Costs of spay/neutering a dog (Suwon)

[lfrc322]

In preparation for rescuing a Jindo this weekend and being a responsible pet owner, I went to a local animal hospital to meet the vet and get a feel for the office. The animal hospital is about two blocks up the street from my apartment. I live in Suwon and like most foreigners, don't have a car, so going up to Itaewon is viable an option. The vet seemed nice, and spoke a little bit of english, at least enough to answer the few questions which I had. I asked him what a ball park estimate was to spay or neuter a Jindo/Jindo type dog. Below are the details of the costs. I have rescued 2 dogs (in the US) in the past and they had already been neutered and the costs were included in the adoption fees, which is part of the reason why I am not sure what to expect for the costs.

Does this sound like a reasonable amount for the surgery or should I keep looking around to see what else I can find? I think that there was one more item which was on the list he wrote down on (for about 30,000) but I don't recall for sure.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Surgery Cost
Male - 50,000 W
Female - 150,000 W

Anesthesia
Drug - 30,000 W
Gas - 50,000 W

Bloodwork (optional)
50,000 W

Min cost of surgery (no blood work)
Male - 80,000 W
Female - 180,000 W

Max cost of surgery (no blood work)
Male - 100,000 W
Female - 200,000 W

[pukka]

Hi there ,

The Emart in Daejeon charges 70.000won for a male dog total (incl anesthesia)
Blood test 30.000won

Female 140.000won (incl anesthesia)
Bloodtest 30.000won

If you help a rescued dog he might still give a discount on this total , i can make
a call for you if you want to know the excact total price .

[lfrc322]

Thanks for the info Pukka. I was talking with Tim and he suggested that I wait until the dog gets settled in its new home before having them "fixed" since it would really be a lot of changes and stresses on the dog. But any help or suggestions on the matter are greatly appreciated.

[Karen]

Hi there,

Those prices sound like exactly the breakdown that my vet gave me in Daejeon.

I just want to add that the optional bloodwork is a really good idea for a dog whose history you don't know. I always chose to have it done and my vet would go through explaining what the details meant, ie liver/kidney function OK or not, high white blood cell count indicating infection of some sort or whatever. Not that I understood much, but if there is a problem that would make complications during surgery, the bloodtest would be a good indicator. I used to pay 70,000 or 80,000 for it.

Hope that helps.

Congrats on your adoption, by the way! :)

[pukka]

Oh Ok so you will adopt a dog directly from a shelter ? Then spaying/neutering
from home is better .Tim is right . Dogs who are already rescued and are already
at the vet you could have them spay/neuter right away .
Do the bloodtest to prevent kidney failure and a heartworm test ofcourse . I suggest
to do the bloodtests at Daejeon vet since it is cheaper .
Good luck with your future Jindo friend !

[lfrc322]

well sounds like the prices are well within the ballpark. Since the dog which I will be adopting will more than likely be from the Shelter in Daejon (I might be adopting "Bear" which is at Annie's vet) but either way, I was planning on getting a full checkup in Daejon and taking care of the "fixing" here in Suwon.

Thanks for all the feedback everybody.

[luvadog]

How difficult is keeping a large dog in an apt? My friend has 7 dogs and 2 cats but they're all small and have a doggie pottie that everyone uses.

[alibuch]

I hope that's not in an officetel! haha

[luvadog]

Nope! :p Not an officetel. It actually has 3 rooms but it's a small villa. And he's also dog-sitting 2 dogs for his friends!!! So...9 !! :rolleyes: People know him from walking his dogs along the river and they come up and say "Take this dog." He's got a big heart so...there ya' go. But don't tell the city of Daejeon.

[bwargle]

The Emart in Daejeon charges 70.000won for a male dog total (incl anesthesia)
Blood test 30.000won

Female 140.000won (incl anesthesia)
Bloodtest 30.000won

If you help a rescued dog he might still give a discount on this total , i can make
a call for you if you want to know the excact total price .

Does anyone know if the prices are similar for cats? and which emart is this in daejeon?
I live in the city and we got quoted 400,000 which is absurdly high.

[annie]

Hi there,

Is it a female or male cat? It makes a huge difference :S
I paid 300,000 for the last female cat I got spayed (in Daejeon as well), but it included everything: bloodwork, follow-ups, and meds.
That was at Africa clinic in TanbangDong, but you should try and get a quote from the vet in the Emart in DunsanDong.

Hope it helps~

[luvadog]

There are 2 Emart Vet clinics.

One vet is in DunsanDong and that's Dr. Lee, Sylvia's husband.

The other is WolpyongDong Emart, which is the old WalMart, near the River and my first vet there. The vet at that time was Dr.Kim but she's now in Daegu. In 2005, she neutered Toby and it cost me 80,000 won incl. the bloodwork. Dr. Kim the guy vet is still there and there's a Dr. Lee, his partner. That one is a CoolPet, and Dr. Choi of the Seoul, Gangnam Coolpet is their boss. I trusted them and used them a lot.

There's an emergency 24/7 vet called Macro across from the WolpyongDong Emart by the river. Dr. Won was the first one I met who saved my yorkie, Punky. But Dr. Eom was the one I dealt with most of the time after that because his English is so good and Dr. Won was a bit shy about his English. He charged me 150,000 won for a large Jindo male, and 50,000 won for a female yorkie, which was one of his rescues. I think it was about 80,000 won to neuter Punky and he also scaled and polished his teeth.

It's always good to be familiar with an emergency vet in your area so I'd recommend at least knowing where they are.

I never had a cat in Korea but that price of 400,000 won seems way too high to me. I'd just give them a call. If you need numbers, I can get them for you.

[annie]

Unfortunately, most of the time cats are more expensive than dogs because it's less common to get done....:S

[luvadog]

Unfortunately, most of the time cats are more expensive than dogs because it's less common to get done....:S

Aw, that's too bad. Here in some places, they have free neutering for ferrals. There are a few ferral cats at the convenient store near us and I noticed their ear was snipped like the ones in Korea. Wish more vets would do it because they're good to control the rat population. Too many rats and mice spell trouble.

So just call and see what different vets charge. It's worth a try. Let us know what you find.

[hamish&mandy]

Our dog Bambina (small Cocker Spaniel about 3 years old) has finished her heartworm treatment and has gained the necessary strength to be spayed.

We were quoted 400 000 won from our local vet? To me this seems a little high but really I have no idea. Has anyone had their dog spayed recently and how much did it cost? I wouldn't put it past my vet (not the same one my wife uses surprise surprise) to take me for every cent he can to be honest.

I'm thinking I'll ring around a few other vets tomorrow, just to find out. We live in the Suwon area if that helps.

Any help would be appreciated please.

[Brown]

Compared to Europe and N America spaying/neutering in Korea is very expensive, and almost certainly a factor in perpetuating the over-breeding/abandoned animals problem :mad: 400,000 sounds a tad on the high side even for Korea, but definitely within the normal price range. Even if it's in the normal price range though, if you feel your vet is the kind of person who will take you for every Won he can without regard to the best interests of your dog, I'd find another that inspires a little more trust.

[luvadog]

The vet tech just told me today that spaying here in Tn at their clinic is about $250 including all the bloodwork, etc. and using Halogen gas which is the safest. Totally shocked me since teeth cleaning is more.