The Cost of Veterinary Care.

I went to the hospital recently and had to spend the night after a minor surgery. The bill came today for the hospital portion and you guessed it. I nearly had a heart attack. It was $18 for my two Ibuprofen and the hospital portion of the bill alone was almost $48,000. That did not include the doctor or the anesthesiologist. It was astounding. But I was instantly struck by the difference between my bill and the bill for my dog this week.

I took my Bernese Mountain Dog to the vet to have a cyst on her back checked. Then I learned it was time for her vaccines so we did that as well. During the exam my vet did before giving vaccinations, she found a mass that is fairly large in my dog's abdomen. So we added x-rays to the day. I left paying the $350. bill. I did not blink. I could not think for worrying about my dog. We learned that she needs to have an ultra sound and it was estimated at about $450 for a specialist to come and do the procedure. So now we are up to almost $800 and we have to look at surgery to have this mass removed. That quote was between $1500 and $2000. Sounds like a lot and there are plenty of people who would never spend that kind of money on a pet. But I could not get over the difference between my dog's bill and my own. It cost roughly $50,000 to fix a pain in my neck and only $3000 to save my dog's life from cancer.

Many people often complain about the cost of vet care and yet we fail to stop and think about the fact that these incredible people spend the same amount of time in school as human doctors and usually earn one tenth of what human doctors earn. The vet clinic I visit has vets that work at least forty hours a week including a Saturday every month. My doctor works only 4 days a week and never on weekends. I do not mean to minimize what human doctors do, instead I mean to really bring to light the incredible amount of love and compassion that veterinarians bring to their work. I can't think for a moment that they would go into this line to get rich. Not when they are earning so little for the same level of surgical skill or medical knowledge as my human doctor for a pittance of what a human doctor earns.

I am not sure what the future holds for my beloved pet but I do know that the way I view vet care and what is reasonable will be forever changed. The cost of the care for the life of my dog? No question she is worth every penny.