Am I getting taken?? Spay Costs...

Darwin67

I was reading another thread and was looking at prices and am like, wow, am I getting taken??!

I'd love some input from people....I live near Seattle, so I expect my vet costs to average about 20% more....the joys of living in Uber Expensiveville, sigh.

I was given a quote of 406.00 for spaying of Kahlo. This did not include the bloodwork, which I did today...that was 61.00 pre-op panel and 42.00 for the Heartworm Antigen. While I'm willing to pay what it takes for good care, i also don't want to be a dolt and get taken to the cleaners!!

Any suggestions??!

sunyata

Hmmm. I am not sure what a spay on the west coast costs, I believe we payed around $200-$250 for both Bella and Nola... That included blood work and overnight stay. I have heard things on the other side (west coast) are a little more expensive, but maybe someone closer to you can give you a better idea.

JessicaRabbit

That is about what Miko cost. Some places offer discounted rates to rescued dogs. You may want to inquire about that. But $400 in a suburban or metropolitan area is standard.

tsukitsune

wow. I'm never going to complain about $200 spay and $120 neuters ever again!

A friend in Philly just payed $400 to spay her shiba pup, so I guess in larger cities, higher $$$ is the norm?

Calia

For Tetsu it cost me $300 after multipet discount for neuter, microchip and one puppy tooth pulled. For Tikaani it was $460 after discount for neuter, microchip and a lime shot. Before discount it would have been $375 for Tetsu and $500 for Tikaani.

We hadn't gotten any blood work done during their fixings, but the cost for Tikaani's blood work when he was sick varied between $40-$80 depending on the type.

Tom's mom got her standard Poodle fixed at a low cost place for $140, but there was a lot of bruising and swelling. At their vet he was quoted for about $400-$500 for the neuter.

Darwin67

Okay, I just wasn't quite sure..it's been a few years (16 in fact, since I last had to pay for a neuter/spay of a dog)! I also realize, she's a big girl, so that will factor into the cost as well. I just wanted to be sure that this was within the current ballpark!

tobyshiba

Wow, that is ... so much money. I got Toby done for $150 and then $30 for pain meds and an e-collar.

Why do some places cost so much more? Is it really just location?

tsukitsune

Yeah, at low cost clinic type neuters, you get what you pay for.. unfortunately.

tobyshiba

I would normally not trust low-cost clinic neuters, but I got Toby neutered at the store I worked at because I knew the vet. If I did not know the vet, I probably would not have done that. And of course, Toby never had complications, he healed perfectly normal.

Darwin67

Oh, i could go to our low-cost spay/neuter clinic...where they actually have gold/silver/platinum packages...if I recall, the gold does not include pain control!! We took a feral cat there for spaying (we were referred there by PAWS). Also, you can only get IV fluids (which keep the heart rate up) if you pay for the platinum. The tech was not amused when i asked, "does the gold come w/ steril knives or is that just for the platinum package??".

Kaddy

We paid around $500 for Keiko's spay - which didn't include all of the other stuff that happened after (ie glue didn't hold... and then the E-vet visit). We ended with about a $1000 total spay bill ... which I wasn't very thrilled about.

Ryu

Wow - Evan, that's alot!

We paid about $300 for Ryu's neuter in Hawaii and only $100 for Roxy's spay in Missouri. Granted, we live out in the sticks here so location is a big factor.

Kaddy

Yeah... if the darn Keiko didn't start coming apart at the seams it would have stayed around $500... but of course there were 3 other visits to the vet and/or E-vet that ended up costing so much money / I personally wish they had asked me about glue vs. staples vs. stitches.... I would have gone with staples from the get go!

Ryu

Roxy had internal stitches which worked great for her. She was jumping up and down from our really high bed that same night (*sigh*) and didn't have any issues. Ryu, on the other hand, was a total disaster. We had several trips to the ER vet but thankfully, weren't charged for them.

baanton

We live in one of those high-cost big cities (Mpls area). I believe Josephine's spaying was more than $400.00 which included an overnight stay and observation, bloodwork, etc. etc. My husband did lots of shopping around, and consulted with his brother-in-law vet (who has a practice in the Portland (Tigard) Oregon area. Ultimately we opted to go to a vet just a few blocks from us... not the "cheapest" alternative, but we felt the appropriate precautions were being taken and some of the lower "bids" did not include some things we felt were important. I forget all the details now, but we were pretty much convinced you get what you pay for, and sometimes paying a bit more is worth the peace of mind and confidence that your doggie is receiving the right treatment.

Kaddy

Bev - which vet is his brother-in-law with?? We're in the Portland area (mostly Beaverton/Hillsboro) but I'd be willing to drive!

lindsayt

Karen/Evan, I can tell you 1st hand, the Vets-4-Less, Banfield and Companion/Bridgecity type setups out here and in Oregon are some of the worst, they are terrible and so are the Vets. We see enough "repair jobs" from their sloppy surgeries to make your head spin. I can't believe all of the "extras" like stitches, pulse ox monitoring, or chart fees that those sorts of places tack on, as well as un-needed services. And, yes, I would definately ask if the Platinum package includes sterile blades. Many times, the blades are actually used already, as are the syringes (this is for real), and the suture material (make sure it isn't dental floss or fishing line-have seen that too.) And they wonder why animals are getting post op infections in those cases?

Anyways, if this is a larger girl who has already been in heat, it will be more. The anesthesia time may be longer. I know some Vets hate doing large dog spays on older girls because they are huge, the organs are huge, and it takes longer to do the surgery. Also, they can be big bloody messes. I would say the bulk of the cost is in the anesthesia time and cost of anesthetic. If there are any extra things like chipping, pain shots (those are usually extra), IV fluids, catheters, antibiotics, etc, the cost would increase. I don't agree with the breakdown of costs for these procedures, I think spaying and neutering should be more affordable as it is so important to do. I wish the Humane Societies would offer vouchers or discounts in our area for it (they do with exams). Most of the practices here can afford to give a break in those cases anyways where the animal isn't altered yet.

sujewel

Even tho I go to a clinic, I LOVE my vet. I've moved from town and continue to take my pets there. We recently had to goto an emergency veterinarian who totally missed a fracture on Keigo's paw. My vet caught it immediately. The best part is his rates. I think we paid $250 for Mika's spay...maybe $300, but realize she was probably about 70lbs at the time (6 months old).

KFontaine04

Sake's spay was free because I built a website for our vet :P She said normally spays are $360 plus blood work and meds. so I would say around $400. Spay's are more invasive so Im sure that is why they cost more than the neuter. Miso's neuter total was $250.

ljowen123

Jazz's spay & bloodwork & meds totalled $160 - then again, I'm in a bit more rural area. The low-cost places around here (Paradox) that do the jobs for shelters & rescues run $50-$70. Once again, I love the joy of living in a somewhat rural area, but with the city close by.

Sangmort

The places down here tend to run from $200 - $400, depending on the area of Orlando. The low-cost places are in the $50 - $70, but they also have one day out of the month where they do it uncomfortably cheap at like $25. All these costs are for just the spay / neuter, not bloodwork or meds. ~

StaticNfuzz

I have seen the costs as much as $650 here on the east coast for a spay (includes, pre-op bloodwork, iv, pain meds, follow up and heart monitoring during surgery). It varies from clinic to clinic. There are some low cost options $85 to $100 too and the quality really depends on the vet who performs the surgery. Generally you will not get all the above on a low cost spay. However, not all of the low cost providers are of poor quality or do a shoddy job, it's a matter of knowing who you are dealing with and their reputation.

It's tough finding a happy medium so it I say it's good to scope out the vets way before you head for surgery and have a meeting etc. Like in human practitioners, if the vet or clinic is in a rush and it's dogs in and dogs out like some of the lower vet chains I would steer away from that. I know there are vets who use laser and staples. Keeping notes I have found over time with the rescues good old fashioned sutures remain pretty effective and have seemed to work out the best overall with the least amount of popping as in staples or openings etc etc. You might want to check with your local SPCA to see if there is a voucher program in your area that has reduced costs and then weight who the vets are on that list before making a decision on who to go with.

Snf

cmmookie

Mookie's neuter was $480. We are in NYC though, so everything is more expensive I guess. They did a great job, so I can't complain. Our vet rocks.

Penny was spayed at the ASPCA before we got her, so we didn't have to pay. I can just imagine how much it would have cost since spays are much more of an invasive procedure.