My 4 year old male GSD had to be rushed to the E-Vet last Sat. noon due to a severe stomach torsion and bloat. I had brought him to my reg. vet at 8am and after taking x-rays of his stomach he did not diagnose the bloat even though my dog was throwing up stomach fluids and water only, was in severe pain, had still lots of food in his stomach (showed on x-rays) and had blood in his urin. The vet gave anti-vomit medication and antibiotics for the blood in urin. 2 hrs later his stomach swelled up like a balloon and I rushed him the the E-Vet. They put him on the table to stabilize him and right away asked me for $800. After that they made me pay another $3700 (total $4500) to cut him open and assess the situation with the bloat. I paid that and went home. 1 hr later the vet called and said that it looks bad, tissue was dead, spleen gone etc. etc. only 20% chance of survival and cost estimate now about $10,000 . I was forced to euthanize . I received a partial refund and ended up paying $1800 for the 1hr procedure that was done. I was born in Germany and my friend over there is a dog trainer. He told me that I could have gotten 3 dogs operated on for that amount over there.
These fees are just outragous and I wonder if this is only in Los Angeles or if people get ripped off like that all over the country. Most people can not afford such procedures. What is going on here? I am really shocked, I have to admit. Anybody have a similar experience?

Do pet insurances cover bloat related surgeries?

Thank you for your inputs !

Jens Kruse
Los Angeles

Anything at an emergency vet is always expensive. One reason is their costs are higher to maintain staff and equipment, etc...
Good luck on the Insurance. I have a low interest credit card for these types of things.
I am sorry this happened Jens. Its a terrible thing to go through.

As Steve said, the E-vet bill is always staggering, particularly so when a surgery is involved.

$1800 for a 1 hour major abdominal surgery seems about right for where I am in N. California. $4500 for surgery, medications, IV cath and fluids, possibly x-rays, and a few days of hospitalization...yeah, that also sounds about right. Bloat, and all the possible complications associated with it, has the potential to be extremely expensive. California vet fees are notoriously high, compared to many other places in the country.

I'm so very sorry about the loss of your dog.

This is all a rip off in my view. I was raised in Germany and over there I could have had 3 dogs operated on for the same money. This health care system here is wrong, with people and with animals. The doctors and drug companies are making out like bandits.

Three cheers for socialism!!!! That fixes everything!

Can't agree with you more, Steve .

I'm never happy about vet bills and I've shelled out quite a bit over the years. But you know what, my dogs, my responsibility. Its not up to my neighbors to pay my bills and I'm not about to give someone else the ability to decide whether I need to see a vet or when I can. If you don't like what they charge, you can go somewhere else. I'm still sorry this happened to you, but $1800 dollars??? If I lost my dog to bloat, if I posted anything at all it would be in the tribute to a lost friend, the he** with the money.

Amen Steve. I spent over 5 grand trying to save my Finn. I would gladly pay 3x that to have him back. Health care system is not perfect here nor is it perfect (IMO) anywhere else in the world. I had to be trite but if the cost of vet care in CA is so disturbing to you, perhaps you should consider moving? Complaining about it on a messageboard is not going to change the prices vets charge.

People, the reason I posted was not to complain, but to compare notes and to see if it just in CA that prices are so high, since this was my first emergency experience.

I also asked if any pet insurance would cover such a procedure, because I am looking for one right now.

Anyways, thank you for your input.

It does sound about right but sorry for the shoddy explaination. Best of luck with the insurance company, in my experience they are a waste of time and money.

So sorry about your dog, it's hard to make sense of these things sometimes when you rewind it through your mind on how this could have gone better on all ends. My first thought is how did the original vet miss this even with the diagnostics pointing to an issue? If you haven't informed your vet that your dog died as a result I would, who knows how many countless dog lives this could save.

Remember you are your dog's best advocate and voice for if something is going wrong and it's up to you to suggest things it could be even if the vet is not willing to go there. You want your vet to think and discuss problems with you rather than pet your dog and shove you out the door.