When someone from the veterinary staff presents you with an estimate for a surgical procedure or hospitalization, ask if there are items that you can decline. Sometimes they won’t tell you unless you ask.
Each hospital is different, but many clinics are required to present you with an estimate that includes everything but the kitchen sink. It may surprise you that the main reason this is done is NOT to make more money (although it certainly helps) but to protect the hospital in case something happens to your pet.
For example, Mr. Smith’s toy poodle Fluffy comes in for a dental cleaning. The dental goes fine but a few days later Fluffy starts acting sick. It turns out that Fluffy has kidney disease and her body has not been able to recover from the effects of anethesia.
Unfortunately, Mr. Smith declined the pre-anesthetic blood panel that was offered to him. Otherwise the veterinarian would have known not to do the dental.
However, if the hospital had not offered Mr. Smith the blood panel there is the potential here for a lawsuit.
It should be said that the surgical risks involved with anesthesia are very small (in human and veterninary medicine) but they do exist. By offering you the most complete package possible the hospital is simply protecting itself from owners who like to play the “blame game.”
Another example could be Mrs. Johnson and her Labrador Retriever, Max. Max comes home from being neutered and licks his incision open.
Mrs. Johnson says, “Well how come you never offered me an e-collar? I’m not paying to have it sutured again!” And the hospital ends up doing it for free, because no, she wasn’t offered an e-collar.
For surgical procedures like a spay or neuter an estimate may include things like bloodwork, IV fluids, and an e-collar. However, depending on the age and health status of your pet they may not all be required. Talk it over with your vet. But cutting out these items can significantly cut down your costs. Again, it depends on the health of your pet.
Bloodwork checks your dog’s liver and kidney functions before going under anesthesia. Normally this is a requirement for older pets but if your dog is young it may not be necessary unless you want to know his normal blood values for future reference.
Your pet will be fasted in order to go under anesthesia and IV fluids will keep him hydrated during and after the surgery. Pets receiving IV fluids during surgery ususally recover more quickly and smoothly from the anesthesia and it keeps their blood pressure elevated. An IV catheter also allows a technician to infuse life-saving drugs as quickly as possible in case of an anesthetic emergency.
I ALWAYS recommend an IV catheter and IV fluids for females undergoing a spay procedure. However, for male pets being neutered it may not always be necessary because the procedure is far less complicated.
An e-collar is the lampshade or cone that goes around your pet’s head to prevent him from licking open the incision. (YES, it can be done—and it doesn’t take long.) But not all pets will need one. If you want to decline the e-collar just keep a close eye on your pet. Later if you decide he needs an e-collar you can purchase one at the vet or at the pet store.
However, if your pet DOES lick open his incision and it shows on his medical record that you declined an e-collar you WILL be charged to have it re-sutured!
Again, talk about the different options with the hospital staff. If you are sincere about it, they will usually work with you. Just don’t be rude or pushy. The person who presents the estimate to you most likely has nothing to do with setting the prices!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tip #4: Spay or neuter your dog
Research has proven time and time again that spayed and neutered dogs have fewer medical problems as they get older. Females dogs that have not been spayed are at an increased risk for mammary cancer and infected uteruses. Intact males are more likely to develop prostate and testicular cancers. All are expensive to treat!
Would you rather pay for a routine or a complicated surgery if it meant saving the life of your dog? Trust me on this one—it’s a total no brainier. You’ll thank yourself later.
Taking care of a litter of puppies is also NOT CHEAP.
Tip #5: Don’t have pet insurance? Apply for CareCredit or the Citibank Health Card.
There may come a time when your pet requires a medical procedure that you can’t afford. Hopefully you’ll never have to face this situation, but chances are you will. And it’s never at a time when you have lots of extra cash in your bank account just waiting to be spent!
Many veterinary hospitals do not offer payment programs. This is simply because many pet owners never follow-up on their payments. Don’t take it personally. If they did accept payments they would have to charge even more to cover the costs associated with the deadbeats. But that doesn’t help you out does it?
Well, luckily there is a solution to this problem. Veterinary hospitals have begun working with two companies that take care of setting up payment programs for them. This is a great solution because the credit service pays the hospital and you can take as long as you want (almost) to pay off the bill. Just be sure to pay off the balance before the interest kicks in. It all varies depending on the plan you choose and what you are approved for.
The two payment services are Care Credit ( http://www.carecredit.com ) and the Citibank Health Card (http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/healthcrd/). You can apply online for credit. Your veterinary hospital will probably have an account set up with one or the other. Do a search to see if your veterinary hospital is listed on their list of providers.
Other medical providers such as dentists and eye doctors also accept this form of credit, so it can be used for things other than your veterinary bills.
If your veterinary hospital does not have an account set up with either company, you many want to consider taking your pet to another hospital in your area that does.
Here’s some testimonials from the CareCredit website:
My dog was very sick and needed emergency surgery or she would have died. I had the money for the surgery in savings, but when the vet offered to enroll me in CareCredit, I thought that it would be an opportunity to spread the payments over a six month period, without interest, and not have to dip into savings. It was great. It made a very traumatic experience less traumatic because I didn't have to worry about the financial aspects. - Maryann M.
I am single and live on my own with very little income. My cat is my baby and he became sick. I was so upset because I did not think I would be able to afford his healthcare. My veterinarian told me about CareCredit and I was so pleased that I was able to apply and have an account that I could use for my cat's healthcare. If it was not for CareCredit, I would not be able to afford healthcare for my best furry friend in the entire world. - Rebecca F.
CareCredit seems to be more popular with veterinary hospitals because it’s endorsed by the American Animal Hospital Assocation but both companies offer pretty much the same features and benefits.
The advantage to using these accounts as opposed to a credit card is that you don’t have to pay any interest as long as you pay off the balance before your deadline. If you don’t you’ll be paying some hefty interest charges though!
Need more informaiton, sign up for our newsletter.
Would you rather pay for a routine or a complicated surgery if it meant saving the life of your dog? Trust me on this one—it’s a total no brainier. You’ll thank yourself later.
Taking care of a litter of puppies is also NOT CHEAP.
Tip #5: Don’t have pet insurance? Apply for CareCredit or the Citibank Health Card.
There may come a time when your pet requires a medical procedure that you can’t afford. Hopefully you’ll never have to face this situation, but chances are you will. And it’s never at a time when you have lots of extra cash in your bank account just waiting to be spent!
Many veterinary hospitals do not offer payment programs. This is simply because many pet owners never follow-up on their payments. Don’t take it personally. If they did accept payments they would have to charge even more to cover the costs associated with the deadbeats. But that doesn’t help you out does it?
Well, luckily there is a solution to this problem. Veterinary hospitals have begun working with two companies that take care of setting up payment programs for them. This is a great solution because the credit service pays the hospital and you can take as long as you want (almost) to pay off the bill. Just be sure to pay off the balance before the interest kicks in. It all varies depending on the plan you choose and what you are approved for.
The two payment services are Care Credit ( http://www.carecredit.com ) and the Citibank Health Card (http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/healthcrd/). You can apply online for credit. Your veterinary hospital will probably have an account set up with one or the other. Do a search to see if your veterinary hospital is listed on their list of providers.
Other medical providers such as dentists and eye doctors also accept this form of credit, so it can be used for things other than your veterinary bills.
If your veterinary hospital does not have an account set up with either company, you many want to consider taking your pet to another hospital in your area that does.
Here’s some testimonials from the CareCredit website:
My dog was very sick and needed emergency surgery or she would have died. I had the money for the surgery in savings, but when the vet offered to enroll me in CareCredit, I thought that it would be an opportunity to spread the payments over a six month period, without interest, and not have to dip into savings. It was great. It made a very traumatic experience less traumatic because I didn't have to worry about the financial aspects. - Maryann M.
I am single and live on my own with very little income. My cat is my baby and he became sick. I was so upset because I did not think I would be able to afford his healthcare. My veterinarian told me about CareCredit and I was so pleased that I was able to apply and have an account that I could use for my cat's healthcare. If it was not for CareCredit, I would not be able to afford healthcare for my best furry friend in the entire world. - Rebecca F.
CareCredit seems to be more popular with veterinary hospitals because it’s endorsed by the American Animal Hospital Assocation but both companies offer pretty much the same features and benefits.
The advantage to using these accounts as opposed to a credit card is that you don’t have to pay any interest as long as you pay off the balance before your deadline. If you don’t you’ll be paying some hefty interest charges though!
Need more informaiton, sign up for our newsletter.
Monday, May 28, 2007
How to Photograph a New Puppy
1. Remove film from box and load camera.
2. Remove film box from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
3. Remove puppy from trash and brush coffee grounds from
muzzle.
4. Choose a suitable background for photo.
5. Mount camera on tripod and focus.
6. Find puppy and take dirty sock from mouth.
7. Place puppy in pre-focused spot and return to camera.
8. Forget about spot and crawl after puppy on knees.
9. Focus with one hand and fend off puppy with other hand.
10. Get tissue and clean nose print from lens.
11. Take flash cube from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
12. Put cat outside and put peroxide on the scratch on
puppy's nose.
13. Put magazines back on coffee table.
14. Try to get puppy's attention by squeaking toy over your
head.
15. Replace your glasses and check camera for damage.
16. Jump up in time to grab puppy by scruff of neck and say,
"No, outside! No, outside!"
17. Clean up mess.
18. Fix a drink.
19. Sit back in Lazy Boy with drink and resolve to teach
puppy "sit" and "stay" the first thing in the morning.
Received from Thomas S. Ellsworth.
2. Remove film box from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
3. Remove puppy from trash and brush coffee grounds from
muzzle.
4. Choose a suitable background for photo.
5. Mount camera on tripod and focus.
6. Find puppy and take dirty sock from mouth.
7. Place puppy in pre-focused spot and return to camera.
8. Forget about spot and crawl after puppy on knees.
9. Focus with one hand and fend off puppy with other hand.
10. Get tissue and clean nose print from lens.
11. Take flash cube from puppy's mouth and throw in trash.
12. Put cat outside and put peroxide on the scratch on
puppy's nose.
13. Put magazines back on coffee table.
14. Try to get puppy's attention by squeaking toy over your
head.
15. Replace your glasses and check camera for damage.
16. Jump up in time to grab puppy by scruff of neck and say,
"No, outside! No, outside!"
17. Clean up mess.
18. Fix a drink.
19. Sit back in Lazy Boy with drink and resolve to teach
puppy "sit" and "stay" the first thing in the morning.
Received from Thomas S. Ellsworth.
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