I cannot imagine being faced w/ this decision, and how hard it would be. My cat got sick from some freaking tuna I fed her in November and I was beside myself. To be faced with life/death - ugh. I don't even want to think about it.
I'd spend a lot of money on my pet. But would I clean out my savings account and render myself broke for a solution that might not even work? No. I wouldn't.
Post by fuckyourcouch on Jan 2, 2013 15:38:46 GMT -5
i struggle with this. in my mind it's financially risky especially with no guarantee of treatment, but i know if it came down to it, i'd do anything for my pup. so i said yes.
i struggle with this. in my mind it's financially risky especially with no guarantee of treatment, but i know if it came down to it, i'd do anything for my pup. so i said yes.
Yes, probably. I mean, for anything short of something that would only prolong a difficult and painful condition, I would spend almost anything. We got a parrot that lives for 50 years because we want a lifelong companion.
Post by kellbell191 on Jan 2, 2013 15:42:55 GMT -5
It would depend on the circumstances. Right before our wedding we adopted our dog and had $3k in e vet bills, which we had to put on credit cards. I've spent similar amounts on pets over the years, but have also declined pricey treatments when I have no felt they will help or improve the pet's quality of life. Upwards of $10k all at one time we would have issues covering. Our dogs have pet insurance because we don't want $ to be as big a factor in making a major health decision.
I said not sure. At this point the cat is VERY old, arthritic, who knows what else, so no? But then I remember when I took him to the kennel the first time I had to authorize a dollar amount I'd approve for emergency vet care just in case. I said $1500. Got him home, a month later we were at the emergency vet being quoted up to $3000 which I (in tears) agreed to.
So it seems even when I set a limit I can't stick to it.
I think I'm at the point with him that if it were something like cancer I'd decline treatment. But if it were another UTI I'd probably pay.
Post by frauschmindy on Jan 2, 2013 15:44:27 GMT -5
We were faced with this this summer, not all of our savings, but most of it. We ended up opening a care credit line and paying for most of it through that, and also transferring her from the emergency vet to our regular vet in the morning for her aftercare. Transferring her saved us a few thousand and I'm glad the e-vet gave us that option (they were against it initially).
It was an emergency "she will be dead in 30 minutes" situation, that was causing her a lot of pain, fwiw. She did live.
It would depend on the age of my pet, her overall health and the nature of the disease. If Lucy is 17, and gets cancer, I'm not prolonging her life so she can be in pain. If she got cancer now, age 8, I'm betting we'd go the whole nine yards, depending on the cure rate of the cancer, etc. I feel strongly that quality of life is more important than quantity. And I love my dog more than I love just about the whole population of this earth. If I had a choice between my dog and your kid, I would most likely save my dog.
Post by cheeseandcrackers on Jan 2, 2013 15:46:38 GMT -5
I think this poll is skewed because people have different amounts of money in their savings. I wouldn't spend all of my savings, but I would be willing to spend over a thousand, just depending on the procedure and the dogs age. This happened to me before.. my boxer died after the surgery, but in the end I knew that I did all I could.
We just put our oldest dog to sleep a couple of weeks before Christmas. She would have been 16 in March. If anything catastrophic would have happened to her we would likely not have treated.
However, last summer my cat who was 8 1/2 was losing weight and vomiting nearly nonstop. We spent over $3k doing tests to diagnose whether it was GI cancer or IBD. Luckily it was IBD, but by the time we got to the point of paying for an endoscopy and biopsy, we would likely have paid for chemo too if it had been necessary.
Right now, yes, and I would also take out care credit or a loan if we didn't have enough. If my dog was very old, and already not doing well, and they needed thousands of dollars worth of treatment to maybe extend their life a few extra months, then no, we probably would not be able to justify that.
I went through this in August/September with my dog - she was diagnosed with a tumor but they had no way of knowing if it was cancerous without surgery. I went for it without a second thought, and it was cancer. They gave her 3-6 months and she passed after 6 weeks.
FTR, I did not use all my savings. It was a factor in the decision, but a very small one.
Post by PinkSquirrel on Jan 2, 2013 16:03:58 GMT -5
No, I don't think I would spend all of my savings on my dog, but I also find that to be a pretty useless question.
When I first got my dog 6 years ago I would have spent all of my savings in a heartbeat, but my savings was relatively small. Now, I can't imagine spending every penny I have on her because if she needs that much I'm probably just delaying the inevitable and trying to selfishly keep her alive for myself. That said, if she was still has some good years left ahead of her I know I would keep handing over cash until I had none left to give.
I would spend a significant amount of money (few thousand dollars) to save a pet's life if they would be completely healed from that particular condition and retain a very good quality of life for several years. Actually, I HAVE done this.
I'm so sorry your puppy is sick. I honestly cannot imagine, and my eyes get full of tears just thinking about it. There's not a right or wrong here, IMO. Good luck making a touch decision.
Post by mrssavy42112 on Jan 2, 2013 16:18:30 GMT -5
I voted yes because in the vast majority of the cases I'd do that. The only way I'd put a pet down is if there was absolutely no hope & nothing that could be done. I did have a cat that suddenly showed terrible symptoms & had to be put down. She had a rare genetic disease that deteriorates quickly and has no known treatment or cure. That was really sad, but also rare.
All of my savings? No. I love my dogs a pretty ridiculous amount. We have spent several thousand on both of them for various procedures, dental work, X-rays, etc. But it would all just depend on so many other factors.
I think I can safely say that I would easily spend upwards of $5k. Especially if I could finance it. We're pretty young and have a very small savings account.