Complaint Review: Veterinarian Clinics - Madison Indiana

for their care.  I had a good vet for 15 years that was conservative with his treatment and we made decisions together.  I never felt he was ripping me off.  That was in Ohio.  I moved to Florida a month ago and have been through 3 vets.  They all want to run tests, labs, you name it.  I've had 3 urinalysis done on the same dog in 2 weeks!  All I wanted was annual shots!  I was told to buy worm medication that Revolution didn't cure.  I bought the med from the office, found it cheaper online by a whopping 75% and the office reimbursed me the difference.  What about people who don't have the Internet to compare prices?  The office staff didn't even question the huge price difference.  



I've ask co-workers and they all say the vets around here love to run tests and I just need to go with my gut instinct.   I've never seen anything like this.   I feel so defeated, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing then I feel guilty and in the meantime, my savings is slowly depleting.  I've recently started a part time job in the evenings to help out with the expenses.  My oldest dog is 15 and my youngest is 7.  I've rescued 3 of my babies; when they pass, there will, sadly, be no more animals in my house.   

I've worked in a vet clinic for over five years, and am at the end of my rope with people like you commenting on the price of owning a pet. First of all, a pet is a voluntary expense. I understand that you are trying to be a good samaritan, but bottom line: if you CAN'T AFFORD IT, then DON'T KEEP IT! Common sense. Second, a nail trim (in our office at least) is something that can be done without a vet being present. In our office, EVERY stafff member is trained on how to trim nails. Finally, the vet doesn't just give you the shot and kick you out. In our office, and most veterinarian clinics, the  vet must do a full exam to make sure that the animal is healthy enough, of the correct age, etc. to receive the vaccine- this includes checking ears, eyes...a full physical. Would you ever expect to go to your own doctor and get any type of injection without the doctor giving you an exam? Get rid of the dog if you're gonna b***h and moan about doing the bare minimum.

"WITH the rabies vaccine, you have to have the dog examined which means seeing the doctor. Like the other comment above me, you can't walk into your own doctor and ask to get a vaccine and walk out withOUT a exam fee."

You can get the rabies vaccine from certain vets without taking the vitals.  In Indiana.  No state law about that.  Inject the dog and move on.  Rabies vaccine doesn't cost that much, the vet just wants to sell additional services.  I can get vaccines for myself and kids without seeing a doctor, I can get flu shots at the drugstore.  I can get tetanus for $7.  Go to a rabies roundup at the county garage and get that Rabies shot for $5.  Trouble is, those are sporadic.  You can get all of the other shots at the farm store here in Indiana.  Since people know they can get that shot for $5 at a roundup, they won't go to the vet to pay $50 for it.  That means they wait, they go unprotected and the vet is the one that put the whole community at risk by being greedy. 

It's regulated by the USDA & FDA?  Then why can you buy the vaccine in other states?  A federal agency isn't going to say it can't be sold to the general public in one state, while it can be in another.  It's just Indiana's hangup.

I work in the vet industry and people just don't understand that things aren't free. If you call around, there are some vets that will work with you about giving a discounted exam fee. BUT by state law (and look it up for your state) BUT here in Indiana, it is state law to have the rabies vaccine every year or every three years. WITH the rabies vaccine, you have to have the dog examined which means seeing the doctor. Like the other comment above me, you can't walk into your own doctor and ask to get a vaccine and walk out withOUT a exam fee. This is why you CANT buy the rabies vaccine at farm and fleet or tractor supply store. It is regulated by the FDA and the USDA. Follow the rules and you won't have bad karma and be so angry. lol...yes it's a dog but you could giving it to a no kill shelter or even the humane society.

I never understand why everyone thinks veterinarians are suppose to do services for free. Vets go to school as long as Medical Doctors, they pay the same for college as anyone else. Why should they not charge an office visit when they see your pet? I have never found a human doctor yet who would let me come in and get any kind of vaccine without an office visit. The AVMA makes rules for the vets to follow and one of them is to examine a dog prior to any vaccines. A dog cannot be vaccinated if it is sick in any way or running a fever. I work as a vet tech and have for 10 years. I do work for a vet who will do the vaccine without an office visit. The cost for rabies is 20 dollars. We STILL HAVE TO EXAMINE the dog... we must take vitals. If the dog then had a reaction because you ran the dog in and just gave it a rabies shot (which can have a high incidence of reaction) without exam... and your dog expired, you would then be suing the doctor for malpractice.

Owning a dog is not a necessity it is a privilege!!! If you cannot afford vet care, don't own a dog. I'm not trying to be mean here but its a simple fact of economics.

How can a veterinary hospital/clinic stay in practice without charging???? Overhead: employees, workers comp, lights, air/heat, water, office supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals... how does this all get paid???

There may be some vets who do low cost visits for rescues.. but think about it. IF vets did everything for no charge on rescues... every dog that came in would be a "rescue".

Contact a local rescue organization for help and contribute to those rescue groups so they can help you in the future.

Stacie CVT in AZ

I saw on another site where a vet posted a rebuttal to a client's review. He said there is a book that suggests costs for every vet related thing. I think he said the suggested cost for an hour of vet tech services was $124. Please. I never earned $124/hour when I was a tech. The clinic near my mom's house used to have 1/2 spay and neuter on Tuesday. I don't remember if it was every Tuesday or only one Tuesday per month. Naturally, the clinic stopped offering the 1/2 price deal. I suspect it was because the owner calculated how much money they were "losing" compared to charging full price. The good news is that many, many of the vets in my city waive the first office visit fee if you bring in a stray or an animal adopted from a shelter.

We encounter the same issue here and I am in Tn. At least here they do however do a roundup as you call it every April, which I of course having 4 cats and 2 dogs take advantage of. They cost me about $8. It used to be $5, but they went up last year . Recently my cat had surgery. I took him back in for his check up. We could not figure out why our bill was so high for the check up and found out they were charging me for a $29. office visit even for a check up. Geesh! I was in and out in less than 5 minutes and had already forked out over $400 bucks. Enough i said! Vets wonder why we do not come in for every little thing, but if they looked at what they charged they might figure it out! Thank God I have healthy pets and yes I believe in keeping their shots up to date. However, there is a line to be drawn. When I have surgery and I just had my 45th, I am not charged for my up date in a week. It is crazy to be charged twice!