For pet’s sake
BY Sivan Keren June 04, 2008 16:06
Link to article on EYEWEEKLY.COM
If 30 is the new 20, university is the new high school and common law is the new marriage, then pet is the new baby. We talk to them, we shop for them and some of us even dress them. And as the grown-ups in their lives, we’re responsible for their health.
While adopting a new pet is exciting — searching cage after adorable cage at the Humane Society, picking out your new little love and basking in cuteness so great you may never want to leave the house again — it brings along with it the dreaded challenge of finding a good vet. Combine typical new-parent fears with the stress of finding a trustworthy mechanic, and you have, in a nutshell, the experience of seeking reliable, affordable pet care in Toronto.
“To be honest, I don’t feel like I can trust any vets anymore,” says Cheryl Hawley, the doting owner of seven-year-old cat Nika. Hawley, who chose her first vet based on location and good reputation, found herself mired in frustration when her vet expensively misdiagnosed Nika on a number of occasions. Hawley has since switched to a new vet, whom she also found through word of mouth. But over $1,000 later — and with Nika’s ailments still unclear — Hawley is still wary, and searching for yet another vet.
“It’s frustrating because you’d really like to have some answers, and you just keep spending money,” says Hawley. “It’s one of those things where you know they have the cat’s best interest in mind, but not necessarily your best interest in mind.”
It’s a tricky balance to achieve: while it seems acceptable to opt out of superfluous vet visits, dental work and lab work, your pet undoubtedly requires some professional care. The key, then, is to determine what is essential, and how to keep those essential costs down.
Lee Oliver of the Toronto Humane Society admits that he takes his own pets to fewer check-ups than his vet recommends, but urges that there are instances where it’s imperative to just pay up.
“Don’t skimp out with a puppy or a kitten,” he says. “[They need] yearly check-ups, and [you should] get them de-wormed a couple of times.”
For outdoor pets, Oliver emphasizes the necessity of worm, flea and tick medication, adding that a growing trend away from these meds has caused a new influx of infection. Some pet owners, it seems, assume that if their neighbours’ pets are receiving the meds, their own pets will be safe without them. “But there are all kinds of animals out there that don’t take the medication, like raccoons,” says Oliver. And the debacle of an animal-to-animal infection (and subsequent animal-to-human infection) will ultimately set you back even more.
As for spaying and neutering, Oliver agrees with Bob Barker. “It’s always a good idea,” he says, and it need not be as expensive as you think. Though vets may charge upwards of $200 for the procedure, the city has a wait list for clean, affordable spaying and neutering. (Prices range from $40 to $90, depending on the sex and type of animal.)
When it comes to more expensive procedures, it can’t hurt to shop around. Any decision you make about your pet’s health is a personal one. Unfortunately, when pet is the new baby, your purse’s is not the only string the vet’s tugging on.
