Dog Ultrasound Cost Is How Much? Cash Is King.

What does a dog ultrasound have to do with anything on this blog?  Quite a bit. Kudos to the dental world and kudos to the vet world out there who have survived and thrived by not dividing and conquering each other. Whether by accident or by intention, you have billion dollar industries that have not collapsed under their own weight. They are true entrepreneurs who have not only survived with their basic vet and dental training knowledge and skills, but sell an image of caring as well.

We were at our local dog park the other day. We  have two little Italian greyhounds, Marty and Cooper.  We are dog lovers to the extreme. Yes, we do occasionally dress them up. While at the dog park, we met Princess and her human mama. Princess was being treated for a bladder infection, appropriately prescribed by the vet. From behind a tree, out pops a stranger with their own medical diagnosis.

"My dog just died of bladder cancer", they said.    We'll, what's a scared mama to do now?  This poor lady was now worried that her little Princess had bladder cancer. So she took Princess back to her vet who promptly performed a dog ultrasound on the bladder. Why not?  The mother requested the cash ultrasound.  They were just serving the customer and bringing peace of mind to a nervous mother. The ultrasound on the dog was normal, of course.    She was relieved none the less.

 This was killing me. I thought to myself:

 You do a dog ultrasound because a stranger told you their dog died of bladder cancer? Of course you did.

"How much did that dog ultrasound cost you?", I asked.  She said it cost $60 while thinking nothing of the cost.   She was more surprised that the urine culture cost her a $100.  On the one hand you have Joan Public who is willing to take in their loved pet to get a cash only dog ultrasound on the recommendation of a total stranger . She is willing to pay $60 without blinking an eye and another $100 for the culture in addition to the veterinarian fee.  On the other hand, you have Dr John Vet who is able to charge $60 to not only perform that dog ultrasound with his expensive equipment, but also perform his doctor service on that ultrasound. So $60 for both the professional fee and the facility fee.  He also collects his office fee and $100 for the culture.

The same lady will complain  when she has to pay a $5 copay to her physician.

What's the moral of the story?  Go to your vet if you need an ultrasound.  You won't complain about your $5 copay to your doctor, you'll only pay $60 cash for your ultrasound that you won't complain about, the cost of which is  1/5 the $300 you may get charged by your doctor's office, but that would have been covered by your insurance plan.  Makes perfect sense to me.