Consider Veterinary Costs When Choosing a Pet

The pet-owner contract is an unwritten one yet something all parties innately understand. The pet agrees to provide unconditional love and companionship in exchange for the owner providing for the animal’s health, comfort and well-being. That may sound overly transactional when such an emotional bond exists between many people and their pets, but strip away the warm fuzzies, and that is really what it comes down to.

 

Naturally, that leads any responsible pet owner to consider veterinary care, be it for flea and tick treatments, spay or neuter services, or routine vaccinations on up to much more serious situations. Like all healthcare, vet visits are not cheap and vary widely from treatment to treatment and vet to vet. Where one lives can even have a marked impact on pet healthcare.

 

The good news is Arkansas is ranked among the most affordable states as far as average vet visits, as well as for some of the most common procedures. Earlier this year, Forbes Advisor ranked the Natural State tied with Alabama for second in the nation for average vet costs, according to data gathered by CareCredit. The average trip to the vet in both states for a dog was just $77 and $61 for a cat, trailing Kansas for first place on the list by just $1.

 

Looking at just exam average cost and spay average cost, Arkansas was second behind only Mississippi as most affordable, DailyCalc states. A routine exam averages $47 in Arkansas, and a spay cost $190, which is 15 percent below the national average.

 

However, living in such an affordable state for pet healthcare does not always push choosing a veterinarian to top of mind, say local animal health professionals. Humans who think nothing of retaining a general practitioner and going to annual checkups for their own well-being often do not apply the same thinking to their furry friends, said Dr. Katelyn Lang, founding veterinarian at Healthy Life Pet Clinic in North Little Rock.

 

 

“Annual care is what people miss out on, especially in this area,” she said. “When I moved here, I worked in emergency medicine first, and I met many people who historically didn’t have home veterinarians. They just took their pet in when they were sick.

 

“Having a kind of ‘quarterback’ to manage care for both preventative care and when things go awry really improves the quality of medicine and the trust of the pet parent. I think some pet parents might not have been presented with enough value historically by U.S. veterinarians. That’s something that bred the kind of distrust we are looking to dissolve at Healthy Life.”

 

Lang said something as simple as an annual blood test can go a long way toward a vet’s ability to assess the health of an animal and spot changes that could signal early onset of disease or other problems.

 

“I am a big proponent of annual blood work,” she said. “A dog is technically a senior from age 7 on, so they have the propensity to spend over half their lives as senior patients. Getting annual blood work is really important to detect changes in organ function or metabolic function early so that we can try to do something about it or manage it before it becomes a problem.”

 

As animal experts, vets are also useful in the initial decision as to what breed of pet is right for the prospective owner. Bringing a high-energy dog into a cramped environment such as an apartment is not only a recipe for behavioral problems but can also have an adverse effect on animal health, Lang said.

 

“Doodles are a really good example,” she said. “Almost anytime I saw a doodle in the emergency room, it was on the floor vomiting. Well, the breed was designed to be a working breed, and what would happen was as these high-energy dogs were looking to entertain themselves, and they’d eat stuff they shouldn’t. They’d try to get in the trash or try to find something to keep themselves entertained. Eating things they shouldn’t can become a whole surgical situation.

 

“The same goes for Belgian Malinois and other police dogs. These are really smart dogs that can become neurotic at home and develop some habits that are not good. They approach their jobs aggressively when they have jobs, and if they don’t have a job to direct that really strong instinct towards, it can become aggression.”

 

It is not just the working breeds that can suffer in the wrong home environment. More sedentary dogs can also develop health issues when matched with the wrong owner.

 

“With what we call brachycephalic breeds, or flat-faced dogs like Frenchies and bulldogs, you’re sort of on the other end of the spectrum,” she said. “If you get one of those and are trying to go out in summertime to go have a drink on the patio, those are not good dogs for that — not because they don’t like to go but because the way that they are conformed is not good for hot weather. They can have heat stroke a lot easier.

 

“Plus with dogs that are a little more sedentary in general, owners have to be aware that they don’t overfeed, take it easy on the treats, because they’re not burning that off. Obesity becomes a real problem.”

 

Dr. Brian Peters, owner of Lake Hamilton Animal Hospital and Hot Springs Animal Hospital, said owners need to be aware that treatments are a lifelong reality starting early and continuing throughout an animal’s life.

 

 

“A lot of people get the new puppy, and the breeder says, ‘Hey, I gave them a set of shots. I’ve given them dewormer, and their next set of shots are so and so,’” he said. “A lot of times, I’ll tell people, ‘Hey, bring them in, and let’s get the puppy established.’ In many of those cases, the puppy or the kitten were fed store vaccines, store wormer. I like to get them in and get them established and get them on a vaccine schedule.

 

“We also advocate starting flea and tick preventative as soon as possible, as well. For kittens, we recommend testing them for leukemia and AIDS after they’re 12 weeks of age to establish that they’re negative. We also usually vaccinate kittens and puppies up to 16 weeks of age and then give them a rabies shot.”

 

Peters said not unlike in human medicine, ethical vets stress keeping the patient well versus merely treating them when they are sick. He said any responsible pet owner should be as vigilant about preventative measures as they are about bringing animals in after they show symptoms.

 

“We talk about preventative medicine, especially for older animals,” he said. “I offer wellness exams, which include a set of blood work, and when they’re over 7, it’s called ‘mature wellness exams.’ We put in a couple extra tests that we see a lot of our older dogs get. Just like for people, there are a lot of these precursor cancer tests available, for instance. The only problem is they may test positive for the precursor, but will they ever get cancer? We don’t really know.”

 

Peters said he differs from many practices in that he likes to see patients every six months as opposed to annually. That not only keeps him in regular contact with patients but allows him to pay close attention to seasonal threats, as well.

 

“We do like to see them every six months,” he said. “We are in the belt where there are lots of mosquitoes and heartworm disease, so we recommend checking them for worms and doing a baby heartworm test at six months trying to make sure that we stay ahead. Then we can make sure all our heartworm preventatives are doing what they’re supposed to do.”

 

Today’s veterinarians also have a bevy of new technological and pharmacological tools at their disposal, making diagnosis and treatment easier and longer lasting than ever before. One timely advancement on the preventative medication side has been next-generation flea and tick products.

 

“One of the biggest things that’s been helpful in regard to preventative care is the Bravecto Quantum,” said Dr. Kelsie Penny, partner veterinarian at Briarwood Animal Hospital in Little Rock. “It’s an injection for fleas and ticks, and it lasts a whole year. Compliance is a big thing, and a lot of clients struggle to remember month to month, even me. I have trouble remembering to give my pets something every month on the dot o r every three months on the dot. It’s hard to remember with a lot of things going on in life. Getting one shot that lasts a year is a new thing, and it’s been working really well. Owners really are compliant with it.”

 

 

The new drug arrived just in time as health officials warn of a sharp increase in the number of ticks this year, insects that can transmit serious diseases to animals and humans. One standout statistic in 2026 is the rise in alpha-gal syndrome, an incurable allergy to meat that brings with it symptoms ranging from swollen lips to breathing problems to anaphylactic shock.

 

Humans do not catch AGS from their pets directly, but pets can carry ticks into the proximity of their owners, who then can get bitten. According to state health officials, more than 3,000 suspected cases have thus far been identified in Arkansas.

 

Penny said even though Arkansas is one of the most affordable states in the nation when it comes to veterinary care, cost is still a barrier for many people. For that reason, her clinic offers the VIPet Plans program that lets people pay a monthly fee for bundled services.

 

“It’s important to keep pets vaccinated, and even preventatives, which are super important because of how ticks are just going crazy,” she said. “It also saves people money on exams or rechecks after certain procedures. We want to make sure they’re healing and improving from whatever they had, whether that’s a trauma, a fracture that needed a splint or a urinary tract infection. Some infections need more than one round of treatment. Since ours specifically is a package, the recheck visit is pretty much covered. That’s been a popular and affordable option.”

 

AY pet section sponsored by Koning Canine Academy

 

SEE THE FEATURE BELOW AND IN OUR AUGUST 2026 ISSUE OF AY MAGAZINE