Friday, April 17, 2009

Control the pet population

There are times when I really feel that almost every family should have some sort of pet. There are other times when I envy those families who do not have a pet...especially a dog. Today would be one of those days. Little Zoe just hit the 6-month mark. That means it's time to be a responsible pet owner, and as Bob Barker says, "have your pet spayed or neutered". So, I took Zoe to the vet yesterday to do just that. Last time I had a pet spayed was 6 years ago. It was fairly straightforward and Maggie recovered in no time. This time was a whole new ballgame.

I did my research into the cost of "fixing" a dog. When Maggie was spayed, the Humane Society had low-cost clinics to control the pet population. Now, however, the low-cost spay/neuter clinics are only for those who qualify. We don't. Anyway, the price ranged from about $160 to well over $200 for the standard procedure. I also learned that there were a few options to the procedure. Did you know that there is more than one way to spay/neuter a pet? I am going to list a few of the standard vs. optional "upgrades" for your viewing pleasure.

Standard "scalpel" spay: $189.50
Upgrade option to a laser surgery: $29.50 (they claim that it's an easier recovery with less bleeding)
I.V. hydration: $79.50 (again, this is optional)
Tooth extraction: Don't remember the price quote, but this was to remove any remaining baby teeth
Microchip: $25.50 (this is now offered at ALL surgical procedures)
Cone: $14.50 (to prevent the pet from licking the incision site)

So, when you drop off your dog, you then "check the boxes" indicating which upgrades you'd like (if any). The things they don't tell you about are the medications for going home. That came to a total of around $16 more. Zoe also had an umbilical hernia (which we knew would be fixed at this time). Total came to only $55 for that. Luckily, the pulse oximeter monitoring was free...or I might have opted out of that too!
Zoe pulled through the surgery just fine. She has quite a few external stitches that will be removed in 2 weeks. I wrote my check and picked her up last evening. She ate dinner and slept through the night. This morning she went out and went potty - but only a small amount. I gave her her morning doses of 2 pain medications as prescribed (and as paid for). Then I offered her food. She refused. A little later, she took some food that I hand-fed her and drank some water. After that I took Mason to school, then Lauren to school. In a 2 hour period of time she vomited, had diarrhea, and was shaking. Back to the vet again. This time the diagnosis was for dehydration.

Here's today's actual fees:
Exam: $44.75 (excuse me, but this is all related to yesterday's surgery...shouldn't the exam be complimentary?)
Injection of 50cc of fluids: $25.25 (under the skin in the neck....it IS cheaper than an I.V.)
Injection of anti-nausea meds: $25.95
Antibiotic: $14.75 (just in case there is a post-op infection)
Probiotic packets: $19.50 (to help with the stomach issues)
Special food: $4.78

All for a grand total of $93.94. So, I wrote my check (AGAIN), and took Zoe back home after about 45 minutes in the vet. Guess what? About 4 hours later she perked up. She was walking around the house. Ate a little food and water (and kept it where it belonged). She even tried to run (but I had to stop her as she's not supposed to right now). So, to sum up...for a few hundred dollars YOU too can be a responsible pet owner and control the pet population! Or, perhaps it would be a wiser decision to invest that money.
As a side note, Zoe traveled with us to Palm Springs. If you follow the rules, the cost is $100 each way to put your pet under the seat in front of you. Oh, and you also have to have a note from the vet to document they are healthy (again, for a small fee). Now, we followed the rules on the way down. It was our first time traveling on a plane with a pet, and it was close to spring break. I didn't want the chance of them "catching us" and preventing us to travel. Anyway, NO ONE looked at the vet documents. NO ONE touched the dog. The only thing they did was collect $100 from me! So, could someone please explain to me WHY one should pay to put a carry on bag (that happens to have a pet) under the seat in front of you? I couldn't explain it either, so we skipped the official process on the way home. Guess what? NO ONE looked. And, Zoe was quite the entire flight. No whining, whimpering, or barking. No accidents either!

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