Shortages. Inflation. Recession. While I am sure most of you are getting tired of these terms, like I am, veterinary medicine has not been spared from what is going on. Some of our vendors have increased their prices multiple times this past year, while others have increased their prices by 20-30%. While Rocky Gorge tries our best to absorb a portion of those costs, some of it also gets passed on to clients. This, in turn, causes clients to wonder how in the world they can afford to take care of their pets.This post is not meant to start any type of political discussion, but rather offer clients a possible solution: Wellness Plans. 

We started wellness plans over a decade ago, and while they have changed some over the years, they have always had the same 3 purposes: provide clients with an affordable way to care for their pets, provide pets the opportunity to receive the best possible medical care that Rocky Gorge can offer and provide the business a way financially to care for these clients and pets. It’s a win, win, win. 

Similar to insurance, although this is not technically insurance, clients need to calculate costs and determine if wellness plans best for them. For some, signing up for a plan is a no-brainer. A new puppy or kitten that needs all of their immunizations +/- to be spayed/neutered – without a doubt the plans save you money. Each of those visits have some type of office visit but with a plan, there is a copay that is a fraction of the cost. For the adult dogs and cats (puppy/ kitten plans must sign up while the pets are less than 6 months of age), it becomes less clear if the plan is best for you. I fully acknowledge that, despite our best efforts, our wellness plans are not for everyone and do not save everyone money. For those needing more advanced preventative medicine (labwork, ultrasound, dental cleaning, etc), these plans not only save money but also help space out paying for it. 

One of the biggest advantages to our plans has been the ability to help pets when they are sick in addition to the exams to keep them healthy. For example, if your pet eats something that they shouldn’t, and let’s be honest, it happens to all of us (I took dental floss out of my dumb Golden’s mouth the other day), you may end up with a hospital bill of over $1000. With these plans, you would receive 10-15% off the majority, if not all, of your bill depending on which plan you have. 

Lastly, we developed these plans to help those who want to take care of their pets but simply are having a hard time financially. The monthly payments allow those individuals to do everything they would otherwise, but not pay for it all at one time. 

Please contact us at Rocky Gorge for all of the fine print details and costs. Rocky Gorge wishes you a happy and HEALTHY New Year for you and your pets.