Troubleshooters: NJ dog owner warning others after receiving hefty vet bill

CHERRY HILL, New Jersey (WPVI) -- If you are a pet owner, the Action News Troubleshooters have important information before you take your furry friend to its next veterinarian visit.

A Cherry Hill woman says she paid thousands of dollars more than she needed to and she wants others to avoid the same mistake.

"Ernie's my rescue dog," said Jacqueline Canter. "He's about 14 years old and he has had a problematic left eye."

Canter said last month, Ernie's eye was bulging out of the socket so she took him to an emergency veterinary hospital where the vet advised removing the eye.

"I said, 'OK,' crying," Canter said. "They brought in an estimate and said, 'You need to sign this estimate.'"

Canter signed it and Ernie had his surgery. But on the way home Canter started having second thoughts about the price.

"I started saying, 'That sounds crazy, that sounds like a crazy number,'" she said.

Canter said the bill ended up being in line with the estimate: $4,298.64.

"She said, 'You signed the estimate. If you had a problem with the price, you should have said it right then and there,'" recalled Canter. "'We would have told you that we could have lowered the cost or you could have gone to your vet, but you didn't and now it's too late.'"

Canter said her vet told her the procedure would have cost $1,500 tops, not the $4,300 she paid at the emergency hospital. When Action News called around to local vets, prices ranged from $1,450 to $2,571.

"Prices vary dramatically from one practice to another," said Kevin Brasler of Checkbook Magazine.

Checkbook's undercover shoppers found big price differences for several procedures.

For instance, to spay a six-month-old cat with no hospitalization -- prices ranged from $186 up to $956.

The good news is, Checkbook said you don't have to pay more to get good care. But there are three things you need to do before you agree to treatment.

First, get a written treatment plan from your vet with a breakdown of prices. Then get a second opinion.

"Sometimes you'll find maybe that the procedure that was recommended by one provider isn't recommended by another one or there's a different treatment," Brasler said.

After you decide on a treatment plan, call around to compare prices.

"You need to make sure that the prices include everything. They include medications and follow-up visits and things like that," he said.

It's a lesson Canter wants to pass along to others.

"I felt really taken advantage of. I felt stupid," she said. "If someone says, your pet needs this, you will do anything to get that to your pet."

The vet hospital said Ernie's procedure was not routine and the doctor spent a lot of time going over all the procedures prior to admission.

Questions you should ask your vet are: Does the surgery have to be done right away? Can I get this done elsewhere for less? Is there a way to lower the bill?

To help viewers find fairly priced, great-quality vets in the area, visit checkbook.org/6abc/vets

The link will be active until Nov. 1, 2022.