How far are you willing to go for your pet?

I'm the crazy pet mother who would jump in the middle of the road to stop my dog from being hit by a car.

With that being said, I also don't have kids. Priorities may change. But right now, I'd do anything for her.

THIS. I have a 2-yr old Italian Greyhound -- right now, since I'm not married and don't have any children, I consider him to be like my child. My life revolves around him and making sure I meet his needs (potty breaks, food, treats, toys, clothes (he has like zero fur and freezes outside in the winter), daily walks, and attention). He is my main priority in life right now -- I plan vacations around him, and my weekend plans are made around his schedule.

I once jumped in front of a school bus full of kids to save him. he ran into the street then got startled by the bus and froze in the middle of the road. I ran like a psycho to get to the street and stood between the bus and my dog to make sure the bus driver saw him/me. she stopped. I scooped up my tiny white dog, and we went on our merry little way. (that's him in my profile picture, btw. LOL).

This might sound crazy, but I take my responsibility as a pet owner seriously. He has feelings and needs just like any other creature does, and since I adopted him it's my job to make sure those needs are met.

If he had a severe illness, a broken bone, or a life-threatening condition, I would do everything in my power to get it fixed/cured. If that means selling a TV or having a garage sale, setting up a donations page, or getting a second job to make ends meet -- that's what I would do. Because just like I wouldn't just "put down" a small child with an illness, I wouldn't put down an animal with an illness.

Now, if there was NO cure or no fix for his condition, that would be another story altogether. But again, I wouldn't just put him down due to finances or inconvenience.

ETA: I have him on a wellness plan through his vet so all of his yearly shots, teeth cleanings, checkups, and even getting him fixed was covered under this plans. This plan also provides medication discounts and discounts for other services as well (ear cleaning, blood work, etc) if he ever needs them. However, after reading all this about pet insurance, I'm thinking I'm going to need to look into this as a "just in case" sort of avenue.

I am with the OP. My dog was diagnosed with Bilateral elbow dysplacia when he was 22 months old. It required surgery and a lot of rehab. Total cost was close to £8000 (around $13000). The insurance only covered 25% of the overall cost.

Oh that's naughty!! :grumble: If you're responsible and you pay for your insurance then they should pay up when you need them to. Glad he's ok now. x

The insurance company was just awful, we had the right level of cover but they disputed pretty much all costs. It took them over 12 weeks to pay up. I would never insure anything with them again, they were absolute sharks!
Now, I do still have insurance for him, but I also have what I call my 'Harvey fund'. I put money into this every month to cover any additional medical costs that may/will come in the future.

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.

Our whole society tends to THROW PETS AWAY. So guess what. Honestly, if the surgery was that expensive, I kind of doubt I would pay for it for my dog. I love both my pups. But there are 1,000's in shelters in my state alone. I might adopt a new animal and care for it if the condition was too uncomfortable for my animal, or if it would decrease their quality of life. I'm fairly certain that my golden will have hip displacement within her lifetime, and typical age of golden's dying these days is between 6 and 8 years old. If she was close to that I would probably cut my losses and save another animal. It doesn't mean I don't love her. It means that I understand our society is one that often throws things away. Living things. I have to make my own decision on how to balance out that negative part of American life. Having been to kill shelters vs no kill shelters, I'd also vote for the kill shelter.

Why? Because in a no kill where everything is run on donations they are often kept in squalor, have fleas, are subject to getting into fights with other dogs they are kenneled with, and often do not have a chance of being adopted. What kind of life is that? It's not.

All the kill shelters have been clean, have several volunteers to walk dogs and do grooming, but get a bad rep because they kill the animals we decide we don't have time for. I don't see any decent way to get people to stop breeding, and indeed, I HATE most liscensed breeders because I can't afford 1200 or more for a dog, but I can pay for food, walk them and get them preventative vet care. I also don't want to deal with the problems that inbreeding causes. Give me a mutt any day and don't try to sell it to me as a "designer hybrid".

This might sound crazy, but I take my responsibility as a pet owner seriously. He has feelings and needs just like any other creature does, and since I adopted him it's my job to make sure those needs are met.