19 July 2021

Cheap Vet?

| bridgetwitch
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Can anyone recommend a cheap Vet in Canberra? I need to take my new puppy in for his shots and desexing – RSPCA is not accepting public customers….

Many thanks!

If you are also looking for a vet in Canberra, check out our recently updated article The best vets in Canberra

 

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Owning and loving a pet doesn’t mean you have to submit to being ripped off. We recently took our dog to a popular Calwell vet for an eye problem. Part of the treatment involved a tube of ointment that was $28 on the bill but we found the exact same brand/product in the local chemist for $8. I presume the same markup must apply across the board. They rely on the fact that loving pet owners will never say no and never balk at the cost of any treatment, and if you do they lay on a guilt trip, as if pet owners should all have bottomless wallets. Those who preach “if you love your pet, no cost is too high…” are the reason vets get away with gouging.

I called around for a friend who needed her dog desexed once and found Inner North Veterinary Hospital in Ijong Street Braddon the cheapest and cheaper than RSPCA even. Mind you, I only called Inner North vets, I think. I took her dog to a guy there once when he had an eye problem and he seemed good value.

I assume by Vet Hospital, you mean the one on Northbourne? Never really had an issue with them or them trying to sell me stuff I didn’t need, personally. They probably wouldn’t be my first choice of vet, but they’re close to home and it’s usually easy to get an appointment.

I used to really like the Fyshwick practice too. There are some really good vets there, but I doubt they’re cheap.

Just for desexing and shots and stuff, you don’t need a whizbang vet though.

Try Amaroo Small Friends Vet, we got quoted just under 500 bucks for all the shots desexing n some other junk. It will be always be costy owning a pet, keep that in mind but at least go to someone whos good n won’t kill ur pet.

sepi said :

we’re boycotting canberra vet hospital too. staff there are taught to upsell medical tests and expensive food and medications.

vets are like hairdressers – cheap and cheerfull, or wallet grabbers.

try peter burgess on limestone ave for the cheap end.

Hear Hear. I’m all for looking after my hound, but hate being sold stuff I don’t need. Not sure what’s worse, the hard sell, or guilt trip from them (CVH) afterwards when you say no.

Jan Spate in Hall – 2 Hoskins Street, HALL ACT – 6230 2322. You can’t make an appointment, you just turn up and wait in line for your turn. Clinic hours are 7am-10am and 5pm-7pm (you may need to check this 🙂 She vaccinated both of my puppies a couple of months back and fixed an eye problem that one of them had for $30 compared to $320 at a regular vet. Her surgery isn’t flash but for simple things I’d definitely recommend her. As others have already commented she doesn’t desex females.

I heard Jan Spate was good, but she has been banned from desexing female dogs, not sure about female cats, she made a boo boo

I highly recommend Peter Burgess, he is honest doesn’t try and push products onto you, he’s prices are really cheap, he is a great vet, explains everything to you regarding what the problem is, and how he will go about treating the problem, so far he has treated my little toy poodle with ear problems, I also referred him to a friend who was spending a fortune on her dog with the same problem, Peter has his own mixture for this, no more problems.
I took my little dog to Peter last week as her teeth and breath were off, he put her under cleaned and took one tooth out which wasn’t straight and would have caused problems, that was only $120.00, and then she had a heart worm shot as we had been in Newcastle and Sydney over Christmas, that was $50.00. Peter Burgess phone number is 62478651, Cnr Limestone Ave & Batman Street Braddon ACT 2612

Cheers

We have used vets in canberra for over 30 years and have found the fadden vet is the greatest, malcolm and his crew are very sensetive. Our family has had experiance with calwell (all creatures) they botched it big time for our daughter. Treated a semi minor condition only to have the poor amimal put down some weeks later with cancer ($600 for his suffering). We also found they were very expencive.

Cordelia said :

CanberraQueen said :

I am a mummy to two beautiful dogs and am happy to pay whatever the cost to ensure they live a long, healthy life. I take my babies to the animal hospital in Fyshwick, however, a simple google search will assist you – try to find a vet near where you live in case you ever have to rush your baby over to them in an emergency. Goodluck!

If, on the other hand, you take a still-loving but more pragmatic and less bogan approach to your pets, there’s Peter Burgess in Limestone Ave. Farmer, heart of gold, will tell you if you are spending too much money and when it’s time to let the animal go. Moderate standard charges.

+1 for Peter Burgess. He is an honest, kind, decent and gentle man, and a fair-dinkum bloke. I can’t praise him highly enough.

ps – you can do worming tablets yourself with pills from the supermarket – no need to pay extra for that.

we’re boycotting canberra vet hospital too. staff there are taught to upsell medical tests and expensive food and medications.

vets are like hairdressers – cheap and cheerfull, or wallet grabbers.

try peter burgess on limestone ave for the cheap end.

CanberraQueen said :

I am a mummy to two beautiful dogs and am happy to pay whatever the cost to ensure they live a long, healthy life. I take my babies to the animal hospital in Fyshwick, however, a simple google search will assist you – try to find a vet near where you live in case you ever have to rush your baby over to them in an emergency. Goodluck!

If, on the other hand, you take a still-loving but more pragmatic and less bogan approach to your pets, there’s Peter Burgess in Limestone Ave. Farmer, heart of gold, will tell you if you are spending too much money and when it’s time to let the animal go. Moderate standard charges.

Brianna – please stop recommending Jan – she has to be the region’s best kept vet secret, and I for one object to the thought of having to wait more that 5 mins to have my hound dog seen to.

+1 for Jane Spate at Hall

Hells_Bells744:02 pm 26 Jan 11

In regards to Jan Spate; she will only desex male dogs. Well, certainly when we checked mid last year.

Jan Spate at Hall.

Vets at Fadden shops (Tuggeranong Veterinary Hosp) and Calwell (All Creatures) are both reasonably priced and very friendly.

However, I suggest avoiding Canberra Veterinary Hospital. A work colleague has been regaling us with ongoing episodes about a series of rip offs she has recently experienced there, including months of unnecessary physio on her dog, being massively overcharged (over $100) for medication, and not giving refunds even after acknowledging overcharging her (they would only ‘credit’ her account, which she will never use as she has changed vets in disgust).

Responsibly owning a pet is a very expensive exercise. Vet bills unfortunately do not come cheap. After factoring in de-sexing, microchipping, shots, worming and illness, our new pooch cost us over $1000 in vet bills in the first 12 months we had him. Not that I’m complaining too much. A good pet will bring you lots of joy.

You might find that even though the RSPCA doesnt accept ‘public customers’ you may be able to get some sort of subsidy from them for the desexing, shots and microchip. If you’re on a low income, you may find you get concessions from various places, such as vet services or microchip registration. Alternatively, as others have suggested, most vets will charge around the same so find one you like rather than one who might save you a couple of bucks. You might even find some vets will allow you to make a payment plan for your pups treatment so the up-front cost isnt so high.

Personally we use the Woden Weston vet hospital near Weston Creek, and would always recommend them. Searches on RiotACT will show many threads avout finding a good vet, even as recently as 3 weeks ago here

cheap ?? ha ha good try
Welcome to Dog World

I think you will find they are all about the same for public customers.

Where did you get the puppy from?

CanberraQueen10:32 am 26 Jan 11

Hi there, don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘a cheap vet’ in the ACT, however, perhaps you should be looking for the best vet in the ACT rather than the cheapest? Your new puppy deserves the best start in life, which means you need to secure a great vet to look after him/her to ensure he/she has all her appropriate vaccinations. I am a mummy to two beautiful dogs and am happy to pay whatever the cost to ensure they live a long, healthy life. I take my babies to the animal hospital in Fyshwick, however, a simple google search will assist you – try to find a vet near where you live in case you ever have to rush your baby over to them in an emergency. Goodluck!

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