The super expensive vet fees are not only a local thing. It is the same in Canada.
Dr. Andrew Jones is a popular and very much followed Canadian veterinarian. “Since graduating with his DVM from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992, Dr. Jones has been practicing as a small animal veterinarian and has treated thousands of animals (* Dr. Jones is no longer practicing, as he has resigned from the College of Veterinarians of BC – please go here for more information). He has a special interest in a variety of alternative, non-traditional remedies for pets and has written pet-health books, countless articles on at-home pet health care, created Home Study Courses for dog and cat owners, hosts a private membership site, and formulated premium nutritional supplements for dogs and cats (Ultimate Canine for dogs and Ultimate Feline for cats). He is the former owner of the Nelson Animal Hospital, in Nelson BC. Dr. Jones’ pets, Tula and Murray, are a part of his family. This philosophy of animals being members of the family is applied to his work as well, in both his practice and in his online business; his client’s pets are a part of their family and they deserve the best care possible.”
Dr. Jones is an advocate for alternative, natural solutions for dog and cat health. For any of you who would like to have a look at his free e-book, or any of his products, or even if you need advice and would like to contact him, you can visit his website https://veterinarysecrets.com/. Please note that I did send an email about an issue that one of my dogs had, and I was given a reply in less than 24 hours.
His YouTube channel, which goes by the same name of his website, ‘veterinary secrets’ is also highly followed and on it, you can find a lot of advice, including cheap remedies.
In this clip. Dr. Jones comments on the problems of veterinary affordability, and more importantly how can you help your pet by saving on veterinary fees, after hearing from pet parents who have spent loads of money on veterinary care for their dog or cat. From my experience as a pet owner, what he talks about is also happening locally.
“Most people don’t realize what’s happening in veterinary medicine now. Dramatic increases in fees access to veterinary care. In the last few months I’ve had a number of people, subscribers, former clients, talk to me about veterinary fees that I could just never imagine happening. Multiple pet parents having veterinary bills in excess of ten thousand dollars. One person had a cat that developed diabetes, secondary to being on cardio steroids. Their cat was extremely sick and they were told they need to go to a referral cat clinic to have their cat treated. You’re looking at things such as an extensive veterinary workup, IV fluids, 24-hour care, you know, a feeding tube, but to be at a veterinary clinic for a week, you know come out with a bill in excess of fifteen thousand dollars? Ten years ago I was practising. Yes we saw many sick dogs and cats; many animals that were critically ill; many animals that required 24 hours hospitalization, but I could never imagine sending a client home, especially specifically for medical care, with a bill in excess of fifteen thousand dollars. I understand the times have dramatically changed, veterinary fees have risen and fairly enough, they’re pretty low, veterinary support staff – obviously you need to pay your staff more. They need to be au par with other businesses. All the other fees to run a veterinary practice. Insurance. All the associated equipment. I get there is escalating fees but it just seems to me that in some of the veterinary practices, the fees that veterinarians are now charging to clients – they’ve gone up disproportionately.
I understand there’s a huge demand and a pet parent like myself, we really, really, value our animals. If Tula was sick, man, I really would, I would spend what I need to get her healthy again. There are thousands and thousands of people, you might be one of them, you’re just not in that type of financial position and is it right that, you know, the small few who have the financial resources, they can afford to get this extreme high quality veterinary care for their animal? Yet so many people can’t? Maybe I’m a little bit old school or I practised for nearly 20 years. I own my own veterinary practice. Maybe I didn’t charge enough. But we didn’t turn clients away. I mean if a sick dog or cat came into the clinic, we the very least saw that animal. We offered payment plans. We even set up a fund for animals in need.
Veterinary care is gone on the track of human medicine. There is extremely, sophisticated, advanced diagnostics. You know, now it’s not uncommon to have animals having MRIs. One veterinarian pointed out on the escalating fee crisis, he said there is this gold standard of veterinary care. And the example is a dog that is potentially strained and has the cruciate ligament torn. You can sedate the dog. You can palpate them to see if there is laxity and movement, confirming an ACL tear. But the gold standard? Go ahead and get an MRI! It’s another two thousand dollars. And this veterinarian’s point is that if you are a skilled, fairly competent veterinarian, you should be able to make a pretty good diagnosis just based on that initial, clinical exam, physical exam findings, what you’re feeling with palpations, and then if you have clients that don’t have the financial resources to do the gold standard type of practice, you can still offer them solutions.
You have what it seems with many cases and what I’m hearing from many pet parents is that clients are just being offered the gold standard. There are an array of different diagnostic tests we need to do first before we can make a diagnosis. And then if we do make this diagnosis, there are an X number of things we’re going to do to get your dog or cat better. Yes, that could cost thousands of dollars but isn’t your dog or your cat worth it? Many people just don’t have those financial resources. So I think it is reasonable and fair that they are offered some lower cost solutions while still offering a path to helping that dog or cat get better.
So what are some of your options?
Well, number one, you’re going to need veterinary care at some point. So you need to have a good relationship with a local veterinarian. Find someone who understands where you are at. Like if you have limited resources, a veterinarian that’s willing to work with you. Many are that are still ‘old school’ veterinarians other there.
The second thing is prevention: do what you can to keep your dog, keep your cat, healthy. Feed them as best as you can a good quality animal protein. Your cat and your dog are not eating kibble.
Be diligent about regular exercise.
Consider some of the inexpensive supplements like the Omega-3 fatty acids. It is so important for so many dog and cat diseases.
Learn about the different remedies that I discuss in the channel. For example, the itching cat that was put on prednisone and developed diabetes. A once daily antihistamine like Cetirizine – my opinion – that would have been a better option. There’s over a thousand videos on the channel. We’ve discussed every common dog and cat disease with an array of different remedies.
The most important is to be a really empowered, engaged pet parent. You advocating for your dog. You advocating for your cat, when and if they’re sick. You need to be asking a whole bunch of questions like ‘Do we need to be doing that diagnostic test? Yes or no? Perhaps we don’t do the diagnostic test and if we didn’t, then what would your treatment be? And ask about potential side-effects especially long-term medication. Then ask is there a potential, safer alternative?
Ask your veterinarian about payment plans. I mean, what if an emergency happens, if you’re not in a financial position, well if they at the very least see you and accommodate your financial needs. This is a big problem in veterinary medicine and there are millions of pets that aren’t going to get the veterinary care that they need. So do what you can to try to ensure that your dog and your cat – they are not one of them.”