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why is cremation so expensive



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 19th 06, 10:54 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

After twelve wonderful years, today I had the heart wrenching task of
taking my dalmatian to the vet for the last time. She'd had an
operation to try to rid her of cancer but unfortunately it didnt catch
all of it and just a month later she was riddled with it again. She
hasnt managed to eat anything for days and lost huge amounts of weight
almost daily.
When I phoned the vet they said the out of hours termination fee was
around £90 and when I got there they said they cremate all animals
that are put to sleep. When I said I wanted her ashes back they said
okay, but when I got to the counter to pay the bill it was £220 in
total. I was in floods of tears and just paid by credit card without
saying anything, just so I could get out of there.
Its a sh1tty time to talk about money, but I really am devastated by
the loss of the dog and I cant help thinking that vets use that
opportunity to take griefstricken owners to the cleaners - the
termination fee I cant argue with as no doubt the drugs are expensive,
but if they cremate animals anyway why was I charged a further £130 to
have the dogs ashes back?

  #2  
Old June 19th 06, 11:43 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

I am soo sorry for your loss. Nothing is worse than having to let go.

My vet explained that when creamating if you want YOUR dogs ashes back that
the dog is creamated by itself. Where dogs that are not returned are often
creamated all together at once. It's the additional cost of fuel, time &
returning of the ashes that you are paying for.

Celeste

"nutz" wrote in message
ups.com...
After twelve wonderful years, today I had the heart wrenching task of
taking my dalmatian to the vet for the last time. She'd had an
operation to try to rid her of cancer but unfortunately it didnt catch
all of it and just a month later she was riddled with it again. She
hasnt managed to eat anything for days and lost huge amounts of weight
almost daily.
When I phoned the vet they said the out of hours termination fee was
around £90 and when I got there they said they cremate all animals
that are put to sleep. When I said I wanted her ashes back they said
okay, but when I got to the counter to pay the bill it was £220 in
total. I was in floods of tears and just paid by credit card without
saying anything, just so I could get out of there.
Its a sh1tty time to talk about money, but I really am devastated by
the loss of the dog and I cant help thinking that vets use that
opportunity to take griefstricken owners to the cleaners - the
termination fee I cant argue with as no doubt the drugs are expensive,
but if they cremate animals anyway why was I charged a further £130 to
have the dogs ashes back?


  #3  
Old June 20th 06, 01:52 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

I'm really sorry for your loss. It's so hard.

The charge seems high, though I don't know what the reasons for
differences between UK and US might be.

In March my vet charged US $110 for euthanasia and cremation,
including return of the ashes. This was a Chihuahua, so I'd
expect it to cost less than for a larger dog, but not
proportionally so - handling is a big part of the cost. A year
ago it cost $95 for cremation/return of ashes of a GSD, who died
at home. And my vet isn't known for being inexpensive.

Perhaps, in a few days when you are feeling less devastated, you
might ask your vet about the charge. Clerical errors do happen,
and if it's not an error, at least you deserve an explanation.

Again, I'm sorry. I hope this time is filled with happy memories
of your friend.

FurPaw

nutz wrote:
After twelve wonderful years, today I had the heart wrenching task of
taking my dalmatian to the vet for the last time. She'd had an
operation to try to rid her of cancer but unfortunately it didnt catch
all of it and just a month later she was riddled with it again. She
hasnt managed to eat anything for days and lost huge amounts of weight
almost daily.
When I phoned the vet they said the out of hours termination fee was
around £90 and when I got there they said they cremate all animals
that are put to sleep. When I said I wanted her ashes back they said
okay, but when I got to the counter to pay the bill it was £220 in
total. I was in floods of tears and just paid by credit card without
saying anything, just so I could get out of there.
Its a sh1tty time to talk about money, but I really am devastated by
the loss of the dog and I cant help thinking that vets use that
opportunity to take griefstricken owners to the cleaners - the
termination fee I cant argue with as no doubt the drugs are expensive,
but if they cremate animals anyway why was I charged a further £130 to
have the dogs ashes back?



--
Don't think of it as getting hot flashes.
Think of it as your inner child playing with matches.

To reply, unleash the dog


  #4  
Old June 20th 06, 04:00 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

I'm so sorry about the loss of your dog :*-( It is so hard to deal
with sickness and death. At a time like that it baffles me that vets
can bring themselves to charge anything, I know thats simple minded of
me....everything costs.
At my vet there is a choice on the cremation issue and the cost for
cremation was over 200. We wanted to bury our kitty in our yard and
plant her a special flowering tree so we took her home, wrapped in a
blanket inside a box:*-(
It doesnt make any sense that a vet would "only" cremate. And it
doesnt seem right that such a thing should cost so much.
My heart goes out to you, losing a pet is a horrible thing.
Crystal


nutz wrote:
After twelve wonderful years, today I had the heart wrenching task of
taking my dalmatian to the vet for the last time. She'd had an
operation to try to rid her of cancer but unfortunately it didnt catch
all of it and just a month later she was riddled with it again. She
hasnt managed to eat anything for days and lost huge amounts of weight
almost daily.
When I phoned the vet they said the out of hours termination fee was
around £90 and when I got there they said they cremate all animals
that are put to sleep. When I said I wanted her ashes back they said
okay, but when I got to the counter to pay the bill it was £220 in
total. I was in floods of tears and just paid by credit card without
saying anything, just so I could get out of there.
Its a sh1tty time to talk about money, but I really am devastated by
the loss of the dog and I cant help thinking that vets use that
opportunity to take griefstricken owners to the cleaners - the
termination fee I cant argue with as no doubt the drugs are expensive,
but if they cremate animals anyway why was I charged a further £130 to
have the dogs ashes back?


  #5  
Old June 20th 06, 07:52 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive


nutz wrote:

but if they cremate animals anyway why was I charged a further £130 to
have the dogs ashes back?


This may be more than you want to know, but here goes: Cremation is
actually a 2 day process, and it is heavily regulated. Crematories
can't just operate whenever they wish to and the hours they can operate
are strictly limited. When you want the ashes of your pet back, that
means that the crematory has to use use part of those operation hours
for that individual animal, twice, rather than the group disposal
process. The cost reflects that.

Lynn K.

  #6  
Old June 20th 06, 12:40 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

On 19 Jun 2006 20:00:59 -0700, "
, clicked their heels and said:

. At a time like that it baffles me that vets
can bring themselves to charge anything, I know thats simple minded of
me....everything costs.


Simple, minded for sure. Do you work? Do you do it for free?
--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
  #7  
Old June 20th 06, 12:57 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

Janet B wrote:

On 19 Jun 2006 20:00:59 -0700, "
, clicked their heels and said:

. At a time like that it baffles me that vets
can bring themselves to charge anything, I know thats simple minded of
me....everything costs.


Simple, minded for sure. Do you work?


Yes

Do you do it for free?


Yes.
What now?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com


  #8  
Old June 20th 06, 01:16 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

On 20 Jun 2006 04:57:30 -0700, "nutz" ,
clicked their heels and said:

. Do you work?


Yes

Do you do it for free?


Yes.
What now?


I was asking Crystal, but what kind of work do you do, for free, that
supports you? A veterinarian is no different than a human dr, or any
other business person. Supplies cost money. Equipment costs money.
Employees, insurance, physical space, the list goes on. How do you
think they could provide services if they did it for free?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
  #9  
Old June 20th 06, 01:33 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive


Janet B wrote:

On 20 Jun 2006 04:57:30 -0700, "nutz" ,
clicked their heels and said:

. Do you work?


Yes

Do you do it for free?


Yes.
What now?


I was asking Crystal, but what kind of work do you do, for free, that
supports you?


Who mentioned supporting me? Or 'Crystal', for that matter? You simply
asked whether the reader worked, and if so did they do it for free. I
work as a foster carer looking after difficult young people, and yes,
my annual tax return each year records exactly zero. I found Crystals
post, along with all the others, very supportive right now when Im
feeling very down. Crystals post was already self-depracating - it
didnt really need a reply stating the obvious, as she said herself that
it was an emotional rather than a logical view.

A veterinarian is no different than a human dr, or any
other business person. Supplies cost money. Equipment costs money.
Employees, insurance, physical space, the list goes on. How do you
think they could provide services if they did it for free?

Its called subsidy, and you'll find that many many 'business person's
find it an effective and lucrative strategy. Excessive charges at a
time when an owner is devastated are innapropriate - it would make more
sense to add a markup to mainstream services to subsidise the cost when
an animal is destroyed. The resultant goodwill is disproportionately
greater than the cost, as the owner regards the vet as someone who
'helped out in a time of need', thus ensuring that if s/he buys another
pet then they wouldnt dream of taking their business to a different
vet.
Its not rocket science, and if people put more effort into
understanding the *meaning* of others posts rather than the literal
words of them, perhaps you could have avoided lowering my spirits still
further with what I found to be a negative post in an otherwise
positive thread

  #10  
Old June 20th 06, 01:39 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
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Default why is cremation so expensive

In article .com,
nutz wrote:
Excessive charges at a
time when an owner is devastated are innapropriate


What's "excessive?"

Its not rocket science, and if people put more effort into
understanding the *meaning* of others posts rather than the literal
words of them, perhaps you could have avoided lowering my spirits still
further with what I found to be a negative post in an otherwise
positive thread


I'm not 100% on board with "nobody can make you feel bad
without your permission," but I'm about 75% okay with it.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 




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