Expensive Pet Care?

Does your vet take advantage of your pet visit?

I love my dog so much I would do anything to make her healthy and happy. Her health and happiness are my most concern because she can not express with words to let me know that she feels good or bad. It comes to her health, there is no amount of money can stop me to fix the problem.

However, lately our vet hospital visits have been very expensive. Every visit costs around $200 even a regular visit and often times the hospital requests tests are not necessary.

For example, my dog has been taking pills for anti-fungal for her skin. We were told that she might need to take those pills forever as need bases. Because some reason she has a skin condition that the vet cannot find the cause even though she went through several tests. The vet told us that we can get the refill however as she needs. When her pills ran out I called the vet hospital for the refill, they told me that the doctor has to see her again for her condition before we can get the refill. When I took her to the hospital, the vet wanted to take another test for her intestine because some times the pills cause damage. I didn't see my dog had neither a sign of discomfort nor a health related problem. I have been monitoring her food intake before giving her pills. Anyway, the vet took her blood for the test.

By the time when everything is over at the vet hospital, we had to pay about $176 for refill. The test came back everything was fine.

Another example, the other day we ran out of our dog's heart guard that she has been taking since we got her. We purchased her heart guard at the same vet hospital for every six months since one and a half years ago. So, we went to the vet hospital to buy a box of heart guard as usual. The vet hospital told us that we can not get that without the heart guard test by the doctor. I left that hospital without looking back.

Is that me? I felt that the vet hospital is taking adventage of pet owners. I'm even afraid to call the vet for any question on the phone because they might charge me for talking to them.

I'm wondering. Is this a normal practice?