How far are you willing to go for your pet?

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  • ProudMomNY
    ProudMomNY Posts: 22
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    Why not have a fund raising event. Seriously my nephew did for his dog and raised over 1000.00. You could buy one of those doggie wheelie thingies that attaches to his hind end and he can walk around and use the doggie diapers too. Until you can save up the money for surgery. If he's not in pain it's just a logistic issue for him at htis point. Go to handicappedpets.com and look up Walkin' Wheels.
  • aj7x
    aj7x Posts: 84 Member
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    I had to put my cat down about a year and a half ago, granted he was 17 years old. I had him since I was 5. In the last couple years of this life he started to have a HUGE appetite. He would eat everything and anything, only the problem was that he keep loosing a lot of weight. We did a lot of tests on him to figure out the problem but everything came back negative. Eventually we had to decide to stop spending money and decided to end his suffering. It was my decision and the hardest thing I ever did in my life. They told me I could go into another room so I didn't have to watch but I wanted to be there for him. I held him in my arms as they injected him and he just snuggled into my elbow and died peacefully. I still miss him and cry for him from time to time. :(
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It would really depend on the surgery, what could go wrong, what the pet's life will be afterwards etc... We had a cat who was 20 and had renal failure and needed injections 3 times a week... We stopped after 6 months because it was stressing him out and making him miserable, and we had to put him to sleep a couple months later... but he was 21.

    My current cat is my 'heart cat', if there's such a thing, I got her when I lived in Paris on my own and she's come with me to the US and moved 5 times total. She's going to be 13 this year. I probably wouldn't spend thousands if the prognostic wasn't 100% good. It would break my heart but when they're getting older, you have to figure out their quality of life too, and stressing out over pills and injections or surgery recovery when she probably only has a few years left anyway just doesn't seem like a great life (most of my cats died at 14/15).

    It really sucks when they get old though. So heartbreaking to have to put them to sleep, then we jump right back with another...
  • thelaurameister
    thelaurameister Posts: 689 Member
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    It really all varies from person to person, as I've read so far.

    Me? If I had the money, I would do it in a heart beat, but I don't have that kind of money. I love my kitties so much and there isn't much I wouldn't do to save them if (*knock on wood*) anything happened to them. Some people would claim that you should not own pets if you cannot afford to care for them in the worst case scenario. But all the same, there's something to be said when you're providing them with a loving home that isn't on the streets. Not paing $5,000 for a surgery like that isn't not loving or caring for your pet, it's just a matter of taking care of business. If you spend that money on the surgery instead of your mortgage payment, then both you AND your pet would be homeless. It's all apart of using your better judgement.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    My cat was taken to a vet by her previous owner to be put down because the owner let her get a flea infestation. she wanted to kill her because she had fleas! the vet sneaked and let her live,

    *smh* Really?! That is ridiculous... sounds like a dirty person that didn't want to clean things up... under normal circumstances cats don't typically get fleas because they clean themselves all. the. time.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
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    It's your choice if you don't want kids and/or can't have kids, but don't place an animals life above a human.

    That's your opinion, but I place my dog before quite a few humans! :drinker:

    Um yea I am gonna have to say it depends on the human, there are people out there I would put a gnat's life above
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
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    When our old dog had cancer we paid a lot of money to get her treatments for it. We probably extended her life maybe 6 more months to a year before we stopped because it just wasn't working.

    With our current dog as much as we love him I doubt we would do that again.

    The funny part is that where we took her for her treatments it was in a really upper class area of the state where people have purebreds and designer dogs. When asked what breed ours was (she was a mix) my husband said. "D-A-W-G. Dawg." :laugh: They put that down on her paperwork for her breed too.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    My cat was taken to a vet by her previous owner to be put down because the owner let her get a flea infestation. she wanted to kill her because she had fleas! the vet sneaked and let her live,

    *smh* Really?! That is ridiculous... sounds like a dirty person that didn't want to clean things up... under normal circumstances cats don't typically get fleas because they clean themselves all. the. time.
    Cats gets fleas all the time if they go outside, they usually catch them from other cats.

    It only take a deflea once per month, a little drop of "de-flea" on the back of their necks and all will be well.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    My cat was taken to a vet by her previous owner to be put down because the owner let her get a flea infestation. she wanted to kill her because she had fleas! the vet sneaked and let her live,

    *smh* Really?! That is ridiculous... sounds like a dirty person that didn't want to clean things up... under normal circumstances cats don't typically get fleas because they clean themselves all. the. time.
    Cats gets fleas all the time if they go outside, they usually catch them from other cats.

    It only take a deflea once per month, a little drop of "de-flea" on the back of their necks and all will be well.

    True.... I have inside cats and so far they have only had fleas once. But even our barn cats didn't have fleas all that often. Or at least it didn't seem like they had fleas all that often.
  • Amber82479
    Amber82479 Posts: 629 Member
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    I would spend every cent I have to my name to save my pet if she needed it and I have more than once in the 9 amazing years we've had with her. And if I didn't have enough money, I'd take a loan. I committed to take care of her just like I would a family member or child.
  • shierrarobin
    shierrarobin Posts: 181
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    Honestly, it depends on the situation. If I had to choose between paying for an expensive surgery for my kitty cat or paying the rent and making sure my family is okay, I would have to choose my family. If, however, I had the money to spare, of course I would help my kitties.
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
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    It all depends on your financial situation. Last year my kitty decided she didn't want to eat and kept throwing up and didn't wanna drink water. I got so scared and took her to the vet whether I had the money or not. I don't consider her a "pet", I consider her a part of my family and would do anything to make her life liveable.
  • Saucy_lil_Minx
    Saucy_lil_Minx Posts: 3,302 Member
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    The way I was raised was, if you decided to own a pet, then your are responsible for that pet till their end of days. My first dog Warlock is a good example of how far I will go for my animals. He fell downstairs as a puppy. He broke his leg, and had to stay in a cast. Then, I had a car accident with him in the car, broke toes on the same foot. Another cast. Got a hold of Rat Poison down in the storm drain next to my house. My vet kindly gave him a blood transfusion from his own dog to save his life. Several years later hit by a car. Had a plate put in hip. He had to have his ear cauterized a few times (Labs will sometime shake there head too hard and bust blood-vessels filling there ear with blood like a pillow). Then at the ripe old age of 15 he had a tumor pushing on his intestines. I was willing to do the surgery to remove it, but the vet said he had 1% chance of pulling through the anesthesia. He was already so much older than a lot of 98 lb. Labs. I said Goodbye to my companion, and put him to sleep. However not treating him was NEVER an option. They are family!
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    It's your choice if you don't want kids and/or can't have kids, but don't place an animals life above a human.

    That's your opinion, but I place my dog before quite a few humans! :drinker:

    haha! I agree, I find myself often more fond of animals than humans. We're an arrogant destructive bunch. :-)
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
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    Hello there,
    So recently I had a situation where my dachshund (5 years old) slipped a disc and became paralyzed from the waist down making surgery his only real chance to walk again. I know everyone is different and has different opinions on what they would do for their sick or injured pet. For me there was no question about the money(it was less than $5000) To have him be able to walk again and pee on his own. Keep in mind these dogs are happy and healthy and can live perfectly happy lives, as any person in a wheelchair can. Just more work for you and there is really no reason to euthanize, most vets dont' consider that an option, unless there is pain or suffering. So what's your limit, how far will you go? My husbands friend was raised on a farm and said you can buy a lot of dogs with that money, I of course feel that Dexter is only 5 and I certainly can't just go out and get another Dexter. I dont' care much for money and would much rather have my happiness from my dog, can't really snuggle up to the cash. So what kind of pet owner are you?

    also I was very surprised to find out that most of the people I talked to that have money and I do mean HAVE money, wouldn't really spend much to save/help their pet.

    I would spend the money on the surgery.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
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    It's your choice if you don't want kids and/or can't have kids, but don't place an animals life above a human.

    That's your opinion, but I place my dog before quite a few humans! :drinker:

    haha! I agree, I find myself often more fond of animals than humans. We're an arrogant destructive bunch. :-)

    You know I have to say I find it so annoying when people spout this "Don't put an animals life above a humans"
    That is BS what makes humans so much more important, in the grand scheme everything lives and everything dies equally. I have seen time and time again people in this world that weren't worth the paper their birth certificate was printed on.
    So it's situational, I won't put an animals life above a good person, but I'll be damned if I won't put an animals life above a worthless piece of *kitten* one.
  • bloominheck
    bloominheck Posts: 869 Member
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    My friend spent $7,500 for surgery on a parrot. That is way too much for a stupid damn bird.

    Well a couple factors for me here, how old is the parrot? They live a very long time. Also it's a parrot, a lot more personality and therefore usually more emotional attachment than a finch for example. Also did she have the $7500 or most of it to spend, if she had it she can spend it however she wants, people spend that kind of money on a lavish vacation that lasts only 3 weeks, that bird can last 20 years or more.

    The larger parrots can live much longer than 20 years. My cockatiel died last year and I had him for 16 years. Great little guy!
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
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    When I brought Zen (profile pic) and Fade home, I promised them the very best lives I could give them. I take that responsibility seriously. If $5000 meant they could continue happy, healthy lives, that's fine. If you can't afford a pet, don't get one.

    My pet peeve (pun intended) when I worked in a large, corporate pet store was owners who wanted a pet, but didn't bother to make sure that animal had a good life. Hamsters in tiny cages, fish in too-small tanks, lizards dying for lack of proper heat/light. And vet care? Forget it. They really want that animal (or their little demon-spawn does) but they don't want to care for it.
  • tmm_0127
    tmm_0127 Posts: 545 Member
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    I would do whatever it took to keep my bulldog healthy and happy, she's like my child.
  • bloominheck
    bloominheck Posts: 869 Member
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    Here she is... :flowerforyou:

    2wfo8lt.jpg

    You can tell by her eyes she is a sweetie! :heart:

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