Halebop, I have a very expensive vet but we have used him for years and love him. He wouldn't reduce his rates for rescues which we have frequently so I found a local vet who is extremely low cost for that purpose. It really depends on the vet and his practice. Our regular vet is in quite an afluent area and could get away with much but it really pays to shop around. A rescue vet will usually still have the same high standard of practice and if you find a good one, you can't go wrong. I've mulled over the thought of changing vets for years because of the expense but he's looked after our pups for 10 and 8 years respectively and has been wonderful. For any major concern however, if you have a vet teaching hospital in proximity (we are lucky in that the Guelph University of Veterinary Medicine is close enough and while you have student docs, you have the best of diagnostics at a fraction of the cost.
(08-11-2010 09:28 PM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]I would be very disinclined to use such a service for a spay. It is very unlikely they use the fluranes for anaesthesia, which are considered the safest for deep anaesthesia, but are expensive. I would also want to know about pre op blood tests and IV catheters, which should be in place in case of an emergency.
The friends of animals are attached to numerous vet's. I have used them for all my animals. This includes some of the best hospitals in the nation. Tufts, animal medical center in nyc, numerous california vet's, etc. Do not dismiss them before you research them. It is an amazeing program. My dogs had a great spay/neuter, with a great Anesthesiologists that never left their side. The after care was incredable, and it cost me $99.00.
My question is not so much about the quality of the vets, but the materials they use in the surgery based on the charge. No doubt, it is better than not getting the surgery. However, I do not see how they can be using the fluranes for spays, for example. Often regular vets who have loss leading prices for spays do not. Have you ever asked the vet if they are using fluranes for the spays and whether or not they do in their "regular" practice. It may be that places like Tufts and Angell do these surgeries as part of the teaching hospital aspects of their services. My question there would be whether a student is doing the actual surgery. Castrations are pretty easy and I would feel safer with those. But not spays. I used the site to get the names of those performing the surgeries in Boston and neither Tufts nor Angell were listed and I did not recognize any vets who were, which does not say they are not excellent vets.
(08-11-2010 10:27 PM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]My question is not so much about the quality of the vets, but the materials they use in the surgery based on the charge. No doubt, it is better than not getting the surgery. However, I do not see how they can be using the fluranes for spays, for example. Often regular vets who have loss leading prices for spays do not. Have you ever asked the vet if they are using fluranes for the spays and whether or not they do in their "regular" practice. It may be that places like Tufts and Angell do these surgeries as part of the teaching hospital aspects of their services. My question there would be whether a student is doing the actual surgery. Castrations are pretty easy and I would feel safer with those. But not spays. I used the site to get the names of those performing the surgeries in Boston and neither Tufts nor Angell were listed and I did not recognize any vets who were, which does not say they are not excellent vets.
That is a great point and darn good questions. Should we as pet owners be asking these questions to the vets performing the surgery do you think? Who does the actual surgery? What anes. is being used, etc? No I never have asked.
I did use FOA at Angell 4 times thru out a span of 15 years both for neuter and spay, but you are right I did not see it when I put the local zipcode in. Would you let a student at a teaching hospital do a spay on your pet or potential pet? Gosh that's a hard question for me!!
No. We only have the most senior surgeon at the vet hospital we use and not his younger surgical colleagues. We wait until he is available and have not had to wait so long that we needed to reconsider. We would use other surgeons if he retired or was unavailable, but would rely on our primary vet to help us make the selection.