really shouldn’t have them.
I agree vets charge to much but this is common knowledge.. If one can not afford a pet when they get hurt they should not have a pet. If you have a pet and know a medical problem will put you into a sticky situation then you should have a small savings just incase.. Also your friend could shop around for a good vet, often times the smaller, locally owned places in the sticks charge much less then in the city..
not all homes are palaces for pets. this complaint was NOT written by the dog’s guardian, it was written by a bit of a hotheaded friend.
I bet the dogs guardian does everything in his power for the dogs, and gives him a great life. just as an example, he was out with the dog having a great time in a wild place where porcupines gambol. ( I betcha it was the same porkypine that nailed the noofer – in that thicket of trees by the dog leg path, eh??? I betcha)
just as a I believe that some homeless dogs and cats should NOT be pulled from their environment and plunked into an alien and restrictive environment, I also believe that some very poor in material goods homes can provide the BEST emotional life for a pet.
if someone says they are too broke to pay for pets medical care, but have cell phones, fibre op and drink store bought lattes, they’re assholes.
but if someone is sharing their last can of beans with the cats they are a saint in my books.