Your Pets

[EqSci]

What do you do with your pets while you're in vet school? As in, how do you treat/vaccinate them? Do you just take them to a local vet? Do some schools offer discounted services to vet students? Do you mostly take care of them yourself except for medical problems or things needed by a licensed vet (rabies)? Just trying to get a feel for what's most common.

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[StealthDog]

We get a 20% discount at the teaching hospital, but that brings the cost to still slightly more expensive than going to a regular clinic... so, I brought my dog to her regular vet while I was a first and second year. Then I got a job over the summer at another clinic, and started bringing her there. I bring her in for her annual exam like a regular pet owner- she's needed dental cleanings for the past two years, and had to have a mass removal last fall, so she definitely needed the services of a DVM.

 

[Angelo84]

We get free exams and vaccines and 40% off anything else. Since the vet I worked with is an hour away and school is five minutes I bring my cat into the teaching hospital.

 

[EqSci]

Thanks guys! Good to hear that vet schools offer something, I thought I might be completely naive thinking that they might. I'll be in a different state so I'll need to find a new vet regardless.

 

[Jochebed]

VMRCVM doesn't offer a discount but the prices are comparable, if not LOWER than at a private clinic. Plus it's right here, and it's where I'd bring my dog if I had an emergency anyway so I just prefer to keep everything in one place. So I have him treated at the school. Plus I like getting that little bit of insight into the Community Practice rotation of fourth year since its students that see the patients first.

 

[Klhughes]

Tennessee offers a discount on products and services. Most clinicians also won't charge you an exam fee. The only drawback is that they don't really do regular checkup type appointments because we are just a referral center so I bring my cats in to a regular vet also if I think they just need a checkup. We also got free microchipping which is great.

 

[catlover]

At CSU we get a 40% discount (not on diagnostic lab stuff, and the discount is lower on pharmacy items), and $3 vaccines. We have a community practice section so you can do routine care there. The only drawback is that it takes a while (because the student has to present to the doctor, etc.) so it's not as quick as a normal vet.

 

[EqSci]

Anyone from Iowa State or Michigan?

 

[pressmom]

Tennessee offers a discount on products and services. Most clinicians also won't charge you an exam fee. The only drawback is that they don't really do regular checkup type appointments because we are just a referral center so I bring my cats in to a regular vet also if I think they just need a checkup. We also got free microchipping which is great.

Actually, exams are free for students. (Trust me, my dogs have been in a lot!) They've also come into get vaccines not during vaccine clinic and they were still WAY cheaper than the local clinic I took them to before. (For example, dental on dog w/bloodwork, anesthesia, etc was ~ $65 and dental w/bloodwork, anesthesia, extraction ~ $85.) Considering I was paying $90 for a plain dental where I used to work and got a discount, I find this quite reasonable. Clinicians/residents have been very nice to me about discounts. (When my dog was in the ICU for 2 days, so emergency rads, CBC, chem, CPLI, plus 2 days ICU, meds, fluids, regular rads, ultrasound, etc. sure I'm forgetting something, was just ~ $450, which I thought was a bargain.)

 

[Starwrecker]

ISU's teaching hospital is state funded and therefore students receive no discount. (that's the reason I was given when I asked.) You, of course, can take your pets there, you just don't get get a discount. And you get charged for EVERYTHING.

 

[EqSci]

ISU's teaching hospital is state funded and therefore students receive no discount. (that's the reason I was given when I asked.) You, of course, can take your pets there, you just don't get get a discount. And you get charged for EVERYTHING.

Awesome.

Thanks!

 

[svendenhowser]

We don't get anything discounted or free, but if you ask the right people nicely they will often do things for free, pathology for example You can take your animals there but you pay more than a regular vet, but of course they have access to all the diagnostics on site, whereas a regular vet would have to send it away as most places wouldn't have much in-house diagnostics.