$51.03 And Did They Paint His Nails Too?

29 April 2026

1156

R. Linda:

This is going to sound really stupid, but this happened to me today, and I want to share my pain. As you know, we have one collie dog, whom we love fiercely. He is such a good boy, and he is beautiful, loyal and sweet. Unfortunately, he has dewclaws that curl and can become painful if they work their way into his legs, so we have to keep his claws clipped to prevent this. When he sees the vet for a regular appointment, we usually pay the extra $15.00 to have his nails trimmed. 

Well, yesterday I went online, and the veterinary clinic we take him to had an advert that basically explained the danger of dewclaws and offered nail trims for $15.00. I took a look at our boy's nails, as he has been clicking along the wood floors as he walks, and I presumed he needed a trim. Not only that, but I felt the dewclaws, and they were beginning to curl in. 

Now I could go down to PetSmart or PetCo, but they are both an hour away, and the vet is only five minutes from me abode. I called and made the appointment for today, and off we went, Tonya and I. We get to the clinic, and ever since COVID, you have to wait in the parking lot and call to let the staff know you and your animal are outside. This, I think, is silly, given that it's 2026 and we still have to wait in the car with a drooling, anxiously pacing dog in the back seat. The excuse now is to make sure there is not another dog waiting to devour your dog inside. 

I rang them and told them we had arrived. I wanted to say, "Red Rover, Red Rover, may I please come over?" but I behaved meself and was told to come right ahead. As we get inside, the tech comes out, says hello to the dog and us, and asks Tonya to put him on the scale. I thought, Why do that for a nail trim? But it was done, and we were led into a room. Immediately, we are asked how our boy is and if there are any problems. I am thinking this be turning into a wellness check, which is a whole lot more involved and expensive than a nail trim. I was just about to ask about that when the door opened to the inner sanctum, and in went the dog and tech. 

"Wow, for a minute there I was wondering what kind of an appointment this was," I said to Tonya.

"Yeah, why do they need his weight and to know how he is for a nail trim?"

I shrugged, and not more than two minutes later, our dog came back, noticeably not clicking nails on the floor, and we were given the leash, and goodbyes were said after we were told what a beautiful and good boy he is. Out to the reception area we go, and I get me chequebook out (I know, old-fashioned me, paying with a cheque). I start writing the thing out, and the receptionist says, "That'll be $51.03."

I literally choked and made like I was clearing me throat, and there is Tonya with the dog looking at me and obviously thinking the woman made a mistake and was autistic getting the amount backwards. Can I read her mind or what?

"$51.03, you say?" I croaked.

"Yes," says the receptionist and there I be writing out a cheque for $51.03 because he already had the procedure done. As I write out this astronomical amount, I'm thinking: what if I said, "I don't have that kind of money!" Would they put me in that inner sanctum and make me wash dogs to make up for it? I could just see meself back there. "Here, Mr. O'Sullivan, is a scrub brush, soap and the nozzle to control the amount of spray. You have 51 dogs to wash, at $1.00 a dog. Oh, and don't forget the 3 cents you will have to wash the lizard to complete your debt."

"What's your cheque number?" The receptionist asks me, bringing me back to me shocked reality.

I was so in shock I couldn't read it. I was squinting me eyes like I was an eighty-year-old man, and it was with slow determination me brain was wanting me to slowly start backing away from the counter (chequebook in hand) and silently signalling to Tonya to take the dog and run. But, no, I wrote that amount out in halting letters. I misspelt "veterinary," but I didn't care; me mind was rebelling and going to find a way to sabotage that cheque, or my name isn't Gabriel Alloyious O'Sullivan. 

Reluctantly, I handed it over; she took it, and I held onto it. She smiled and pulled, and I still held it. Her eyes changed like she knew, and she was going to have payment or jump that counter and thrash me for it. I reluctantly let go, and she almost fell off her chair from the force. Sheepishly, I smiled and shuffled me way out behind the expensive dog.

"Tell me what colour nail polish they used on him," I said to Tonya as she put the dog in the backseat.

"I hope they used a finish on his nails so it lasts. Oh, I don't see any polish, Gabe, so I would guess it would be another $51.03 to have that done. OR," she said, "let me look and make sure they did both sides, not just one side, trimmed for $51.03, and if you want the other side, that will be another $51.03."

I didn't find her funny. All the way home, I was in shock, I couldn't get me brain past that amount written on the cheque.

All I could utter was, "Wow," and "What the bloody hell?" and then it struck me, three cents? What were the three cents for?

"Oh, look, Gabe, the invoice says it was $15.00 for the nail trim and $35.03 for the technician. I am going to apply there for a job because $35.03 for 2 minutes' work … well, I could make a fortune in an hour! Why didn't you question that amount?"

"Truly, Ton, I was and still am in such a state of shock I couldn't unfreeze me brain from that amount and get me tongue to work! What are the three cents for? Was that for the pleasantries she graced us with until the other vet tech came to the door to take our dog in for that ultra-expensive trim? Or was it to weigh the dog and ask if we had any concerns? Is that worth tacking on 3 more pence? I mean, I would be happy sitting in their waiting room, weighing and asking after the animals they bring in, given the amount of business they do. I'd get me a piggybank and by the end of the day, I'd be rich in pence they don't make anymore."

"Didn't it say the tech was extra on that advertisement?" She asked.

"No, it just was a $15.00 nail trim." 

"That was insane. We won't do that again." She vowed.

No, no, we won't. I will learn how to trim those damn nails meself if I have to. That was highway robbery at its most blatant. I needed a Jameson straight up, I did. Not just one, but a whole bottle seemed the right thing to do to numb the pain of money being withdrawn from me bank account. Who does such a thing? I ask you. Damn me, but we are all in the wrong employment. I studied journalism, and now I kick meself for not studying nail trimming in dogs, it pays better. Now I feel doubly horrible that I spent money on a university education when I could have spent not nearly the amount I did on a trade school and forget degrees, all I'd need is a certificate of certification, and I could be a bloody millionaire, no make that billionaire, clipping doggy toenails. 

Our boy enjoying his expensive manicure

Gabe

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