So I took my beautiful little 10yr old Maltese cro...

So I took my beautiful little 10yr old Maltese cross ShihTzu into the Lort Smith Vet Clinic about 3pm the other day, after having her right paw being accidentally slammed in the car door.. (Devastating! ) And I waited a couple of hrs in the waiting room after being initially seen by a lovely caring young vet nurse to ensure the situation was under control for the minute. And when we were finally called in for our appt with the vet, they wanted to do ex rays & tests & keep her comfortable in-house overnight there, & keep her comfortable with some pain relief.. The next morning I get a txt from Dr.Johnathan, telling me they'd carried out everything & that she had 2 small fractures in her front right lower paw. So the next afternoon about 3pm I go in to pick her up, & they gave me extensive written after care for the next 4wks for her & explained everything very well. They then bring her out & they'd popped her in a gorgeous pink plaster cast to match her collar, & she seemed very calm & comfortable, & she needs to come back in for cast changes every 4-6days for the next month, being $60 each time I bring her in, aswell as a 4wk progress check up ex ray at the end of the month at $350 aswell, on top of the initial bill being $750 for the initial ex-rays, sedation, the cast & in house care, so the total price at the end of her care in 4wks being a total of around '$1400' all up, & thats including the %25 discount I receive being a concession card holder, without that, it would have been around the $1900-$2000, so ensure you bring this in if u have one as it is a big difference & they dont backdate if u don't have it on the day of admittance. I do feel these prices, (supposedly being the lowest in Melbourne) are a little too high for the treatment she required receiving, being only 2small fractures & no surgery or resetting the leg required, but we all know these rare accidents are the 'downs' of being pet owners, so I am still glad I bought her to the Lort Smith, (disregarding the price), because she has received excellent top level care here, & everyone I delt with was caring, understanding, listened to me, & took the best care of her they could.. And really that's the most important thing overall, as they do direct debit payment plans over a 2wk period starting from a certain date, as long as you have a decent deposit, (like at least $200-$250 or over) depending on how bad the situation of course. I also bought Hills joint care- special expensive food for the next 8-12wks of recovery too, being another 70 but that was a choice of course. But they kept me informed of price & asked if I wanted to go ahead with treatment at all times if some out there simply can't afford it. But all in all, although more pricey than expected, they are a wonderful, large, caring, knowledgeable & well equipped place, I would definitely recommend to anyone with an animal in distress. Thanks so much to all the staff there for care of my little Lily, I appreciate it very very much. You have to remember the staff don't set the prices, management do so.!