I don't know how great of a solution this may be but one option is to get the Banfield Wellness Plan. The Banfield vets are located within a great deal of Petsmart stores. You pay fee per month per pet but that includes vet visits, any medicine they need to take, emergency visits, flea medicine and it takes a great percentage off surgeries as well. You can also choose different plans . Just thought I would throw that one out there.

 

Well, I have to say I thought it was a really good idea to start this thread, so I will offer a couple of ideas.

One thing you can do, is once you have established what you are going to use for regular heartworm prevention medication and flea-tick preventative you can often get these supplies a bit cheaper on-line. Of course you still need to go to your vet at least once a year for a the 4dx snap test to check for heartworm and the tick diseases.

And if you are willing to do a bit of calculating you can save additional money. For example, I buy Frontline plus for the largest sized dog. Then I take a syringe and measure out the appropriate dose of this for each of my dogs indivitually. I find I can get both dogs covered with just the one dose divided accordingly. I like this system for more than just the money savings but also because the smooth nozzle of the syringe (no needle) is nicer to apply the Frontline on my dogs than the sharper plastic of the foil packet.

 

Well, I have to say I thought it was a really good idea to start this thread, so I will offer a couple of ideas.

One thing you can do, is once you have established what you are going to use for regular heartworm prevention medication and flea-tick preventative you can often get these supplies a bit cheaper on-line. Of course you still need to go to your vet at least once a year for a the 4dx snap test to check for heartworm and the tick diseases.

You can just avoid dogs from mosquito bite. Don't let them playing some place that has stagnant water.The cause of that heartworm is from mosquito bite. If it will happen to your dog you can just have daily oral medications, injections and pills to stop the growth of larvae into worms.

 

Tess we did that with the comfortis pills...we bought for a 40 lb dog (ours is 20). We didn't do this on our own...my nephew works as a vet tech when he's home from college and he told the receptionist how big my dog was and they gave me the next size up and told him to get me to split the pills.

I don't know how much the biannual heartworm shot is but I think it's cheaper than the monthly preventative. I know some people don't like it but I really like not worrying about forgetting heartworm pills!

 

Another tip would be do your homework. Simple example, our vet wanted to charge us $40 dollars for 6 mths of Iverhart. I checked with 1800petmeds, and drfosterandsmith.com and they had it for 19.99!!!! I called the vet, asked them to price match (my mom's vet does)..they said no, then I asked them to send over the RX to drfosterandsmith. IF they were to decline, I'd find another vet. I didn't mind having to order it and saved $20 dollars.

 

I got a similar deal of inverhart plus on 1800 petmeds, like $50 for a years worth. My vet gave me a very hard time and offered me their amazing deal of $90 for the same brand and amount. I declined and I picked up the paper Rx,the receptionist and gave me an ear full and sent me home with several pamphlets about horror over buying from online pharmacies.

 

RE: I bought ASPCA pet insurance but I know VPI is just as good if not better!
It is about 35.00 a month and it has saved us thousands of dollars for our liver failure ER with Addison. I don't know about Banfield...but I was kind of appalled at the doggy day care scene I came across at PetSmart and the ignorance of the dog watchers...to the point where I made a complaint that almost involved the ASPCA. It is a chain and profit is the major motive, just like a lot of current nursing home chains...I would be very careful with "franchises" as turn over can be high with the staff.

What a great thread!

 

For regular shots and check ups there are low income vet areas that will give your pets their shots at a low cost. My sister does this for her cats. The vet office will do it once a month, offer the shots for $10 per animal. Might be able to look into that as well in your local areas

 

I have pet insurance too from Pet First. The deal is $15 a month, with a $50 deductible but it only works with injuries or health issues so I cant use it for regular check ups. Its great and I have saved a ton since Maggie tends to have a lot of tummy issues and she got bit by another dog once. I also have CareCredit. I pay the initial bill with the Carecredit card, then I submit the insurance paper work and pay off the carecredit bill with the insurance money plus $50 for the deductible. The only things I have found that my Pet First plan does not cover are 1) the rabies booster maggie had to get when she got the dog bite since it them counted for 3 years and 2) dog probiotic powder to help build her stomach bacteria back up from her tummy issues at the beginning of the summer.

I am a college student so I have found this system of CareCredit and pet insurance to be very help with bills and worries. My biggest issue was about any emergency incidents. I was always nervous that some freak accident would happen and I wouldn't be able to pay the vet bills. Also I have found preventative things to be helpful (so far) things like teeth brushing and ear cleaning. Maggie's a hound dog and the vet always comments on her clean ears. Also keeping a good body weight is good for joint health, but I am sure most people know that.

 

i suggest doing your homework when you choose a vet. i am extremely lucky with who i use for my guys! he has no problem with me getting meds cheaper and such, and he always breaks treatments down with costs vs effectiveness... he's even helped me to find cheaper ways of treating my guys, where appropriate. the other dr's in his office have similar attitudes toward it. this tells me, that he is more concerned with my pet's health than his pocketbook, and though he costs a bit more (slt is expensive) that it would be for me to drive into carson city (30 min or so) i feel i can trust him to help me make the best decisions for my pet's care, which ultimately saves money in the long run.

also, the office provides on-call vet care for emergencies, which means i don't have to rush my guys to the e-vet (that's in carson city too) to see a strange vet who doesn't know their history, and though they charge an emergency fee (it's an extra $50) i imagine it is much less expensive to go that route!

 

Just a few more links for assistance with Vet bills. I'm sure there will be some overlap with what Sundog poststed!

Lists of organizations that help people pay vet bills:
About Us
Vet Bill Assistance - LEASH Animal Rescue

Lists or search for low cost spay/neuter programs:
Low cost or free spay-neuter programs in U.S. for pet and feral cats listed by state and area code . Love That Cat Store

 

Stay informed of what is available in your area. If that means reading newspapers, visiting your vet offices or talking with other pet owners. Our animal shelter just aquired new ownership (Thank you God) and they are in the process of really making positive things happen. They applied for and were approved for a grant to cover the cost of spay and neutering for unaltered already owned pets. Residents just have to apply and get approved. Our local vets have even lowered the rate for residents who are approved pay close to zero out of pocket.
Both vets also offer 'shot clinics' where they spend a Sat. giving reduced costs vacinations and wellness checks. They stagger their clinics so each one is 6 months apart.
Great thread!

 

For us cheaper vet care means moving to another city. All the vets here are priced the same... Too high. We drove Fearghas an hour and a half to my mums vet for his neuter and saved $250. For regular vet care, with the price of gas being what it is, we just find a local vet, and pay the higher cost.
My next visit in, I'm going to see if I can skip te office visit for another ear infection and just get the meds there. I can't pay $200 a month for the visit and meds if we are going to keep up with the ear thing.
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My next visit in, I'm going to see if I can skip te office visit for another ear infection and just get the meds there. I can't pay $200 a month for the visit and meds if we are going to keep up with the ear thing.
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Your vet should be fine with that providing he or she has seen your dog within the last year. If it's been longer than a year, the ON law requires that the vet see your dog. You could also see if the ear stuff comes in a larger bottle. Sometimes the price difference is minimal for a larger amount, especially if a script fee is added.

 

Anyone who lives in the Boston area: there is a free vet clinic run by the MSPCA. It is really, really wonderful. It's called the Merwin Memorial Free Clinic for Animals. I've gone there a couple of times for minor things with Honey, but I have seen others who go to have all of their veterinary care done there. I also get my heartworm and flea & tick meds from them because they sell them at low cost. They will arrange low cost spay/neuter and other surgeries/procedures at Angell Animal Medical Center, and really work with you to help you get the care you need for your pets.

I really can't say enough good things about this place and I really wish all cities had a resource like this. It is totally no frills and can be inconvenient, but I know they have saved me at least a few hundred dollars this year, and if my financial situation changed, I'd be there for everything.

Pros:
No office visit fee
Extremely reasonable prices for medicines
Qualified vets (volunteers)
Very kind vet assistants (volunteers)

Cons:
No appointments - it's first come/first served
Sort of odd hours, although they do have Saturday hours
Not the fanciest facility because it's donated
Cash only (if you need to get medicine)

 

DogForum thread: Low Cost Spay/Neuter - links, ideas and such

 

The best vet bill saver tip I have is have a good vet kit at home. Having horses myself and a accident prone dog, I would go crazy without them. My vet sells me disinfecting and antifungal solutions that just need to be diluted down for use. Corn starch for hot spots, rash cream for rubs, vaseline, thermometers, cotton roll, gauze, neoprene booties, antibiotic cream, pliers and tweezers. For medications, I do keep human benydril, clarintin, reactin, bufferin on hand, for allergic reactions if a bee or hornet sting, or he eats something (he's allergic to grains) and reactin lessnes the reaction. Bufferin helps for muscle and joint soreness, and what our old dog took for arthritis, but you have to be carefully and talk to a vet about doseage.

We have local rescue that gives $35 cat spray/neuter and $75 spay/neuter gift certicates for people that have taken in animals and not able to pay the full price. I think there should be more around.

Don't skip on prevention, treatment always cost more. Get the best you can afford, here fleas are immune to most flea medications.

Sadly though we had a elderly dog that had bad thyriod issues, but she couldn't be on arthritis pills and thyriod pills at the same time. And both cost a lot of money, in the long run didn't improve her overall quaility of life. She was put down two years ago at barely 8 years old.

 

One of my labs had hip dysplasia. I was really young when this happened so let me try to describe it from memory... The X-ray during spring time showed her leg bones not quite being in the sockets in her pelvis, they said the surgery would cost close to $3000 and we couldnt afford it. We took her swimming a lot over the summer, had an X-ray done in fall and it turns out her condition improved. I think her bones moved closer to being in the sockets if that makes any sense. Long story short, swimming has helped hip problems tremendously in my experience.

 

I live in NYC and in our area, there is a website - luvmypet.com and they do low cost vaccinations, hw testing, fecal testing, hw meds, flea/tick meds, deworming at a very low cost at different pet stores everyday. There is no exam and they dont see sick pets. I use them for preventative care for both my dogs. Keep the receipts as proof of your dogs vaccinations.

Then for sick pet visits, I have pet's best insurance. They have many different plans, they are relatively inexpensive and they pay you back 80% of vet bill minus the deductible (100 or 250, depending on your plan).

I managed an animal clinic for 12 years and I know vet bills can be very very expensive. My mastiff mix has many health issues so his plan has a 100 dollar deductible and my Pomeranian hardly gets sick so he has the 250 deductible, since I reasoned that if he had to go to the vet it must be pretty serious and the bill will be alot.

Hope this helps!

 

In my experience as a vet tech and owner of 6 (now 5) animals at one time, these are all of the solutions I've ever come across that our clients or that we have had to use in the past (like the time my dog was diagnosed with cancer, had to have bladder stone removal surgery, and literally a month later my other dog was diagnosed with congenital heart disease and perianaladenoma).

1. Care Credit
2. Pet Insurance- these can be tricky. Most only reimburse what they want to approve you for. For example, our patient had geriatric vestibular disease. Because vestibular diseases can be caused by ear infections, and because our patient had ear infections 8 months before, they denied the claim and didn't reimburse them.
3. Banfield's Wellness program- Very helpful, especially to new-pet owners.
4. Low-cost spay/neuter clinics- many of these veterinarians are transferred in on a rotation, they work at these clinics part-time and work at regular daytime clinics on their other work days. Appealing to them to perform an expensive procedure at a low-cost at their daytime clinic has happened before! I'll also add here a little-known fact to many owners about Banfield- they have an emergency fund for owners who are established with them. If the client qualifies then their pet's medical bills are PAID FOR (by Petsmart.) The funds are very limited and not every Banfield gets the check so don't be surprised if you're turned away!
5. Your local government run animal services/animal control/care center- if your area is a part of the "save 90" program or is very proactive and promoting pet-retention they will hire their veterinarian or find a veterinarian to do payment plans/low cost/ or free veterinary care for your pet. This includes non-government but national private groups such as the National Humane Society, Local Humane Society, ASPCA, and SPCA.
6. Private rescue groups- the rescue I volunteer with has its own fully functional veterinary clinic. It's run by public donations and a huge auction/dinner is held at the hilton for it annually. This year they brought in over 60k in donations from that event alone. They are now able to provide more vet care for more rescued animals, as well as lower vet care to the public. Many local rescues have a running bill with their vet that their vet might otherwise not permit with regular clients, this is because the rescue's discounts are all tax deductible for the veterinarian. If you ask the rescue to get an estimate, then offer to pay them ahead of time for a procedure, they may be willing to put your pet through on their bill.
7. Payment Plans- this is a 50/50 chance of getting a payment plan with your vet. What happens is you pay upfront a certain determined amount. Our emergency department allows payment plans- you have to pay 50% upfront unless otherwise noted by the attending veterinarian. The remaining balance is paid in installments- weekly.
8. Church- If you go to Church, Synagogue, or other religious group, club, function, gym- ask the people in charge to petition donations for your pets needs. Surprisingly, a group of church members paid for one of our patients 5,000 dollar back surgery to repair a herniated disc. They did it all through donations gathered from garage and bake sales.
9. Fundraising- there are websites to raise funds via PayPal. I don't know their links but they have been plastered on my facebook page time and time again. These websites allow ANYONE to donate that visit those websites. A coworker of mine got her sister's funeral and memorial completely paid for by strangers and friend's donations on one of those websites.
10. Social Networking- A client of ours used facebook's networking pages to find a handicapped pet community that accepts all used or new doggy handicapped supplies and donates them to pets in need FREE OF CHARGE. These supplies include things such as: braces, wheelchairs, slings, booties, diapers, etc.

 

we need more homeless vet clinics. i know in boston i found one completely free vet clinic which was awesome. homeless kids and people aren't going to stop having pets instead of people giving them shit for having them, people should start helping them. i agree a lot of homeless people dont give there dogs satisfactory care but also many of these dogs would not get any better care from anyone else.

 

Crowdfunding Websites

A really great way to raise funds for unexpected pet medical expenses is to use crowdfunding sites. These are websites that allow you to create a profile with an end monetary goal in mind and have your friends, family and even strangers donate to your cause. Popular examples of these sites include Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and GoFundMe.

 

I had VIP Pet insurance for both my dogs. It was really inexpensive up until last year when my girl turned 12. I had to cancel it, but it was great while I had it. I paid about $20 a month per dog and it included everything.
Now I have to keep an emergency fund for them, but I find I don't need to take them to the vet as often. As long as their shots are up to date and they are not sick, they can go about 18 months between visits. The only problem with that is you have to be extra vigilant in watching for any changes in them and then get them to the vet right away.
My vet is awesome and understands my financial problem and works with me. Sometimes I can call her on the phone and she will let me know if she thinks it warrants an office visit.
Not the best solution but it works for me and thank God my dogs are healthy.
I also agree Care Credit is good as long as you make the payments on time.

 

Has anyone thought of holistic treatments instead of vet care. I mean for the things you are sure of. Skin conditions are pretty easy to treat holistically and for a decent price, vaccines with exception to rabies can be purchased from several good companies. There are great holistic books out there to help people treat there dogs with simple stress free recipes. From treating allergies to arthritis, cancer to diabetes with the exception of injuries and surgeries the rest can be look at for a much lower cost. There are a great number of Holistic vets out there.

 

this is a good suggestion, i personally use quite a few natural/home-remedies on myself and my pets BUT i do so with extreme caution, and lots of research. and i often combine such things with vet care and consult my vet before doing so... so it isn't always a replacement for vet care necessarily, for me...

a caveat to anyone attempting to treat their pets at home, with home-remedies/holistic medicines. first, dogs do not metabolize things the same way that humans do. you cannot assume that something safe for a human is also safe for a dog, for example, ibuprofen, chocolate, grapes etc. all have far different effects on dogs than humans. PLEASE DON'T USE HUMAN "SAFE" TREATMENTS ON YOUR DOGS. second, there is a lot of conflicting advice about the effectiveness of many holistic treatments and not a lot of studies done to back up the advice one way or another. if you choose this route, it would be best/safest to consult a professional. third, please don't assume that just because you read about a treatment option here, it is safe. the dogforum is a great place for information/advice on all sorts of dog issues/needs etc, and we do have many members who are experts in various fields, but this is the interwebz folks, and the forum does not take on the responsibility of verifying everything that everyone posts before YOU decide to use it on your dog, that's YOUR job, YOUR responsibility, basically, PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!

ultimately, the safest choice is to take your pet to a medical professional as a default, rather than trying to treat him/her yourself.

 

I subscribe to a holistic nutritionist's FREE newsletter and it has a lot of informative and helpful info. It's a great way to see how natural products work for a variety of health conditions dogs may have. Here is a link to her website where you can get the free newsletter.

Cat & Dog Supplements & Holistic Pet Medication Alternatives

 

These are all great ideas, but not everyone lives in an area where vets are accessable 24/7 or a hop and skip away in the next county/town/ect. I live in a rural area where the only way in or out is by boat (to the surrounding villages which has no vet at all.), plane/jet, snowmachines (surrounding villages). And the vet comes out to my area of the woods once a month. (Will do a free spay/neuture but only 1 per month and the new dog rescue group we have always takes that free spay/neutur)

For those of you who are in a rural area, one thing to do is to make your own insurance by using savings account. (It can be a pain, but it's well worth it.) I get paid twice a month and I work over time sometimes. So I put 50 to 100 dollars in my savings account for my dogs. (basically my dog has a bank account. ^_^ Weird I know.) If I can afford to put more then 100 I will. So, that will help for those who live in a rural area cut off by civilization. That's how I do mine. Even though I don't have a dog anymore, I still do it because I know I'm going to get another in a year or two.

 

So I'm sure and have seen this talked about before on here, but I'm sort of wondering about heartworm meds. Koda's are really expensive ($300 a year easily) and I since her spay was so much I want to know how far I can cut back on them. I know there are ticks in the area (revolution prevents it which is what she's on) and I want to be on the safe side but our winters get pretty cold and we have snow from late Dec-March at the shortest winter season. How should I go about her meds during the winter?

Heartworms are spread through mosquitoes not ticks. Ticks can cause a large number of nasty diseases and should be kept away from your dog.

A lot of owners think they can take their meds off during the winter but the truth is that heartworms don't develop within a few days so the pet can be exposed previously and not show any symptoms for a while. Heartworm prevention doesn't always kill every stage of the heartworm either, so if you stop using it the heartworm can be given the opportunity to continue their life cycle. It is expensive but always a better option to stay on the medicine.

 

Little City Dogs on Amazon. Worming pills, flea pills, capstar and heartworm preventative. It's generic, but cheap and safe and it works! I've been using it since they started. No problems at all.

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