by Pajarita » Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:00 pm
I think that her peeve is that you can find vets that would donate their services, give out samples of meds and charge the same they are paying for them (meaning, not make any money on them), give prices for package deals, etc for dog and cat rescues but, when it comes to avian rescues, you can't find a single one that would do the same. And I can attest to this been God's truth! At least, here in the States. Because I did not only run my own bird rescue, I was also VP of a dog and cat rescue and in charge of the shelter and medical issues (along with the president, of course) and we ALWAYS got good deals not only from the regular vets but also from the specialists - and not only in terms of reduced and free services, cheap meds, etc but also in that we had open accounts with them so if we had an emergency and did not have the funds available (which we never did!), we could still take them to the vet and get everything necessary done for them and pay later. But never with the birds (although Dr. Jodie was wonderful about helping out as much as she could but, as she did not have her own practice, her help was limited). And I don't know of any avian rescue that gets the same deal as any dog or cat rescue does. Not a single one.
Plus, rates are higher with birds than with dogs or cats. For example, I can get a dog or cat exam for $20 and reduced rates for multiples when I do vaccines or spay/neuter at the clinic but I have to pay $60 for a bird's exam - and it doesn't take any longer than a dog or cat exam. Same thing with blood work, it's always more expensive to get the same exact thing for a bird than it is for a dog - why? The test is the same and it takes the same amount of time.