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own dog during the procedure carried out by a competitive. And the BVA charges are those set
suitably protected ophthalmologist.
Actually, we went to an eye testing clinic on
the 11th April, the first for a very long time.
There were several reasons why we decided
to go ahead with this one, having declined a
number of others: We really needed to get this
bitch tested having already put our plans back,
though we were not going to compromise on our
principles; it was fairly local (well, only 2½ hours
away. ‘Local’ for dog people!); we were testing
an older bitch who is an old hand at this and
wouldn’t be fazed by someone else handling
her; it was a BVA Eye Panellist we knew; they
were charging the correct BVA group clinic rate
of £34 for an HC test with nothing extra for PPE,
additional helpers, venue, etc.
It was very well organised, extremely efficiently
run and very relaxed. I applaud all involved.
Having said that, while I was able to take Luna
into the building as far as the testing room door,
at which point the vets assistant took her in
for the actual test (them having already made
friends at the eye drops stage of the procedure),
which meant she was only away from me for all
of two minutes, I would still be really concerned
about doing this with a youngster that had not
only never been through an eye test before
(dark room, strangers close up, lights shining
the eyes, etc) but had also been born and
brought up during a lock-down with the resulting
considerably less socialisation and exposure
to the big wide world than would normally be
experienced.
As I said, with all the right precautions, I really
don’t see why this insistence on owners not
being allowed to attend is necessary.
And so to hips. And, for some, elbows.
For years we have used Southern Canine
Imaging, pioneers in the growing field of simply
specialising in the X-raying of hips and elbows
under sedation, and filing the results with the
BVA for scoring.
Their X-ray charges are set, clear and very
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K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MAY 2021
by the BVA. Nothing more. Being specialists,
you can guarantee your X-rays will be as good
as it gets in terms of quality, and if, for any
reason, they are not, then they are done again
until they are.
My last ones were £80 for the X-ray and £70 to
the BVA, which is the recommended submission
and scoring fee as quoted on their website.
Now, I am not a great one for believing
everything I read on social media, but there are
some things that, though somewhat startling,
are clearly true.
And for the price of X-rays and submission to
the BVA, I have seen posts quoting (and the
person posting having been quoted) everything
from much the same as we pay to an eye-
watering £1200 plus!
OK. I get it that some vets will not carry out an
X-ray under sedation and therefore the dog has
to be given a general anaesthetic, along with all
the resultant costs (though why anyone would
want to do this when safer, better, cheaper
alternatives are readily available), but why are
some vets quoting anything up to £300 for
submitting the X-rays to the BVA?
Somebody is making a great deal of profit on
this and, sadly, it’s another example of people
taking advantage of a situation, and making
money out of others’ desperation.
We have experienced much the same with the
Pet Passports. Our last one (which was in April
2020) cost us around £80, which included the
vaccinations. We have friends who can visit
our vet with a 500 mile round trip and still save
money!
And before you start on me, yes I know that
everything has changed post-Brexit, but
my point is why is there such a disparity
in something that really should be at least
relatively consistent?
It’s all enough to make you want to scream. But
if you do, no one will hear you!