Just had another emergency (this time with a different dog!). We are 45 min to an hour away from Hopi and opted to try a closer vet because the dog was in obvious distress.
For those of you complaining about Hopi's prices, this new vet charged more for individual services but skipped key diagnostics and sent me home with really terrible, unclear instructions and a dog that still couldn't breath. If you prefer cost savings to good care, I'm happy to pass her information on to you.
Needless to say, we brought her to Hopi that afternoon. They were calm but definitely displayed a sense of urgency, outlined their plan for treating her, and got her stable again (though it took a couple days, poor little dog). We also called yesterday (Thursday) with some questions about her care that we forgot to ask when we picked her up. Though the person who answered the phone said Dr. Scholten was off until Monday and we said that it was likely our questions weren't urgent and could wait until then, he called back less than an hour later with our answers.
Is vet care expensive? Sure.
... but much of that cost is on diagnostics to be sure they're taking the right course of action - i certainly have a new appreciation for that after seeing the alternative this week (I'm pretty sure that Hopi's diagnostics process is the only reason I still have my little dog).
Plus, pets are basically little creatures we hold hostage for our own enjoyment. Seems like the least we can do is minimize their suffering and try to give them a high quality life