I am glad to hear Inara is recovering well!!!
I did not have time to create a post (lots of papers due for school soon)- but have been wishing her well. I have not given Ino one of those since he was a pup since he tries to destroy everything I give him and I fear he would give himself a blockage. The only thing he does not "kill" fast is his kong with frozen peanut butter in it. He can't seem to get pieces off of it fast at all- usually it takes months before he gets the right angle then it is in the trash- that are his only indoor toy now and he only gets it when I am near him. Even cuz toys, he removes the squeaker immediately then gets pieces off and they get trashed. Now, they are outdoor toys only to carry on the walk because as long as I keep him moving, he won't tear it up.
As for the vet comment that was made, I have been to a vet before that charged higher rates than most vets in the area and ran a lot of un-necessary tests (in my opinion); however they did care about the animals. They probably overcharged some people to compensate for the bills they got stiffed on (they would help any animal that came through the door and often allowed people to set up a payment plan directly with them and helped a lot of injured wild animals that people found and brought in). They did all types of surgeries and had a lot of pricey equipment that smaller vet offices usually do not. There were also several vets at the office and a relitavely large staff that needed to be paid. Remember also, they go to school for a long time and the loans can be rather large to pay back. My friend went to vet school outside of the country because it was around the same cost as the in state vet program and was a good school that had longer days but a shorter program. Her loans were quite large and I am sure it is going to take her a while to pay them back (she's the on call vet at the office she works at to suppliment her income). All of the vets I have been to (in Fl and where I am at in NY) have truely cared about the animals and in my opinion, price has nothing to do with caring. My vet now cares a lot and sometimes they give me a break and other times they do not- but I would not switch his vet over the cost because he cares, has great hours- and usually will get you right in, and my boys like the vet and staff there. There are a lot of vets that genuinely care and just like in any profession, some people get into it for the wrong reason or get burned out- but it seems to me like that the majority are not like that. Most people who do not like animals or do not care about their welfare would not spend that amount of time in schooling to do something they do not care about.
I'm not trying to harp on the poster of that comment, but just want to say, try to be careful about generalizing- you are probably right- SOME may be more about the money, but MOST vets probably do not fall within that category.