Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Pissed ain't the word for it - Update

Just got home from delivering Floyd to the vet for his little operation.

I was quoted $150 by the local vet, and $250 by the vet at work. I decided that I'd go with the local one, the price and the location made it easier.

Ok. Floyd is weighed, 18kg (hadn't eaten or drunk sincee 9pm last night), then I get a rundown on the cost of the surgery.

$150 for the castration.
Now, do you want us to put him on a drip while he's here? It's good for him, helps him to metabolise the anaesthetic better and we recommend it.... $44 extra.
Now, do you want pain killers for him? We recommend them, for his weight that'll be an extra $14.
And also, if you have mouse/rat baits at home there is a chance that he may have eaten mice poisoned with these and if there is excess bleeding that will be another extra $12.
And here's the form for you to sign (all ticked and circled after she's asked me questions about what extras I wanted to pay for), and at the bottom of the form there is a sentence "Do you want your pet resuscitated?" (yes, as long as there's no brain damage - is my answer). Well, that will be extra, too, but it probably won't happen.

I had just hit the roof at the drip extra - I said "I should have been made aware of these "extras" prior to this, I was quoted $150 for the desexing and I thought that would include everything recommended by the vet!

She said "Oh, but it's not necessary we just recommend it, you don't need to get it." (paraphrased).

I'm sure had I used the University Vet School to carry out the surgery it would have included ALL the things that were needed/recommended.

Bloody rip off! Instead of $150, it's now over $200. Bastards.

Update:
I just got home from town, phoned the vet. Floyd is fine, still waking up, but everything went well. He was good and charmed everyone.

OMG just watching Oprah - about animal welfare? The spruiker bloke for animals is very pretty, and very tanned, kinda like a young George Hamilton - too much tanning, he's looking orange. I just clicked over from The View (crap) Seeing the Geo Hamilton look-alike, he needs to lay off the botox, too. The top of his face barely moves. I'm surprised he can blink.

Pigs in gestation stalls - as far as I can tell, most animals just care about food and water. Hunger and thirst. No awareness of self and no awareness of the fact that they will, one day, die. Wonder of Oprah's gonna give up her pork whatevers.

A farmer explained animal behaviour, which none of these animal rights activists seem to understand. If you farm pigs and allow them to free range, particularly breeding sows, they have a heirarchy and they fight for dominance (and food), and they will hurt eachother. Not to mentione piglets being killed by the other sows.

Now I've heard everything. The free range pig farmer is talking about the "positive energy", which feeds into him from the pigs, and as they're bred for food which is energy..." blah, blah, blah, sorry. I switched off.

Which reminds me, I listened to World Today... today OMG! Post coming up about that crock of shyte.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are not alone kae, when we rushed Missy to the vet in an emergency, she said $350.00 no guarantee of success, not having the facilities, but recommended "Lort Smith" veterinary clinic here in Melbourne, run as a charity, she rang them, they said $250.00 and a very good chance of survival.
After the operation, we got a bill for $420.0, when asked about the $250.0 quote, they said it only applies if the pet arrives at the hospital before 5PM!!!

They got you by the b...s so to speak when it comes to pets, and they know it!
Cheers and good luck.
Orion

Pedro the Ignorant said...

Can you get medical insurance for pets?

Poor Floyd. I feel his pain (like all males who read stories like this)

kae said...

Hi Orion.
Lort Smith is the one we see on the animal emergency programme on 7 or 9 sometimes.
It's a con.
When Bundy was attacked by the dog from up the back years ago I took him to the UQ Vet School. It cost me $95. They gave me saline to rinse the wound morning and night (a freind did that, I couldn't!), and antibiotics and anti inflamatories. Surgery would have cost between $350-450. His chest skin was peeled off his chest wall and he had two punctures in his chest. The day after the attack he was obviously very, very ill, dull and with a temperature.
He recovered well, but the attack changed him.

My friend said, "And of course, you won't want pain killers for your much loved pet, you just hit him with a brick to take his mind off the pain".

They most definitely have you by the tender bits when they hold your emotional attachment to your much loved pet to ransom!

Hi Pedro
You can get health insurance for your pets, but I think it's more like insuring against him getting hurt in an accident, I don't think it's like human insurance (though what human would want to be castrated....). I think some house or contents policies include pet insurance.
Google pet insurance Australia. I'm pretty sure that they don't cover everything. Monthly premiums on the first advertisement are $14 for dogs and $12.50 for cats.
But there's others....

Kaboom said...

Ahem:

"drunk sincee 9pm last night"

Is that Floyd or his owner?

Enquiring minds want to know! :)

kae said...

I wish Kaboom, I wish.

But it was the dog hadn't eaten or drunk since 9pm.

He's fine, by the way. Dozing under the pergola.

Apparently he crapped about four or five times at the vet after he woke up. I knew he was a furry little shit machine - where did it come from?

How are ya, Kaboom?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Karma for me with Floyd crapping all over the place. My dentist was away last week so I rang around out of interest to get a price to reglue a bridge. It ranged from $120-$280. Only one could do it that day and quoted $145. Oh yeagh. $290 later and they didn't blink. What do you do? Mehaul.