Business ProfileforOasis Animal Hospital

We had to take my daughter's dog there on Saturday morning to get some staples in her leg. I understand that the fee for after-hours/emergency visits is more than a standard office visit. What I don't understand is how they can ethically charge astronomical fees for medication and a E- Collar. We were charged $55.00 for a plastic collar that we could have purchased at any pet store for $15.99 or less. That is 3 1/2 times more than the retail cost at the store. Next, the medication that was prescribed was $96.88 for 14 pills. That is $6.92/each pill. The first online pet medication provider that came up had the same medication for $0.75/each. They do give an estimate of the treatment plan before they do anything. My point is, if you are standing there with a sick, injured or possibly life-threatening problem with your beloved pet, and they will not do any kind of treatment until you sign that estimate,, are you going to sit there and go online and do price comparisons or call another animal hospital to get an estimate of treatment there? No. I think it's sad that these people are taking advantage of people coming in with an emergency after hours and being charged 3x or more what they would have been charged Monday - Friday, during regular business hours. Unfortunately, we can't schedule illnesses and emergencies during business hours. That being said, charge what you want for the fee to see them or to even put a few staples in. My problem is when you charge these ridiculous prices for goods, knowing that you will get that price, because you are in a dire situation. I asked the manager if they charge more for these goods during emergency hours than regular business hours, to which she replied "yes". She said they charge that much extra because they have to keep those things on hand for emergency visits. I just think it's very sad and unethical that these people are taking advantage of their customers because of what day or time of the week it is.