Ray’s Annual Checkup!

Today’s Post was planned around Ray’s annual vet appointment (it was yesterday) but it was almost (stress almost) uneventful!

As soon as we put his travel harness on him, he knew he was going somewhere in the car and was quite excited. Who knows what places he thought he might be going to, but the vets may not have been on the top of his list! To be truthful though, he does not have a problem actually going to the vets because the staff treat him really well, and his particular vet seems to love seeing him.

As soon as we entered the clinic, Flood (the office cat) was scooped out of her basket on the reception counter, and taken somewhere less problematic than being within reaching distance of Ray! It wasn’t long before we were guided into another room where we waited. We knew as soon as Ray’s vet was about to come in because he was at the door ready for his imminent treats and, as expected, she immediately spoiled him.

Much as Ray seems to like his vet, he does have reservations about women in white coats and so he is always a little wary about events and watches everybody very carefully. As soon as he saw Natalia (his vet) approach him with stethoscope in hand, he jumped up onto the bench seat next to me but, with me stroking him and talking softly to him and Carol feeding him pieces of apple, he was very cooperative. Natalia did comment that it was so much easier this time to have a good listen to his heart. Kudos for Ray!

She then gave him a nice syringe covered in peanut butter and, while he was licking, she was squirting a med into his mouth. He never knew!

He has had intermittent ear infections since being with us so a look inside both ears is always part of his examination and, while he was not quite so cooperative, it was sufficient to determine that a mild infection was prevalent and that we (read Carol) should keep putting the medication in.

Therein followed a general all over check for lumps, and that his teeth and gums were good. He passed! There may well have been other items on the examination agenda which I was not aware of however, we then came to the dreaded needles.

Ray does not technically have a problem with needles. He just resigns himself to them (don’t we all?). His problem is when two or more “white coats” approach him however, with an inundation of really yummy treats, he is quickly flipped onto his side and then held down (which is when he resigns himself to due process).

Injections are generally very quick… but taking blood? Well, we’ve all no doubt been there! With all “pointy things” removed, Ray got loads of treats again and, this time, a friend of ours who works there and who knows Ray’s full story wanted to see him before we left. Once again, he was spoiled terribly after which we made our way to the reception desk to pay our bill!

I have to say that they are incredibly efficient at spoiling Ray and making him feel welcome there, but I cannot say the same for their treatment of the people who actually pay the bills. Ray was so good that you would have thought a 30-40% discount would have been offered?

Anyway, for anybody interested, his various medications, injections, plus his examination, and stool sample analysis totaled just over $500.00.  We totally support the vet clinic but, while we have no problem with justifying the cost, we do wonder about people with multiple dogs in their family! How on earth do they manage?

18 thoughts on “Ray’s Annual Checkup!”

  2. So proud of Ray for doing so well!! It is great that they love him so much at the vets. Yes dogs can be expensive for sure! I have to chuckle tho as you ask, how people with more than 1 dog handle it! For at one time for quite a while we had 4 dogs! Yeah, you can go ahead and call us crazy! For now we are down to 2, but my daughter is really really really wanting us to get a 3rd one! This would be why my wardrobe isn’t real big and why we don’t have a winter home in a tropical island. LOL! But I grew up with having 2 dogs all the time, so having just 1 would seem too strange! 🙂 And yes all 4 dogs were spoiled,there was not a favorite, tho each one thought they were the favorite 🙂

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    • I had to smile at your comments! Getting a 3rd dog for your daughter would be a golden opportunity to introduce her to the concept of work = money = necessary. Everybody wins! The dog gets a loving home – Your daughter makes the work = money = good things happen connection – You get some help around the house, or some income depending on how old she is! 🙂

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      • I’m thinking its a good thing my daughter doesn’t read your blog and see your response. LOL! She is quite the negotiator, so yes we have heard it all! If it happens, I assure you that you will find out about it in a post 🙂 Which maybe I should have just got her one today, since my mind was blank today for a post. HA! KIDDING! I know it won’t happen today!

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        • You just have to take her for a walk up and down the rows of kennels in your local rescue/humane organization… and one will give you that “Can I go home with you please?” look. That moment is strategically the best time for you to negotiate as she’ll probably agree to anything. 🙂

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  3. Well done Ray, treats are well deserved.
    My GSD had a problem with nyone in a white coat or shirt, and we believed it was a vet or butcher that had perhaps hurt her and she never forgot. My vet took his jacket off once I mentioned it to him, and she was fine then on every visit.
    Vet bills here can be expensive, though many do schemes spreading the cost of jabs and check ups over 12 months. There sre of course insurances available too, but many are introducing restrictions and conditions. We used to insure Maggie but when we made a claim a few years ago with her leg problems, the renewal more than doubled, so we cancelled it and out the ‘annual fee’ by each year.
    For people with multiple pets, there are also similar schemes, and we also had a PDSA system here in the UK for those on certain welfare benefits with pets who don’t have to pay at all.

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    • We seriously considered health insurance for him but, after crunching some numbers, I couldn’t see the point. Of course, when he tested positive for heart worm we thought …. Ooops! In retrospect, his heart worm treatment was expensive but, given the cost of insurance, we would have paid it back with interest by now. It seems to me that as long as you have a financial “float” for those just in case situations, then Insurance seems very questionable. Somebody once said “90% of what we worry about will never happen to us. Insurance companies know that which is why they are financially very healthy!”

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  5. Vet bills have increased exponentially in the past 20 years. New layers of government regs increase costs along with normal increases associated with upgrading equipment, hiring trained techs, etc.. Our vet tech is supposed to get ID from everyone coming in with an animal for treatment or payment. I have repeatedly instructed them that if someone wants to pay my vet bill, they have my permission! Teeth cleaning which is always a procedure under anesthesia (for cats) used to be around $125, is now $500 because lab tests are required first. I understand why people with limited incomes don’t take their pets to the vet. Locally we have vaccination clinics and an animal food bank but some people surrender their pet when it needs expensive treatments. Ray sounds like he was good for his check-up. My cats are never happy even though everyone gives them lots of attention and scratches. Once they are home they are under the bed for the rest of the day.

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      • I value my life too much to try to brush my cats’ teeth. I do all their grooming though. Some services like nail clipping or butt trims used to be part of the annual but are not individually charged. It’s amazing how fast you can learn how to do that stuff. Our vet is great though and she is not near as wealthy or well off as my docs. No complaints about her. It’s just the way it is now.

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