Help with Vet Fees

faber11

Hi all,

I've just paid out over 800e in vet fees to pay for help with my dog's ear infection. I have 300e left to pay...as a result, I am broke. I had purchased pet insurance but as this happened within the two weeks of me buying the policy, the insurance won't cover it. Are there any charities, organisations that help with vet fees in Ireland?

Faber

cocker5

€800 seems like a lot for vet treatment for an ear infection OP - did u get an itemized bill?
What did the vet say exactly wrong?

There is the blue cross (which helps people on social welfare etc) they treat animals for reduced cost but there is no organization that can help you pay (as far as I’m aware)

Your vet should allow you set up a payment plan? Like €50 pet well until it’s paid off?

You could try a gofundme page and share all I’ve Facebook people may donate .. but otherwise I’m not too sure.

Sandor Clegane

1100 for an ear infection....

Is that all that was wrong with him? Id be interested in knowing the breakdown of the bill as that sounds like an outrageous number for an ear infection, I've had far more serious issues with my pets over they years and 1100 wasn't even in the same ballpark.

Bells21

One of ours had an ear infection about 2 years ago. Vet had to give it a really good clean, pluck the ear hair. The dog was on anti biotics and was given an injection for pain. All came to 60! Was your dog put under anesthesia or anything? Was it out of hours

Barnabycat

Seems rather excessive. My dog had lifesaving surgery and 48hr care after being attacked by another dog. Charged me €350. He was a very nice vet.

faber11

This is the break-down for the 1st visit:

Procedure
Consultation 40,00 € 1 13.5 % 4,76 € 40,00 €
Ear cleaning 30,00 € 0.5 13.5 % 1,78 € 15,00 €
Medicine
Injection Fee 10,00 € 2 unit 13.5 % 2,38 € 20,00 €
Neo Tardocilline 12,5 0,00 € 6 x 1ml 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Onsior Inj 5,01 € 3 x 1 ml 13.5 % 1,80 € 15,03 €
Total 10,72 € 90,03 €

This is for the 2nd visit a day later:

Procedure
Alvegesic inj 0,00 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Antisedan Inj 0,00 € 0.2 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Buprecare 0.3mg/ml 5,01 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,18 € 1,50 €
Ear Cleaning Procedure 50,00 € 1 13.5 % 5,95 € 50,00 €
Hospitalisation Per 15 Mins 52,51 € 4 13.5 % 25,00 € 210,04 €
Sedastart inj 0,00 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Sedation 50,00 € 1 13.5 % 5,95 € 50,00 €
Medicine
Clavubactin 250 mg 2,20 € 20 unit 13.5 % 5,20 € 44,00 €
Dispensing Fee 6,50 € 2 unit 13.5 % 1,54 € 13,00 €
Injection Fee 10,00 € 1 unit 13.5 % 1,19 € 10,00 €
Onsior Inj 5,01 € 3 x 1 ml 13.5 % 1,80 € 15,03 €
Onsior tablets 40 mg 3,30 € 5 unit 13.5 % 1,95 € 16,50 €
Laboratory analysis
Test Parasite Check 25,00 € 1 13.5 % 2,97 € 25,00 €
X-Ray 55,00 € 1 13.5 % 6,54 € 55,00 €
Total 58,27 € 490,07 €

Three days later, I went back for a check -up and that cost me 114e.

As I was unhappy with my dogs ears and the prices I was being charged, I went to a different vet two weeks later and was charged 220e to take swabs of both ears and for anti-biotics...

914e altogether...nightmare...

faber11

Thanks Cocker, some good suggestions there, i may try the gofundme idea...

ardinn

That is madness!

Barnabycat

faber11 wrote: »

This is the break-down for the 1st visit:

Procedure
Consultation 40,00 € 1 13.5 % 4,76 € 40,00 €
Ear cleaning 30,00 € 0.5 13.5 % 1,78 € 15,00 €
Medicine
Injection Fee 10,00 € 2 unit 13.5 % 2,38 € 20,00 €
Neo Tardocilline 12,5 0,00 € 6 x 1ml 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Onsior Inj 5,01 € 3 x 1 ml 13.5 % 1,80 € 15,03 €
Total 10,72 € 90,03 €

This is for the 2nd visit a day later:

Procedure
Alvegesic inj 0,00 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Antisedan Inj 0,00 € 0.2 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Buprecare 0.3mg/ml 5,01 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,18 € 1,50 €
Ear Cleaning Procedure 50,00 € 1 13.5 % 5,95 € 50,00 €
Hospitalisation Per 15 Mins 52,51 € 4 13.5 % 25,00 € 210,04 €
Sedastart inj 0,00 € 0.3 13.5 % 0,00 € 0,00 €
Sedation 50,00 € 1 13.5 % 5,95 € 50,00 €
Medicine
Clavubactin 250 mg 2,20 € 20 unit 13.5 % 5,20 € 44,00 €
Dispensing Fee 6,50 € 2 unit 13.5 % 1,54 € 13,00 €
Injection Fee 10,00 € 1 unit 13.5 % 1,19 € 10,00 €
Onsior Inj 5,01 € 3 x 1 ml 13.5 % 1,80 € 15,03 €
Onsior tablets 40 mg 3,30 € 5 unit 13.5 % 1,95 € 16,50 €
Laboratory analysis
Test Parasite Check 25,00 € 1 13.5 % 2,97 € 25,00 €
X-Ray 55,00 € 1 13.5 % 6,54 € 55,00 €
Total 58,27 € 490,07 €

Three days later, I went back for a check -up and that cost me 114e.

As I was unhappy with my dogs ears and the prices I was being charged, I went to a different vet two weeks later and was charged 220e to take swabs of both ears and for anti-biotics...

914e altogether...nightmare...

I don't know what to say. They seem to be very thorough in totalling the bill. Did they give you a warning of how much it was likely to be before they treated your animal?

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

SteM

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

And the charge is €52 per 15 minutes!

Bloody hell, lucky the dog only had to stay 4 hours and not overnight or the OP would have to sell a kidney to pay the vet bill!

kathleen37

I really think you need to speak to the vet and ask them to explain that bill to you. The vet needs to do that, not the receptionist.

For example - ear cleaning two days in a row? Xray - what for? In what way could that possibly assist in diagnosing an ear infection? €114 for a check up?????

The way that bill is set out definitely looks like they were expecting it to be paid for by insurance. Do they know your insurer declined your claim?

Good luck. I would be absolutely disgusted to be charged anything near that for an ear infection.

tk123

kathleen37 wrote: »

For example - ear cleaning two days in a row? Xray - what for? In what way could that possibly assist in diagnosing an ear infection? €114 for a check up?????

I think everyone is comparing this to when the dog their dog just needed ear drops for a few days or a dusting of Thornit - but it sounds like it was a lot more serious? Not that I'm excusing the costs but I can see pain killers etc in there for starters so assuming it was very bad like an inner ear infection? My friend's OH has a hole where his ear infection ate away the bones (:eek:)

Springwell

Just to note - xrays can help to distinguish if the ear infection is chronic and there is mineralization of the lateral ear canal/ear drum which requires surgery

kathleen37

I unfortunately have experience (and the bills) for both dogs and cats with severe reoccurring ear infections (both otitis externa and otitis interna)

To be fair, I guess the OP hasn't made clear whether these visits were the first in relation to the ear problems? Perhaps they have been reoccurring visits regarding repeat issues?

My point is, is that there are pathways for diagnosing the hugely different reasons for ear infections. I've never known Xrays to be an option on a second (day) visit and I would still be asking the question of what is the value of an xray, at the same time they are testing for parasites? Surely they need to rule out the easy fixes first?

Paddy Cow

SteM wrote: »

And the charge is €52 per 15 minutes!

Bloody hell, lucky the dog only had to stay 4 hours and not overnight or the OP would have to sell a kidney to pay the vet bill!

It wasn't 4 hours, it was 4 blocks of 15 minutes, so over €200 for 1 hour :eek:

Op how severe was the ear infection? Was it an ongoing thing? I brought my three with ear infections and for consultation, lab tests and medicine it was €150. They just had parasites though. If your dog had been biten and got infected that way, it would explain the much higher bill.

Collie D

SteM wrote: »

And the charge is €52 per 15 minutes!

Bloody hell, lucky the dog only had to stay 4 hours and not overnight or the OP would have to sell a kidney to pay the vet bill!

I was wondering if I read that right!

OP, was this actually in Ireland? The layout of the bill looks like somewhere on the continent with the commas instead of decimal points and placement of the € symbol at the end.

faber11

Paddy Cow, it wasn't an ongoing thing. She had been wincing with pain for two days every time she shook her ear so I brought her to the nearest vet. I adopted her from a rescue home about a year ago and she's never had any trouble with her ears. She hadn't been bitten, it was just a really bad infection they said. Collie D, the vet is in Cork but the actual vet is Spanish so well spotted!

Paddy Cow

faber11 wrote: »

Paddy Cow, it wasn't an ongoing thing. She had been wincing with pain for two days every time she shook her ear so I brought her to the nearest vet. I adopted her from a rescue home about a year ago and she's never had any trouble with her ears. She hadn't been bitten, it was just a really bad infection they said. Collie D, the vet is in Cork but the actual vet is Spanish so well spotted!

That bill seems very expensive. I take it you'll never be using them again.

the beer revolu

Was it a city centre vet by the river?