Kim,
I worked at a practice where all employee pets care was provided free, with us paying just the cost of supplies or scripted meds. All vax were included, no matter if you had one animal or dozens. The practice owner took care of us well, gave us all a nice xmas bonus and such, and in return he got a staff of loyal dedicated workers, and year to year top placing in the metro area's "Best Of" survey the local paper did.
Now, I'm starting off in a different practice and position where the staff has to pay for services including nail trims, and I've noticed the staff doesn't flow together like the other did, and no one really goes out of their way to make clients feel like they are appreciated. Not sure how long I'll last...

Our hospital (small animal exclusive, general practice, in affluent suburban area) has been eerily quiet the past 4 weeks. I hope we see that change soon, or our new doctor will wonder why we needed to hire him!

Agreed, many wishes for the healthy return of your golden. We have one who's been a medical disaster since birth. He'll be ten in May, and we fear the C-word every day.

That being said, even with the breed disposition, Dr. K will tell you that inflamed lymph nodes do not necessarily mean lymphoma. In fact, it could mean any number of things.

Bacterial or Fungal infections can cause inflamed lymph nodes. Chronic ear infections, tooth abscesses, or allergies can also be a cause.

And yes, I can't believe that your boss won't give you a deal, or allow you to work off a bill to aspirate your dog's inflamed lymph nodes and send them off for analysis. It's not an expensive procedure by any means (the vet I work with for our rescue work will occasionally do procedures like these pro bono if the prognosis doesn't look good or he knows we're nearing the bottom of our resource pool because it only costs them a syringe when you get down to it) and the analysis isn't that expensive either. It sounds as if you've worked there for some time, and I'm sure your paycheck is larger than the bill... worst case scenario you quit and he takes the bill out of your last paycheck. I appreciate you trying to defend him, and I'm sure he's been good to you in the past, but as an employee, I think employers need to realize that the few times they really can do something meaningful for their staff they should JUMP at the chance. Happy workers are productive workers!!

There you go, Dr. K. Want to improve technicians, receptionists and kennel staff's opinions about their jobs? Get management to go that extra mile where it really means something. Sure, everyone wants more money. Definitely, its what they really need, more than anything else. But if you truly can't make it happen, rather than a disgruntled staff how about adding some valuable services to their employee packages? Instead of a discount, how about procedures at cost, provided they don't interfere with paying customers? How about free procedures whenever possible? Things like nail trims, blood draws, aspirations, ear cleanings... as long as they don't interfere with previously scheduled procedures, most techs don't have a problem squeezing these procedures in for their co-workers, and it also builds a team atmosphere.

Just a thought...

sassy, many prayers for your Golden. Hopefully, you have some good quality time ahead.

My golden retriever has lymph nodes that have enlarged considerably in the last two weeks. Doing diagnostics on him are causing pain for our family. I work for a vet, but I don't get a discount, so I know the pain of high cost care. Just so you don't think I am being taken advantage of, or work for a skinflint, I do get a yearly 'allowance' that is generous, for my pet care. But it is gone by this time of year because my pets are all old guys! Anyway, I know that it is probably lymphoma, but I want to do all I can for him.

Our clinic has been doing well over the past year, though the past week was a bit slow. For a clinic in Michigan, we are doing very well. Times have been hard in this area for a long time! Our clients seem willing to do what is needed for their pets, though.

I would never put off anything for a sick animal. However, I have postponed a dental for my dog and a spay for a month or two...simply because my work isn't selling ( I sell online) so I don't have that "extra" right now. And I prefer to save that cc for an emergency.
But in another month or so, recession or not, I'll have put off those lip gloss purchases ( or in my case art supplies) enough to afford those non emergency procedures.my vet would always allow me to carry a balance, but again, I'd rather save that for an emergency than something I can afford in another two months.
So yes, the recession is effecting my vet care choices to some extent. Just like it is effecting my driving habits, my grocery shopping and my recreational shopping. With Winter coming, we also face heating oil deliveries which right now is at $2.75/gal in my area. Like it or not, as always it only stretches so far, and since my product is subject to people's spending habits, we have to rely on my husband's salary for everything until things ease up a little.

I drive by two clinics every day, at peak appointment times, I see little to no activity on a given day. My other drives by a newish emergency/referral clinic weekdays, he hasn't seen too much either (but probably most emergencies are evenings & weekends). Occasionally, I drive by a couple in neighboring towns, at different times of day, no jam-packed parking lots.
A friend that frequents suburban Boston told me her vet says it is very slow, but "emergency, illness" type visits seem "up".

I have a few routine items I'd like to square away, but nothing urgent, my problem is dealing with the political workload, then hopefully a bit of slowdown before the possible?? busy holiday season.
I've weathered more than one tough economic time, and while I feel fortunate to have a secure job, but just like everyone else, the rising costs of necessities is taking a bigger chunk of my pay.

"But cautious price-sensitivity is only one aspect of it."

Can't disagree--true. If you believe that slow economy is the only reason, think AGAIN!

1. Dissatisfied clients.
2. Internet search on pet health issues from A to Z (try http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/consult.asp)
3. Informed clients avoid unnecessary vet trips (at an average of $80-up per trip!)
4. Clients' self-diagnosis--unfortunately, many times, better than vet (mis?)diagnosis
5. Clients' decision on no treatment (other than broken body parts)--sometimes safer than vet (mis?)treatment
6. Letting pet pass naturally--often better than possibly agonizing, prolonged (and costly) vet treatment

House calls anyone?

Barri,

I'm not sure if I saw that thread regarding the tarter remover or not... but I can say that about 25% of the tarter removers that are brought to us by reps DO work... and some better than others. Two in particular work remarkably well, and while we still recommend people see their vet for serious tarter issues, I have no problem seeing someone use an OTC product for a slight tarter problem, for a pet who has medical issues that prevents a full dental, or for those customers who truly can't afford the cost of a veterinary dental. It may not solve the problem entirely, but it will certainly prevent the problem from worsening. We use OTC dental products on our rescue critters, and the results have been remarkable. I'm refraining from naming names (someone's going to call me a product pusher) but if you search you can find someone who has first hand experience with that product. And going against MYSELF I will say don't take online testimonials for anything... if they don't come first hand, they aren't worth dirt!

We've had to delay taking the cat into the vet's. He needs a rabies shot, and I want to check if he still needs to be on Hill's c/d, which probably means a urinanalysis at $150+. So it'll have to wait until my next paycheck. I wonder, Dr. K., if the 3 week lag time has anything to do with the pay period? Do you notice business picking up after the 1st or the 15th?
We cut out the dinners out and lattes a long time ago. Now we're worrying about coming up with the money for the property taxes and the insurance.

I'm not delaying veterinary care for Socks, but am delay grooming.. Actually, the guy is looking unkempt.. and I've been trimming him..
I am noticing less human patients coming in, and people are hesitant to pay copayments.. They are also coming in with a laundry list of problems, and it becomes an issue to determine which are urgent..
For those of you that were laughing at me for buying a tarter, and plaque removing gel.. I gave it a two week trial, and it's working.. You guys were making me feel like I had been taken, and the buyer beware thing.. but the stuff is really doing the job..

We are unfortunately being forced to cut back on our visits. We had planned to have our rescued baby bunny spayed this month but due to hard times we are going to have to delay it until things get better. Our Co-op is having serious troubles so they decided to charge every shareholder a retro active fee for our entire years consumption. They stated it was a mistake on the meters company and due to the hard times they are unable to eat up the costs like planned. So now when times are at their hardest, for us, we have deal with our monthly maintenance doubling from $600-$1,200.

With my husband being disabled for the past 2 years and me taking care of most of the bills, the timing couldn't be worst. We are going to have to grind this one out and start selling some items on eBay in hopes to get through this dark time. I hope and pray that things turn for the better for everyone asap.

Have a wonderful evening and God Bless.
Josy

The clinic I work at has slowed down a bit - but it always does this time of year. A big chunk of our clients enroll in plans that allow them to purchase the year's preventive care items at a discounted rate and then finance the cost out over the year. These serve two purposes - since the payments are drafted automatically and lots of reminder phone calls are made, few animals miss their visits due to cost. Every six months a pet is "due" for their physical, a fecal exam, and a bordetella booster. Once a year are the remaining vaccines, a heartworm test, and a deworming. Some plans also have yearly blood work, dental cleaning, urinalysis, etc. So, most people come in and get these services despite their financial situation because they can usually at least afford the monthly payments they've been making. Secondly, these plans keep the hospital busy and profitable even during slower times b/c we aren't entirely dependent on people bringing their pets in for specific medical issues. On a given day, I'd say at least half of our patients are brought in for "wellness" services only.
Obviously, I work at a Banfield. Say what you will about the company and its practices (and I'd more than likely agree with you), I have to admit that their plans work on those two levels - guaranteeing a "minimum" of care by making it easy for people to budget for that care, and guaranteeing business at the hospital - people are more apt to use services they've already paid for. Of course, not everyone agrees with what they company deems a "minimum" level of wellness care (nor do I, necessarily), and there are plenty of situations certain clients would be better served by using their monthly payments elsewhere (as in, stop paying the extra to get annual chest x-rays on your young, healthy dog and instead start buying monthly heartworm preventive).
That being said, I have seen a decrease in people asking for or willing to pay for "extras" like anal sac expression, nail trims, ear cleaning, etc.

We've always been somewhat frugal when it comes to our vet care, provided it never reduced the level of care they received. The two may seem connected, but they are not! For example, we take advantage of multi-pet discounts by taking three or four pets at a time for their check-ups so we only pay for one visit. We also forgo monthly flea preventatives, feeling that it causes more harm than good. We've been flea free for years, and have only had to use advantage twice in the last three years, when we brought in rescue dogs and cats that escaped our flea screening.

There are other things we spend more money on than most people, preferring to test for heartworm twice yearly but not use preventatives (we don't live in a heartworm-rich area and I have questions about preventative safety). We also do pretty frequent basic bloodwork, every few years for the younger pups and kits, and every other year or every year or more for our senior fellows.

I guess in the long run it all works out... we just make sure all of our decisions are made with all factors taken into consideration. For example, we do pre-an bloodwork for all spays and neuters, but do IV fluids only for the girls, feeling the boys surgery is far less invasive and the fluids less necessary. Pain meds all around, though.

I have to agree with the earlier poster who commented on going without. We've never been well off, but we've not usually had much trouble paying our vet bills. That being said, we've been through Ramen noodle times, and it was always US who went without, never them. Whether it was the dogs, the cats, the parrots, the reptiles or even the small animals... none of them have ever went without. Not only without vet care, but with the very best food and the newest toys, the healthiest treats and the supplements they need.

Folks can call me crazy if they wish, for making these priority choices, but the fact is that we don't have children to care for, and these animals didn't choose to live with us... WE chose THEM. It is not THEIR fault that we may be experiencing tight wallets, and why should they suffer for it? And so, we will defend our decision to our non-pet owning (or pet owning and yet disagreeing) friends, and forgo our own treats and nights on the town to ensure that their lives don't experience disruption of any kind if we can help it.

I work at a specialty referral vet practice and I'm noticing trends due to the economy as well. Before, many (non-emergency) patients would have a consult and the recommended procedure the same day. Now I'm seeing more and more clients have only a consult the first time, and then either schedule the procedure for a later date (when they have more funds?) or decline procedures entirely. That trend
has gone on for the past couple of weeks. The end of last week and into this week, however, we aren't even getting consults on the appointment schedule. Sure, a few here or there, but nothing like we normally have. It seems that if it can be delayed or not done, that's what's happening. Of course, this doesn't apply to all of our clients by any means. There are still many who will do everything that needs to be done immediately, but the caseload has definitely fallen off which suggests that if a procedure is recommended but not an emergency, it is being put off until later. Just some observations...

In tough economic times (such as when I went back to school and gave up my full time job) I gave up luxuries such as; meals out, regular pedicure, a signifigant portion of my shopping budget. I also gave up things that many consider necessities such as saving for my retirement. I would never give up something like quality care for my cats. I agree with Susan. Pet guardians have a responsibility to their pets.

And preventative care is important. It could help avoid an expensive after hours trip the emergency clinic. So to me, its a valuable investment

I am on a number of pet listservs and have for the last 12-18 months seen a surge of people writing in because their pets are sick and they want advice from the group so they can avoid the expense of a vet visit (or another vet visit). In some cases there is something valuable to tell them, but in 95% or more of the instances I have to keep from reaching through the monitor to wring their necks because their animals really need treatment from a qualified professional -- and probably needed it 24 hours or more before they posted. I sympathize with the money issue, but if you have a pet, you have a responsibility. I've walked in their shoes and worn out my credit card so I'm not talking from an ivory tower. Sure, do the nail trim yourself, but get the care you need.

Apparently this topic has been a subconscious stress factor for me, as last night I had a nightmare that there was something wrong with my cat, and things (the fact that it was four in the morning, the fact that I was suddenly at a movie downtown in another city without a car, etc.) kept preventing me from rushing him to the vet! IRL, however, we haven't stopped taking them in when they need it.

I've spent more on my dog's vet care in the last couple of months than I did in the entire previous year. Someone needs to have a little talk with her about the state of the economy.

My just turned nine year old Siberian (one of nine show dogs) recently torn her right ACL. Two years ago she tore her left, had surgery which had to be redone after the nylon rated to 60 pounds snapped. She was crated the entire recovery period, so no idea how that happened, perhaps she slipped on snow when being walked on the leash. Thankfully the ortheopedic surgeon was nice and redid the surgery at a much reduce cost. Getting back to now: yes, we are going to go ahead and do the nearly $2000 surgery even though we could let the knee stabalize eventually without the expensive surgery. Yes, she probably only has another five years (our Siberians typically live well into their fourteeth year) but to me our dogs come first. We feed Pro Plan Performance and I'd love to cut costs there but I can not find anything better. $40 a bag certainly adds up. Veterinary costs can be expensive but I would rather not eat than let my dogs go without proper care.

Definitely NOT spending less on Lottie's care. I would venture that I put her care before my own, lord knows she eats better!

It's interesting... I'm obsesssed with her teeth and loathing the day of her first dental. She's a chihuahua (notorious for terrible teeth, and losing teeth by the age of 2), so I have taken excellent care of her teeth from day 1. But, she's 2-1/2 and there's tartar build-up on those very-back molars. I took her in last week for her anal glands (something I am not willing to do myself) and asked for the 100th time if she is ready for her dental. Now, the office was empty, and I was able to get an appointment right away- and yet, they said she's still not ready for her dental cleaning. Even the Vet came out to stand around and chat with us at the front desk, something I've never seen him do. Made me wonder if they are experiencing a serious slow down. But, I was comforted that the care of my dog was in no way compromised.

Hopefully on November 5th we will all be breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to a new direction for this country.

I'm trying to spend less, but got adopted by a stray kitten....$600 later she's healthy and spayed. She was worth every penny though. She had 2 nasty bot wounds and was severely underweight when we caught her. My other cats are still getting routine shots, etc. on schedule. My next one isn't due until spring.

Mostly I've changed what I buy for cat litter instead and cut back on other (unnecessary) things for myself. Their food and health care is pretty important.