1. Cheap vets are not necessarily good deals- too often, but not always, the cheapest vet is one who is burned out and does a haphazard job. But this is not always so; I have found, here and there, vets who chose to work in poor communities and made their services much more affordable.
Conversely, expensive vets are not necessarily the best; sometimes they are charging what the traffic will bear, depending on upscale facilities and "good" addresses to draw clientele who have money to burn.
Somewhat paradoxically, for more complicated veterinary problems, you may end up saving money by consulting a specialist whose initial exam fee may be considerably larger than the office exam fees for general practitioners in your area. Again, shop around: particularly if you live far from large cities, it may be worth your time and gas money to venture toward the Big City in search of a specialist. A good specialist may save you money by arriving at a correct diagnosis and effective treatment much faster than a vet less experienced with the specific medical issue. In addition, some specialists will balance their more expensive initial fees with more affordable tests and meds.
Shop around, ask for tips, use your brain.
2. Be aware that any vet who has seen your pet in the past is obligated to forward all records to your next vet at no charge- just as it is with your own medical care providers. If you change vets, you will not be starting from scratch. If you expect to be moving repeatedly, or want to see a couple of different vets before choosing one, you may want to be kind to the old vet's staff, and just ask for a copy of the records to carry with you- which is not a bad idea anyway.
3. Wheel and deal: some vets will negotiate on big ticket items, or meet lower prices you find elsewhere. Some will do payment plans, some routinely will reduce costs for low income people, and most will assist you in finding sources for credit plans.
4. Don't be afraid to seek second opinions, particularly where big money or big decisions are at issue. A true professional will not be threatened by this, and it is unethical for them to attempt to interfere with your seeking other input. Hopefully, your vet will welcome this as an opportunity to learn something and as a way of ensuring the best possible care for your pet.
5. Be aware that something like 98% of the medications that pets use are the very same as those used by humans, or have equivalents in the human pharmacy. Due to low volume, all medications purchased from vets will almost always be MUCH more expensive than those from other sources.
One vet clinic I know of carries brochures in their waiting room that promote various medications, some of them unnecessary, and one brochure is all about how the only safe meds for your pet are those purchased from a vet. This is, quite simply, a deliberate lie. If you hear this from a vet, or see this brochure in a waiting room, leave. This is someone whose profit motive trumps ethics.
Your vet cannot insist that you buy meds from him or her, but must give you a prescription to be used at a pharmacy or online if you ask. A few saintly vets do this routinely, or provide medications at cost. Others will be receptive to writing prescriptions to pharmacies, even offering information about less expensive pharmacy options.
With some it's a fight every single time, and you will need to educate yourself about which meds are available through sources other than your vet. (If you find your vet resisting giving you prescriptions or claiming not to know which meds are available in human pharmacies, you might want to ask yourself whether the vet you are dealing with has his or her values in the right place.)
If you shop for meds for your pets online and at pharmacies, you will find huge variation, but usually medication costs can be cut by at least 50%, in my experience.
Examples: For a dog with a serious autoimmune skin disorder, I reduced my cost for high-dose Cephalexin from over $100 a month to $4 a month by shopping around. I found bags of Lactated Ringer's Solution, needed for a cat with kidney disease, for $3 a bag from a pharmacy- compared to about $20 at vet clinics.
Many non-prescription medications and related equipment can be obtained from "feed and seed" stores. These include a range of wormers, most veterinary vaccinations, needles for shots and subcutaneous fluid administration, etc. Example: I found that I paid TEN TIMES as much for a dose of a particular roundworm remedy at the vet, compared to the local feed and seed.
Costco now carries non-prescription pet meds in their pharmacy.
People are often intimidated by the idea of administering subcu fluids or vaccinations (most of which are also subcu). In fact, this is pretty easy to learn, very safe and virtually failproof, and requires no prior knowledge of medical procedures or animal anatomy. Shots and fluids are administered under the skin only, and are given in the very loose skin between the shoulder blades of dogs and cats- where there are apparently no nerve endings to speak of. Most pets seem quite oblivious to the procedure.
6. You have a right to decline any service that strikes you as unnecessary or excessive, and also to ask that you be consulted prior to ANY procedure or test that is to be charged. If your vet does not honor this request whenever possible (that is, with the exception of emergency care)-- find another vet.
If a vet recommends an overnight stay for your pet, ALWAYS ask if there will be overnight supervision. If not, do not leave your pet at that clinic overnight unless you think your house is an unsafe place for your pet.
Unfortunately, there has been a trend toward some clinics recommending and charging for overnight stays without justification, and at least one tragedy resulted in a clinic without overnight staffing, followed by a lawsuit in Portland, OR (reported in Bark Magazine in 2008).
A very popular vet clinic in my area has a policy of aggressively pressuring people to leave their animals overnight, and misleading people about the complete lack of overnight staffing. If you experience this, consider making a formal complaint to the veterinary regulatory board in your state.
7. Regular vaccinations for some diseases are legally required or highly recommended. However, most veterinary vaccines last for three years. Research current recommended frequencies.
Some animal shelters offer free or very inexpensive vaccinations. Petco (which, contrary to hype, prices most of its merchandise at 20% higher than the most expensive same-brand items elsewhere) nevertheless hosts low-price vaccination clinics from LuvMyPet. The selection of vaccinations is comprehensive, and can be purchased all together or singly. Shots are administered by licensed veterinarians. Beware, however, messages from LuvMyPet that tell you to re-vaccinate one year later. This is misleading, and not in the best interests of your pet.
If you feel self-confident administering subcu shots, you can give most vaccinations your pet needs yourself, at home, using supplies from a feed-and-seed.
8. Several local and national organizations have programs that lend assistance for vet care for low-income households. Usually the groups in our region work with specific vet clinics where the covered services must be scheduled. Google "low income veterinary assistance" and a location. There are programs in Kitsap and Jefferson Counties, as well as the Seattle region. Organizations in our region that offer limited assistance for pets in need include in Olympic Mountain Pet Pals (Jefferson County), PAWS of Bainbridge*, and Animal Rescue Families (Bremerton). See the list of other organizations appended below. (* warning: this program does some good things, but works with a vet clinic that as of my last contact with them, had no overnight staffing but aggressively pursued having even low-income clients leave their pets overnight following surgery.)
Some of these ideas and other useful tips are discussed in an excellent article on stretching your vet dollars, that appeared in the May/June 09 issue of Bark Magazine. http://thebark.com/content/saving-money-your-veterinary-bills
Also see my piece on "vet care assistance for low-income pets" for a list of local and national organizations that help provide needed medical care.
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