If your pet was ill... - Page 3

[zoebugsmom]

Originally Posted by KayleeZoo

For us, it isn't a certain amount of money, but would depend on the circumstance and diagnosis. I would not spend thousands of dollars on chemo and radiation, for example, if the oncologist told us (with pathological backing) that the odds weren't great. I've seen too much of that to do it to my pets and I feel very strongly about quality of life vs. number of days lived.

For surgery that had good odds, I'd put it on a CC, regardless of the amount, and hope for the best. Same with any other illness that we had a reasonable chance of curing. Luckily I have some inside knowledge and several friends who are vets in various specialties; the extra info and assistance makes a difference sometimes in type of care and also in how frank they are about probable outcomes.

Basically, we go into pet ownership knowing that it's going to be ungodly expensive. They cost what they cost. They depend on us to care for them. And it's our responsibility to do that.

Same here. A few months back we spent $1500 on diagnosis, surgery and meds for our 12 yo dog. She's been with me for 11 years and there's no way I'd put her down just because I wasn't willing to pay for her health care with a high chance of a good outcome. It would have been a betrayal to her loyalty all these years. If you're not willing to pay for your pets' care, you shouldn't have pets. Period.

[angie7]

Considering I just spent $3,500 on my 6 year old Great Dane (considered a senior in the breed since the average life span is 7) in the last 4 months and I am at my limit. She had bloat with full torsion the first time and bloat with partial torsion the second time. I can't save her life when it happens again. It's a waiting game now

[Porcelain Interior]

I suppose your poll means a sudden medical situation?

I just went through emergency eye surgery for my pug from a freak accident. It costed over $1300 amazingly.

I had to use a credit card. I faced the moment of "pay or put her to sleep?" and it just seemed sick to put her down so we coughed up the money.

I can't answer the poll, but I can say if my pet ended up with something that would cost major money for the rest of their life we'd most likely put the pet down, if it was a one time major expense (not a serious ongoing thing) we'd try to find a way to pay it.

But having said all that- if we couldn't get the credit to pay for the bill we'd not be able to pay.

So the moral I guess is start a pet savings account. And that is exactly what I've done.

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by ZenMamaJen

I used to feel this way...and then I had kids and had to actually worry about where our money goes.

I can completely understand that perspective...unexpected things happen with kids. When you have children you have to think about them first...health and safety issues at the forefront. And we all know unexpected expenses happen with children!

And I understand in these economic times things are uncertain. And, MOST people don't seem to have an emergency fund for their family, let alone their pet. I know so many people now who are living paycheck to paycheck (the other day I was listening to NPR and they quoted some research that 51% of the population lived paycheck to paycheck actually ). They're really only one illness/unexpected expense from being out on the street.

And, sure, people here can say 'well they shouldn't have adopted the animal' etc. But the vast majority of them took in rescues/strays or animals that were from shelters. These aren't people who spent thousands on purebreds/pedigreed animals.

I know some of the cat breeders I work with will place their retired animals in homes where people can afford the general maintenance costs surrounding a pet...but could not afford any serious emergencies. I've talked to them about it, and it seems like they realize the extreme cost of veterinary care and care mainly about the quality of the animals life. And, they're careful to place in homes where the people can afford good quality food, will not declaw and the pet will be indoor only. Which for cats, just being indoors prevents so much!

[Jilian]

Originally Posted by LittleRockstar

Maybe this answers your question -- Accepting an animal into our family means that we will provide for that animal to the best of our abilities, which sometimes includes expensive medical care. The cost is not a factor, the quality of life for the animal is a huge factor. We are not wealthy. I'm a SAHM and DH is a teacher.

Perfectly said. I couldn't agree more.

[FancyD]

Originally Posted by zoebugsmom

If you're not willing to pay for your pets' care, you shouldn't have pets. Period.

People said they had a limit on what they would/could pay. Not that they wouldn't treat any illness or injury. Plus, financial circumstances change, and to believe otherwise is the height of priviledge.

I guess all the animal lovers who manage to stay relatively wealthy throughout economic crises are better owners than those other suckers.

[Ola_]

For me it would totally depend on what the quality of life for the dog would be after the treatment. If it was good, I probably would spend as much as was needed to do it, using savings and credit cards as necessary. I suppose there would be an upper limit on the amount, but it's hard to say how much in a hypothetical situation. If the outcome of the treatment was not expected to be good, we would probably choose to keep the pet comfortable as long as possible instead.

I totally don't understand the disposable "dog is just a dog" mindset. In adopting a pet you take responsibility for its health and well-being. It's not something I take lightly and I hope to teach my children the same thing.

[SammyOD]

Interesting timing on the question. Our 13 year old Lab is not doing so hot. In the past, we have probably spent who knows how many thousands of dollars on surgeries (jumped out of moving car, deep cut to his knee, exploratory surgery) and other random stuff. He was truly an expensive dog. Fast forward to now, we have two small children, one that we just adopted from Thailand (many expenses paid out) and a tanking economy. Dh's job is definitely being threatened by the housing market so we're not spending a dime preparing for a layoff in the near future.

With that being said, our lab is not doing so hot. Vet recommends surgery and a biopsy to determine what is going on. Surgery is $1000+. If it comes back cancer, we're just not financially capable to do chemo/radiation. We're a one income family feeding 4 plus the hound. Needless to say, we haven't done the surgery. He's not in pain, he eats, drinks and seems fine for a 13 yr old dog. I'm with the pp, before kids totally different. But now? There is no way we can lay out that kind of money during shaky economical times with 2 small children to feed & house. I love my dog but my children come first.

[Nikki Christina]

Originally Posted by avengingophelia

Financial well-being. Financial. Like, racking up debt.

We have VPI for the dogs. It pays for itself plus some so far, and that's without any major emergencies. The cats are not insured, but will be when they get a bit older.

Originally Posted by avengingophelia

When Chance was having surgeries for bloat, they had us sign off on everything, due to costs. But they never said "how are you going to pay for this?" We just had a bill at the end. Even if I wouldn't have had the credit to pay that bill, I would have run it up. Let them send collections. His life was on the line.

financial well being can very much affect your childs well being

I would never put it on credit, if I couldnt work out a plan & pay it off reasonably quick, I would have the animal put down


our dog got sick recently.. it cost us $275 or so .. I paid part that day & the rest over 3 predated checks.
that month I had to cut back on spending.. we arent rich.
1 of those places I had to cut back was the grocery. short term it was fine. but long term. my children need healthy foods & those arent all that cheep

I would not destroy my credit over it!
I need a safe car to get my kids around, they dont give those away .
I need a place to live. they dont give those away either.
I have both now , but my vans transmission could go out again (did a year ago & good thing I had good credit cause i didnt have $1800 laying around) .
I could find out my husband my cheating on me & Id need a place to live (maybe. he might leave. hypothetical situation) & they check credit for anything thats not roach infected around here.

if you put your kids financial well being at stake you are risking their physical well being also imo


I voted $500-$1000 . but I debated between that & $100-$500 cause i lean more towards the $500 side of that

[battymama]

Well if i had the money anything! but realistically probally 2000 would be our limit, and that would take us a long long time to pay off and a lot of sacrifice. We would have to think of our other animals too, if it was more then that then we couldnt afford to feed them or for their care, and we would be really stuffed for even food/rent.

[Peony]

We've paid $3000. for one of our dogs once. It was not the best of times, DD1 was a couple weeks old, her birth was completely out of pocket and then the dog goes and swallows part of a dog toy that got lodged in his intestines. By the time we realized something was wrong, he was really ill. I would pay that much again if it came to it, he is part of the family as well. Before our other dog died suddenly two years ago, I had spent over 1000.00 in two weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with him, DD2 was born a week later. I couldn't imagine putting both of them down during those times. We didn't have the cash either, it went on credit, just like DD1's therapy is going on it now. It is the same to me, children and animals, I am responsible for their well being.

[Scribe]

Originally Posted by Peony

it is the same to me, children and animals, I am responsible for their well being.

This is my bottom line position as well.

[lovebug]

I voted “other” it would really depend on the issue, life span if treatment was a success, and % of success rate of treatment. Being that my pet right now are my kids I would do anything to save them.

[tayndrewsmama]

We spent almost $3,000 for surgery on a broken leg earlier this year. We have no issues with that, but if it were some illness that may or may not return or the procedure would just be prolonging the inevitable, we probably wouldn't do it. My parents recently had a cat put down. The other option was to administer meds with needle three times a day at a cost of about $300 a month for the rest of the cat's life. I would have put the cat down too, as hard as it may be.

We also used CareCredit. 0% interest for six months in our situation. You can get 0% for up two years I believe depending on the provider and the dollar amount. We just made sure it was completely paid in that timeframe.

[laoxinat]

I spent my last 1800 bucks for my dog's urethotomy (rerouting of the urethra so bladder stones bypass the narrow bits), BUT at this point, I might not have a choice. If a vet wanted to be so kind as to let me pay over time, I would spend plenty. But things do change. 2 years ago my business was grossing 100k a year; now, not so much. And I have zero credit. And the time I spent my last 1800 bucks? It was because the 'credit' offered was at like, 18% and could rise for any, or no, reason. If it was between feeding my kids and treating the dog? Kids come first. Though, IRL, for me, it rarely actually comes down to having to choose. ( I can be totes resourceful)

[ChattyCat]

I voted 1K-2K, but honestly we could afford more, but I don't know that we'd spend it. Our 10 yo golden retriever has been with me longer than I've known my dh, and I already spend quite a bit on him monthly to keep him comfortable and healthy. I'd probably spend up to 2K with little question. More than that, and he'd have to have a great prognosis after the procedure. It's not that I don't love him, but there is a limit to what I will do for him, as he probably only has a few years left anyway. I wouldn't want to just prolong his suffering.

[majazama]

I WOULD NOT EVER go into debt for an animal. Jesus. What about if you totally ruin your credit rating and you can never buy a home for yourself and children? Well, I guess if you saved rover, then it was worth it.

eta: if I had oodles of money, sure, I'd pay up, but not in the financial position I'm in now.

[BlueStateMama]

A single, "fixable" event we'd pay for. My 14 year old cat recently had some sort of weird allergic reaction (to what, we still don't know) and it cost us about $1200 at the emergency vet (tests to figure out what was going on, treatment, etc.) She was fine and out the next day. We've also handled UTIs with another (now controlled by diet, thank goodness!)

But cancer and the like? Sorry, no chemo for my cats. I'll keep them for as long as they're not in pain/decent quality of life, but no multiple thousands on them.

I do yearly rabies shots at the SPCA clinic and spay/neuter - but no dental cleanings under general for my cats or $150 yearly physicals. I love my cats and they live like kings, but my family has financial limits and our retirement and college accounts, mortgage and insurance payments (car, life and homeowners) have to come first.

ETA: All of my cats (4) are rescues. One I even found in an alley in Mexico and brought home. I figure their quality of life is excellent, all things considered. Heck, they already get better health care, even at the relatively minimal level, than a lot of people.

[texaspeach]

I don't think I can put a price on it. My pets are part of my family, and I'd do what ever I could to make sure a treatable condition was treated (assuming a good quality of life and otherwise healthy animal), no matter the cost. I can't put a number to the amount I'd be willing to spend, I think I'd have to be in the situation. There are so many other factors that go into it. If one of the cats needed a $6000 surgery and I had it sitting around not allocated for anything, I'd spend it. If I was having a hard time making ends meet, I would borrow money from family. I'd try to figure out a way to pay for it. For a one time, treatable event, euthanasia is not something I would consider until I'd exhausted all other financial options.

When we were dealing with urinary crystals, I think we ended up spending close to $2500. That was very, very hard for us - we were so broke when it happened - we really couldn't afford that, but we couldn't stand to do nothing/euthanize for a treatable condition.

We are better prepared to handle a pet emergency now, but if we had to, we'd borrow money. We also have a good relationship with our vet, so hopefully we could come to an agreement about payments.

[GooeyRN]

I would not pay for chemo/radiation, major trauma where they are not likely to live, etc. I don't think I would pay more than $1,000-$2,000 if the outcome was likely to be good.