One thing I've noticed with modern day veterinary medicine is they have become masters of leveraging human emotion and financial reserves. They're in the profession more for the love of money than the animals in some cases.
What really opened my eyes to this is a vet in the farming community of NE Oregon by the family ranch. We took our 14 year old lab in there once because he wasn't acting right. They treated him like a king, did a thorough exam including quick blood work on site, filled a prescription one site included pill-pockets. We went to the counter to pay (expecting at least a few hundred) and the bill was $79.
Surgery is a little different, but I've seen rates to remove a quite common bowel obstruction vary From $900-$2500. Our "new" vet wanted $1,150 to neuter our two males (65 & 120 lbs) without prosthetic implants which I would imagine are priced like cubic zirconium.
Thus, you might check rates with a rural vet if it's not too inconvenient. If it is, it's all negotiable, put it out for bid and let them know you're doing it and see what happens.
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