Things You'll Need:
- A calm attitude
- Confidence
- A Pet would be helpfull :)
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Step 1
Try out some of those "Ask-A-Vet" websites, you can get most of your questions answered long before needing to go to the veterinarian's office and you could treat it at home, which will save you money, and may get your pet helped sooner.
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Step 2
(+) and (+=) means look at the warnings at the bottom of the page after reading.
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Step 3
Know Your Vet.
If you have been to the vet a few times you may notice that the vet is a different person than last time. Most clinics have more than 4 different vets that are on staff and often there are traveling vets who are only there once or twice a month. If you have gotten a good deal from one of those people and you are in the position to do so, request the same person while making the appointment. -
Step 4
DO NOT WALK IN without making an appointment beforehand. This is because they will charge you extra as a 'Walk In' or 'Emergency' case even if the problem is simple.
At my clinic we charge $40 just to see a veterinarian with a normal appointment, but for a Walk in we will charge triple. From a veterinarian who was visiting our clinic, I learned that most clinics would consider that cheap. -
Step 5
Be sure to ASK THE PRICE before each service is provided. That way you won't be surprised at the final bill, and you can make a decision if the service is worth the cost. Your Veterinarian and the staff will also get the point that you don't have a lot of money, you don't really have to go into too much detail about the state of your bank account.
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Step 6
If you are presented with an estimate before a surgical procedure make sure they know that you can't pay for the all of the extras. (+) An estimate is not final, you can usually pick and choose a few things off of the list in order to cut the final bill by nearly a hundred dollars.
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Step 7
The point of running a veterinary clinic is to make profit, the people in charge will hire veterinarians for their skill at medicine, and they will hire the Vet Techs (nurses) for their ability to present the bill. Veterinarians are more likely to give you a break than an experienced vet tech is.
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Step 8
Most clinics have a minimum dispensing fee on their medications. Often times they require that all dispensed medications be charged above $10 even if you are getting a few pills worth a penny each.
Veterinarians can suggest alternative medications such as over the counter drugs (such as buffered aspirin) that can achieve the same goal as the costly prescription meds that they may be dispensing at their clinic. This can save a lot of money if they are prescribing multiple medications. (+=) -
Step 9
If the option arises to take your pet home and treat it there, and you can actually do what they recommend, then this is usually the way to go. This is where I've seen a $1000 bill get cut down to $450. However, if your pet suddenly goes south it won't have trained professionals with all of the equipment on hand to bring it back. The case I am talking about was a puppy with parvo. The puppy was already drinking without constantly throwing up. I must warn you that with a case like this, the smaller breed the animal, the worse off it will be. You should only take this option if you know you can actually FOLLOW THROUGH with the treatment, and the animal does not look near death.
Comments
conchodebbie said
on 9/22/2009 Thanks for the information. This is very good to know.
abtex said
on 9/17/2009 This is some excellent advise and a good article. 5*
jenbeth said
on 9/13/2009 Great tips on saving money, thanks!
vallain said
on 1/18/2009 I'm amazed at what people will spend on their animals. We love our pets, but there are limits to what we can spend. You have helpful info for keeping the costs reasonable.
LorilynFarms said
on 1/18/2009 And get preventative care!