New Expat Experience: Going to The Vet in Mexico

We had a new expat experience: going to the vet in Mexico! With two older dogs, going to the vet is pretty common. We did not expect to be going to the vet within our first month of living in Mexico though!

Roxie and Toffee are our two cocker spaniels. They are both 13 years old this year. While they are doing well for their age, the trip across the US and then down the Baja peninsula was a little stressful.

Within a week or two of being in Mexico, Roxie started experiencing urinary incontinence. Unfortunately, that is part of getting old. We made her an appointment at the local vet to talk about treatment options. Here are the details of our first vet trip in Mexico.

Making the Vet Appointment

Being a part of the expat community in La Paz, we have quickly found a network of vendors and providers that speak some (or fluent) English. We are not fluent in Spanish – but it is something we are working on! Before we even arrived in Mexico, we had asked our neighbor to make the girls an appointment for grooming. Grooming is done at the vet’s office. That is how we found the amazing veterinarians at Dogtor House!

Making the vet appointment was super easy. We called up the vet and asked to speak to someone who spoke English (“¿Hablas inglés? Por favor“).

We were able to make an appointment for the next day in the morning.

Going to the Vet Appointment

Kendall took Roxie to her appointment. When they arrived, there was an intake form he had to fill out (en español). We have had to fill out a lot of forms in Spanish for our temporary residency, so he was able to pretty quickly fill it in.

There was some confusion over Roxie’s name. When the vet read the intake form, she told him that she needed the dog’s name – not the owner’s name. They thought Roxanne was the owner name and not her name LOL!

After clearing that all up, the vet talked about the treatment options for urinary incontinence. Like I said, it is fairly common in older dogs. It was getting bad though and happening during the day which is why we opted for medication. The doctor prescribed her Propalin, which is a super common medication and what we would have been prescribed in Canada.

How Much the Vet in Mexico Costs

So now the part you have been probably waiting for: how much it cost.

Like a lot of things in Mexico, services are significantly cheaper than back home. To get both dogs groomed back in Canada is about $100-$150 (with tip). To get them both groomed in Mexico is $500 MXN or only $30 CAD!!!

The fee for the examination was $300 MXN ($19 CAD). Back home, we would pay around $90 for the vet to look at her.

The medication is pricey though. The cost for the medication was $1420 MXN ($88 CAD). It is a fairly large bottle and she only needs a small dose so hopefully it will last a while. We think that the cost for the prescription is likely similar to what we would pay back home.

The total vet fee was $1720 MXN or approximately $106 CAD ($80 USD).

Overall, going to the vet in Mexico was a great experience. The vet’s at Dogtor House are knowledgeable and speak English very well. As well, the grooming services are amazing and the price is right.

I would definitely recommend taking Fido to the vet in Mexico.

Have you had to take your dog to the vet in Mexico? What was it like? Share your experience below.

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