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#1
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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