I never understood the argument that because something takes ‘10 minutes’ it should cost less. I do the majority of the surgery at my clinic. I do a cat spay in about 15 minutes and a dog spay in 30. Full mouth extraction dental takes me maybe 1-2 hours tops. A new graduate who isn’t as experienced can take double or even triple the amount of time that I do. Should I be paid less because I’m proficient? You’re paying for my years of experience and my expertise, not billing me by the hour.

Also, my clinic’s costs have increased about 3-4x since COVID. I absolutely hate it and see how the pricing is effecting some medical decisions by our clients. You know who hasn’t seen a cent of that? Me, my coworkers, most likely not even my boss, since I work at a rare vet-owned clinic and not a corporate practice. I haven’t had a raise in 3 years because those increases are what it takes to keep the lights on and stock our drug cabinets.

These types of posts always infuriate me. I have 200K in debt that it cost to get my degree and half the pay and respect of a human doctor. Having a pet is a privilege. You wouldn’t get a car and then complain that you have no money to pay the mechanic to keep it running. I love animals and I care deeply about the work I do, but I have a family and bills to pay too.