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Well, the cost for the mobile vet to euthanize in the home is $430, which seems reasonable.  Dealing with the body is extra, but there are options.

I was expecting at least $1K because of the stories above.

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17 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

I knew  vet care pricing was  getting a little nuts but this report is pretty eye opening as to why vet care costs have skyrocketed in the last few years.

 

In aug of '23 my Sadie started walking at a slighlty diagonal angle to me.. instead of coming directly at me, she was walking a few degrees off to her left.  Vet recommended taking her to Pet Specialist of Austin on 39th & Guad.    I went there, let them do some basic tests and they gave me the devastating news that she most likely had a brain tumor, and probably 3-5 months to live. 

They said they couldnt be sure without doing a MRI.  and all that assurance would give me is final confirmation that she was going to be gone in a few months.  But i would "know" for sure when it came time to say goodbye.

 I asked how much it would cost and their quote absolutely shocked me. 

It shocked me because I had had an MRI myself  less than 3 months earlier where I was offered the choice of using insurance and dealing with the copays and all the insurance craziness, or I could just pay $1900 Out of Pocket and have it done (used Insurance). 

 

So I assumed the cost would be somewhere around $1900 for a dog MRI....    

 

No isnt even remotely the right word to describe the quote I got....   $5,300.   more than FIVE FUCKING THOUSAND DOLLARS to confirm that my girl was going to die in 5 months anyway.

I sat there stunned and told them my cost on my MRI just months earlier  and I got told that its because they have to take extra precautions and that the dog has to be sedated and thats why it cost was almost 3X as much... 

(oh yeah and at 14, the death rate of sedating a dog is much higher)

I was like BULLSHIT... yeah sedation costs like $200, the doc to watch the dog might be another $400, and an overnight stay being monitored is probably another $200.    $2800 max, and you all are quoting basically DOUBLE that ammount?

 

I immediately knew they were trying to guilt pet parents into spending more than they needed to.  left, spent the next 4 months loving her and saying goodbye in Dec

 

 

When Blue was sick as a pup, they did a CT scan to diagnose her liver shunt. It was $3500. We had to wait until she had grown a bit more before A&M could do the surgery. Since it had been about five months, A&M had to do another CT scan. Their price? $600. 

I tell everyone that if they walk into a vet office and it looks like a high-end day spa, turn around and walk out. Look for the place that looks like they last remodeled in the 70's. Pick one with wood paneling, if you can. 

15 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, the cost for the mobile vet to euthanize in the home is $430, which seems reasonable.  Dealing with the body is extra, but there are options.

I was expecting at least $1K because of the stories above.

When I had to put Penny down recently, I had taken her to the Urgent Vet on Burnet Road in the center next to where Dallas nightclub used to be located. They bridge the gap between regular vet hours and pricing and emergency vet hours and pricing. The did an exam, ultrasound, x-ray, meds, euthanasia, and sent her away for the cremation with the ashes returned. 

My total bill? $850. $350 of that was the cremation. I can't complain about their pricing at all. A regular emergency vet would have cost twice that, easily. 

They keep the prices down by not having surgery capabilities on site, but have a place they can move them to. 

If you have vet needs during the weekday hours of 3 pm to 11 pm, or weekends from 11 am to 7 pm, its a good option. 

17 hours ago, Mittens said:

Local vets getting acquired by large conglomerates can't be helping that either.  I used Lake Austin Blvd Animal Hospital for 16 or 17 years and loved the relationship, for the most part.  They were acquired by Livewell a year or two ago, and their service just went to shit.  Tried to live through their growing pains, but the overall incompetency finally broke me a couple months ago.  Requested all records and moved on.

Yep. Private Equity strikes again. My BIL is a vet and told me there’s only like 2-3 private practices left in Austin. 

1 hour ago, Deej said:

If you're in Austin, this guy is still independent. Good vet. 4.9 out of 5.0 on Google. 

https://www.northlamarvetclinic.com/

started going here last year after my other vet got bought out. highly recommend for sure. 

19 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Dealing with the body is extra

I would just pre-dig the hole out back. They can't charge you for that. I'm sure they might try, but...

28 minutes ago, Deej said:

I would just pre-dig the hole out back. They can't charge you for that. I'm sure they might try, but...

No, they're fine with us keeping the body.  It would be a pretty big hole, I think we'll either go with the cremation or 311 route.  I mostly just want my kids present when she passes, they need to experience it (which may sound cruel but it is obviously part of life and a huge part of pet ownership).  My son has already said he's gonna make her a steak and my daughter is offering up cupcakes.  I was very touched by that.

23 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My son has already said he's gonna make her a steak and my daughter is offering up cupcakes.  I was very touched by that.

When I die, I'm coming to your house. 

My dog understands newton’s first law of motion. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion.

Not the digbat sheepadoodle. The GSD.

 

 

On 8/7/2025 at 2:38 PM, troph said:

we have pet insurance and I won't have a dog without it. yeah it's pricey but idgaf I'm not interested in the $5000 vet bill that I'm guilt tripped into. cost of the insurance keeps going up but at this point it's like $800-1000 per year and I'm sure it will go up more. if all goes well we will never recoup it but I'm not ok with being stressed and sad and worried and then having to decide between a bullshit price for a service and doing for my puppy what I'd do for my kids. not happening.

Depends on what kind of dog you have.  When we got our current dog (9 year old purebred Newfie), the cheapest pet insurance policy I could find was $200/mo.  For an 8 week old puppy.  And we know it just goes up every year from there.  Even with all the money we've spent on him (probably 15k), we are well ahead of where we would be with pet insurance.

 

1 hour ago, blacklab said:

Tucker, any idea who got in the trash can?
No idea, why do you ask?

Good dog, Tucker.

7 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Depends on what kind of dog you have.  When we got our current dog (9 year old purebred Newfie), the cheapest pet insurance policy I could find was $200/mo.  For an 8 week old puppy.  And we know it just goes up every year from there.  Even with all the money we've spent on him (probably 15k), we are well ahead of where we would be with pet insurance.

Any pet insurance that doesn't make you pay out of pocket first and then file for reimbursement?

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Bubba Barx, because this fucker goes out back, barks his ass off, gets all the dogs in the hood barking, then he sits and listens to his symphony. 

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Well, Maeby did something I've never seen her do.  She popped her front paws on the counter and tried to go ham on some pork spare ribs I'd just cut.  Archie, who ordinarily would be totally game for such shenanigans sat idly by while she misbehaved.  After a day of no appetite and some mudbutt/vomiting on her part, I took her to the vet to make sure she hadn't swallowed a bone.  Meanwhile, Archie developed sympathetic diarrhea and the vet sent home some anti nausea meds for him as well.  Thankfully, nothing on the x-ray but gas.  $1k later (for x-rays, blood work, IV, observation, and meds, I hope the ribs were worth it sweet girl.


 
 

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Edited by dcbc

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

I hope the ribs were worth it sweet girl.


 
 

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“Well Dad it could have been better. I asked for fall off the bone ribs for a reason. But NO! You have to cook em like you like. If I was fed properly I wouldn’t have been so hungry and on the brink of starvation for the last 1897 days in a row and make bad decisions like this.”

59 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Swallowed a whole spare rib. Impressive. 

If she did, she passed it or dissolved it.  X-ray only showed gas, a fact I could have supplied the vet free of charge.

5 minutes ago, dcbc said:

If she did, she passed it or dissolved it.  X-ray only showed gas, a fact I could have supplied the vet free of charge.

I could see a larger dog digesting a pork bone. They’re a lot softer and more brittle than beef bones. 

My little girls have surprised me. They’ve disappeared more than a few baby back ribs without incident. They can break down a lamb bone in about in about 10 minutes. They’re very adept at splitting bones open and eating the marrow.  I put a stop to it. Dino beef ribs only.

Edited by billfromlaketravis

My hysterical wife made me take our chihuahua to the vet for eating a grape.  I'm pretty sure I didn't need to spend that $450, and honestly, it would have been a fair tradeoff if I hadn't.  

3 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I could see a larger dog digesting a pork bone. They’re a lot softer and more brittle than beef bones. 

My little girls have surprised me. They’ve disappeared more than a few baby back ribs without incident. They can break down a lamb bone in about in about 10 minutes. They’re very adept at splitting bones open and eating the marrow.  I put a stop to it. Dino beef ribs only.

The worry if they don't become lodged is, because they are soft and brittle, that they cause a perforation, which would require immediate surgery.  Both of these dogs are a bit over 50 lbs, although Archie looks much bigger, but he's really just a lanky floof and looses most head to head take-downs with his six-year-old sister.

 

Anyway, they're both going to be happy to get off the bland diet tomorrow morning. 

1 minute ago, jimmyjazz said:

My hysterical wife made me take our chihuahua to the vet for eating a grape.  I'm pretty sure I didn't need to spend that $450, and honestly, it would have been a fair tradeoff if I hadn't.  

Archie ate a pan of brownies recently and both big dogs got a dose of Hydrogen Peroxide soon after, after which, we had to follow them around to keep them from reingesting the chocolate, foamy puke.  He also ate a crap ton of craisins once, but apparently, those are not harmful.  He's always the rascal you have to watch out for, which lets me know these ribs were as good as I'd proclaimed them to be.

2 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Archie ate a pan of brownies recently and both big dogs got a dose of Hydrogen Peroxide soon after, after which, we had to follow them around to keep them from reingesting the chocolate, foamy puke.  He also ate a crap ton of craisins once, but apparently, those are not harmful.  He's always the rascal you have to watch out for, which lets me know these ribs were as good as I'd proclaimed them to be.

Hydrogen peroxide.

image.thumb.gif.20b051170bc6c120e2bd2c1997f2f6e5.gif

1 minute ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Hydrogen peroxide.

image.thumb.gif.20b051170bc6c120e2bd2c1997f2f6e5.gif

Yes, but not with bones or so I read much later.  At the time, I thought I'd gotten her away from everything soon enough, and it appears as though I did.  Only later, after no appetite the next day, followed by the shits and two pukes Monday morning did I decide it was time to go get checked out.  Other than these symptoms, she wasn't in any distress that I figured required immediate attention, particularly due to her 50+ lbs size.

 

While she was at the vet, Archie proceeded to enshitify the kitchen, which prompted my wife to get a second helping of expensive anti-nau$ea drug$ and probiotic pa$te for him.  He probably ate a mole or something.  Oh well.  The ribs were good.

19 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Yes, but not with bones or so I read much later.  At the time, I thought I'd gotten her away from everything soon enough, and it appears as though I did.  Only later, after no appetite the next day, followed by the shits and two pukes Monday morning did I decide it was time to go get checked out.  Other than these symptoms, she wasn't in any distress that I figured required immediate attention, particularly due to her 50+ lbs size.

 

While she was at the vet, Archie proceeded to enshitify the kitchen, which prompted my wife to get a second helping of expensive anti-nau$ea drug$ and probiotic pa$te for him.  He probably ate a mole or something.  Oh well.  The ribs were good.

To Funny.

45 minutes ago, Shaddie said:
To Funny.

The real question, which I pondered on Monday.  Does @troph's pet insurance cover the intentional (on the dog's part) ingestion of spare ribs where said dog has no history of counter retrieval of food stuffs?  Did I, the owner in this hypothetical insurance claim, create such an attractive nuisance, that coverage unquestionably should be denied?
 
Let's assume I'm not trying to commit pet-insurance fraud by collecting under troph's policy, but rather, that I had a policy from the same company, which I assume is called, "It's Ruff" or "Bark Avenue" or some such.

For your consideration:




a51f70d3bcc25c366fdbfcd5c40313bd.jpg

Edited by dcbc

Man, I went online to restock Simparica Trio (heartworm/flea/tick prevention) and I'm finally fed up with how expensive it's gotten.  $800 to get a 12 month supply for 2 dogs from our vet's pharmacy!  I pulled the trigger on ordering from Australia.  It was $250 (before tariffs) for the exact same thing and I didn't need to provide a prescription.

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RIP, Harley. We lost him suddenly yesterday, some sort of stroke due to a large internal mass.

Harley, you picked my son, and he picked you, almost instantly at the shelter over 10 years ago. We weren't there five minutes. You were an inseperable pair. You gave my boy the perfect companionship through the years. As we prepare to send him off to Chicago for college, I figured we would lean on each other until he returned. But, you crawl under that big blanket and watch over him. Don't worry, we will take care of him down here.

• Harley loved snuggling under a good blanket. You would look over and there would be a blanket with a small lump in the middle. No head, paw or tail poking out.

• pictured in grey and white is Rufus. All our kids dogs are very old. He can neither see or hear but he eats and shits just fine. Rufus is a good man too and still with us at 15.

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Edited by pacman

1 hour ago, fuggled said:

Man, I went online to restock Simparica Trio (heartworm/flea/tick prevention) and I'm finally fed up with how expensive it's gotten.  $800 to get a 12 month supply for 2 dogs from our vet's pharmacy!  I pulled the trigger on ordering from Australia.  It was $250 (before tariffs) for the exact same thing and I didn't need to provide a prescription.

Got a link to aussie drug plug?

On 8/8/2025 at 12:35 PM, Deej said:

I would just pre-dig the hole out back. They can't charge you for that. I'm sure they might try, but...

This is what we did. I wanted our dog buried in our yard. I was worried they wouldn't let me, but they were fine with it. We went with someone coming to our house and while it was still awful, it was probably as good as it could have been.

A friend brought our dog a squeaky toy when we brought him home from rescue last winter, and he showed no interest. About six weeks ago, he discovered how awesome it is to play with right when we start watching something on TV.

I bitch about Pluto the chihuahua a lot, because she's a nervous wreck and thus annoying 24/7, but honestly we all love her very much.  Here she is when we got her, 9 years ago today:

No photo description available.

On 8/8/2025 at 7:30 AM, Deej said:

I tell everyone that if they walk into a vet office and it looks like a high-end day spa, turn around and walk out. Look for the place that looks like they last remodeled in the 70's. Pick one with wood paneling, if you can. 

you are describing Burnett Road Animal Hospital exactly, including the paneling 😄

we used them for 30 years, 4 dogs and a cat. they did two in home euthanasias for us. highly recommend if you're looking in the neighborhood. 

They've been my regular vet for a long time. 

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This is Buddy.

image.thumb.jpeg.41e8cd2745be619ce2994a8b4fedca4a.jpeg

 

I am facing "The Decision" and I just don't know how to make it.  There isn't any one thing wrong.  He is around 13 and has many problems.  He is mostly blind, his back legs are failing, he has a large tumor near his rear end, and he has dementia.  He has recently started waking up in the middle of the night screaming.  If you have never woken up that way you really don't know what you are missing.

 

It really is tough to make that call - I had to do it last month.  I knew it was coming and had a couple of false alarms where the next day she was just fine.  Then she woke up one morning and couldn't really walk, would take a couple steps and just lay back down and was just super lethargic.  Called a friend who has spent a lot of time with her to come over and say goodbye, and I was apologizing because it may be another false alarm.  She told me not to worry, to take her to Zilker and let her enjoy the park one last time that night, feed her hamburger and eggs and whatever is the best food she likes, and if she was fine in the morning, so be it.  She wasn't fine in the morning, and so off to the vet one last time.  It's tough as hell to do, but 16 (what mine was) is a long life for a dog, and I know I gave her an incredible 5 years (the time I had her), so at least my brain knows I did my best, even if my heart struggled with it. Good luck man.

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