A specialist veterinarian in Eden Prairie, Goullaud regularly receives letters from faraway clinics imploring him to “join our team.” Glossy recruiting brochures breathlessly promise him the chance to practice veterinary medicine “the way it could be the way it should be” if he would just relocate.The age of high-tech, big-bucks veterinary care has arrived, and specialists like Goullaud are riding high. With pet owners willing to pay more than $3,000 for canine pacemaker surgery, $1,250 for a stent and $600 for a CT scan, clinics are clamoring to add upscale services.
I’m stunned at the fact a canine pacemaker even exists let alone the cost. And now I am wondering if our sales-focused selection services have missed a grossly under served market:
“It is the greatest time of our lives to be a specialist,” he said. “We are in demand.”The specialty focus also has a financial dimension. General practice veterinarians earned a median salary of $77,500 in 2003, while the median pay for specialists hit $137,500, according to the veterinary medical association.
I had no idea this recruiting demand existed in our society. I love dogs but am still astounded by the canine pacemaker. If you read the article, someone paid $3,200 to have one implanted in a 14 year-old toy poodle.