Dumb question, but... has anyone ever heard of a vet providing free services? Or even a free check up? And if yes... did they just ask nicely? ._.

I think my dog's really sick. ._.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Dumb question, but... has anyone ever heard of a vet providing free services? Or even a free check up?

I think my dog's really sick. ._.

Ya, I think you can do that. However, they will always find something wrong with your pet (i.e. it doesn't have one of over 9000 vaccinations). They'll make you feel like the most evil individual on Earth if you try to walk out without getting them, as if you're abusing your pet.

I'm okay with a guilt trip as long as it means my dog would be okay. ._.

they might do a free checkup, i guess it depends on the vet. but if they find something they won't treat your dog for free, i guess the best thing to do is call a vet and ask what they can/what you should do.

also if your dog is sick it might be really expensive. my dog messed up his tooth last year and had to get it removed and that cost my dad like $800. im not trying to scare you or anything, but it seems to me they really gouge you for any treatment.

Originally Posted by brendanp

they might do a free checkup, i guess it depends on the vet. but if they find something they won't treat your dog for free, i guess the best thing to do is call a vet and ask what they can/what you should do.

also if your dog is sick it might be really expensive. my dog messed up his tooth last year and had to get it removed and that cost my dad like $800. im not trying to scare you or anything, but it seems to me they really gouge you for any treatment.

Yea, I know it's really expensive. D:

I dunno, I guess I'm just hoping they became vets because they really love animals and wouldn't let one die if it just needed some medication or something. ._.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Yea, I know it's really expensive. D:

I dunno, I guess I'm just hoping they became vets because they really love animals and wouldn't let one die if it just needed some medication or something. ._.

Call otonabee vet in peterborough. I used to take my cats there. pretty reasonable pricewise

Anyways, I was just wondering if it wasn't unheard of... Guess it's pretty rare.

Thanks for the responses.

Personally, I've never heard of anything free in terms of animal care. At the emergency vet near my house, they won't even look at your pet unless you pay first.

If you think your dog is really sick, you should ask your parents/friends/relatives, anyone, to borrow money. Check ups aren't usually THAT expensive. And you don't have to do anything the vet says (ie. if they suggest a pricey surgery).

I have worked in 3 animal hospitals, and I have some pretty bad news .. it is extremely unlikely that a vet is going to help you out for free. They hear the same thing almost every day "my cat/dog/horse/bird/etc. is extremely sick, do you think you could just quickly look at my pet?". Once we help one person out for free, usually many more start coming to our door. Especially at my current clinic in a rather sketchy area, people in the area don't have a lot of spend on pet care.

The worst part is, although you only have good intentions, there are people who bounce from vet to vet in every city, trying to get some free services from each one, so vets (but primarily, receptionists, since that is your first point of contact) are very careful to avoid situations like that.

When we have people come into our clinic, they usually get charged for the check-up, but after we explain what the "gold standard" in treatment is, we'll give them CHEAPER options .. more realistic options. And we try our best to cut prices, since I know a lot of simple treatments are hideously expensive.

Your best bet might be to find a vet who is young and fresh out of school. They aren't as jaded as the older ones and usually feel bad and will want to do *something*. You won't have luck at my clinic (that is definitely for sure lol) but you can try Blue Cross Animal Hospital (there's a fairly young vet there .. out of school by about 5 years or so), or Downtown Animal Hospital, which has fairly young vets too. I can't say where I work but I know they won't give free service there, so those are the 2 clinics i'd reccomend next. DTAH is really good in my opinion .. if you don't have money, they won't give you free service, but they won't guilt trip you - they understand. And they'll try their best to find a reasonably affordable option for you. I would try DTAH.

I have to warn you though .. diagnostic treatments are freaking expensive. To say that a dog is vomiting means nothing. There are literally hundreds of reasons why a dog will vomit or appear lethargic, etc. A full work-up to determine why a dog is vomiting (or whatever else) is probably going to include a blood test (EXPENSIVE especially if they test for a lot of things), a urine test (not too expensive), an x-ray (did the dog injest something? And sometimes it won't even work, since if it's like plastic ors omething .. it's not going to show up), etc. .. upwards of $400-500. That's the gold standard. You could probably go for a urine test, a VERY BASIC blood test, and skip the x-ray, but even still, even with the gold standard, you still might not know what's going on. With the VERY BASICS, you could maybe spend upwards of $150. And that's just to diagnose.

I strongly reccomend that you take your dog to a veterinarian but I just want to warn you ahead of time, diagnostic methods often reveal nothing, even after $150 spent. Dogs can't talk and vets will try their best but they aren't magicians either. After diagnosing whatever it is, you may have to spend even more to treat it (special diets, expensive medication, hospitalization, but most likely and most usually, administration of subcutaneous fluids and some pills lol .. ).

Anyway I feel that was kind of unhelpful to summarize:
1. Downtown Animal Hospital .. look them up. There are 3 young vets who work there, very recent graduates of OVC. They won't guilt trip you as much and won't make you feel bad .. they understand people don't have money.
2. Please take your dog to the vet, but be forewarned it's going to be freaking expensive just to diagnose whatever it is, and often diagnosis won't work.

My dog was once very sick, cost $350, she had to stay in the hospital for around 2 nights, but she was back to normal after. My only warning is that it's going to be expensive and frustrating, but it's worth it to see your best friend back to health.

Thanks for the informative post. :( Wish my dog was in Hamilton, though.

I don't really have anything important to add, but I just wanted to say that I hope the best for you! Having a pet that's sick sucks a ton, and having to worry about money on top of that, sucks even more.

Thanks. n_n

I'm sorry to hear that about your dog. I hope s/he gets better soon.

I've worked at 2 animal clinics as well and i have to agree with ladyh, you are probably not going to get free service.
The minimum a vet will charge is an examination fee (which will be around 80 dollars). Depending on the diagnostic techniques, medications and treatments the price will just increase. Your best bet is to go and pay the upfront fee for an examination and based on what the vet says - decide where to go from there. Delaying will just make the problem worse, at least with a check up you can have a handle on what you might be dealing with..

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Mel.L

I've worked at 2 animal clinics as well and i have to agree with ladyh, you are probably not going to get free service.
The minimum a vet will charge is an examination fee (which will be around 80 dollars). Depending on the diagnostic techniques, medications and treatments the price will just increase. Your best bet is to go and pay the upfront fee for an examination and based on what the vet says - decide where to go from there. Delaying will just make the problem worse, at least with a check up you can have a handle on what you might be dealing with..

Good luck!

Out of curiosity, do you work in a Hamilton clinic?