Penumbra

The whole REIMBURSEMENT thing is something they all like to keep in small print. Although, surprisingly I did hear the word mentioned in the latest RSCPA insurance ad. Isn't that one of the points though... that even if you never make a claim, the insurance company still keeps all of your money...

Just be careful with their GE Finance payment plan. Because not only are GE Finance/Money the worst of the worst, but if you haven't paid the bill by 3-6(?) months the interest rate goes up to something like 24%!

Thanks a lot, Saxonpup. Empathy is nice. A Saxon fan I take it? :) The beauty of hindsight... The problem was that we really thought she was going to make it. It wasn't until the day she got put down that we found out she had cancer. And by that time she was extremely exhausted and depressed. It just felt right to get it done there and then. It had already been such an exhausting journey for all of us. And being that the vets usual charges were good, I didn't think it was gonna cost that much. Although, being that it looks like she got a proper cremation, I guess it was actually a pretty good deal. Some places they get dumped in land fill. Either way, if you don't take your pet home, you will most likely have to pay for disposal, which is only fair. In Australia? How do you know that? Yeah, but I shouldn't be charged for something if it's usually free. But now it appears that it's not usually free... it appears that there's a difference between a group cremation and a group incineration (if ya know what I mean)... When I was vet nursing, around 10 years ago, you had these options: Take your pet home to bury Individual cremation with ashes returned via pets at peace (unless you wanted to organize your own service) We could dispose of the body, at a price. This was done through a business like pets at peace, either by mass cremation or mass burial. We had no say in the disposal method. The clinic was charged for the service and the cost passed on to the owner, usually on a 'size' basis. They would pickup when we asked (generally when storage was full), so sometimes that same day, other times it might be a week or 2 before collection. I hope that answers your question, and I am sorry for your loss. We all grieve differently, but in my experience you will feel better if you try to move on from your experience at the vet. I know it is hard, I have spent time second guessing myself after losing a beloved pet, but have found healing comes more quickly if I take the time to cherish the good memories instead. Thank you, PD. Do you know if the mass cremation is the same thing they have at pounds or the AWL? I just want to know if that extra $140(?) meant that her remains were treated with more dignity than they would have been otherwise. And I also want to know if some vets do actually waive the mass cremation fee. Cheers. Sorry, ES. I'm guessing that it was an individual cremation? EDIT: Obviously, as you said that you only had to pay for the cremation. Sorry.

Awesome.

What happens to my pets when they die and I don't have an individual cremation or burial? Is that about right?

No I didn't. I wasn't given any other choice. And my question still remains... what happens to the pets which aren't cremated? Not always. For example, some people get free rides, while others live off of Home Brand.

I'm not sure why those agitating about cost are so stroppy about those who don't care. Stroppy? It's not my problem that your arrogant about the reality of poverty. It's yours. You assume much and know nothing. Let me make it clear AGAIN. My concern about my dog's passing is about my dog only. I understand the dog you're talking about wasn't yours so I don't actually know how you felt about the poor creature other than complaining about the cost. Yes, you're stroppy and now you're just being nasty because you have no clue about anyone's circumstances let alone mine. I'm the one that's stroppy and nasty? :laugh:

You're obviously not unemployed then. It would make no difference whether I was employed, on a low income or unemployed. I would not shop around to have a family member euthanised as if I was buying a new fridge. Sounds like you've never been unemployed. You have no idea. I haven't worked for over 12months and i'm as broke as they come. I'm with others - no way would i shop around for the best price for putting any of my animals down. If i ever have to make that hard decision again they'll go to their normal vet and i'll pay whatever the cost it. The dog's will all be cremated and brought home to sit with the other dog and horse on the bookcase. I wouldn't have had to shop around. I already knew of a place that would have done everything for $80. But when it came down to it, it was more of a question of what was best for the dog. And I chose to have her put to sleep by a vet she knew and trusted. I think I also thought that it would have been cruel to take her for another drive when she knew what was coming anyway.

You wouldn't believe how many people told us to put the dog down straight away. But we didn't. We gave her another chance and did all that we could. And because of this we have no regrets. If we only cared about money, we would be a part of that crowd saying that we should have euthanized her from the start. And even though that would have saved us money (she had end-stage cancer), I'm still really glad that we got to spend those extra few weeks with her. She wasn't in pain until the last few days. I'm not sure why those agitating about cost are so stroppy about those who don't care. Stroppy? It's not my problem that your arrogant about the reality of poverty. It's yours.

Did you know that VetPay won't give loans to unemployed people? What are all of the retired pensioners with cocker spaniels (for example) meant to do if their dogs need surgery?

I wish I had a vet like that. So am I the only person here who was asked to pay about $140 for a group cremation?

Sorry, but I'm another person who cannot recommend the Fulham Gardens Veterinary. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say that the first thing they did wrong was record an incorrect weight... They put the dog at over 25kg when she was only 17kg...

Yeah, I don't think I'll be going to that vet again in the future. I remember a mate mentioning a vet that would have done it all for $80... we should have gone there. They charged us for a 15-30kg dog, but the dog was 14kg. Could this explain a lot of the difference in price? So they were going to charge you a total of $359 for euthanising her at your house? What the hell?

If money was all I cared about than I would have gotten somebody to "put her to sleep" for free. But I'm not like that. And although the owner couldn't bare to be with her in the end, I was.

Yeah, so you agree with me then. Or were you replying to Staffyluv's post? See, another $100 and we could have got that instead. It's not just about saving money, it's also about what's the best deal. Either my vet ripped us off, or they're just more expensive than other vets when it comes to euthanasia.

I completely agree. I just don't like being ripped off is all. It's happened before. If you're on Newstart (or even worse, Austudy), then you're living below the poverty line. What else needs to be said? It's a long story. We're talking about a pet who has had a few different owners here. And I was never one of them. I was just one of the many people who got charmed by her.

You're obviously not unemployed then. It would make no difference whether I was employed, on a low income or unemployed. I would not shop around to have a family member euthanised as if I was buying a new fridge. Sounds like you've never been unemployed. You have no idea. I'm with Sheridan, and I have been unemployed. It's part and parcel of pet ownership. Surely there's a difference between shopping for a fridge with money, and shopping for a fridge without money.

Yes there are landfills. But there is a fee for that as well that will vary depending on the council. Unless you take away the dog yourself, there will be some fee involved with storage, transport and disposal. The price of the drug isn't high, but you are paying for a vet to administer it with care and expertise. I don't think you were screwed over on price. Thanks Greytmate. I don't regret doing it. We even made sure that it was done by the vet which she was already seeing. I guess it's just that I'm a broke old cynic. And I want to know if this is a vet I can go to again.

You're obviously not unemployed then. It would make no difference whether I was employed, on a low income or unemployed. I would not shop around to have a family member euthanised as if I was buying a new fridge. Sounds like you've never been unemployed. You have no idea.

Sorry pepe001. And sorry to everybody else for their losses also. So I probably did get screwed than, eh? I would have taken her to her home and buried her, but her owner wouldn't have handled seeing her body very well. That's the main reason we chose to have her cremated. But why was I forced to pay for the cremation if she was going to be cremated anyway? I mean, if we left the dog at the vet without paying for the group cremation, she would still end up getting one, right? Or do we have landfills and such like they do in America for PTS animals that are left at the vet?

You're obviously not unemployed then.

The dog was actually 14kg, and we were charged $225 (before the pensioner discount). What I don't understand is why did we have to pay for a group cremation if she was going to get a group cremation anyway? Or doesn't it work like that? It looks like we would have been better off going to the AWL or something like that. I guess that we just wanted to end her pain as soon as possible, instead of think about how we could save some money. Cheers.

Hi gillbear. Did you pay for a group cremation or an individual cremation?

Hello everybody. Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I thought it would be better than starting a new one. Anyway, I was just wondering if $200 was a lot for the euphanization and (group) cremation of a 15kg dog? Cheers.