Poor puppy has a growth on her butt - estimate is whopping !

[Nazgul Girl]

   So, I used to be the semi-proud owner of two vet practices, and was a veterinary assistant, etc., for some years.   Our poodle has a growth on her whoo-whoo area which is probably benign, but it needs to be removed asap so it doesn't spread.  It's a rectal adenoma, and those are usually non-malignant.    Hoping for the best here.   

   I told DH that I thought the estimate would come to $ 300 - $ 350.   The actual estimate came out to roughly $ 630 - $ 730.   Wowza.   That's almost a mortgage payment.    We had taken her in today because we thought that she had inflamed anal glands, but those are clean.   The growth was a shock.   We're getting it taken off tomorrow morning.  

   I'm not upset per se.   The items on the estimate were all correct.   Prices just have gone up quite a bit.   We may have to look into getting some puppy insurance for her.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

$850 to have a tumor removed underneath my Aussie's leg four years ago.  Thank god it wasn't any bigger.

[sapphire12]

Good luck Naz!

[Jaguar]

Hoping the best for puppy.

[shanendoah]

When we first looked at Pet Insurance, back in the early 2000s, the biggest problem was that it didn't cover a LOT. If your dog was of a breed that was genetically predisposed to a problem (like hip dysplasia in most shepherds), the insurance would not cover it. At the time, it mostly seemed designed to cover something like your dog getting hit by a car.

C and I made the decision that instead of getting pet insurance, we would set aside about the same amount we would pay for insurance each month in a pet fund. The only time that didn't work for us was when our Aussie had an intestinal blockage, just months after C lost his job (and before we were at a point where we could live on my income alone). In that case, we used Care Credit's 1 yr SOC deal.

However, a deal like @missmargarita got, where simply being part of the plan gave her a discount on top of the insurance reimbursement, that might be something to look into.

[gacpa]

Pet care can get expensive in a hurry.  I love my two dogs, but down through the years, I have spent large sums of money at the vet's office.  Like people, surgeries and long term conditions are the most expensive.

I hope all goes well for your baby girl.

[Nazgul Girl]

Aug 25, 2014 13:07:38 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

Aug 25, 2014 12:56:11 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

   So, I used to be the semi-proud owner of two vet practices, and was a veterinary assistant, etc., for some years.   Our poodle has a growth on her whoo-whoo area which is probably benign, but it needs to be removed asap so it doesn't spread.  It's a rectal adenoma, and those are usually non-malignant.    Hoping for the best here.   

   I told DH that I thought the estimate would come to $ 300 - $ 350.   The actual estimate came out to roughly $ 630 - $ 730.   Wowza.   That's almost a mortgage payment.    We had taken her in today because we thought that she had inflamed anal glands, but those are clean.   The growth was a shock.   We're getting it taken off tomorrow morning.  

   I'm not upset per se.   The items on the estimate were all correct.   Prices just have gone up quite a bit.   We may have to look into getting some puppy insurance for her.  

I have both pet insurance and my dogs are on the wellness plan through Banfield Animal Hospital which is the vet located inside the PetSmart stores.  My one dog had to have surgery on his ear earlier this year... I believe it was an aural hemotoma (?) and the first quote I got for surgery was $1800.  It was a very labor intesnive surgery which required "quilting" the ear with stitches... I took him over to Banfield for an exam, they quoted me $1200 for the surgery... I added him to the wellness plan my other two dogs were on and that brought the surgery cost down to $600... after submitting my claim to the pet insurance company, I was reimbursed for a little over $400... total out of pocked was ~$200... it was definitely worth the extra legwork.  Good luck for your puppy's surgery tomorrow!

   I think we'll look into Banfield after the poodle's surgery tomorrow.   I want the tumor gone asap, but after that, I like what you did.   We have a Banfield Animal Hospital about 12 miles from us.   I like the steps that you took to keep your costs down, M.M.   We want her to have the best of care, but she  can easily be transferred to the new vet after this is finished.

[NoNamePerson]

Aug 25, 2014 12:56:11 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

   So, I used to be the semi-proud owner of two vet practices, and was a veterinary assistant, etc., for some years.   Our poodle has a growth on her whoo-whoo area which is probably benign, but it needs to be removed asap so it doesn't spread.  It's a rectal adenoma, and those are usually non-malignant.    Hoping for the best here.   

   I told DH that I thought the estimate would come to $ 300 - $ 350.   The actual estimate came out to roughly $ 630 - $ 730.   Wowza.   That's almost a mortgage payment.    We had taken her in today because we thought that she had inflamed anal glands, but those are clean.   The growth was a shock.   We're getting it taken off tomorrow morning.  

   I'm not upset per se.   The items on the estimate were all correct.   Prices just have gone up quite a bit.   We may have to look into getting some puppy insurance for her.  

It's probably the vet's mortage payment   

[dannylion]

Oh, the poor sweetie!  Sending good thoughts for a successful procedure and a speedy and uneventful recovery for your furbaby!

(I'm making a note of Ms. Margarita's info for when I get a dog of my own).

[Deleted]

Yes, Wowza! Poor pooch, poor pocket book.

I just got an estimate for pet insurance on our new pup.
80% reimbursement
$250 deductible
$41.25 a month.
$495.00 a year x 16 years, for the breed I have = $7920.00 
That's a lot of money and we would still have to cover the 20% and deductible.
What's the most anyone here has ever had to spend on a vet bill?
The most we've spent on any dog we've had was $700 for spine repair.

 

[mmhmm]

I hope all goes well for the pup, Nazgul. 

[TheOtherMe]

When I lived in Colorado, I had the Banfield insurance on my cats.  No Banfield near me now.  The annual dental cleaning paid for the insurance.

My very first cat lived to be 16.  Yes, I paid for a new building for the vet over the years.  He passed away in 1995.  I don't think there was vet insurance then.  

[raeoflyte]

My dh is a vet tech and his job covers all of our pets with an insurance plan up to 90% of costs and then gives the 10% as a discount. Damn dogs and cats haven't been suck since they implemented it.

But to answer lone, before we had an employee discount-we spent $3k on one dogs surgery-he fell out of the cab of our truck, broke both front legs. It was awful. Even after the discount we've spent a ton on vet bills over the years.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using proboards

[Nazgul Girl]

   I called the Banfield Hosp. closes to us ( nearest Pet Smart ), and they were very nice.  The said they could most likely do the surgery for around $ 400, but that they couldn't get her in until Friday.   We talked it over, and the poor thing is so uncomfortable that we're sticking to our original plan to have the surgery done tomorrow.   Four days is a long time to wait if you're an 11-12 y.o. puppy with a thingie on your backside.

  She's lost 1.5 lbs as well, judging by her weight taken at the ov today, so I think she needs to get fixed up.  

  Thanks for all of the well-wishes. 

[Nazgul Girl]

   We just picked up our puppy dog.   She's a little bit glazed over, but the surgery went really well.   We decided not to get the growth pathed out, because we won't do chemo or radiation on her if she has a malignancy.   We'd get any new growths removed, and then maybe get them pathed out.   We have this one saved in a bottle of formaldahyde just in case.   

   Final bill ?   $ 450.   I'm amazed.  

[Jaguar]

Awesome news Naz.

[zibazinski]

[Spellbound454]

All sorts of companies and supermarkets do pet insurance over here....You just have to check the internet for a policy.

I paid for my old dog for years without ever making a claim.....Then she got cancer and had two £1,000 operations... four years apart.
They would have even paid for chemo but we decided not to have it as her tumour was next to her heart.

I'm glad the pup has had a successful operation and hope its the end of your worries.

[mmhmm]

So glad the pup did well and is back home again. Hope her heinie doesn't hurt too much!

[Nazgul Girl]

   Thanks, everyone.   She ate a little hamburger.   She has to eat before we can give her her two medications which she came home with.

[dannylion]

Yay! Glad to hear the poor sweetie did well with her surgery and is home again.

I hope her recovery goes well and that she has no further complications.

Sending cyber scritches for Nazgul Girl's dog.

[goldensam]

One of our goldens had a mass removed from her mouth a couple months ago.  Luckily, it was benign.  $750.

I have insurance on my youngest golden at around $30 a month, currently.  I don't have basic coverage for things like flea/heartworm preventative or vaccines because we just pay those out of pocket.  However, the coverage has paid for itself in the other surgeries and things she's needed.  I have the policy through VPI.