How much would you spend on your pet?

[Mrs.Beagle]

Whatever it takes. They're my babies.

[mskitkat]

I firmly believe that adopting a pet makes them family. When I adopted Lucy, her initial post-adoption vet visit found a mouth infection that resulted in about $2K in surgeries. About a month after that, recurrent ear infections led us to finding a massive tumor in her ear canal. Cue another $5k in surgery (it required a very specialized surgeon due to the location). Even though it nearly drained our e-fund, I didn't even blink at handing over my card.

It's all about quality of life for me. She was going to be perfectly fine after the surgeries (well, toothless and half-deaf, but happy) vs having to put her down.

[aurora]

Jan 2, 2013 16:48:18 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

...We just adopted from the shelter and our dog has a lot of fear issues, anxiety and no training. ...

From your sig pic, I can see why you took her home. What a sweet-looking pup!

[hokiegirl82]

We spent $11,000 back in April 2012 for one of labs who was at the emergency vet for 5 days, and we didn't bat an eyelash at it. We didn't know what was wrong with her for over 2 days, then she had to have emergency surgery to save her life, and she has been 100% better since then. She will be 8 in a few weeks, we've had her for over 6 years, and I am willing to spend whatever it takes to save her or my other dog's life if it means they aren't in pain.

We have spent over $7,000 on our other lab over the past 4 years due to her allergy issues, almost $4,000 in the first year when we couldn't get an answer as to what was really wrong with her. Like our other dog, she is well worth the money because know she is a happy camper with her allergy shots and yearly visits to the doggie dermatologist. We have no kids yet, and our pets are part of our family - we will do pretty much anything to keep them around if it means they aren't suffering or in pain and have a good quality of life.

[caligurl]

I paid $8K for my cat's surgery and I would do it again. H has different views on pet expenses but he knew not to argue with me. He asked "how much?" and I told him he didn't want to know. He stopped guessing at $6K and we lived happily ever after. This was almost 5 years ago and our cat is still with us, happy and healthy.

[Deleted]

Thanks for all your replies everyone. DH and I had a great talk (he's out of town on business, so I have to be the decider). We agreed that if P is offered a prognosis & treatment plan that gives him a strong chance at at having a good happy life, we're going to do it and not worry about the money. We agreed there's nothing we want to buy with it that we want more than him.

I'm going to apply for a Care Credit line tomorrow, since I think I'd rather shoehorn the payments into our budget than part with a huge chunk of change at once.

[bunnysmom]

Jan 2, 2013 15:50:28 GMT -5 whitemerlot said:

I had to put my very, very expensive dog to sleep this week. We had fixed everything we could and he was worth every penny. I miss the heck out of him.

I'm so sorry for your loss. ({)

[bunnysmom]

Jan 2, 2013 22:53:59 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Thanks for all your replies everyone. DH and I had a great talk (he's out of town on business, so I have to be the decider). We agreed that if P is offered a prognosis & treatment plan that gives him a strong chance at at having a good happy life, we're going to do it and not worry about the money. We agreed there's nothing we want to buy with it that we want more than him.

I'm going to apply for a Care Credit line tomorrow, since I think I'd rather shoehorn the payments into our budget than part with a huge chunk of change at once.

I'm late to the thread but I agree with your decision and I hope everything turns out ok for your baby. Your words about not wanting anything material more than your pet made me smile and I'm sure that your pet is very lucky for having you and your DH.

[mfluder]

Jan 2, 2013 22:53:59 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

Thanks for all your replies everyone. DH and I had a great talk (he's out of town on business, so I have to be the decider). We agreed that if P is offered a prognosis & treatment plan that gives him a strong chance at at having a good happy life, we're going to do it and not worry about the money. We agreed there's nothing we want to buy with it that we want more than him.

I'm going to apply for a Care Credit line tomorrow, since I think I'd rather shoehorn the payments into our budget than part with a huge chunk of change at once.

I'm very late, I just wanted to say I'm sorry AP. Keep us updated if you will. Hope the prognosis is good for Pel, thinking of y'all.

PS I've used care credit before, and it was really helpful.

[carfar]

A lot, how could I not do everything in my power to help this guy ?!

We have pet insurance so we hopefully will never have to worry about the actual number of largest vet bill we'd be able to pay. I'm so sorry your guy is having problems.

[gibbinator]

In the circumstances you listed, we'd spend as much as 10k.

Last year we dropped roughly $1000 we didn't have on emergency vet bills when our 3yr old cat got injured. It's what efunds are for right?

[cosmowife]

I will do knee surgeries repeatedly on my Pom if needed. She has already had two at about $1500 a pop. Minor recovery time, huge quality of life improvement. She is old, too - 10. But treating for something like cancer? Not sure. Sounds miserable for her.

[cosmowife]

Jan 2, 2013 15:39:48 GMT -5 jjwritergirl said:

Given the 50k emergency fund, I'd pay up to a thousand. However, with my actual finances, I would probably spend under $500.

Just a teeth cleaning costs nearly $500. Obviously you were not the target audience for this post!