Low cost or reasonably priced spay clinic, please

[marchella]

Hello,

I am new to rabbits, and our new addition to our family, Jessie, was totally unplanned. I consider her a rescue and decided to take her in after I saw her in a small, soiled cage in a garage where she spent at least two months. The vet we visited estimated that she is approximately a year old and needs to be spayed. I have already spent $400 on food, supplies, a large cage, and a vet visit, and I really cannot afford to spend about another $500 for a spay surgery which is an estimated cost I received from vet. I tried to google low cost spay clinics around NJ, specializing in rabbits, but all that was found were websites suggested to use a certificate provided by NJHRS. Unfortunately this program is currently suspended and the only place they offered me a certificate is to Success County Animal Clinic in Augusta. This is not that far, and I was ready to drive, but after reading their reviews, I am really concerned with going there. On the other hand. the Morris Plains Animal Clinic I visited has excellent reviews.

Please reply if you can recommend a low cost or reasonably cost clinic. PLEASE any recommendations would really be appreciated. If you have visited the Success County Animal Clinic, your review of this place would really be appreciated as well.

[LopLove]

Let me know if this is the right link:
http://www.caringvets.com/ahsc-neuter-spay-services

I would think that with this, like most other things, you get what you pay for. I imagine if someone could offer a surgery for a cheap cost, they’d have to cut corners somewhere to make it as cheap as it is. The page states that they offer the basics to complete the surgery at a low cost. Upon your visit, they will ask if you want additional services. I would ask them what the additional services are, and would also ask them exactly what they’re not doing to achieve a lower-than-usual cost.

To get reliable service, I would trust reviews, and your gut. Maybe you should go meet the vet in person to ask questions and get to know him first.

Also, their facebook page seems to focus mainly on cats and dogs. This may be because of popular demand (most people own cats/dogs), but for a clinic that is experienced with exotics, you’d think they’d have more pictures of exotics on there. I would be interested in finding out how often exotics come in, and how much experience that vet has with rabbits.

I’m sure other members will have more ideas/opinions as well.

[tanlover14]

“I would think that with this, like most other things, you get what you pay for.”
^ I wouldn’t necessarily say this. Lots of rescues and low-cost clinics are out there to provide adequate care for families that can’t afford these expensive procedures. This definitely does not mean that the vets are inadequate. Personally, I know in our area the vets will do low-cost spays and neuters (for both cats and dogs as well as small animals) as volunteer work or for a very small fee. It in no way means the equipment, experience, etc. is not up to par. Can it mean this? Yes. But this is why you HAVE to do your research before settling on an experienced vet to do the procedure. One of our low-cost spay/neuter vets is the BEST rabbit vet in the area. He does it because he loves rabbits and he loves being able to help out the rescues and individuals who can’t afford his normal prices because the importance of spay/neuter is stronger than his love of money.

Here’s a great article to check out on House Rabbit on spaying/neutering. I thought it would be a good source for you as they have an excellent set of questions set up to ask vets to help ensure they have proper experience and a very low death rate. They NEED to be an exotics vet so don’t bother looking for vets that say dogs/cats. Look for exotics specifically.
http://rabbit.org/faq-spaying-and-neutering/

I wouldn’t use a vet that has a ton of bad reviews though. They have bad reviews for a reason. I haven’t looked but the site I posted above also has a list of vets in the NJ area for you to check out – you could also reach out to them for options on low-cost. Also check out shelters and rescues close to you and ask who does their spays/neuters if they get in a lot of rabbits. Shelters/rescues can be REALLY helpful in pointing you in the right direction.

[LopLove]

tanlover14: That’s really cool! It’s good to know that there are people like that out there, then.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, we need more vets like that!

There are also clinics that charge exorbitant fees as a deterrent because they prefer not to do rabbit surgeries.
Yes, they may be competent but likely not have done lots of the procedures.

Marchella, are the reviews for that clinic about a specific vet(s) or the clinic in general? It could be worthwhile finding our names of the vets then doing further research.
Over time, there may be different ones affiliated with the clinic from when reviews were written.

[Beka27]

That’s interesting that the NJ neuter/spay program is suspended… Did they give you any timeline on when it may be back up? Many of our members from NJ have used that program successfully over the years.

How old is she? Do you know an estimated age? Buns are usually spayed at about 6 months, but if you have to wait longer (and can deal with any hormonal behaviors), you can wait. Uterine cancer is a big risk with unspayed female rabbits, but those changes don’t typically start to occur until around the 2-3 year mark.

You might try contacting local rescues and vets and ask if they know if the program is coming back soon, or see if they know of anyone honoring the “certificate” price during this time.

[marchella]

Thank you everyone for your reply. I did my research before posting here. Yes, the link to the Animal Hospital of Sussex County, posted by LopLove, is the correct one. The reviews for the hospital are really disappointing, and somehow I was not able to find even a single review – good or bad – of Dr. Pamela Schott, who performs rabbit surgeries. This is really strange since she has more than 20 years of experience. I also checked a couple of rabbit forums and was not able to find anyone recommending this hospital as well as Dr. Schott. There are many recommendations of Whitehouse Vet Hospital and Dr. Guy. They are an hour drive, but I placed my call. The cost for a spay surgery there is $350. The receptionist was very surprised that NJHRS certificates were postponed and promised to check with Dr. Guy if she can offer me any discount and call me back. The conversation was really promising and I hoped I would be able to use their service. Unfortunately Dr. Guy refused to give me any discount. The major disappointment that EVERY SINGLE place I called referred me to NJHRS for a certificate, that is no longer available. I also emailed to two nj rabbit rescue groups, but they are probably really busy as it has been almost 36 hrs passed and no replies were received.
My girl is a year old or a bit more, as estimated by Dr. Sedlacek, and needs to be spayed asap. He is a very nice Dr. but the estimate I received is outrageous, ranging from $390 to $460 (the receptionist told me that it will probably be $460 (and maybe more) depending on the situation.) I still waiting for one more call back with information on a low cost rabbit spay/neuter clinic, but I really don’t have hope that they will be able to help me. Looks like I don’t have any place to go to but to Dr. Schott, but absents of any reviews and recommendations is what is keeping me away.

[Sarita]

I’m not sure that you can rely on on-line reviews to tell you the truth. Alot of business aren’t computer savvy and especially vet and doctors offices It might be a good idea to get a face to face visit with her and perhaps have your rabbit do an initial exam with any vet you choose.

I’m sure NJHRS will get back with you soon – sometimes it takes all volunteer organizations just a tad bit longer to answer emails.

[justwildbeat]

Hopefully you’ll get a response from those rescues. Plus it is holiday season now, so you may have to be more patient. Also this isn’t the ideal solution, does your preferred vet offer payment plans? It’ll help lessen the blow a bit since you’ve already spent so much on supplies.

[tanlover14]

Oh yes, justwildbeat. I hadn’t really thought of that. The boyfriend and I actually found a credit card (it’s only available to use for doctors and vets) and we got it while we were waiting in the office for our buns to be spayed/neutered. It’s called CareCredit. Even with bad credit at the time, I got a pretty hefty limit. The nice thing about this specific card is if you spend over $200, you have 6 months to pay it off with no interest. We have used this card many a time for emergencies. You just have to know your limit and KNOW you will be able to pay it off over a 6 month time. The time limit with no interest is based on amount – but the payment plans go up to 24 months (but I assume it would have to be a good amount $1,000+).

I would check it out, it’s a great card AS LONG as you pay it off within the time allowed without interest.

[HopsHopscotch]

We got our rabbit neutered at the humane society and it was very cheap. It was a local vet who volunteers her time and was familiar with rabbits.

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