yesterday I had just finished packing up the show bag ready for Birmingham to day when Bijou came and sat next to me - to my horror her head had swollen up like a balloon - so much so that her eyes were completely closed and her lips and muzzle were so swollen that she could not open her mouth - she looked like a cross between a Shar Pei and a Belgian !!!. We think she may have been stung by something in the garden but simply don't know what caused it really

I was desperately worried that the swelling would affect her throat and breathing so called our vets emergency line - to be told that we had to take her to March ( over an hours drive away) and the emergency fee would be £128 - she had a shot of anti- hystamine and were then told the cost would be £220 including the cost of the medication !.

Now of course our dogs welfare comes first but I truly believe that they are taking the p*** - we paid up but will change vets asap !

This morning her head is still  swollen although not as bad - she did not want her breakfast ( a VERY unusual occurrence !) and looks very sorry for herself.



needless to say she will not be at the show today !!!



Yvonne

The same happened to me I took my dog in at 5 in the morning 1 injection £160.00.

WHAT :-o :-o :-o :-o
I know it was early hours but thats rediculous :( :(
Last time I took one of mine to the out of hours vet, all be it about 4 years ago and 9pm on a friday night.
but It cost me £80 and that was including a anti-inflamtary shot and 4 small Rimadyl!!!!!
I would deffinatly change vets if you have to drive an hour to get to their emergancy cover.
I suppose I am lucky that my vets is a family business and its all included at the same place.
Hope she improves quickly :) :)
Lea :)

did you ask for an itemised bill? i used to work in an emergency out of hours vets, a company which covered a lot of local practices, and when i was there 2 years ago, the consult and out of hours fee added together was around £80, any medications or procedures were over and above that, however they were charged at normal rates, and i cannot see how they can justify that amount of money for an anti histamine, if it was piriton an injection only costs a few pounds at my current practice.

I was charged nearly £200 for an anti-inflamatory and antibiotic jab on boxing day 2006 for raging mastitis, but my own Vet actually treated the problem and showed me how to express the infected gland the next day for just the usual consult fee and the Price of the AB's.

Unfortunately the £200 mark seems about right for an out of hours treatment for an allergic reaction.  I think it was silly of them to tell you £128 but maybe that was the out of hours fee before normal costs go on top.  I would ask for a itemised bill to double check anyway.

Emma

> £128 but maybe that was the out of hours fee before normal costs go on top

that is insane- vets do good work but my god its profitable for them. there is no way that they need to charge that much. surely its a job that most would consider a calling that is done for the love of animals not the paycheck??

I think you have to expect to pay for professionals that have met high accademic requirements and trained for long years as none of us would want anyone of a lesser calibre treating our animals would we?  I know what doctors charge for in hours work so shudder to think what it would be out of hours.  I wonder too about a solicitor and absolutely shudder at the thought of what a barrister might expect to be pulled away from his family home after 5pm :-)

absolutely, they should be paid after working so hard, when i am fully qualified and in a proper job i expect good pay BUT thats mad- it simply does not need to be that much.

I was charged a substantial amount by a vet to see my girl on a sunday and to have a couple of stitches put in - total about £300 I think off the top of my head.
Chargeable hours for lawyers/solicitors!!  Don't even get me started there Isabel! lol  Majority of our lot would still be at the office way way after 5pm! :-D

Just a quick update and a warning - Bijou is now back to normal but the likely cause of her allergic reaction was the Chorizo sausage that I used as bait ( tried it out on Friday afternoon prior to the show on Saturday - apparently the stuff that these sausages are cured in can be toxic to dogs hence the reaction - I 'm just relieved that I had only given her a small piece to see if she'd stand well for it ( she LOVED it !!)

..I'll be sticking to liver cake in future !

Yvonne

omg glad you found out what it was !!! hope shes better now :)

Poor gilrie, I hope she is feeling better soon, that must have been very frightening :(

I had to have my pup rushed to the vets several months ago, his top & bottom eyelids had drooped so far down that your couldn't see eyes and he was dribbling saliva and acting drowzy.

The vets applied a local anasthetic (sp?) to his eyes, then kept him in for a few hours to monitor him. Everything just went back to normal and the vets could only assume that he must have been stung by something/had an alergic reaction to something.

Emergency consultation, local anasthetic, 2 hour stay in the vets = £34 :)  (that was during normal opening hours)

EDIT: glad you found out the cause, how lucky she didn't have more of the sausage.

last week my bitch had to be rushed to the vets out of hours vomiting blood she had two injections and put on a drip stayed in for two night and the bill was £138.

Glad you have found what caused it and your dog is better.

Glad to hear that Bijou is ok and that you found the cause.

Last week my Holly had an allergic reaction to Naturediet Sensitive Salmon & Prawn, Vegetables & Rice, you can see a picture of how her face swelled up at http://miniature-pinscher.blogspot.com/search/label/Food%20Allergies

I hope shes feeling better :-)

I had to take 1 of mine to the emergancy vets on a sunday afternoon after being stung by a bee, shes had a injection and some tablets and to my shock the bill was only £67

I'm glad Bijou is back to normal poor girl. Do you know what's in the chorizo cure that's so bad for dogs. Sounds like something I want to avoid!

My vet does different levels of out of hours costs. Before midnight is cheaper, after midnight is £80 for consult fee.