# Vet Ripoff (Or Not??) (for cat)



## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I really tried to get my GF to use my vet for her cat, yesterday we went to get his 1 yr Rabies shot. She chose the convenience of her vet, it takes about 5 mintues to get there, instead of the 30 or so to get to mine. She was figuring it would cost about $45.00. She could not remember how much the fee was.

We got there, still had to wait almost an hour, even though we were on time.

Doctor managed to look in its ears briefly, pry open his front lips and glance at his teeth, use a stethoscope on him for 5 seconds, use both hands to feel his fat ass up for a couple of seconds. Gave him a 1 yr rabies shot, and got a weight on him..less than 5 minutes out of the carrier.

$23.00 Office Exam.
$21.00 1 yr rabies shot
$10.00 County Fee for registration
$2.00 County Administration fee
$2.00 Disposal Fee for Vaccination Needle

$58.00 Total.

I can hear the 17 lb heffer wheezing most of the time, vet said he was healthy, and did not say anything about his weight until I mentioned it, recommended more exercise, said would be a good idea to get him to drop 4 lbs or so, to avoid future health problems.

Also recommended bringing him BACK later, for a distemper shot, instead of suggesting it be done on this visit. 
I said he got his distemper last year, and asked why he needs another one this year, guy said he recommends yearly distemper shots for cats, even indoor ones. I asked his opinion on rabies, for an indoor cat, he said even if it was not required, that he would strongly recommend it, because BATS often get into homes, and could infect the cat.
I don't like that place too much, they got balls charging $2.00 to toss the needle in the sharps container. The distemper shot appointment would be $48.00, shot would be $23.00 additional at same visit.

So I called my vet, they quoted total price of $10.00 for 1 yr, and $28.00 for three year. No office call, no disposal fee for needle, no administration fee.
But she would have to file with the county for $10.00 per year for license herself.

So her vet for rabies and registration over 3 yrs. barring no other problems, or price changes would be $174.00

My vet, rabies for 3 yrs. Minimum $58.00, maximum $60.00, barring price hikes.

Seems like a small price for a pet, but 3 times as much...Too bad the fukker is mean and bites, otherwise I'd say tell the county he died, and knock off the county fees...

seems like a fairly small fee, but still seemed outrageous to me comparatively.


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

I went to a rabbie's clinic years ago. Fill out the paperwork and it dog got a 1 year or a 3 year shot. I noticed they got both 1 and 3 year syringes out of the same pile. I ask if they were the same. The vet said yes but the second was a boodter and the dog didn't need another for 3 years. The shot is the same...which is the same for cats I am sure, So your vet covered his butt for the 3 years also by charging $28 for a $10 shot.


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Cats don't need to go to the vets for any reason.


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## Mara Jessup (Sep 7, 2010)

That seems a little pricey. I think it's $28 here for a 3 y shot. 3 Year license is $12. 

In defense of vets on the weight issue, lots of people don't want to hear that their pet is over-weight. Period. 

As for bringing a cat back for another shot, I prefer not to get all the shots in one visit. I'd rather spread them out. 



> I asked his opinion on rabies, for an indoor cat, he said even if it was not required, that he would strongly recommend it, because BATS often get into homes, and could infect the cat.


 I'd disagree with this one. There is no reason to vaccinate for rabies yearly after the first booster shot - Your pet is fully protected for at least 3 years and probably longer.


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## Cassandra Lane (Jul 2, 2010)

Gerry Grimwood said:


> Cats don't need to go to the vets for any reason.


My cat had a urinary blockage about a month ago. I assure you, he needed to go to the vet. Don't expel liquids in any form for a few days without medical support, we'll see how long it takes before you hit a coffin.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

That seems pretty high.
Let's see, here it cost me $13 for the 1 year rabies shot at the local cheapo clinic, $20 for the 3 year (but i was required a 1 year because I lost her shot record somewhere). Registration/license was on my own, that was $25 (but that's the city/counties price, not the vets). 

Military clinic - $20 for the shot, $10 for an exam + $25 to the city/county still. 

Then I found out the city gypped me because I'm not technically inside city limits and it should have been $18.50 for the dog license...oh well, I know that for next year.
Cats are apparently required to have a license in the city, but not the county. It's like $12 for a spayed/neutered cat.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

that is another piece of BS....

the difference for spay neuter vs. non spay neuter..I think that is the county fees though not the vets...I'll find out soon a about that too...


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Yep, fees for here, $12 for spayed/neutered (dog or cat)
$25 for unsterilized animals in the city, $18.50 outside for dogs since cat's don't require it.

Per year.

But that's the city and county laws, my vet didn't even do the licensing in their office and referred me to the humane society to do it.


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## Debbie Skinner (Sep 11, 2008)

My way of looking at it: Indoor cat then I'd say never rabies and stop the core vaccs at 1 year of age. No rabies vaccination then no "gov't tracing" and license fees of your indoor cat and no chance of the cat developing injection site cancer (most common in cats given rabies vacc). Well, but you did say you don't like the cat so maybe vaccinate it a ton and feed it more. ;-)

Paragraph below from article at: http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/scienceVaccineDamage.html 
..... the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force initiated several studies to find out why 160,000 cats each year in the USA develop terminal cancer at their vaccine injection sites.(3) The fact that cats can get vaccine-induced cancer has been acknowledged by veterinary bodies around the world, and even the British Government acknowledged it through its Working Group charged with the task of looking into canine and feline vaccines(4) following pressure from Canine Health Concern. What do you imagine was the advice of the AVMA Task Force, veterinary bodies and governments? "Carry on vaccinating until we find out why vaccines are killing cats, and which cats are most likely to die."


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Debbie Skinner said:


> My way of looking at it: Indoor cat then I'd say never rabies and stop the core vaccs at 1 year of age. No rabies vaccination then no "gov't tracing" and license fees of your indoor cat and no chance of the cat developing injection site cancer (most common in cats given rabies vacc). Well, but you did say you don't like the cat so maybe vaccinate it a ton and feed it more. ;-)
> 
> Paragraph below from article at: http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/scienceVaccineDamage.html
> ..... the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force initiated several studies to find out why 160,000 cats each year in the USA develop terminal cancer at their vaccine injection sites.(3) The fact that cats can get vaccine-induced cancer has been acknowledged by veterinary bodies around the world, and even the British Government acknowledged it through its Working Group charged with the task of looking into canine and feline vaccines(4) following pressure from Canine Health Concern. What do you imagine was the advice of the AVMA Task Force, veterinary bodies and governments? "Carry on vaccinating until we find out why vaccines are killing cats, and which cats are most likely to die."


It's a love hate thing.
He's one of the coolest cats I have known, but he does bite, and gets a little nutty at times....but that is probably what I like about him. If he wasn't a biter, we would not get all the stuff on him...My GF had to go to the hospital when he got her leg one time, about 4 yrs ago, and he was on quarantine for no rabies, then she was on the radar, she told them it was her cat...

to be fair to the cat, everybody hear, messes with him at some point, so he gives back when he can...


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

If I could be in and out of the vet's for $58, I'd be happy. Seems like they find a way to get a $100 a visit here, one way or another. If there was a cheaper alternative, I would take it, but there isn't, that I know of.

Last time I was in for vaccinations for the DS, they were asking if I wanted to do a fecal sample for worms. I asked what they would be testing for that wasn't covered by the Revolution I give them for heartworm, fleas and worms. Giardia, she said, they could be silent carriers. I saved the $36 and declined the test. Pretty sure it still ended up being $100.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Cassandra Lane said:


> My cat had a urinary blockage about a month ago. I assure you, he needed to go to the vet. Don't expel liquids in any form for a few days without medical support, we'll see how long it takes before you hit a coffin.


I can assure you Gerry still doesn’t think your cat needed to go to the vet. I think he clears his own blockages with a drill 
$58.00 aint bad, especially if she doesn’t really have a relationship with the vet. And I don’t mean a relationship like she is banging the vet , but she isn’t brining in a bunch of animals all the time. 
If she comes back from the vet and says she didn’t pay a cent that’s when you should start being concerned


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Joby after flipping through the occupation thread and now reading that you are going to the vets with your girlfriend I have decided you have way, way too much time on your hands. Then you have the time to go home and call your vet and waist her time. :grin: 

Man Im jealous.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

leslie cassian said:


> Last time I was in for vaccinations for the DS, they were asking if I wanted to do a fecal sample for worms. I asked what they would be testing for that wasn't covered by the Revolution I give them for heartworm, fleas and worms. Giardia, she said, they could be silent carriers. I saved the $36 and declined the test. Pretty sure it still ended up being $100.


I had my Rottie on Revolution and when I went in for her yearly exam and to go get her 3 year vaccinations (we are required to have them done every three years as a therapy animal), they asked me what she was on. I told them Revolution and the community practice doctor said he'd actually recommend Heartgard or Interceptor as Revolution isn't labeled for intestinal worms and intestinal worms like roundworms and hookworms, which are zoonotic (especially important visiting potentially immuno-compromised seniors and kids in a nursing home/hospital). :-? Revolution is labeled for adult fleas, flea eggs, heartworm, ear mites, sarcoptic mange, and one type of tick (not even the most common around Missouri), not roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. So now she's back on either Heartgard or Interceptor. *shrug* Interesting, it is labeled for hooks and roundworms in cats, but not in dogs, so Pfizer probably determined it's not effective at that dose for dogs or they haven't tested it yet in those species. I think I like Heartgard and Interceptor better anyways...


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Chris McDonald said:


> Joby after flipping through the occupation thread and now reading that you are going to the vets with your girlfriend I have decided you have way, way too much time on your hands. Then you have the time to go home and call your vet and waist her time. :grin:
> 
> Man Im jealous.


I do have to get my dog in soon, tried to tell her to just come with me...woulda saved her 38 bucks, was not wasting the vets time, had to call about the dog anyhow...

the thing that really caught my attention was the 2.00 sharp disposal fee, more than anything...that is a stretch in my mind....


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## Mara Jessup (Sep 7, 2010)

leslie cassian said:


> Last time I was in for vaccinations for the DS, they were asking if I wanted to do a fecal sample for worms. I asked what they would be testing for that wasn't covered by the Revolution I give them for heartworm, fleas and worms. Giardia, she said, they could be silent carriers. I saved the $36 and declined the test. Pretty sure it still ended up being $100.


 Oh my.

Y'all are making me pretty grateful for the vets in my neck of the woods. Office visits and routine care are reasonably priced. I trust them to treat my animals without pushing something unnecessary. 

I can get yearly cardiac U/S for my dog with heart issues for about $150. 

I had a cat with an injured leg stay overnight w/ xrays and came home with meds for less than $200


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Joby Becker said:


> I do have to get my dog in soon, tried to tell her to just come with me...woulda saved her 38 bucks, was not wasting the vets time, had to call about the dog anyhow...
> 
> the thing that really caught my attention was the 2.00 sharp disposal fee, more than anything...that is a stretch in my mind....


I hear you, like reading your cell bill or your airline ticket. Full of add-ons. Could have been worse.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> that is another piece of BS....
> 
> the difference for spay neuter vs. non spay neuter..I think that is the county fees though not the vets...I'll find out soon a about that too...


Yeah, it's probably through the county or the city. Vets don't really have a say in that other than administering the rabies vaccination that's usually required. It's $5 for neutered pets a year and $15 for intact pets around here. You can go down to the shelter to do it or through the vets (which is easier, since they are the ones that do the rabies vaccination).

As for the rest of the stuff, to put it in perspective, we had a 100 lbs (!!!!) pit bull come in on referral the other day. Her frame suggested she should be about 40 lbs. I felt ashamed just walking her down the hall to radiology. Of course, the dog was on Kibbles n Bits and McDonald's cheeseburgers, but anyways... :roll: Part of the problem is vets see overweight and obese pets ALL THE TIME. We rarely see a really lean, athletic dog, sad but true. I had a Malinois police dog come in last week and several made the comment that he was too thin (I think he could have used an extra 2-3 lbs max), but he was about the same body condition as my dogs. Anyways, people will literally get super offended that you suggest Fluffy is fat and go to another vet. That's what it has come to these days. People would rather hear what they want to hear rather than the medical advice you're actually paying for. I actually get frustrated as a student because I'd like to be a bit more *ahem* how shall we say "honest" with these folks, but they do not let me say anything. The attending clinician has to instead. :roll:

But as far as the price itself goes, it's pretty fair but it sounds like the customer service could be improved and instilling value in the physical exam could have been better. As I'm doing the physical, I tell the client exactly what I'm looking at and looking for so they know it's not just a quick feel and a listen to the ticker. An hour is a bit long to wait unless they had an emergency (which they probably should have told you about?). Most people won't dicker around about a few dollars IF they feel they are getting their money's worth and there is value in what they do. Always room for improvement and as I want to own my own practice some day, always something I look to improve on.


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## Harry Keely (Aug 26, 2009)

Got the perfect fix for your Joby, feed the cat to Luna:-\"


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> I do have to get my dog in soon, tried to tell her to just come with me...woulda saved her 38 bucks, was not wasting the vets time, had to call about the dog anyhow...
> 
> the thing that really caught my attention was the 2.00 sharp disposal fee, more than anything...that is a stretch in my mind....


Yeah, there are two schools of thought when it comes to things like that. Say you are doing a spay surgery on a pretty healthy young adult dog in a well-equipped and staffed hospital. Some practice owners will say it's best to just charge, say, $200 on the bill and that's it. Some practice owners will say it's best to itemize every single thing so it looks like:

-$50 pre-anesthesia blood work
-$30 for an IV catheter and IV fluids
-$10 for monitoring with monitoring equipment with a technician
-$50 for injectable induction and gas anesthesia
-$40 for surgery time
-$8 for suture materials fee
-$10 for sterile materials/autoclaving fee
-$2 hazardous waste disposal fee (yes, disposing of sharps and biohazards is actually pretty expensive)

So they both cost the same amount, but they're just phrased differently. Personally, if it did take only $2 per animal, I'd just tack it onto something else so it wouldn't feel like nickle or diming. Like all things, just depends on how you phrase it. :wink:


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

Harry Keely said:


> Got the perfect fix for your Joby, feed the cat to Luna:-\"


^ agreed. No more vet visits for Sylvester there then! Cheaper too and fulfills 2 needs, no vet bill and the cost of dog food. 

My vet told me to put Lacey on a diet because she was obese...flat out. Completely not offended by that, it gave me a chance to ask about how much to cut her food (since she's down to 1 cup a day and keeps gaining weight, ****ing fatass) and if there might be a medical problem associated with her being about 10 lbs over weight on less than half the suggested kibble ration. So not only did it give me a plan on how to make her lose weight, but also some other ideas if she doesn't after being on a major diet.

Regardless as to whether it should offend someone (unless the vet tells ME I need to lose 10 lbs, then I might be pissed, lol) because it's in their animals best interest.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

You're right, it *shouldn't* offend people, but it does. That's sometimes the worst is when both dog and owner are heavy to obese. You have to be extremely delicate then because then they really might take it wrong...though I have seen it in reverse where the dog is overweight to obese and the owner is in training for a marathon or something... :-k


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Yeah, there are two schools of thought when it comes to things like that. Say you are doing a spay surgery on a pretty healthy young adult dog in a well-equipped and staffed hospital. Some practice owners will say it's best to just charge, say, $200 on the bill and that's it. Some practice owners will say it's best to itemize every single thing so it looks like:
> 
> -$50 pre-anesthesia blood work
> -$30 for an IV catheter and IV fluids
> ...


I get it but I look at it this way.

To me that is just an insult to put on the bill, since they are already charging $21.00 for a shot that most likely cost them under $2.50 (including shipping).

So lets say that they make at least 15.00 (conservatively) per shot, plus 2 for disposal. that is 17.00 per shot x 150 to fill a sharps container. 

That is about $2550.00 profit per container.

The $23.00 for the 5 minute "office visit", per shot, comes to $3450.00

That is $6000.00 made to fill a $5.00-$6.00 container, just on vaccinations. 

Like I said I get it, but lets be realistic, how much would you guess a sharps pickup costs?


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

If you would say 10.00 is a fair charge for autoclave fee, we can talk about that one too.

I sell sterilization pouches, solutions, and the occasional autoclave.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Joby, its real easy go someplace else if you think you can do better or get rid of the animal. Not trying to be a smart ass but its that easy. And as far as your math $6000.00, holy smokes your on crack. Even if the materials cost them nothing just being open costs a bunch. $58.00 once a year is just part of the cost of owning an animal. It costs money to own animals.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Not sure cause I haven't worked as a practice manager. All I know is both in private practices I've externed at and down in the food animal/equine part of the vet school, they yell at us if we don't take the needle off the syringe and just throw the needle in the sharps bin and throw the syringe (assuming it doesn't have some biohazardous stuff in it) in the regular trash cause it's expensive to have the harzardous waste people come and haul away the special little red bins. Especially in food animal/equine where you get big 60 ml syringes all the time. So while we're learning to do procedures as students, we do accidentally waste materials, they understand that, but we also are made aware that you're not supposed to unnecessarily fill up the sharps bin cause it's extra money. 

Regardless, so say I ran the numbers and figured out it cost me $10 per vial of vaccine including shipping, $1 of upkeep to keep the vaccine stored properly (most require refrigeration) and drawn up by a staff member, and $1 for the price of the needle, syringe, and its disposal. In other words, it cost me $12 and I'm charging $20 to give it, I don't personally think I'd put "$18 for the vaccine, $2 for the handling/disposal" on the invoice. I think I'd probably just put $20 and call it good. In some ways, I think doing things really itemized is good because the client can see all what goes into it and can see the value of doing certain procedures (surgeries in particular come to mind), but in other circumstances, it just looks like nickle and diming. *shrug*


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Chris McDonald said:


> Joby, its real easy go someplace else if you think you can do better or get rid of the animal. Not trying to be a smart ass but its that easy. And as far as your math $6000.00, holy smokes your on crack. Even if the materials cost them nothing just being open costs a bunch. $58.00 once a year is just part of the cost of owning an animal. It costs money to own animals.


Maren I understand mark up and overhead, not on crack...
only broke it down, cause you had to throw in the high cost of disposal fee to somehow justify it. which is a joke...

I get it...just got under my skin...to see that on the bill to somehow justify squeaking out another 2 bucks...

I would recommend that if you open a practice, just add the 2 bucks to the cost of the vaccination, and do not itemize it...


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Hmmm...I was curious and found this site, where you order the container and then ship it back to the company when it's full.

http://store03.prostores.com/servlet/sharpsdisposal/the-Mail-Back-Sharps-Disposal/Categories

Looks like it costs $75 if you order 6 1.5 quart size containers and mail them all back at the same time (which would be annoying). That'd probably be good for an average sized 1-2 doctor practice with 2-3 exam rooms with a sharps bin in each, 2 bins for the treatment area, and 1 bin for the surgery suite. Not sure how many needles and other sharps (glass slides, stylets, catheter supplies, suture needles, etc) would go in each, but that's not an inconsequential expense. 

Oh, and the $10 "autoclaving/materials fee" wasn't just the price of running the autoclave. If you think about the surgery instruments in a spay pack (needle drivers, couple pairs of forceps, snook hook, couple types of hemostats, gauze sponges, scalpel blade and handle, towel clamps, Mayo and Metzenbaum scissors, etc), a good set is going to be $300-500+ and you'll need at least one (to two for a spare) for every spay you do that day. They need to be tightened, sharpened, and adjusted periodically too. That's gotta come out of somewhere...


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## Mara Jessup (Sep 7, 2010)

Chris McDonald said:


> $58.00 once a year is just part of the cost of owning an animal. It costs money to own animals.


 Yes, but for a one year rabies vaccination? 

I figure routine/preventitive vet care is going to run a couple hundred for each dog each year. And whatever random stuff pops up is going to be more on top of that. But that much for a rabies shot? Yikes.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Maren,
Like I said I get it.

I understand overhead/operating costs.

Plenty of vets do not charge an additional disposal fee, this is the first I have seen, and that got my goat, especially since it is required. It's not an add-on or optional.

My simple example was illustrating simply the vaccinations, there is a shit ton of money being made on everything else as well, as well as a shit ton of expenses.

To me that is just an insult, to put a price on something like that. when it is an insignificant contributor to the operating cost of running that facility


Does that cost justify adding a separate $2.00 charge on a vaccination bill to you, if your customer was knowledgeable about the service and the cost for the service, he would be pissed just like me.


That is like ordering a 1.99 large coke at Burger King. and having a bill that includes the container that the coke came in...when we all know soft drinks are highly profitable.

I know the coke price includes:
water
ice
syrup
cup
straw
carbonation

And those all cost money. 

But if I got a bill that said 
coke .99
cup 1.00
I'd go through the roof, cause I know the cup only costs a few pennies.
Even though I know there are a lot of expenses involved in running a restaurant.

Just like I would not like getting a check at an eat in restaurant and seeing an additional $2.00 dishwashing fee....

*how much would you say it ACTUALLY costs to dispose of one needle?* with your breakdown of $75 for 6 1.5 quart containers it would be roughly 15 cents per needle...now that I know this, it really pisses me off to add a charge of $2.00


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## Nick Jenkins (Oct 4, 2010)

Fwiw the vet I teched for in south Florida charged a 7 dollar disposal fee. So it could be worse, although that was overkill.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I can assume that is labor cost, for dropping it in the can. 1/2 second of work.
2 is bad, 7 is obscene.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> Maren,
> Like I said I get it.


Like I said, I get it too and I'm not disagreeing with you. ;-)



> In other words, it cost me $12 and I'm charging $20 to give it,* I don't personally think I'd put "$18 for the vaccine, $2 for the handling/disposal" on the invoice.* I think I'd probably just put $20 and call it good. In some ways, I think doing things really itemized is good because the client can see all what goes into it and can see the value of doing certain procedures (surgeries in particular come to mind), but in other circumstances, it just looks like nickle and diming. *shrug*


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## Al Curbow (Mar 27, 2006)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Not sure cause I haven't worked as a practice manager. All I know is both in private practices I've externed at and down in the food animal/equine part of the vet school, they yell at us if we don't take the needle off the syringe and just throw the needle in the sharps bin and throw the syringe (assuming it doesn't have some biohazardous stuff in it) in the regular trash cause it's expensive to have the harzardous waste people come and haul away the special little red bins. Especially in food animal/equine where you get big 60 ml syringes all the time. So while we're learning to do procedures as students, we do accidentally waste materials, they understand that, but we also are made aware that you're not supposed to unnecessarily fill up the sharps bin cause it's extra money.
> 
> Regardless, so say I ran the numbers and figured out it cost me $10 per vial of vaccine including shipping, $1 of upkeep to keep the vaccine stored properly (most require refrigeration) and drawn up by a staff member, and $1 for the price of the needle, syringe, and its disposal. In other words, it cost me $12 and I'm charging $20 to give it, I don't personally think I'd put "$18 for the vaccine, $2 for the handling/disposal" on the invoice. I think I'd probably just put $20 and call it good. In some ways, I think doing things really itemized is good because the client can see all what goes into it and can see the value of doing certain procedures (surgeries in particular come to mind), but in other circumstances, it just looks like nickle and diming. *shrug*


Tack on insurences, workers comp, liability, property, unemployment. These cost must be billed in. Gotta pay the techs, gotta pay the vet/s, gotta pay utilitys, These costs also have to be billed in.......

Joby,It's more complicated than buying just the medication. Start a business, hire some people and it'll become clear to you really fast, lol


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Like I said, I get it too and I'm not disagreeing with you. ;-)


agreed. the extra charge seemed ridiculous, got under my skin.

I understand the costs of running a business. and understand people deserve to make money. I am not anti-vet.

It is pretty crazy the range of vet prices for things.
One vet I know will do an earcrop for about 120, others in the same area, prices are 400-500!!!.


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## Al Curbow (Mar 27, 2006)

I think cost of business expenses range by geographics too. A big populated city vs a small town will be drastic


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Al Curbow said:


> I think cost of business expenses range by geographics too. A big populated city vs a small town will be drastic


And then there's the old "what the traffic will bear" mode of pricing


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> agreed. the extra charge seemed ridiculous, got under my skin.
> 
> I understand the costs of running a business. and understand people deserve to make money. I am not anti-vet.
> 
> ...


Some vets don't like doing ear crops (I'm personally not a huge fan), so it's like they offer it as a service, but they make the prices high so only people who really, really want them done there get them. Or someone may be really good at them, so they may charge more. Or someone may be just learning how to do the procedure, so they charge less. Or some may quote one number as the price of the surgery, but not include the cost of rechecks and the supplies to keep the ears taped and standing, etc. Anyways, the point is that there are lots of factors that go into pricing various procedures. 

Interestingly, there are supposedly plastic surgeons that can "crop" human ears and reshape them so they look like elf or Vulcan ears for the hardcore geeks in the audience. They're both elective cosmetic procedures, so I wonder how much a plastic surgeon would charge... :smile:


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I understand that as well...there are 2 "ear guys" I know of in my area, both with 20 plus years doing good ear jobs. One is about 400 one is about 120, the cheaper guy is just as good as the other, both are well known for ears around here. the cheaper guy also does not charge for the maintenance visits....will charge SMALL fee for supplies. Not 20 times the actual cost..LOL

some people are just happier being reasonable on their prices, others a more profit motivated, can't blame em if people pay it....


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## Megan Bell (Apr 20, 2010)

Joby, you should look into a company called luv my pet http://www.luvmypet.com/prices.html A rabies shot is 15 for i believe a 3 year vaccination. They do other shots as well. They go to different petcos and petsmarts monthly and you tend to have to wait in a line, but it is a whole lot cheaper and they send you emails as to when the pet is due for teh next vaccination.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Megan Bell said:


> Joby, you should look into a company called luv my pet http://www.luvmypet.com/prices.html A rabies shot is 15 for i believe a 3 year vaccination. They do other shots as well. They go to different petcos and petsmarts monthly and you tend to have to wait in a line, but it is a whole lot cheaper and they send you emails as to when the pet is due for teh next vaccination.


thanks for the info. they charge a 3 dollar disposal fee LOL....but for 15 bucks you can't beat it...
Will go to one nearby in a next month for the rabies..even my cheap vet is a LOT more for unspayed dogs....
that is awesome.....thanks again....


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Joby, your vet charges more for giving an unspayed dog a rabbies shot?


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

Uh...isn't the 1 and 3 yr shot the same damn thing?


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Don Turnipseed said:


> Joby, your vet charges more for giving an unspayed dog a rabbies shot?





Michelle Kehoe said:


> Uh...isn't the 1 and 3 yr shot the same damn thing?


Something to do with the county tagging...

Might actually license this one..then again might not..LOL Just want proof of rabies in case of accidental, or other, bite.

County fee is:
1 year neutered/spayed pet $ 10.00
1 year non-neutered/spayed pet $ 40.00
3 year neutered/spayed pet $ 25.00
3 year non-neutered/spayed pet $ 125.00


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> Something to do with the county tagging...
> 
> Might actually license this one..then again might not..LOL Just want proof of rabies in case of accidental, or other, bite.
> 
> ...


Your getting the license for the extra. OK. Here it is up to us to do the licensing. Vets refused to do their job for them.


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