Veterinary Rant

[Bugsinrugs]

Good news!

[gregpark]

Yes, and a great pic!

[Chocaholic]

Glad she’s back on her feet. They are such great dogs. Gentle, sweet and happy...always happy. We can learn something from St. Bernard’s.

[greglepore]

Yeah, its a racket. There are good vets but most are in corporate practices that thrive on routine overcare. A good friend is a retired horse vet surgeon, and he doesn't vaccinate his own horses as while they are ridden a lot they aren't stabled at shows and thus the odds of sickness is tiny. Plus, a lot of what is vaccinated against is the equivalent of a cold. Horse vaccines as done by most folks are 300/yr by vet and 50 bucks at tractor supply for diy injection-its IM so no real risk.

He tells stories of the '08 recession when folks would go to shows and come back to find abandoned horses tied to their trailer by strangers.

[island911]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Yeah, its a racket. ...

Then what business isn't a racket?

Seriously...

Insurance? Human medicine? Commercial fishing? - Why I can just go out, drop a line and git me a fish for free. $20/lb, it's a racket I tells ya!

Everyone has a different view and value for various services.

Also, Rackets usually involve big unions and/or lobbyists at State or nation capitols. Veterinary medicine is not one of them. - Those people typically have exceedingly high empathy for animals and struggle to keep animal hospitals in the black. Any could have gone into human medicine, if running a money machine was their goal.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

The amount of training a certified tech does is not proportional to how much they get paid... ...

For sure. Same for veterinarians.

States vary on the amount of hours of required continuing education. The AAHA requirements are quite a bit higher than most states. ~90hrs iirc for the Doc's, and they typically have to maintain a DEA registration. (which is not free)

All that aside, one truth I have seen is that people do not go into the industry thinking they will make big bank. For that people of similar caliper go into human medicine. The various imagining techs make a LOT more money than vet-techs. Same for the doc's.

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by island911

Imagine the bill if the same was done at a human hospital.

Veterinarians work on the cheap. - You don't see vet's driving Ferraris with vanity plates that say ASSMAN, or some such.

And considering that veterinarians have the same required 8-years for their multi-species medical degree... And animal hospitals need machines from anesthetics to x-ray...

Seems we are simply at the reality that the money proposition will come out different when it's "Your money or Your Life" vs "Some money or your pet's well being."

Around here you do. Our orthopedic surgeon at the local vet hospital has a Cayenne Turbo and a Panamera GTS.

[Paul T]

For the Saint lovers….ours isn’t in this pic, but he plays with this group weekly (local rescue)

[island911]

Originally Posted by Paul T

Around here you do. Our orthopedic surgeon at the local vet hospital has a Cayenne Turbo and a Panamera GTS.

Clearly that is a rarity. And did he build his wealth with his specialty, or did he build his specialty with wealth?

Also, think about orthopedic surgeons in human medicine. They don't have to deal with some horse owner who says "$28k to surgically fix a torn tendon!? Why I can go to the tractor supply store and get me some duct-tape fer 5 bucks. "

[Chocaholic]

Since we’re talking vet cost and St. Bernards, as a pup she had elbow displasia that required orthopedic surgery. $6k (7.5 years ago) and she’s doing great. Can only imagine what it would cost today:

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Since we’re talking vet cost and St. Bernards, as a pup she had elbow displasia that required orthopedic surgery. $6k (7.5 years ago) and she’s doing great. Can only imagine what it would cost today:

she’s beautiful! We’ve had a couple of those surgeries, one TPLO, laryngeal paralysis surgery, and more tests than I could even count (we’ve had a couple with multiple issues). My wife doesn’t even tell me the amounts anymore!

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by island911

Clearly that is a rarity. And did he build his wealth with his specialty, or did he build his specialty with wealth?

Also, think about orthopedic surgeons in human medicine. They don't have to deal with some horse owner who says "$28k to surgically fix a torn tendon!? Why I can go to the tractor supply store and get me some duct-tape fer 5 bucks. "

Definitely with his specialty. I don’t think it’s all that rare in the specially fields, at least in my area. The owner of a local practice is a huge Ferrari guy and has quite a collection. There is a lot of $$ these days in vet hospitals. Note, I’m talking the big hospitals, not the local vet who gives you your rabies shot and tick medicine. Surgeries, cancer treatments and the like….

[asphaltgambler]

The OP title to this thread should be 'Corporate Vet practices'. We are Blessed to have a great local guy vet, owns his own small practice, he's also a car guy - owns a really nice 1st gen NSX. We're friends as well. If I needed a second / third opinion on surgery for ME, I'd go to him. I trust him that much.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by island911

Clearly that is a rarity. And did he build his wealth with his specialty, or did he build his specialty with wealth?

Also, think about orthopedic surgeons in human medicine. They don't have to deal with some horse owner who says "$28k to surgically fix a torn tendon!? Why I can go to the tractor supply store and get me some duct-tape fer 5 bucks. "

Not in Phoenix.... They all have well optioned diesel trucks.

Funny thing about acl's. Don't need one to run. Stability will suffer but one will survive. Bring on the duck tape!

I think the small animal thing is still funny. Lots of countries eat dog, yet, here we give them elective surgery. Dog eats toys and it blocks the intestines =6k. Then there's the whole net reproduction rate. Dogs can have generations over a relatively short period.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Yep our springer Casey would lay with her hind legs like that . And she was the craziest water dog I have ever owned . We had a cottage on Cayuga Lake in NY . She would spend HOURS diving in the water and grabbing rocks from the bottom . She would bring them to shore , drop in a pile and go right back in . Crazy girl she was .

One of my co-workers has a SS pup probably 4-5 months old that's blowing her away with her antics and intelligence. Beautiful dog, that's for sure!

[Alan A]

There’s a reason vet school is harder to get into than medical school…

[stevej37]

My last Springer, that passed on 15 years ago, would retrieve a tennis ball thrown in the water until she couldn't swim anymore. Incredible dogs.

[unclebilly]

City people are funny…

We have a great relationship with our vet clinic. We know all the vets there fairly well and being ranchers can call 24/7 for advise. We have several antibiotics, metacam, etc. in our cupboard.

When they come to our place for an emergency call or to preg check cows, we have them look over the dog and cats.

I ran over our stupid mutt a few years ago on a Sunday morning. Emergency after hours call out, x rays, stitches, suture removed and dressing changed 3 times, cost under $800.

If you live out of town, it’s probably cheaper for you to buy a token cow just so you can access a large animal vet for your pooch.

[Jeff Alton]

Our previous vet was renovating their space. I asked if I could pick the tile and colors seeing as I have paid for it....

Some vets are well trained at the "heart strings" approach and can sometimes forget the animal welfare portion. I have seen it too many times, choose a course of action based off wallet size and apparent love of animal, instead of what is best for the animal.

Thankfully, we now have a Vet that is wicked good.

Cheers