1490. $500 for an elective Caesarean Section in a poodle

Saturday Jun 29, 2013

"The vet at Serangoon charges only $500," the home-breeder came yesterday. He had already X-rayed and knew he had 3 puppies. Now he was looking for a lowest quotation for a C-Section.

In the first birth, the dam had difficulty giving birth and a puppy had died. He still needed a C-section for the other puppies.

I used to charge $300 for every Caesarean section for the Pasir Ris breeders around 2006, but there was a vet who charged only $250.

Low surgical costs attract more customers. The costings must be done carefully. Otherwise, the vet loses money for every Caesarean section done. In the end, there is no profits to buy new equipment or upgrade, leading to a poor impression of the Surgery. Young Singaporeans love the glitz and the decor and if the vet does loss-making surgeries, he or she will need the volume. But at the end of the financial year, the net profits may be a loss.

So I told Dr Daniel that it is best not to perform C-sections at $500 as the time taken and complexity of this surgery as compared to a spaying of a female dog is much longer. We let the home breeder go. The associate vets must be some economic sense in working in a private practice so as not to make loss-making operations.