Lifestyle
Vet care costs are skyrocketing in California. 8 people share their bill horror stories
Two things are certain in pet parenting: 1) your furry loved one will one day have to visit the vet and 2) the cost of veterinary care is increasing, rising more than 60%, over the last decade, according to a recent New York Times report.
Stacie Straw, in Long Beach, Calif., spent about $30,000 in 2022 on her English Bulldog rescue, Blanche, which she mostly paid for with a CareCredit card at zero interest, she said in response to a Times survey inquiring about readers’ vet expenditures. The cost was due to the “unfortunate confluence,” she said, of the dog needing ACL surgery and then developing mast cell cancer. Ultimately, Blanche passed away after several months of treatment.
“I have a lot of empathy for vets because they’re doing the best they can,” Straw said in a follow-up interview. “But it’s really hard and expensive for most people — it’s difficult to spend $100 to take your dog to the vet just to know if there’s an issue. That’s not chump change. And you may have to make trade-offs in your spending decisions to [pay for] that.”
Stacie Straw’s English bulldog rescue, Blanche.
(Stacie Straw)
Ballooning veterinary costs are not necessarily your mom and pop vet’s fault. A combination of factors in the industry is driving up vet bills. Drugs and vaccines are more expensive than ever. As is the cost of staffing vet offices, rent, utilities and medical equipment. Because there are more advanced medical technologies and treatments for pets now — MRIs, allergy testing, even acupuncture — there’s often more to charge for. And the ongoing corporatization of independent veterinary practices — in which big businesses look to maximize profits — is driving costs through the roof.
In addition to readers who have emptied their pockets at the vet, we heard from more than two dozen veterinarians across the country in response to our survey, nearly all of them citing the exorbitant cost of their veterinary school tuition. Many of them also noted that vets have a higher suicide rate than the general population — between 2.1 to 3.5 times higher, according to a 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.
Dr. Jessica Bachmann, of Ira, Vt., noted her “$400,000, eight-year education” to become a veterinarian.
But an industry in crisis doesn’t make caring for our pets any easier. If you’re enduring the outrageous cost of veterinary care, take some solace that you are not alone. Here’s what some Times readers had to say on the topic.
Raquel Cypert’s rescue chihuahua-pug, Luna.
(Raquel Cypert)
Raquel Cypert and Luna, Upland, CA
Highest vet bill: $3,800 — after having spent $800 the day prior on Luna at the vet.
What happened: “Luna became really lethargic and was vomiting one day. I took her to our regular vet and they ran some tests and gave her some fluids and said it was probably a stomach virus and sent us home. She spent the night vomiting and seizing. The next morning I took her back to that vet who said they could put her down or she could go to an emergency hospital.
I red lined [my] Audi a couple of times to the hospital and we ran in where they were waiting for us. The vet called us into the room about 20 minutes later and said she has Addison’s disease which is a deficiency of her stress hormones and she would need emergency meds and IV fluids and need to stay overnight to get her stable. $3,800 later we got our baby back.”
The outcome: “She needs monthly injections and daily meds but her condition is pretty manageable.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “Because I am a nurse, I am able to inject her myself. So it saves about $1,000 a year avoiding monthly vet visits.”
William G Keiner and his dog, Los Angeles
Highest vet bill: $400 quickly escalated to $5,000 “before we were forced to decline treatment.”
What happened: “Our dog, about one year old, slipped his leash and ran into a car. Being a rescue who had distemper, he does not qualify for pet insurance. So when we took him to the emergency vet, we were presented with an ever-escalating stream of estimates … before we were forced to decline treatment. Essentially they admitted our dog, quoted a price to assess him and give him pain meds. They assessed and came out with a higher estimate. Went back in, came out with another higher estimate. This happened two-three times before we had to decline treatment. We still ended up paying close to $2,000. The vets were neither able to reset the broken leg or properly splint the leg.”
The outcome: “We opted for pain killers to get us through the weekend [and] to see a non-profit vet.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “We took our dog to a non-profit vet who worked with the rescue group we foster for. He was treated but it didn’t go well. The pins they put in his leg got infected. This vet, we learned, was [ultimately] shut down by the city. We eventually found an independent vet who agreed to a reasonable [price]. Still thousands of dollars to remove the pins, which did the trick.”
Misty Dailey and Elfin, Spring Branch, TX
Highest vet bill: $2,200 (in Sacramento, Calif., 1992)
What happened: “Gastric Tortion. Deep barrel-chested dogs like Dobermans, boxers, Great Danes, etc., can have a tendency to woof their food down. If it’s not watered down or the bowl raised so they don’t have to bend down so much, it causes too much air to go into their gut. Their gut starts expanding (like a horse with colic) and their intestines will twist, killing them. I was leaving for a weekend in Lake Tahoe and saw my Doberman was all swelled up and looked like a chubby Shetland pony. My vet saw Elfin, whisked her away from me and took her to X-ray. She said she’d never seen a dog so bloated and still alive. She put her under, sliced her belly open, whooshed the air out of her, and then basically stitched her organs to the side of her so if it ever happened again, she wouldn’t twist up.”
The outcome: “I began raising up all my dogs’ dry food meals off the floor so it wouldn’t happen again.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “No. I was grateful to pay the $2,200. They saved her! Elfin has [since] gone to Heaven.”
Michelle Min’s newly adopted dog, Lola.
(Michelle Min)
Michelle Min and Lola, San Gabriel Valley, CA
Highest vet bill: Over $1,300 (in 2013)
What happened: “One heart ultrasound [was] needed for a freshly adopted (doctor mandated) ADA dog, whom I completely adored, she saved my life. I was on a fixed income and pet insurance refused to cover it, despite collecting premiums. Turned out that she had serious, congenital heart issues. Lifelong medications (about five a day) and expensive, home cooked chicken breast/rice/veg diet followed for her whole life. She was worth every penny, there was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her, but I cannot go through this again. Too painful, not to mention the expense.”
The outcome: “It only confirmed the vet’s diagnosis prior to the test. She was already given meds and supplements to address her heart problems. No changes or adjustments were made following the test.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “No. It’s outlandishly expensive to properly care for your companion, even if she serves a life-saving purpose as an ADA animal. This may be the hardest part. Living as a disabled person on a fixed income, I (willingly) sacrificed for years, so she could have proper care.”
Daniel Smith-Ramirez’s dog, Legoshi.
(Daniel Smith-Ramirez)
Daniel Smith-Ramirez and Legoshi, Cocina, CA
Highest vet bill: $2,300 with $4,000 on the horizon.
What happened: “This month, my dog has had bouts of stomach issues. He’s had to be treated with five different meds and hospitalized for three days. He will also potentially need an endoscopy. [He’s] been diagnosed with an ulcer, but [the] exploratory endoscopy [will] confirm.”
The outcome: “The first set of meds was not [helpful], so now we are trying stronger meds.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “This is actually the cheapest in the area. We were told that other hospitals would charge roughly $10,000-20,000.”
Juan Chavez and Sugar, Pasadena
Highest vet bill: $10,000
What happened: “Our dog, Sugar, was hospitalized for pancreatitis. She had to be interned in a pet hospital for 24 hours, for one week.”
The outcome: “She was put to sleep after seven days.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “No. Our neighborhood is notorious for good, but high-cost, vets. I’m under no illusion about getting cheaper vets, but perhaps we need to shop around outside our location using Reddit or NextDoor recommendations.”
Shelley Keith’s dog, Olive.
(Shelley Keith)
Shelley Keith and Olive, Sherman Oaks, CA
Highest vet bill: $3,000
What happened: “My dog was having seizures and I took her to an ER animal hospital.”
The outcome: “Lots of diagnostic tests but nothing wrong.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “No.”
Jamie Tran and Grady, Santa Maria, CA
Highest vet bill: $12,149.43
What happened: “My dog that I had just adopted five days before became very ill out of the blue. He was so critical that they weren’t sure he’d make it through the night. He remained critical for the next several days with no definitive diagnosis. He was treated for potential sepsis, anaphylaxis and leptospirosis.”
The outcome: “I know that if he had still been at the shelter, they would have made the decision to let him go. Because they treated him for a myriad of things based on his symptoms, they were able to get him stable. When they discharged him, they provided seven medications to continue for two-three weeks after. Oddly enough, they discharged him saying there was nothing more that they could do and we would need to continue treatment at home and see if he continues to improve. I didn’t leave with the most confidence that he would make a full recovery. I don’t regret paying to save his life, but it’s something I’ll be paying for a long time.”
Any cheaper alternative care options? “No. The cost of veterinary care is quite expensive. Unfortunately where I live, the options for care are quite limited or nonexistent. They potentially wanted to transfer him elsewhere to be seen by a specialist. The options for that were an hour or two away as there are no specialists available anywhere closer. If your pet is in need of a specialist, they most likely are not well enough to travel long distance to receive the care they need.”
Delroy Lindo is nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in Sinners.
Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP
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Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP
Over the course of his decades-long career on stage and in Hollywood, Sinners actor Delroy Lindo has experienced firsthand what he calls the “disappointments, the vicissitudes of the industry.”
On Feb. 22, at the BAFTA awards in London, Lindo and Sinners co-star Michael B. Jordan were the first presenters of the evening when a man with Tourette syndrome shouted a racial slur.
Initially, Lindo says, he questioned if he had heard correctly. Then, he says, he adjusted his glasses and read the teleprompter: “I processed in the way that I process, in a nanosecond. Mike did similarly, and we went on and did our jobs.”
Lindo describes the BAFTA incident as “something that started out negatively becoming a positive.” A week after the BAFTAs, he appeared with Sinners director Ryan Coogler at the NAACP awards.
“The fact that I could stand there in a room predominantly of our people … and feel safe, feel loved, feel supported,” he says. “I just wanted to officially, formally say thank you to our people and to all of the people who have supported us as a result of that event, that incident.”
Sinners is a haunting vampire thriller about twins (both played by Jordan) who open a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. The film has been nominated for a record 16 Academy Awards, including best actor for Jordan and best supporting actor for Lindo, who plays a blues musician named Delta Slim.
This is Lindo’s first Oscar nomination; five years ago, many felt his performance in the Spike Lee film Da 5 Bloods deserved recognition from the Academy. When that didn’t happen, Lindo admits he was disappointed, but he had no choice but to move on.
“I have never taken my marbles and gone home,” he says. “And I want to claim that I will not do that now. I will continue working.”
Interview highlights
On his preparation to play Delta Slim
Various people have mentioned … [that] my presence reminds them of an uncle or their grandfather, somebody that they knew from their families, and that is a huge compliment, but more importantly than being a compliment, it’s an affirmation for the work. My preparation for this started with Ryan sending me two books, Blues People, by Amiri Baraka — who was [known as] LeRoi Jones when he wrote the book — and Deep Blues, by Robert Palmer.
Lindo, shown above in his role as Delta Slim, says director Ryan Coogler “created a sacred space for all of us” on the Sinners set.
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Warner Bros. Pictures
In reading those books and then referencing those books, continuing to reference those throughout production, I was given an entrée into the worlds, the lifestyles of these musicians. There’s a certain kind of itinerant quality that they moved around a lot. The constant for them is their music, so that there is this deep-seated connection to the music.
On being Oscar-nominated for the first time — and thinking about other Black actors, including Halle Berry and Lou Gossett Jr., who had trouble getting work after their wins
I will not view it as a curse, because I am claiming the victory in this process, no matter what happens. … In terms of this moment, I absolutely am claiming, as much as I can, the joy of this moment. I’m not saying I don’t have trepidation, I do. It’s the reason I was not listening to the broadcast this year when the nominations were announced. I did not want to set myself up. But I’m … attempting as much as I can to fortify myself and know in my heart that I will continue working as an actor. I absolutely will.
On being “othered” as a child because of his race
Because my mom was studying to be a nurse they would not allow her to have an infant child with her on campus, so as a result of that, I was sent to live with a white family in a white working class area of London. … I was loved, I was cared for, but as a result of living with this family in this all-white neighborhood, I went to an all-white elementary or primary school. And I was literally the only Black child in an all-white school.
So one afternoon, after school had ended, I was playing with one of my playmates … And at a certain point in our game, a car pulls up, and this kid that I was playing with goes over to the car and has a very short conversation with whomever was in the car, which I now know was his parent, his father. He comes back and he … says, “I can’t play with you.” And that was the end of the game.
On the experience of writing his forthcoming memoir
It’s been healing, actually. I’m not denying that it has opened me up. I’ve been compelled to scrutinize myself. I’m using that word very advisedly, “scrutinized.” It’s a scrutiny, it’s an examination of oneself. But in my case, because a very, very, very significant part of what I’m writing has to do with re-examining my relationship with my mom. And so my mom is a protagonist in my memoir. I’m told by my editor and by my publisher that one of the attractions to what I’m writing is that it is not a classic “celebrity memoir.” I am examining history. I’m examining culture. I’m looking at certain passages of history through the lens of the “Windrush” experience [of Caribbean immigrants who came to the UK after World War II].
On getting a masters degree to help him write his mother’s story
My mom deserved it. My mom is deserving. And not only is my mom deserving, by extension, all the people of the Windrush generation are deserving. Stories about Windrush are not part of the global cultural lexicon commensurate with its impact. The people of Windrush changed the definition of what it means to be British. There are all these Black and brown people, theretofore members of what used to be called the British Commonwealth. And they were invited by the British government to come to England, the United Kingdom, to help rebuild the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the destruction of World War II. My mom was part of that movement. They helped rebuild construction, construction industry, transportation industry, critically, the health industry, the NHS, the National Health Service. My mom is a nurse.
The reason that I went into NYU was because my original intention was to write a screenplay about my mom. I wanted to write a screenplay about my mom because I looked around and I thought: Where are the feature films that have as protagonist a Caribbean female, a Black female, where are they? … I wanted to address that, I wanted to correct that, what I see as being an imbalance.
Ann Marie Baldonado and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.
Britney Spears
Open to Treatment Plan After DUI Arrest, Source Says
Published
Britney Spears‘ team is hoping the judge mandates treatment for the pop star over jail time following her Wednesday DUI arrest … and Britney isn’t fighting them on that, TMZ has learned.
Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Britney is willing to comply with a treatment and support plan.
We’re told her team is in the early stages of developing a plan and they’re exploring multiple options, including mental health services, detox, and dual-diagnosis programs.
It’s unclear whether she would do inpatient or outpatient treatment, and it’s also unclear whether she would enter treatment before her May 4 court date.
Broadcastify.com
We broke the story … Britney was pulled over by California Highway Patrol officers around 9:30 PM Wednesday in Westlake Village, CA, not far from her home. She was later taken to a hospital — not for any injuries, because we’re told she didn’t sustain any — but to draw her blood to determine her blood alcohol content.
According to CHP, she was arrested for “driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol.”
Sources familiar with the investigation told us an unknown substance was found in Britney’s car, which was sent to be tested.
Britney’s manager, Cade Hudson, previously told TMZ … “This was an unfortunate and inexcusable incident. Britney will take the right steps, comply with the law, and we hope this marks the start of long-overdue change in her life. She needs help and support during this difficult time. Her boys will be spending time with her, and her loved ones are putting a plan in place to set her up for success and well-being.”
Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Sinners.
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Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Coogler’s supernatural horror stars Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers who open a 1930s juke joint in Mississippi. Opening night does not go as planned when vampires appear outside. “In a straightforward metaphor for all the ways Black culture has been co-opted by whiteness, the raucous pleasures and sonic beauty of the juke joint attract the interest of a trio of demons … they wish to literally leech off of the talents and energy of Black folks,” writes critic Aisha Harris. The film made history with a record 16 Academy Award nominations.
We asked our NPR audience: What movie would you recommend to someone who loved Sinners? Here’s what you told us:
Near Dark (1987)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow; starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen
If you want another cool vampire movie with Western kind of vibes, check out Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark — super underseen and kind of hard to find, but really gritty and sexy and another very different take on what you might think is a genre that had been wrung dry. – Maggie Grossman, Chicago, Ill.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Directed by David Slade; starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston
It follows a group of people in a small Alaskan town as they struggle to survive an invasion of vampires who have taken advantage of the month-long absence of the sun. Both this and Sinners revolve around a vampire takeover and the people’s fight to outlast the “night.” – Nathan Strzelewicz, DeWitt, Mich.
The Wailing (2016)
Directed by Na Hong-jin; starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee, Jun Kunimura
In this South Korean supernatural horror film, a mysterious illness causes people in a quiet rural village to become violent and murderous. A local police officer investigates while trying to save his daughter, who begins showing the same disturbing symptoms. The film blends folk horror, religion, and psychological dread, exploring themes of faith, evil, and moral weakness. Like Sinners, it centers on a supernatural force corrupting a close-knit community, builds slow-burning tension, and examines spiritual conflict and human frailty. – Amy Merke, Bronx, N.Y.
Fréwaka (2024)
Directed by Aislinn Clarke; starring Bríd Ní Neachtain, Clare Monnelly, Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya
In this Irish folk horror film, a home care worker, Shoo, is assigned to stay with an elderly woman who’s convinced she’s under siege by malevolent fairies. Like Sinners, Fréwaka blends folk traditions and social commentary with horror. The social failures Shoo copes with (untreated mental health issues, religious abuse) are just as frightening as the supernatural forces. – Kerrin Smith, Baltimore, Md.
And a bonus pick from our critic:
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Directed by George C. Wolfe; starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman
This is an adaptation of August Wilson’s play about a legendary blues singer (Viola Davis) muscling through a recording session with white producers who want to control her music. Chadwick Boseman’s blistering in his final role. – Bob Mondello, NPR movie critic
Carly Rubin and Ivy Buck contributed to this project. It was edited by Clare Lombardo.
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