Weimaraner Addict

Right in the middle of his chest, about the size of a dime, raised, and red.

I took him to the vet 3 weeks ago 'cause my last weim mix had hemangiomas and then mast cell tumours and I dealt with having mass' removed from him for years and don't want to take any chances. At the time of the vet visit he had the mass ~3 weeks. So all total now mass has been there about 6 weeks. At that visit I had a full blood panel done, just because I had been wanting to get a baseline and have his thyroid checked. All bloodwork looked good.

Vet aspirated and said no mast cells seen, she thought it was a histiocytoma. She suggested that I watch it for a few more weeks and it would possibly go away. If it did not go away after 6-8 weeks she recommended I have it removed.

It has been looking worse, so I decided to just have it removed now. Called this morning and scheduled it for Friday (I have the day off).

The vet hospital just called with a quote, $871.00!!! WTF?? For a mass the size of a dime? The biopsy is $150, fine, surgery $720.

Really, have things changed that much?? I dealt with my old dog for years (he died 3.5 years ago), I was a vet assist all through high school and college (10 years ago) and this seems excessive!!!

Any input or know a good vet in the San Diego area???

I don't know any vets. But that price does seem high! It's so hard to shop around because you want a vet you know you can trust. But definitely try shopping around. I hope all will go well and the mass will turn out to be nothing serious.

I use Ark Animal Hospital off of Balboa Av. I have always been pleased with Dr. Hetzler.

http://www.arkahsd.vetsuite.com/Templat ... Style.aspx

Forrest has had 2 surgeries to remove lumps, all have been fatty tumors in the past. He is due for another surgery and it won't be cheap! Ark Animal hospital will give you a range in cost for the surgery with detailed list of all the charges.

It's so hard to find a good vet at a good cost who you trust and who works with you. But in the end, I'll pay for essential care. It's the little nicked and dime things that I can't stand and the things that they make me pay for when they can easily do OTC things. But I guess they have to make a buck, too...

I hope everything is okay and he recovers well. Keep us posted...

Just saw this. Sorry to hear that Wilson needs surgery. When we moved from North County to San Diego, some people from the rescue we volunteer with recommended Pet Emergency and Specialty Care in La Mesa. It was recommended as a very good and "relatively cheap" emergency care option during a conversation in which I was saying how expensive VSH in Sorrento Valley was (apparently the most expensive in San Diego). I can't say from personal experience, but it might also be a well priced and good quality option for non-emergency care.

Ok, turns out that I am a complete wreck when it comes to my baby! I finally agreed to do the surgery went in last week Monday for the drop off and met with my vet. She had been through everything with my old dog (he had mast cell tumors and died of a quick onset spinal tumor) well she mentioned this could be a mast cell and I freaked! started crying, assuring her it was not a mast cell tumor and I didn't want my baby going under anesthesia. She agreed to redo the cytology with a bigger chunk and then we would discuss. She came back that it still appeared benign (NO MAST CELLS) and there was some bacteria present. She offered a round of antibiotics for 2 weeks and then we would reevaluate in 3-4 weeks.

My poor boyfriend who has been dealling with me since this came up was telling me to just have the surgery and stop worrying.

I chose the antibiotics! My vet Dr Kagen at Carlsbad, stepped outside of her "corporate" mode and whispers "Kristin, if this were my dog I would do the same thing". I felt so much better. Now, a little over a week, the mass has gone down and looks really like it is healing. Sunday my boyfriend looked at it and said he was glad I made the right decision.

I get so worked up over my little monster. Then in the end I get validation, that when pushed my vet is awesome (even if she is ridiculously expensive).

Yay! I'm so happy to hear that things have taken a turn for the better. There is no reason to put any dog through unnecessary surgery when there is another viable option, IMO I've found that most vets have a heart in that corporate shell somewhere Give Wilson hugs from us and we'll be hoping for a complete recovery in no time. Great job Mama!