Emily Duprie
It’s no surprise that our fur babies mean the world to us. Some people go as far to treat their pets as if they were their own child, which is totally valid. Just like family, our pets need medical care every once in a while, and taking them to the vet can be nerve-racking, given that our furry friends can’t really speak up for themselves if something goes wrong.
That being said, during our vet trips, we basically have to place a lot of faith in whoever is going to be operating on our pets. However, even though veterinarians are highly trained professionals, just like human doctors, they’re not always right – thus, you should be confident and question any care, diagnosis, or, as in this case, unexpected treatments.
One man came to the “Am I The A-hole?” community to ask if he had overreacted to his Golden Doodle puppy having an impromptu teeth-pulling procedure after he was taken in to get neutered. The post got over 3k comments and a ton of up-votes. Read his story below, along with some of the top comments!
OP asked Reddit: “AITA for being peeved about surprise tooth extractions during neutering?”
Today I dropped my dog off to get neutered. He’s a six-month Goldendoodle. This was part of a “puppy package” of care, which covered all necessary shots and wellness checks, and culminates with neutering and microchipping. I came back a few hours later to pick him up. While receiving the aftercare instructions, I was informed that they pulled a few of my dog’s teeth by the vet tech (VT). Our conversation went something like this:
He went into depth on his conversation with the Vet tech.
VT: The only thing not covered by the puppy package is $20 for the two teeth we removed while he was under anesthesia, so if we can settle this up…
Me: Excuse me, you removed teeth? He was here for neutering.
VT: His two canines were starting to come in but the baby teeth were not loose so we removed them. It’s very standard and what the vet regularly recommends.
Me: Well, you did more than recommend it – you went ahead and did it.
*silence*
At this point, the vet decided to step away and regroup his thoughts on the matter.
VT: I’ll be right back.
…now it’s important to note that I don’t care about the $20 charge. Had I been contacted and told that they recommended this, I would have OF COURSE went with the vet’s recommendation! But come on, at least act like I’m involved in the process rather than making me feel like I’m being suckered into a forced up-sell situation. A few minutes later, she came back…
The conversation continued…
VT: I spoke with the doctor and we are going to discount the $20 since we did not consult you first.
Me: It’s not about the $20. I’m more concerned about the fact that I came here for one procedure, and without any conversation or discussion, you expanded the scope of the visit to include tooth extraction.
VT: It was necessary. If we were to have done it at a separate visit, it would have been $250.
OP reiterated that money was not the issue here.
Me: I’m not concerned about the money if it’s necessary. I’m concerned about not knowing about it or approving it beforehand.
VT: It’s a very routine procedure. We regularly extract teeth while puppies are already under anesthesia.
Me: If it’s so routine and done so regularly, why was it not discussed at one of the many prior visits or even this morning?
VT: You know if we didn’t extract the teeth, it could have lead to issues with alignment, bacteria, and other complications.
Unwavered, OP explained to the vet once more how the procedure they went through with was not approved.
Me: I’m not debating whether the extraction was necessary. I’m upset that I was not consulted first.
VT: I’ll be right back.
After the entire debacle, OP wondered if he had been the “A-hole” in this situation.
…this time she brought my puppy back with her. I thanked her and left. To be clear, I was not trying to be rude, difficult, or cheap in any way. But I got into the car with my poor sedated pup feeling like I was being rude, difficult, and cheap. I spoke with a few coworkers after I got back to my office, but I could use some other opinions as well. So, AITA for being peeved about surprise tooth extractions during neutering?
He then added an edit to the post, to clarify a few things viewers had been asking about.
*edit: this has, obviously, gotten way bigger than I had ever thought it would. To anybody that posted on here to vent their spleen and then hit the front page, you know what I mean… that being said, I wanted to offer a few points of clarification because I’ve seen quite a theme in the comments:
Most important of all: my puppy is snoozing next to me and seems to be in overall good shape – for that, I’m grateful to the vet.
He made it clear that this was not a personal vendetta.
It amazes me how many of you post things like “you’re obviously NTA, why would you even post this”… scroll the comments and look at some people on the other side. The reason I posted this is that I was conflicted and was wondering what people thought – and wow, you folks did not let me down.
I don’t plan on talking about who the vet/clinic/hospital is or where it is located. I was not pleased by their customer service, but I am not trying to hurt their business in any way (I will not even post a negative review even though I will be changing providers).
OP finished his post by saying he felt helpless in the situation.
I’m not upset about the fact that they made a decision that they thought was necessary. I’m upset that they could not explain that decision, or perhaps felt it was unnecessary to explain to me. Please keep in mind that I’m not a vet. I went to school for history and business. If someone had explained things to me, I might have quickly calmed down and the situation deescalated. This would have been best handled, in my opinion, had the vet came to speak to me.
For the men that are messaging me thinking I am a woman: I’m not.
Redditors flocked to his comment section, explaining their opinions on the matter. Many pet owners sympathized with OP and eventually he was tagged as “not the a-hole.” Below are some of the top comments from the post:
