To just share this...

Baddayatwork · 2020-10-28T07:29:50+00:00

Had an absolute shocker of a day at work yesterday, being accused of not caring, money grabbing, taking advantage of people. On a day where the veterinary profession has lost some members to depression please just remember your vets do care. [[https://vetrealitycheck.com/2020/10/25/no-doggy-nhs-a-response-to-vet-bashing/?fbclid=IwAR10QjQ7Ggg9pEHK814DAZyqgJ6-ZujgmhDO1E3yuTeq1sCtbR5-NTUvb4o]]

dontdisturbmenow · 28/10/2020 07:36

Abuse is incall for but yes I do think vets take the piss.

I took my puppy recently as he had a sudden bad turn. By the time I got there he was much better. The vet checked it's heart, ears, temp and then just said that he could do blood tests or we could monitor. We opted for the latter.

In and out in 10mns, was charged almost £80 and not in London. That's more than it would cost for an A&E attendance and I would have got more checks than this.

To make it worse, Google and talking to other owners revealed that it was a case of low glucose common with small breads and advice us to watch how much puppy eats, something the vet didn't even mention.

So yeah, no impressed at all, but I smiled all the way through!

AhoyMeFarties · 28/10/2020 07:37

I don't think people realise how long vets have to train, I think it's about 2 years longer than a Dr
People don't realise how much drugs really cost. You are paying for the research too
I have the utmost respect for them

RemyHadley · 28/10/2020 07:39

But you’re not paying £80 for the ten minutes. You’re paying for the 7 years of full time training, and the premises, and the equipment, and the ongoing professional training and registration fees.
I mean it’s a well paid profession, but it’s extremely hard to get into, your vet has sacrificed a lot to be there.

AmySantiagoNineNine · 28/10/2020 07:40

I'm sure I've read that vets have the highest rate of suicide of any profession, followed by, I think, dentists.

Iliketeaagain · 28/10/2020 07:41

I'm sorry you had a bad day. I hope today is better.

I agree with every word in the article you shared. Vet treatment has never been free, so people should absolutely consider it when the get any pet, it's not like it's been free and suddenly taken away.

I have to say, I've only ever seen kindness from the vet staff, and especially lovely when my cats were dying and it was time to say bye to them. Both time the vet and the vet nurse were very gentle and kind, the nurse brought treats for my cats to eat while they were being prepped for being put to sleep, and talked to them and stroked their heads while checking them over. And even before that, when they went for a check up, telling them how beautiful they were and what good cats they were being 😊. You can tell the vets care, even if the human owners are awful.

nicerbeing · 28/10/2020 07:41

I took my puppy recently as he had a sudden bad turn. By the time I got there he was much better. The vet checked it's heart, ears, temp and then just said that he could do blood tests or we could monitor. We opted for the latter.

In and out in 10mns, was charged almost £80 and not in London. That's more than it would cost for an A&E attendance and I would have got more checks than this.

No, it's really really not

BlackKittyKat · 28/10/2020 07:42

Agreed. Our vets are absolutely brilliant and I have the utmost respect for them.

Our dear cat had a tumour in his sinus and they were brilliant at treating and at helping us to make the difficult decision to have him put to sleep.

When we took our new rescue cat in to be registered and checked, they remembered us.

I think people give them a hard time when they shouldn't.

If you don't like your particular vet, find a different one.

Original poster

Baddayatwork · 28/10/2020 07:44

£80 is high for a consult fee, was it out of hours? We charge £39 and I was told today that I shouldn’t charge to see animals if I loved them 🤔 however it’s not like that money directly pays the vet. About 10% of the consult fee contributes to the vets salary, so £3.90 per animal I see 😂
Without doing a blood glucose you also can’t say that Google says it was low blood glucose...Google is the worst invention for owners worried about their dog 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:

ChickensMightFly · 28/10/2020 07:44

Sorry you had a bad day. It is not ok to be rude to people and I hope you have better clients tomorrow.

ranoutofquinoaandprosecco · 28/10/2020 07:45

Thank goodness for vets. My poor black cat was fatally run over just over a week ago. It was instant but the vets she was taken too were lovely to me. I was PPEd up and got to see her and say goodbye.

Original poster

Baddayatwork · 28/10/2020 07:46

@Baddayatwork

£80 is high for a consult fee, was it out of hours? We charge £39 and I was told today that I shouldn’t charge to see animals if I loved them 🤔 however it’s not like that money directly pays the vet. About 10% of the consult fee contributes to the vets salary, so £3.90 per animal I see 😂 Without doing a blood glucose you also can’t say that Google says it was low blood glucose...Google is the worst invention for owners worried about their dog 🤦🏻‍♀️

Actually it can’t even be 10% because I’ve just worked that out based on the amount of animals I can see a day and it comes to 1.5x my monthly salary so it’s probably more like 5%

OP posts:

BaitandSwitch · 28/10/2020 07:47

Thanks Badday for sharing this article. It's a good reality check for those of us who have pets - and I think irresponsible of Ms Johnson to complain in the way that she did. I used to live with a vet and she did point out that if you had the equivalent services provided as a private rather than as an NHS patient, it would cost you a lot more that it does for your beloved pet.

userxx · 28/10/2020 07:47

We charge £39 and I was told today that I shouldn’t charge to see animals if I loved them

🤣🤣 yeah because we all know love pays the bills.

What an incredibly stupid thing to say.

Thisismylife1 · 28/10/2020 07:48

Honestly if you can’t comfortsbly afford the vet fees you shouldn’t have a pet. Pets are a luxury, not a right. Vets go through an incredibly amount of training.

I’m regularly amazed how many reports I see of vets taking in abandoned/wild animals for free. Vets clearly aren’t going into the profession to make money!

ShirleyPhallus · 28/10/2020 07:49

In and out in 10mns, was charged almost £80 and not in London. That's more than it would cost for an A&E attendance and I would have got more checks than this.

You’re not paying for 10 minutes. You’re paying for years of training and expertise that allows that person to make an assessment within 10 minutes.

SBTLove · 28/10/2020 07:52

I have nothing but admiration for my vets, they treated my dog through cancer, now 18 mths cancer free, the vets and nurses were kind and supportive.
I always says to anyone moaning about vet fees that if they got a bill for the NHS they’d shut up.

Theoscargoesto · 28/10/2020 07:55

The response from don’t call me now is great. Please don’t bash me I’ve had a hard day, says the OP, and the first post is a bashing one!

It costs a lot more than £80 to see anyone at A&E or indeed to have a 10 minute private Doctor’s appointment. I echo what Remy said: Is it really unfair we have to pay a reasonable amount to a trained private professional vet for providing a service?

Devastatedyetagain · 28/10/2020 07:59

People really frustrate me! If you have a pet, you need to be prepared to pay vet fees. Yes, they can be expensive for the amount of time you are being examined but you are not actually paying for that time, but for the years of training, experience and also for the actual cost of the building and running the business. I have had some great experiences with vets, most recently when my dog became suddenly ill and had to be PTS - I couldn't have asked for more understanding and compassionate people to be involved. They were worth every penny!

DefinitelyPossiblyMaybe · 28/10/2020 08:01

I'm sorry you had a bad day. Dealing with the public is always 'challenging'. People need to appreciate the costs of having pets and budget accordingly - and get pet insurance! I empathise, husband is an allied HP in private practice and people assume he's raking it in as they know the fee and x it by how many patients he sees. What they don't calculate for is the mortgage, the 3 reception staff, the utilities, the consumables and, currently, the PPE. Also when he has a holiday he earns zero but still has the overheads.

As for the client who said if you cared for animals you'd treat them for free, the response is "and who would pay my bills?"

I hope your week improves 💐

QueenPaws · 28/10/2020 08:01

Thankfully my cat is insured but when I rang my vet to say he was just a bit off they saw him. Later that night he was admitted to out of hours and they weren't sure if he would make it. Through OOH and my own vets they got him better, yes it was about 2k but the insurance were easy to deal with and he had 24hr care plus specialist scans who came in especially for him
I sent them brownies as a thank you!

Original poster

Baddayatwork · 28/10/2020 08:04

You’re all so lovely thank you for your thoughts!

@QueenPaws you sound like the best kind of client ☺️

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MsMarvellous · 28/10/2020 08:14

I love my vets. They are great. They actively support you in the costs involved and will be open about financials so you can understand where you get best value.

I was so impressed with my vet and the vet nurse last month I emailed the practice manager to say how wonderful They had been. (I had been asking about a zillion questions as we are doing allergy testing and immunotherapy for my boy). They couldn't have been more patient.

I've met vets I didn't get on with, as I've met doctors, dentists, nurses etc who I think have the wrong bedside manner. But mostly they are amazing people doing the best job they can.

whiteroseredrose · 28/10/2020 08:16

I think that the problem is pet insurance. It has driven prices up in the same way that medical costs have gone up in the US.

A couple of years ago I had a private shoulder scan which cost c. £150.

Our lovely vet suggested Ddog might benefit from a scan - we don't have insurance (long story) but we do have £5k in an account for him.

I asked her how much it would cost. She thought about £1.5k so the veterinary assistant priced it up. One place said £3.5-5k, the other said £5k+. The vet and I were both shocked.

The treatment provided by the vets themselves seems fairly priced but anything bought in, dear God.

Tonnerre · 28/10/2020 08:24

People do have this odd idea that certain services should be provided for free because they relate to welfare in some way, without considering how the people who provide those services are supposed to live. Friend of mine who works in a firm which offers legal aid for advice on Education was telling me they regularly get told they should offer help for free because children need it. He says they tend to smile sweetly and say that unfortunately their landlord does inconsiderately require them to pay the rent so charging is sort of unavoidable.

ImaginaryCat · 28/10/2020 08:26

@dontdisturbmenow have you had to call in tradespeople recently?

We had an electrician come to see why our boiler had gone off, changed a fuse (there were 2 fuses, I'd checked one, didn't realise there was another, I'm not a complete idiot!)... £90

Plumber identified the leak as coming from the shower hose inside the bath where we couldn't see it, changed hose... £80

These are skilled people who do jobs I don't know how to. And they don't have half the overheads of a vet.

As everyone has said, you're not paying for 10 minutes of their time. You're paying for knowledge, their insurance, the building, support staff, etc, etc