How much would you spend on a relatively young pet who has a serious medical issue that could be fixed by a one time treatment (like surgery or a round of chemotherapy)?
Assume the following:
Pet is otherwise healthy and will have a live expectancy of 8-10 more years after the procedure.
You have a significant emergency fund available ($50k).
That you love the animal.
**Brought to you by my decision to pay a vet to do a MRI on my dog in order to diagnose him.**
This is really hard. I think that I would have to be in that situation to make a decision. Knowing how big of a softy I am, I would probably pay anything they ask even if I couldn't afford it. I love my pups too much!
As much as it takes. I love my dog. I also have insurance on him for things like this.
This. Thankfully insurance kicked back a lot when chessie had k/d, and bully had 2 acl's, didn't flinch. I have spent all sorts of amount between my dogs/horses, but obviously there is a limit and its our comfort zone- can we provide proper recovery? and quality of life?
With what you have detailed, I would easily spend $10K+. I spent half my efund on bladder stone surgery and a three day vet stay for my corky just a few months after we got him, not to mention the countless other surgeries my poor pup has had to endure.
However, I do not judge people that cannot afford to spend as much on their pets as I do. But in your case, don't feel bad about spending the money on the MRI.
I'm sorry you have to make this decision. I'm not a pet person, so it's hard for me to really answer - but I know how much you love him so I answered based on that
That is basically the ideal situation - good quality of life, a long life expectancy, and the money to afford it. I would spend a lot in that situation.
They suspect he has Wobbler's Syndrome, so I based the outcome on that because the onset was less than a month ago & the prognosis is very good when caught that early.
Definitely get a few more opinions. If they all agree then go with the one you liked best and felt they gave you the most honest options. I've ran into a couple of vets who have told me there was something wrong with my dog when there wasn't before.
Definitely get a few more opinions. If they all agree then go with the one you liked best and felt they gave you the most honest options. I've ran into a couple of vets who have told me there was something wrong with my dog when there wasn't before.
There's definitely something wrong. Severe neck pain and now his back legs aren't working correctly.
I can't imagine spending more than 2500 when there are so many other animals that need good homes.
I used to be an "any cost" person. I completely support those who'd spend anything. But since I started fostering, my perspective has changed. I've seen and housed other animals I know would bring me a lot of happiness. The animal wouldn't know the difference. Life extending procedures are for the humans.
That said, I'm sure my attitude would change if something was seriously wrong with one of my cats. My dogs are getting old (10+), but my cats are 1-2.
Definitely get a few more opinions. If they all agree then go with the one you liked best and felt they gave you the most honest options. I've ran into a couple of vets who have told me there was something wrong with my dog when there wasn't before.
There's definitely something wrong. Severe neck pain and now his back legs aren't working correctly.
Aww, poor thing. I'd definitely spend it. I've spent way more than I was able to afford on my cat's surgeries back when I was in college. It's paid off now, but it took a while with my PT salary. It's totally worth it because he was also young & could expect a good quality of life as long as we continued to monitor him. I'd do anything for my little furballs.
I can't imagine spending more than 2500 when there are so many other animals that need good homes.
So she should just say "better luck next time" and move on?
I understand both sides of it. Spending 2k on animal might not be on the top priorities- there are plenty of animals out there that need homes. The inital spending the 2k or whatever can actually be the easy party, what about after for the recovery ? Take time out of work, spend extra diet, etc? I know for my chessie most would have not done what I have done for her..the vet told me that. Between raw diets, special supplements, keeping away from ALL strangers, people would of put her down just for those few things.
I would not go broke for them though. End of the day I have to think about DH and I. I made it very clear if my horse was very sick, bad colic, etc, he would be put down, I would never put us through hat kinda debt or misery dealing with recovery.
I can't imagine spending more than 2500 when there are so many other animals that need good homes.
I used to be an "any cost" person. I completely support those who'd spend anything. But since I started fostering, my perspective has changed. I've seen and housed other animals I know would bring me a lot of happiness. The animal wouldn't know the difference. Life extending procedures are for the humans.
That said, I'm sure my attitude would change if something was seriously wrong with one of my cats. My dogs are getting old (10+), but my cats are 1-2.
I agree with you after being super involved in pug rescue.
At this point I am unlikely to do something like chemo/radiation treatment for cancer that could/would only extend his life by something like six months.
So for me the answer is very dependent on the possible outcomes.
Under those circumstances, I'd pay whatever it cost. I don't think there is a limit. We don't have over 50k saved so I guess my limit would be lower but I find it unlikely I'd say no to any amount honestly.
FWIW, this is why we have pet insurance. Assuming this is not going to be an ongoing condition (and therefore pre-exisiting) I'd suggest getting on a plan so this doesn't happen again. We use Embrace (http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/) and pay about $25 a month for both dogs combined on a high deductible plan. The deductible is 1k per year per dog so if anything ever happened the most we'd pay per year is 1k to treat it. After hearing so many stories like yours and knowing I'd go into major debt to treat my dogs, I decided it was worth it to be covered.
I hope your pup is ok and that the MRI shows something easily treatable.
So she should just say "better luck next time" and move on?
I don't know what she would do but I would be horribly sad that my cat was sick but I would also know I am doing the right thing in adopting a new cat.
Well ya know, there are a lot of other men who I could potentially marry and lots of kids out there in the world who need homes too. Good food for thought if my husband or child ever gets sick and it's expensive to treat them!
(FWIW I see what you're saying, but to say replacing a sick pet is a solution is pretty insensitive. They're not interchangeable).
It depends on a lot of things. I can't even put numbers on it. I don't care if there are 4526782874782 other cats in this world, I really love my cats.
*cue video of crazy bitch crying about how much she loves cats*
I can't stomach "any cost" but I think 5-10K is reasonable in your particular situation.
If the dog was older, I'd be less inclined to spend it.
This is me, as an animal lover. I probably wouldn't go over $10k with your efund, but I would probably spend that.
DH and I had a heart to heart about pet costs when we weren't sure what Sadie's bladder surgery was going to be. We had to decide that we really did have a top number we could spend and only if she would recover.