The Vet Practice

First of all, we couldn't agree more to shopping around for value. But that's the point - value - not price!

It seems that when it comes to some of the routine procedures such as desexing you do need to be aware of what you're getting for your money. Quite frankly even we were suprised by the variation in desexing fees.

What on earth is going on there?

But most disturbing is the fact that many of the lower end desexing fees offered pain relief as an "optional extra"!

That's just unbelievable. Fancy asking anybody "Would you like pain relief with this surgery?" If so, it'll cost you extra.

Don't be lured in by cheap fees only to discover later that some really important things which should be included in the first place are an added extra - just to get the sale.

As for saying that fees vary because there's no competition - that's not right either. We have a high concentration of clinics especially in our major cities so you do have lots of choices.

Now, looking at the surgical procedures highlighted in the story. Procedures like these often require a Specialist's hand or in the very least a skilled general practitioner so naturally they're expensive.

But we agree that there are often different approaches to the same problem so again - shop around for alternatives.

At the same time consider what AVA president Mark Lawrie had to say - "you need to compare appples with apples" and find out what's involved in the procedure. Method 1 using state of the art technology and advanced surgical techniques can't be compared to Method 2 which uses a different technique, no technology and requires less skills.

Then there's outcomes. Which method will produce the best outcome - long term benefits - for your pet and your hip pocket?

You need to ask questions and weigh up all the pro's and cons. Don't take just one person's word for it.

Given all this complexity, it's probably very wise to consider what the owner of the Silky Terrier had to say. "You know that pets will cost money in vet fees and to mitigate the situation........ consider taking out Pet Insurance."