Lucky! Our ancient Maltese has a heart murmur and was referred to, I kid you not, a canine cardiologist. The estimate started at $10K and went up from there.

The affected teeth got loose. We pulled them. The dog is happy and healthy. I would have liked for a professional to have done that for us in a more controlled and methodical manner, but there's no way I could justify spending at least ten thousand freaking dollars on a 13 year old dog who was at significant risk of dying on the table.

That sounds like a "we're not in the teeth cleaning business; go away!" price.

I love my dog and spend pretty freely on him, but no way is he getting an $800 teeth cleaning. At that point, you might as well locate your practice on the airport and cater only to people who fly their dog in on a private jet.

Please. Those folks have a canine dental hygienist on staff. They don't go to walk in clinics.