When I found a stray cat dying in my garage three months ago, I called a friend for advice. He said I could use Surprise Animal Hospital, but they are expensive. No kidding. I brought the cat in an... Read More
When I found a stray cat dying in my garage three months ago, I called a friend for advice. He said I could use Surprise Animal Hospital, but they are expensive. No kidding. I brought the cat in and they immediately rushed it to the back, which I thought was good. A lady took me to an exam room to discuss payment. There were various charges, and one of them, complete blood work, was almost $200. I explained again that this was a stray or a neighbor's cat, and I am not taking on responsibility for the rest of its life; I just want to give it a chance to live. She took that charge off for me -- that's the kind of rip-off I look for and know to avoid. I explained I am out of work and cannot pay full price, so she gave me a discount of $24.50 for a first-time customer. Not too generous. She mentioned the "payment plan", aka a "mess with your credit forever plan", because they demand permission to fool with your credit card/bank, which unfortunately happens in perpetuity if there's ever an issue. And SAH charges you $10 for the privilege. Um, no. The vet came in and I discussed all this with him. He knew what had happened to the cat -- antifreeze poisoning -- because, well, he's a smart guy; he knows his business. Normally this is the kind of person I want to trust animals with, because he is quite competent. But in the end, it all cost me about $250 (would have cost much more if I'd agreed to have them cremate the remains) and he could not even save the cat. If this is how they treat an unemployed good Samaritan with an animal that cannot be helped, how do they treat people who obviously have money and whose pets survive the office visit? Today I talked to a friend out of state who had something similar happen, and not only did her vet lower the price significantly, he also threw in some extras. Wow. Why can't we get this level of caring and service here? Read Less