Just curius b/c me and my husband have spent a lot of time and money caring for our two cats. We love them like our children (as I know everyone on here does). However, when I talk to people (some who are even pet owners themselves) they are are taken back by what we do for them.
Oli, our little girl, got really sick and spent a month in the hospital last year. We spent a small fortune plus went into the city everyday to visit her. People actually laugh at me when I tell them her story. 'All that for just a cat', they say.
So, if your pet was sick/injured, would you do all means possible if you could save them? Would money draw the line for you?? Is there an amount that is too much?? Is having to care for a sick pet too much?? Would your DH/FH agree with your decision.
cocoa
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Re: If your pet was sick........
i don't know...i grew up and so did dh with having our dogs being like siblings and our families did everything for our dogs. my grandparents dogs had expensive surgery in emergency situations and didn't survive, but they were willing to spend a couple of thousand to save them b/c they loved them so much. it depends, i guess. if i had the money, i would do whatever it would take. if i didn't have the money, i think i would borrow. we love our dogs too much to say 'oh well,' there was this ad for pet insurance that said something like 'how do you tell fido that you can't pay to save his life?' or something like that and it's true.
bluegrl24ny
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Re: If your pet was sick........
I agree - pets don't know that you have the option of taking care of them or not - but it is up to you as the responsible owner to do everything you can to ensure their health and well being - just as you would with a child. I get a lot of those 'he's just a dog' comments now too, but I don't understand how people can think this way.... I guess they don't have pets of their own to love and care for - bc you can't help but WANT to do everything you can to make that little animal as happy and healthy as you possibly can. I think we are all wonderful pet moms here on this board, so I'm pretty sure we would all do what we could for our pets, no matter what the cost. I would just die if anything ever happened to Golem and we couldn't do anything about it. We signed up for pet insurance for this very reason - bc money shuold not be an excuse when it comes to your little furbaby! I don't see it as humanizing our animals, it's just CARING for them! It amazes me sometimes that there are people out there who have pets and just don't care about them. If Golem was sick and needed expensive surgery, medical treatment, etc, Craig and I would do anything to help him, no matter what the cost.
Valentinegirl
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Re: If your pet was sick........
We have the pet insurance also so I wouldn't have to worry about $ if soemthing happens to my baby.
Margaret
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Re: If your pet was sick........
The pet insurance is awesome for that reason. We were lucky that Oli's kicked in 2 weeks before she got sick. However, it did not nearly cover all her expenses. Although I think everyone should get it (cause you never know) the horrible thing about vet insurance, and vet care in general care, is that you still have to pay up front before they will treat - unless it is a life threatening emergency and in that case they just stabilize your pet. They really have to look into revising the whole system b/c I've seen people at the vets who don't get something done b/c they can't afford it. So sad.
Valentinegirl
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Re: If your pet was sick........
Posted by Margaret
The pet insurance is awesome for that reason. We were lucky that Oli's kicked in 2 weeks before she got sick. However, it did not nearly cover all her expenses. Although I think everyone should get it (cause you never know) the horrible thing about vet insurance, and vet care in general care, is that you still have to pay up front before they will treat - unless it is a life threatening emergency and in that case they just stabilize your pet. They really have to look into revising the whole system b/c I've seen people at the vets who don't get something done b/c they can't afford it. So sad.
They reimburse you for most of it though, right?
xjulietx
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Re: If your pet was sick........
If my pet was young and I thought a surgery would help improve and extend his/her life, I would do what I could afford. If my pet was old and I was doing things just to keep him/her alive to satisfy my own selfish feelings, then I would hope someone would talk to me about it and help me realize that the pet needs to go to pet heaven.
Also, if providing medical attention for the pet, prevented me from keeping a job or interfered with taking care of children, I would have to be smart.
MrsTC
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Re: If your pet was sick........
I would...but I don't think my DH would. I mean, he would go to a certain point, but I don't think he would go into debt. So sad
Kriss2c
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Re: If your pet was sick........
Posted by MrsTC
I would...but I don't think my DH would. I mean, he would go to a certain point, but I don't think he would go into debt. So sad
I'm in the same boat. I do whatever the vet said would help my pets without limiting their quality of life - but I know DH would limit it further to what we could 'afford'
frosty
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Re: If your pet was sick........
If one of our pets was sick, and there was something would could do for them, we would.
Unfortunately, we came across this problem a couple of times this fall. Our cat (the one in my avatar) contracted cancer. He had to have exploratory surgery. Then he had to have followup care. Less than three weeks later we had to have him put to sleep because his quality of life starting to become an issue. It was one of the most difficult things ever, but we tried to what we could for him, but not prolong his life if he was going to be uncomfortable or in pain.
My FH had a beagle (who was about 18 at the time) that blew out the ligaments in her hind legs. She could have had surgery, but at her age, there was no guarantee that she would survive it. And she couldn't have both legs done at the same time, so the recovery time would be very long. We decided against the surgery and had her put to sleep.
It is a difficult dilemma, but it really depends on the situation.
I would do literally anything I had to do to cure Murphy if he needed it.
KarenB
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Re: If your pet was sick........
My DH and I decided against pet insurance. There are far too many things it doesn't cover. You really have to read the fine print. We will and have paid whatever is necessary for our cats, Mia & Pia to be healthy & happy. They are our children
Summer Bride
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Re: If your pet was sick........
I will do anything for my dog.
swags1016
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Re: If your pet was sick........
This has been a fight that DH and I have been having for the last 3 years! We were told almost 3 years ago that our cat has cancer in her lungs, intestines and stomach and that she would be dead in weeks- she is still very much alive! They wanted to perform all of these tests, surgeries and Chemo. DH said NO- there is no way he would do any of it. (Luckily she didn't need any of this) We had a big fight because I would have taken all the wedding money we had at the time and used it all to make her better and would not have blinked. I was raised like that- these are our kids and siblings, his family on the other hand does not feel like that
lolita4life
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Re: If your pet was sick........
well, my dogs are my babies. i would do whatever i could just as if they were human.
SomethingBlu
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Re: If your pet was sick........
Wow, reading some of the posts above makes me so sad. I'm sorry your babies have been sick!
To answer the post, YES, I would do ANYTHING I could to help my baby. I know he's a pet, but I agree that he relies on me for care and if he needs anything I will do it. I will not stop at money. I hope God blesses him (and all the pets that need Him) with a long and healthy life, but should something happen, I will be here for him. He's almost 2 and I can't even imagine what a wreck I'll be 15 years from now when he's old and gray... (And that's wishful thinking on my part because his parents are still alive and kicking after being show cats and then bred...so I hope he lives a long life too).
gNi1125
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Re: If your pet was sick........
Last year Fh's 14yr old Sheltie, named Lassie had a infection in her uterus I believe. (caused from never being spayed) She needed surgery ($1500.00) many people told him to put her to sleep cuz she was so old anyway but we just couldn't. We went ahead with the surgery and are still paying it off. Sad thing is grandparents lost her while we were on vacation this past August. So sad She was a part of the family. I still remember the 1st time I met her she was chasing me around the table and FH was hysterical.
We would go to ANY extreme to save our little Ike. Whatever it took. We love him sooo much
gina674
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Re: If your pet was sick........
My golden (Simba) died umm, 3 years this April, and my mom spent a little over 10 thousand dollars for all of his emergency care and surgery. He got sick very quick, and she felt that he was part of the family and she would go to the extremes just if it was me or my sister. Neadless to say, a week after the surgery his cancer spread throughout his lungs and he passed away. My mom still cries for Simba like it was yesturday....
Kathy116
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Re: If your pet was sick........
Pet insurance has saved so many of my DH's clients! He recommends it highly to everyone.
