Veterinarians Are Not Trying to Steal Your Money!

Let me clarify that MOST veterinarians are not trying to steal your money. I have worked in general practice and emergency, and both are expensive, even if your pet isn’t sick and it is just wellness with some vaccines. I have seen so many people become upset and angry when they get to the front and are about to pay, which is understandable, but having a pet is not cheap, and no one said it was! Especially when something goes wrong with your pet and you don’t have insurance or extra money on the side.

I’d like to talk about private practices and cost. Veterinarians that open their own practices need to build and stock their hospitals out of their OWN pockets...that means buying an x-ray machine, stocking their own pharmacy with medications, an ultrasound machine, dental machine, surgical suite—the list goes on and on. Most of these veterinarians are in debt just from opening their own practices. Not only do they have thousands of dollars in student loans, they also have a mortgage on their practice, along with all the loans they took out to build it!

I’d like to remind people that, again, everything costs money, so they don’t charge you just to drain every dollar out of you. Heat, water, electricity, and salaries are the main things owners of practices have to pay regularly. That’s not including inventory such as syringes, medications, and even toilet paper.

Every vet I have worked with has always tried to make the bill as low as possible, from dispensing different medications that are cheaper, or writing a script to bring to CVS because that sometimes could be cheaper as well. They all genuinely tried to work with the clients to get as much done for the animal without the client having to take out a second mortgage on their home. I have even seen vets do x-rays (which cost usually around $250 and up) on the low, without charging the owner, just because they understand and want to help the owner and patient as much as possible.

Veterinarians also don’t get paid nearly as much as they should. Salaries range from $60,000 to anywhere over $150,000. I think that most people feel that all vets are driving around in a $100,000 dollar car and living in massive homes. Some I’m sure are! But most of them are definitely not. The range I gave is huge, but that also includes veterinarians that are educated in something specific or vets that own multiple large practices, or just the fact they have 35+ years of experience.

I just want people to understand that your vet bill is high for a reason and that you shouldn’t feel robbed the next time you bring your pet to the vet. The health industry is expensive no matter the species.