My 5 year old (giant breed) dog has been with her current vet for 2 years, I only switched because her former vet retired so wanted to find someone closer to home. I wanted to ask if what I experienced recently is normal.
My dog was scheduled for a February Dental Promotion dental cleaning with an estimate of $1500 total.
They called during the procedure and said that my dog needs to have one of her canines extracted because the x-ray shows trauma at the root and urged me to make a decision quickly because my dog was under anesthesia. They said the extraction cost is not covered in the quote (which I understand) so I asked for an estimate to be emailed to me immediately. The new quote was $3500 with the extraction added. An additional $2k wasn’t what I budgeted for. I called and asked if that tooth is causing pain because I haven’t observed any signs of discomfort. The vet said they don’t know but it will possibly cause pain in the future if it isn’t now.
Also, my dog has been on Nexgard Spectra which this clinic doesn’t stock and they told me every time they had to make “special orders” for me; I get charged $60/pill. I recently found a local pharmacy that could order them for much cheaper. I requested a prescription and they’re charging me “$40.50 + tax since it is a medication they do stock in the clinic.”
Are these fees within the norm?