Another dog/pet topic
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive July 2006:
Another dog/pet topic
I am just asking what you all think, this is not anyway meant to be a debate.
I think for us who own pets, we know it comes with a financial responsibility. I am not just talking about the food/yrly vet bills, flea stuff, heartworm stuff. I think those things are just a "given" when you get a pet(dog/cat). I would "think" that most people understand that pets are like people, they get sick. Sometimes vet bills get expensive, and I know most of us can understand that. When you all got your dogs/cats, werent you willing to go that extra mile even if your pet had some illness that cost a lot of money? Isn't that what being a responsible pet owner is about? I know some of us have fallen on hard times with money.
This reason for this post is because of another board I visit. A girl said that her dog lives with her father in law because she couldnt have the dog where she lives. Ok, she posts that her dog is dying, they think it may be parvo, but does not know . Her father in law or herself have no money to take the dog to the vet. So she said her dog is dying in the backyard at her father in laws house, and she does not have gas money to go be with it... Im sorry I do not understand.
Maybe Im the heartless one. I always "thought" Parvo could be prevented, maybe I am wrong.
Maybe their dog does not have Parvo, but they wont take it to the vet because she claims nobody has money...
Yet this poor dog is going to die in the backyard because of not responsible pet owners.
I know with pets sometimes you have to weigh the quality of life and all that stuff. I know when dogs get older, some people don't want to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a pet when the dogs life is expectancy is short.
In the case I have mentioned this is not an old dog.
I know some people do not get pets at all because of the "what ifs" in a pets life.
Please, I am not looking for a debate. I was just wondering if you all pet owners expect these sort of things to happen and expect to have unexpected vet bills, which could be high.
I know that bills come with a pet, but for me I have a dog for the kids, she isn't really part of the family. I care for her, but since I have dealt with several family member deaths, for me I just can't even compare that. So for me there is a limit in what I will spend. I don't know what that is, but it isn't high. She gets her shots, takes her heartworms med (like those help...my dog was just dx with worms). I am not doing the hw treatment though. Even chose not to do the xrays. It didn't make sense to spend 200 dollars to see how bad the damage was, when I am not willing to spend the 2000 it will take.
I know this sound heartless. But my mother had ms, we couldn't pay our bills. She didn't have med insurance. There came a time we were forced to decide which meds she could or couldn't take based on money. We turned down an experiemental treatment that cost 25K, because we just didn't have the money. 2 years later we did the treatment. We did all think what if we had done it earlier (it stops progression), but ya know what there were side effects too, so maybe she would have died earlier.
Sometimes you have to weigh all things, the cost, effectiveness of treatment, and other financial choices. You can't have it all, and all is very different for each of us.
So yes I expect some unexpected vet bills, but we may choose not to do all procedures.
I have lost both people and pets and for me, they're the same. Our pets are truly members of the family. I think that when you take on the responsibility of a pet, you're also possibly taking on some large medical bills. Whether you choose to pay them or not should depend on what your current financial situation is. I *do* think there's a limit to pet bills, because you can't affect your whole family to save a pet (IMO). We have dug deep for a couple of pet bills, but we still had an upper limit and thank goodness it never got to that.
I know what you mean Jackie...I feel so sorry for that puppy in the backyard. Parvo is preventable with shots. LOTS of people get pets and never even consider getting them shots or the proper care in general. My parents gets pets, get the initial puppy shots, and they never see the vet again. They have multiple health issues (although minor) and it drives me CRAZY as a dog lover.
Again, I think you're taking on the responsibility as the pet owner, but it really depends on your financial situation and how far you can go. If we're talking basics (like it sounds for this girl and her dog), then that's a terrible injustice to the pet and it should have never been taken on.
I have to agree with Kaye on this one. My dog is just that a dog even though I love her. I get her shots, feed her and generally take care of her but if something were to go terribly wrong I'd draw the line.
When caring for a pet becomes a hardship for my family, I need to remember my priorities.
I feel bad for this dog as it sounds like this girl was not even willing to do the bare basics that could have prevented this. Now when it is this bad she doesn't even have the gas money to go and be with it. Sounds to me like she is just looking for someone to be in on her pity party.
My dog and cat are definate members of our family.I've been up with my dog in the middle of the night with an ear infection crying with him.I love my dog more than some members of my family.I will pay any price within range/budget and depending on the illness.He is really just like one of the kids.I too feel sorry for the dog dying in the backyard,its not fair.((Poor Pooch))
Sherri - You put it better than I did! I have been so worried about a pet before that I could feel my heart breaking. LITERALLY, we've left our dogs when we would travel (before kids) and the tears would be rolling as we drove away. No, now that we have a child, they ARE lower on the priority list, but still mean everything to us.
One of my Jacks needed a leg surgery at Christmas time for around $700. We didn't like it, but it wasn't going to put a hardship on us so it wasn't even a question. Quite frankly, there is just way too much 0% financing out there to not finance a surgery if we had to and that was feasible for us.
I know sooooo many people disagree with our point of view, and I understand that. I think you just have to be a real dog (pet) lover to understand, and some people just aren't.  If we were on the skids (and thankfully we've always been fairly comfortable), it would break my heart to have to put my pet down because I couldn't afford it, but we would. That would be the only way that would ever happen though.
Deanna-I too have cried when leaving my furbabies for vacation.I will also pay for any kind of surgery as long as it is a not an ongoing thing.If its fixable we'll pay it.If it's just to prolong life for a little time and to provide comfort I'd have alot of soul searching to do.I love them to death but I wouldn't keep them going out of my own selfish feelings.I had to put a 23yr old cat down once and it was one the hardest things I ever had to do.I just hope when my pets time is up they just fall asleep.
Jackie, my first and second take on this is that it might be a scam. I cannot imagine being so broke that you don't have $10 for gas to drive to where the dog is.
And if you take a sick dog to an animal shelter, tell them the dog is sick, and that you can't afford the fee for having it euthanized, they will euthanize the dog. And, how does she know it's Parvo, without a vet seeing the dog? I talked with Scott, and maybe you could make a diagnosis by doing some internet research, or if you have previously had an animal with Parvo, but just to say it's Parvo - I don't know.
You know, it's next to impossible to get a dog from a shelter, breeder or pet store that hasn't had the Parvo vaccine, which, Scott says, is a $10 shot (plus the office visit).
The whole thing sounds very phony to me.
I do entirely agree with those who have posted about responsibility to our pets, and I have posted on this topic several times. I will say, Sherri, that if you are lucky your pets will just fall asleep. But if you have a pet that is in pain and will remain in pain as long as it's alive, then you have some hard choices to make. I've made that choice many times. It doesn't get any easier, even knowing I am doing the right thing.
And, Sherri, I completely understand not keeping an animal going out of "selfish" feelings. When my mom was alive, one of the 7 cats she brought with her had a chronic mouth infection. He was about 12-14 years old. We tried all kinds of things, including having all of his teeth extracted. He would be fine for about 6 weeks after a steroid injection, but could only have a shot every 60 days, and the last two weeks before he could have another shot he would be absolutely miserable and his mouth hurt so much he could hardly eat. But mom refused to have him put down, because he had been my dad's cat, dad had died, and this cat was her last tie with my dad. I was very unhappy with her about it but it wasn't my decision to make. After she died, when the last shot wore off and the cat started having pain again, I had him put to sleep.
Ginny-I got 2 kittens when I was 8yrs old.They were very personable kittys,followed me everywhere.When I was 4mths pregnant with my DD,I woke up one morning and found my male cat in his bed,he went peacefully.My female started to decline,she missed her buddy.I so badly wanted her to me my 1st child.I had her since I was 8 and she was my constant companion for so many years, she went through many stages of my life with me.Two weeks before I was due she got really sick.I worked in a pharmacy where the pharmacist gave me some amoxicillian to keep her going until she could meet Katie.She met her and seemed to get better.When Katie was 6 weeks old,I had no choice but to put her down.It was very difficult desicion for me.Katie now has a kitty named Zoe and she has the same kind of mannerism as the cat I had.Its nice to watch the 2 of them together and I'm hoping they have a long lasting friendship.
IF this girl is as POOR as she says, all she has to do is call the animal control department in whatever city the dog is in, and they will come and pick him up and take him to a shelter. They will treat him (sometimes Parvo responds to antibiotics) and find him a new home if she will surrender him, or gently euthanize him. I watch "Animal Cops" on Animal Planet all the time. There is NO excuse for an animal to suffer like that. It makes me extremely ANGRY.
And yes, to me, animals are family members, and I would and HAVE paid for extreme measures even when the outcome was hopeless, unless the animal was in pain, and then I had them euthanized. However, DH or I have always held and soothed our pets as they are helped out of this world. So have my adult kids, with their pets. Then we either bury them on our property, or pay for a private creamtion.
Having a pet is a commitment, just like a child. They are totally dependent on us, and we owe them the best resources that we can provide.
* Oh, and people who get a dog and chain him in the back yard...that is not a pet. That's just plain cruelty. IMO!
To me this is animal cruelty. I have paid a lot of money over the years for my own animals and for various strays. I think that accepting a pet into your home means taking on the cost of care whether that be food or medical care.
Hol--I agree about chaining a dog. I do not understand leaving dogs outside.
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