The widespread use of social media has invited the ease of easily expressing any opinion you may have. There are a lot of negative opinions about veterinary fees on social media and it is clear that many people don’t understand the cost of veterinary fees. It’s understandable how it may be a shock how costly medical care is for your pets, which is why we thought we would share some facts you may not know about running a clinic.
Running a high-quality clinic does not come cheap. It costs a great deal to simply keep our doors open. Our clinic has ten staff members, all of whom require salaries. Then consider everyday costs such as electricity (our equipment results in high electricity bills), phone bills, cleaning and gardening, bond/rent, insurance, etc. Our drug invoice from our supplier is close to R250,000 every month. The luxury of running blood on site and taking digital X-rays comes at immense cost: hundreds of thousands per machine. All these costs need to be covered and we are, after all, only a small business. Even the simplest procedures, such as vaccinations or nail clipping, contribute not only towards the cost of drugs but also to the everyday costs of keeping a business with large overheads open.
On the other hand, think about the quality of care your pet gets. Often, it is even better than human hospitals. Veterinary care is complicated by the fact that our patients can’t tell us what the problem is. We rely on diagnostic tools, whereas humans can describe their ailment to their doctor. A dog might be straining. The owner might think its constipated but it may turn out that the dog is straining to urinate. Instead of being shunted around and waiting for appointments, the patient will be X-rayed on site by a vet, not a radiologist. We must interpret our own X-rays without getting a nice report. We diagnose bladder stones. This dog can then be scheduled for surgery immediately where, once again, a vet will perform the role of both anaesthetist and surgeon. Can you put a price on this level of skill and service?
You may think that a simple procedure like a sterilisation costs a lot, but when you look at the cost of keeping our doors open, as well as maintaining a high level of care, it really doesn’t. You need to understand what you are getting with a sterilisation at a specific clinic and compare quality with cost. We have invested in an anaesthetic monitoring machine equivalent to those found in human hospitals. Your animal’s heart rate and oxygen levels are monitored on a screen throughout their procedure. This machine is not inexpensive but it is invaluable. Your animal will receive a pre-op examination and be given only the best anaesthetic—again human grade. We send all our sterilisations home with pain medication and a post op check-up three days later. All this, as well as stitch removal, is included in the fee. It may seem more reasonable when you add up the quality you are receiving.
Pet ownership is certainly not a right. It is a responsibility. A lot of vet bills can be avoided by responsible owners. Puppies contract parvo because irresponsible owners do not vaccinate them. Parvo not only costs a lot to treat correctly but is also extremely labour-intensive. It is a totally preventable disease, yet owners often get upset at the large bill when trying to save a dog from a life-threatening disease that could easily have been prevented. Dogs being hit by cars because they run in the streets or fighting because they haven’t been sterilised are also preventable. Mammary tumours or infected uteri (pyometra) in female dogs can both be prevented by spaying. The list goes on: tick control to prevent tick bite fever; regular deworming to prevent illness related to worms; making sure animals are sterilised to prevent unwanted litters; adopting from shelters; etc.. There are so many ways to ensure you are helping towards being a responsible pet owner.
There are multiple pet insurance companies these days, but a lot of owners only realise the benefit too late. We strongly advise owners to look into pet insurance, even if only a hospital plan.
We offer clients the option to contribute to their account every month so that they build up a credit. This credit can then be applied against unexpected emergencies or planned procedures, such as sterilisations or details, to prevent the need to fork out large amounts of money. A monthly contribution of R100–R200 results in R1,200–R2,400 a year to spend on animal care.
We also have a stray fund, to which members of the public can donate so that funds are available to treat animals who are unfortunate enough to have no owner. The financial burden shouldn’t lie only with vets to treat welfare cases. Every single animal lover has equal responsibility to help those who can’t help themselves. We gladly do our part, and have helped many stray animals in the past, but anyone is able to do so. If you would like to contribute, you can pay any amount, however small, into our stray fund.
It becomes very disheartening as a professional to have the emotional blackmail of people acting like vets only care about money. A veterinary degree is one of the hardest degrees to earn. Seven years of studying means only being able to get your first salary after seven years and also invites the high cost of a seven-year degree. Yes, veterinary care is expensive, but running a clinic with a high standard of care is even more expensive.
You wouldn’t do your job for free. Neither can we. We aim to constantly improve our clinic, whether by maintaining current equipment, attending courses to stay current with medical or food advances, or making our clinic a place you want to spend time. We are constantly reinvesting into our clinic to give the best care to our patients. We appreciate our clients so much, and without your support we couldn’t strive to constantly improve our level of care. We ask only that our patients understand the high cost of care and the necessity of charging for what we do.