I am really surprised at the number of people who can not go to the vet because of money. I know times are tough but so do most vets. I went to my vet today the third visit in a few weeks. I have an older dog with nail issues. After my visit today he saw two docs and I was charged nothing because it was a follow up for last weeks visit. My vets office wants to help animals and is more than willing to work with the owners about payments.

Look around you area for a vet that will work with you and when you find one stick with him or her. As then know you and your pet. Ask your friends or call the office to see if they can help your pet now and you can pay later.

I agree. It's sad. But I don't think that the majority of people even ask if there's a payment plan available, they just hope that we can offer a diagnosis that will spare them having to take their pet to the vet.

Sadly there are too many diseases out there with the same symptoms, we cannot give anyone here what the vet can, an accurate diagnosis. Guesses are harmful, can be deadly.

Our vet would rather take on an animal pro bono then see it suffer, not all vets are like that, if yours isn't then it's time to shop around for a new vet.

Good post.

I agree with you in theory but not in practice. I need that regular paycheck in order to pay my bills and keep my life moving forward. I would assume Vets and their employees have the same need. Most Vets have student loans, office expenses, payroll expenses and cannot follow a "treat now/pay later" plan. In my area there is a credit card used solely by Vets for the treatment of pets but that is as liberal as they get.

In theory it would be wonderful if medical care for people AND pets could be "treat now/pay later" but, as I said, in practice I don't think it's feasible.

Good to stick with the same Vet, good to have a Vet who knows a person and the pet and the circumstances - but there is no easy answer to the payment of fees problem.

And, no, I have nothing to do with the practice of Vet medicine.

I think it depends on the area and the vet Judy. Like I said, my vets office does offer a payment plan if your pet really needs veterinary care and you can't afford it right away.

Some vet bills can run into thousands of dollars, they realize that not everyone has that kind of money put away just in case. These are hard times, and the possibility of being paid later is still better than not being paid at all because your patients go somewhere else.

Will all vets do this in every area? No. But I have to hope that each town/city/area has at least one vet that will work with you on a payment plan in order to save your pet.

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Originally Posted by Altenweg

I think it depends on the area and the vet Judy. Like I said, my vets office does offer a payment plan if your pet really needs veterinary care and you can't afford it right away.

Some vet bills can run into thousands of dollars, they realize that not everyone has that kind of money put away just in case. These are hard times, and the possibility of being paid later is still better than not being paid at all because your patients go somewhere else.

Will all vets do this in every area? No. But I have to hope that each town/city/area has at least one vet that will work with you on a payment plan in order to save your pet.

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That's why there are the special credit cards in my area - I don't know if they suit everyone's needs and it's a terrible problem, of course.

My area also has an emergency pet fund. People contribute and then the Vet decides how much to assist and which people need the assistance. It's one of the charities I suggested when my husband died and they got a fair number of donations. Hopefully the fund made a difference to someone.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

That's why there are the special credit cards in my area -

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:)