How far are you willing to go for your pet?

twinketta

Do you have pet insurance?

looked into this, it's genetic they don't cover it...........weirdly they also don't cover Nuclear War (yeah they really said that)

Then all you can do is feel what you think is right for your pet. It is a between a hard rock and a hard place, sadly

seltzermint555

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

I love this. Well done. When my elderly dachshund had ongoing health issues we finally found a touchy-feely country vet, no nonsense cheaper approach worked great for a senior pet IMO.

brcossette

I think your toiling with the idea of wether or not it's ethical to spend that kind of money on an animal. Thats a personal decision for everyone and i have some friends who would and some that would not.

MeepleMuppet

Same thing happened to our cat, who was 12. One night his back legs just stopped working. The vet at the clinic couldn't really tell what was wrong though and wanted to do an MRI ($3,000) before surgery. We live in a college town with a vet school, so labs were clamoring to run multitudes of tests on our poor kitty. The vet leveled with us though and said that cats just don't go through surgery as well as dogs do. I was 3 weeks pregnant with our first child, we're both state employees, there was just no way we could afford any of it. So we said goodbye to our sweet kitty the next day. We cried so much the weeks that followed my husband was convinced our baby was turning Goth in the womb. A month later we got another kitty. And that following spring our daughter was born, sans eyeliner. We miss Aslan terribly but life goes on.

QuietBloom

Sorry about your wiener. I had one of those two. Fortunately he had a short back for one, and never had any problems. Have you thought about a wheelchair for him? A lot less expensive than surgery, and he'll never know the difference. Just an idea.


http://www.handicappedpets.com/walkin-wheels-mini-doxies-adogs-under-20-lbs.html

Personally, now that I have children and money is tight, if my pet is in pain and it's expensive to fix, I would choose to euthanize. But that is my personal choice.

ETA: Ha! I just realized the dog in the photo is named Oscar. So was mine.

dawlschic007

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

I love this. Well done. When my elderly dachshund had ongoing health issues we finally found a touchy-feely country vet, no nonsense cheaper approach worked great for a senior pet IMO.

Some of those may help, depending on the condition of the dog. For us, there really wasn't any other option besides the surgery since his condition was so bad. We did try steroids first and water exercises, but none of that helped.

ktsimons

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

This is awesome!

IhScoutII

You might check in your area or state for a vet school...my 1st dog had bad hip problems when it was a pup and I didn't have the money to get it fixed. I found the closest vet school and they did the surgery on the dog for a quarter of what my vet wanted...oh and it was my vet that told me to look into that option....

asimmons221

I'd do anything for my dog, it's a family member rather then a pet to me.

ash8184

I would do (almost) anything for my pets. About a year ago, I rescued a dog from Ft. Worth Animal Control who needs one eye removed and cataract surgery on the other one. It's expensive, but I want to provide the best care I can. He's part of the family.

rbn_held

Our one lab broke her leg back in 2009 and had to have a plate and pins put in it. Cost 5000.00+ to have it done. We did not hesitate at all about the costs, she is part of our family.

ACepero79

I guess I'm in the minority here. I paid a $5k invoice to have the vet perform emergency surgery on my cocker to remove something she shouldn't have eaten that got lodged in her intestines. Considering the cocker was under someone else's supervision when she ate said object, that's for me to deal with them, but having the surgery and paying the bill was not a question in my book.

bloominheck

I just had to put my 10 year old Choc lab (Luke) down. My god I was devastated and still am. He couldnt be saved no matter what. But if 5K would have saved him for another possible 2-5 years. Since they can live to 12-15 years. I have to say, I would have gotten a loan to save him. I loved him that much.:sad:

DaniellaB1995

People shouldn't have pets if they aren't prepared to spend that money on them.

You wouldn't have kids then decide when they need money spent on them that you can't afford them anymore and put them down, so it shouldn't be this way with pets.

marciebrian

I am with the OP, I would do whatever I could if the dog or cat would be able to live a happy life. They are family.

I can't imagine any other decision. I found a cat in my bushes 2 years ago. 4 months ago he needed surgery which was $4,000+. Its true that I am fortunate enough (certainly not rich but not a big spender) that I could handle the cost and maybe the decision was easy because he's only 4 years old. Anyway, it saved his life (he was blocked and couldn't urinate) and I've never regretted 1 second of the cost

marciebrian

I just had to put my 10 year old Choc lab (Luke) down. My god I was devastated and still am. He couldnt be saved no matter what. But if 5K would have saved him for another possible 2-5 years. Since they can live to 12-15 years. I have to say, I would have gotten a loan to save him. I loved him that much.:sad:

very sorry about the loss of your baby Luke.

alpine1994

When I got my dog and cat, my boyfriend and I knew that we are accepting full responsibility for all of their needs. I don't have any children, but I also don't have a ton of money since my student loan payments are astronomical.

My dog broke her leg two months ago and it cost $3500 for surgery. It was a hard hit (and caused us to not be able to travel for a friend's wedding!) but it was never a question in our minds of not paying it and having them amputate or just making her deal with a broken leg.

When I was at an appointment with her, I heard a guy talking to the vet about chemo treatments for his cat. I thought about whether I would do that, and honestly I would. Call me crazy, but I love these animals so much and I would do anything to make sure they live long, happy, healthy lives.

charlie_anne

I am a veterinary surgeon myself and see this dilemma pretty much every day... for me it depends on the potential outcome, if there is a chance an animal can be completely fixed and lead a normal life thereafter, or at least have a great quality of life for a good time after whatever procedure needs doing, then great go all out, but sometimes when the prognosis is hopeless and the animal is being kept alive purely because their owner can't stand to loose them and they are suffering - that sucks...

alpine1994

I just had to put my 10 year old Choc lab (Luke) down. My god I was devastated and still am. He couldnt be saved no matter what. But if 5K would have saved him for another possible 2-5 years. Since they can live to 12-15 years. I have to say, I would have gotten a loan to save him. I loved him that much.:sad:

I'm so sorry about Luke! We had to put down our choc lab (Amber) when she was 12 and I will never, ever forget that day when I was in the vet office and my mom and I were hysterical. I'm getting all teary-eyed just thinking about it! She passed about 6 years ago now and I still have a framed picture of her on my wall and of course a very special place in my heart for her too. I bet Luke and Amber are playing with their tennis balls in doggie heaven right about now.

vanillacoffee

If I could afford it, I would absolutely do so, no question.

Right now I could not. I would look at every option (pet insurance, etc) but in the end, I wouldnt be able to. I think I would be sad for the rest of my life, though =(