Yes I believe no matter what happens to your pet at the vet you are still expected to pay. Some vets give a minimal ‘sympathy’ discount…

She’ll be fine!Don’t worry!!

Yes, don’t worry. But if you do have this question it would probably be best to ask the vet their policy on this.

It can vary from situation to situation and vet to vet and it can depend on if the surgery was done or not….for example, if the pet had complications when undergoing the anesthesia during the prep time of shaving the belly, and the sterile prep- you would not be charged as they surgery was not done yet- but there might be some charges for what was done, initial drugs administered, etc.  Also I think that if you do the recommended preanesthetic bloodwork to determine that there is no obvious underlying health problem that would not be advisable to undergo surgery- that might make a difference too. 

It is not something that happens often- but it can happen.  And depending on your vet and how determined they are to find the cause that might determine what their decision is.  If for no obvious reason a pet dies under anethesia, at our clinic, our doctor will get the owners permission for a necropsy (done by a lab) to determine cause of death.  The vets I work with are usually very thorough and really, really want to know why a pet died for no apparent reason and the clinic will pay the cost of the necropsy usually.

But this happens so rarely…that while it is a normal response to be nervous about surgery…don’t let it affect your decision to spay/neuter in any way.  Because you are doing it for the health of your pet and at some time in its life your pet is likely to undergo anesthesia for something else, whether it is dental work, growth removal, etc.  As long as you are choosing a good vet and doing everything possible to prevent any potential problems, that is all you really can do.  Just remember that you are doing the best possible thing by spaying your bunny BEFORE any problems occur…..emergency spays because of uterine infection is not only more costly but a lot riskier and harder on the pet.

You know (and so do all the other BB’rs) that you love your bunnies dearly and only wish the best for them and you base your decisions on that, and that is all anyone can ever really do.

I was worried while Cotton was having surgery….but the relief of having it done overshadowed the worry I went thru.

*standing ovation for KatnipCrzy!*

you put that very eloquently!

i was nervous at first about Mead’s spay, but her hormones were *so insane* towards the end, that being excited and relieved to have it done, was surpassing the nervousness and worry…