Ugh

[Bullbreedlover]

Poor Puppy, his only crime was eating something that had obvioulsy been left where it should not have been!!

I would not have heaps of money lying around to pay for an expensive operation but I would find it, I'd take out a loan if I had to. But I am very lucky to have a great vet that allows me a running tab!!

I think there are just lots of people out there that don't look upon thier dogs as part of thier family they are just a dog to them.

My dogs are part of my family.

always have been, always will be.

I love my dogs, with a passion that I can not describe.

I have a running tab with my vet but if at any stage I can not afford vet fees with my babies, even though they have a limited insurance then I will make my decision.

My decision alone.

Do not condemn a person because they can not afford the vet fees.

I have spent more money on my dogs in the last 10 years than I would have spent on myself

But there comes a time in everyones budget that we must make a decision.

I am not heartless, dont get me wrong. I have seen more animals over the rainbow bridge than the average person.

[Red Fox]

Because things happen to people out of their control. Humans have help services and Government handouts. With animals they do not. I know I will never be in the position this person has been in due to strong family support.

Well not always. I had to have surgery 2 years ago> I wont go into what or why as it is not relevent but it was urgent and I didn't have a choice in the matter. It cost me almost $10,000 and I had to raise that money myself.

Pets are a responsibility and if you dont have the money you shouldn't have one. But it is understandable if they made that choice out of consideration for the puppies long term health rather than the money side of it.

You should move to Victoria then, I have had 2 emergency operations and havent paid a cent other than our hefty taxes.

When Squid was violently ill, I rushed him to the vets. His mouth was blue so they suspected internal bleading. I told them to open him and fix it. That was over $1000. They then told me he had cancers covering his spleen, I told them to pull it out. $1600. They did, then they told me after all this he had no more than 3 weeks to live. I told them to PTS. $100. I found the money then took my dead dog home and buried him. I should have PTS without removing his Spleen.

When he was a puppy I brought him home with Parvo. Had him for only one afternoon then, $2500 later I took my beautiful boy home and loved his guts out for 8 years, but I was a working young person with no responsibilities. Now I have a family of 3 kids and one income. I wouldnt spend that money, but I wouldnt take a pup without knowing its history either. You live and learn.

If a dog is in terrible pain, it needs to be treated. At least they did that, even if it was in a way that disgusts you.

In my case it wouldn't have been covered unless I had private health insurance which I didn't.

It doesn't disgust me to have the dog PTS at all. But it does do my head in when people buy a dog but aren't prepared to pay the vet bill if something goes wrong. If the people truely couldn't afford it, there would have been ongoing medical issues and/or the pup was in pain and needed immediate treatment then I have no argument over PTS. They would be devastated. If they just thought that $1000 is too much to spend on a dog well I'm sorry but that's not good enough for me.

With Squid's situation PTS was the kindest option. In hindsight you can say that you should have done it before the surgery but at the time you couldn't possibly have known that

[WoofnHoof]

Wow I wish my dogs' op had only been $1100! I can understand if it's a massive sum and you have no access to credit or anything but in this day and age that's not exactly an eye popping figure. I think a lot of people place more emphasis on money than it deserves, in my experience money comes and goes, the joy you get from having some of it is short lived, the joy you get from an animal renews itself every single day

Having said that it is a very individual sort of thing, my experience means that I think it's worth the risk because for me the risk paid off, it was a tough road to a diagnosis for my dog and so once I had a diagnosis and a treatment option it was full steam ahead for me even though the op was high risk with no guarentees of success, 50/50 chance of working and a 30% chance of fatal post op complications so not the best odds in the world. Had the risk not paid off I don't know how I would feel about it, although knowing myself as well as I do I doubt I'd change anything

[greytdog]

Friend spent over 10 grand on her dog, and only got a further year and a bit before PTS, which she knew was probably inevitable. Would she do it again? Probably not, but not b/c of the money, but for the dog's quality of life, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't as good as it was. It was OK, but not the same (amputation on a heavy dog).

[Staffyluv]

An acquantince of mine just posted on FB that she's very sad to have had to put her dog down today. Turns out she had him put down because he'd eaten something and needed an operation that was going to cost $1,100 and they "just didn't have the money lying around". She also says "it's a lot of money for a dog" I know not everyone sees animals the same way I do but I can't help but feel incredibly appaled. To make matters worse the dog was only 6 months old. UGHHH just had to vent, sorry...

You know I don't like that anymore than the next person but if the dog was in pain and they did not have the money to treat, what else can they do??? These sorts of situations are usually critical and need attending to right now - no time to organise finance or try to borrow the funds...

There are also people who just don't see dogs like DOLers do... There are also some cultures that do much worse than putting down a sick dog that they don't have the funds to spend on...

We have spent well over $10,000 on Ollie with chemo and ongoing treatment but I would take out a second mortgage for this boy in a heartbeat...

At least the pup is free from pain. RIP little one.

[gillybob]

If one of my lot was ill and the vet told me it would cost a large lump of money, I would have to seriously think about it for a while.

You cant blame a person for not being able to pay.

Its just a fact of life.

I know that if one of my lot got bitten by a snake I couldnt afford the anti-venom.

I know I would have to make the hard decisions.

Im lucky I have only really had one op with my three, I was lucky the vet understood I couldnt afford a lot so she charged me a minimal cost.

But in a situation where it was a big outlay of cash I would have to really think on it.

[mr.mister]

I too share the view that buying a pet should involve the same consideration when having a baby - only do it if you have the money. Fact is, veterinary bills come part and parcel with animals and certainly aren't 'luxuries' or 'extras', and people need to be prepared. There is really no excuse to be ignorant about that even if your viewpoints are a little different. A pet is a living, breathing, feeling thing that is under your duty of care as much as a child is. They depend on you and it is your responsibility to cater for their needs, which certainly aren't as 'extravagant' as a child's.

At the very least she put the poor young creature out of its misery rather than just leaving it to suffer.

[~Shepherd~]

I too share the view that buying a pet should involve the same consideration when having a baby - only do it if you have the money. Fact is, veterinary bills come part and parcel with animals and certainly aren't 'luxuries' or 'extras', and people need to be prepared. There is really no excuse to be ignorant about that even if your viewpoints are a little different. A pet is a living, breathing, feeling thing that is under your duty of care as much as a child is. They depend on you and it is your responsibility to cater for their needs, which certainly aren't as 'extravagant' as a child's.

At the very least she put the poor young creature out of its misery rather than just leaving it to suffer.

?? So only have middle to high income offspring?

[FD26]

If one of my lot was ill and the vet told me it would cost a large lump of money, I would have to seriously think about it for a while.

You cant blame a person for not being able to pay.

Its just a fact of life.

I know that if one of my lot got bitten by a snake I couldnt afford the anti-venom.

I know I would have to make the hard decisions.

Im lucky I have only really had one op with my three, I was lucky the vet understood I couldnt afford a lot so she charged me a minimal cost.

But in a situation where it was a big outlay of cash I would have to really think on it.

But why not have insurance then?

[OMD²]

Poor puppy

[FD26]

I too share the view that buying a pet should involve the same consideration when having a baby - only do it if you have the money. Fact is, veterinary bills come part and parcel with animals and certainly aren't 'luxuries' or 'extras', and people need to be prepared. There is really no excuse to be ignorant about that even if your viewpoints are a little different. A pet is a living, breathing, feeling thing that is under your duty of care as much as a child is. They depend on you and it is your responsibility to cater for their needs, which certainly aren't as 'extravagant' as a child's.

At the very least she put the poor young creature out of its misery rather than just leaving it to suffer.

?? So only have middle to high income offspring?

I don't think that's what she's saying at all. We're middle class now, but I used to be a single-parent student on a pension when I had my last 2 cats. Money was TIGHT, but I had my priorities straight. I knew that having pets could mean unexpected vet bills, and made sure I had plans in place for if that happened. Before I was able to do that I didn't consider having pets.

I have been in a situation where I had to relenquish my dog to the pound, which was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I was going through a divorce with an 8 month old baby in tow and had to beg and borrow to get plane tickets to get out of a situation where we were living on $100 a month - there was no way I could have forseen that when we adopted him (we found him on the road, actually..when he was a pup).

I know sometimes things become out of our control. But not 6 months after deciding to adopt a dog. And not when your situation hasn't changed (hers hasn't). And not when your pet has definitely eaten something and needs ONE surgery. We're not talking mysterious illnesses here.

[mr.mister]

I too share the view that buying a pet should involve the same consideration when having a baby - only do it if you have the money. Fact is, veterinary bills come part and parcel with animals and certainly aren't 'luxuries' or 'extras', and people need to be prepared. There is really no excuse to be ignorant about that even if your viewpoints are a little different. A pet is a living, breathing, feeling thing that is under your duty of care as much as a child is. They depend on you and it is your responsibility to cater for their needs, which certainly aren't as 'extravagant' as a child's.

At the very least she put the poor young creature out of its misery rather than just leaving it to suffer.

?? So only have middle to high income offspring?

I don't think that's what she's saying at all. We're middle class now, but I used to be a single-parent student on a pension when I had my last 2 cats. Money was TIGHT, but I had my priorities straight. I knew that having pets could mean unexpected vet bills, and made sure I had plans in place for if that happened. Before I was able to do that I didn't consider having pets.

I have been in a situation where I had to relenquish my dog to the pound, which was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I was going through a divorce with an 8 month old baby in tow and had to beg and borrow to get plane tickets to get out of a situation where we were living on $100 a month - there was no way I could have forseen that when we adopted him (we found him on the road, actually..when he was a pup).

I know sometimes things become out of our control. But not 6 months after deciding to adopt a dog. And not when your situation hasn't changed (hers hasn't). And not when your pet has definitely eaten something and needs ONE surgery. We're not talking mysterious illnesses here.

Thankyou. Explained it better than me in your first sentence.

[sausy.dog]

I too share the view that buying a pet should involve the same consideration when having a baby - only do it if you have the money. Fact is, veterinary bills come part and parcel with animals and certainly aren't 'luxuries' or 'extras', and people need to be prepared. There is really no excuse to be ignorant about that even if your viewpoints are a little different. A pet is a living, breathing, feeling thing that is under your duty of care as much as a child is. They depend on you and it is your responsibility to cater for their needs, which certainly aren't as 'extravagant' as a child's.

At the very least she put the poor young creature out of its misery rather than just leaving it to suffer.

?? So only have middle to high income offspring?

I don't think that's what she's saying at all. We're middle class now, but I used to be a single-parent student on a pension when I had my last 2 cats. Money was TIGHT, but I had my priorities straight. I knew that having pets could mean unexpected vet bills, and made sure I had plans in place for if that happened. Before I was able to do that I didn't consider having pets.

I have been in a situation where I had to relenquish my dog to the pound, which was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I was going through a divorce with an 8 month old baby in tow and had to beg and borrow to get plane tickets to get out of a situation where we were living on $100 a month - there was no way I could have forseen that when we adopted him (we found him on the road, actually..when he was a pup).

I know sometimes things become out of our control. But not 6 months after deciding to adopt a dog. And not when your situation hasn't changed (hers hasn't). And not when your pet has definitely eaten something and needs ONE surgery. We're not talking mysterious illnesses here.

You said in your op that she is only an acquaintance so how do you know exactly what her situation is? Personally I don't really see any difference between what she has done and what you did surrendering your dog. Just because you think you had exceptional circumstances doesn't mean that she doesn't think the same thing about her current situation. Have you ever considered your dog may have been put down too rather than rehomed because statistically that was probably the outcome. The point is it is possible that the decision to have this done was no easier for her than it was for you and that she may have also felt that there was no other option for her.

I agree that it is sad the dog was put down but none of us know what is around the corner.

[centitout]

ok,not everyone has thousands lying around in an emergency.I had to leave my job last year due to a work injury,and it has taken 8 mths to finally get some part time work-lots of people here looking for jobs at the same time.I rented this place when i moved because it was to be a long term lease-just got informed last night that the owner is now selling it.

So that means i will have to now rehome most of my dogs because it took months to find somewhere to have them to start with and we already had people looking at the house today.That was the reason i moved,because i could have the dogs and i pay an extra $100 week so i could do that compared to where i was before.

I am on a single parent pension,the dogs have never gone without-they get fed before we do,and i am very lucky i have great vets that i can do a payment plan if anything happens,but those vets are in the minority.

I wouldnt have $50 spare at the moment,let alone $1100 if there was a real emergency.And i cant afford pet insurance on 6 dogs-i dont even have private health insurance for my family,i get by each week but only just.

I had to put the cat i hand raised down at 9 yrs old a week after xmas because he developed an acute ,severe bladder stone- I was looking at $1500 just to do the emergency surgery,and the vet was not hopeful he would even survive that,and he had a 10% chance of not having irreperable kidney damage,resulting in lots more money to keep him alive.So i did the best thing for him,i wouldve paid the money but not with him going to have kidney failure.

People do not know what can happen tomorrow or the next day,circumstances can change in an instant.Last week i got a job but today now have to save up $2000 in bond again to rent somewhere else,the car needs major suspension work,my daughter needs $5000 + in dental work over the next year,my fiance and i broke up and i need physio on my shoulder 2-3 times a week which i go without to make sure i can feed the dogs ,health test etc.

So i can see where sometimes people just CANT scrape up the extra money and they should not be judged because of it.

[~Shepherd~]

ok,not everyone has thousands lying around in an emergency.I had to leave my job last year due to a work injury,and it has taken 8 mths to finally get some part time work-lots of people here looking for jobs at the same time.I rented this place when i moved because it was to be a long term lease-just got informed last night that the owner is now selling it.

So that means i will have to now rehome most of my dogs because it took months to find somewhere to have them to start with and we already had people looking at the house today.That was the reason i moved,because i could have the dogs and i pay an extra $100 week so i could do that compared to where i was before.

I am on a single parent pension,the dogs have never gone without-they get fed before we do,and i am very lucky i have great vets that i can do a payment plan if anything happens,but those vets are in the minority.

I wouldnt have $50 spare at the moment,let alone $1100 if there was a real emergency.And i cant afford pet insurance on 6 dogs-i dont even have private health insurance for my family,i get by each week but only just.

I had to put the cat i hand raised down at 9 yrs old a week after xmas because he developed an acute ,severe bladder stone- I was looking at $1500 just to do the emergency surgery,and the vet was not hopeful he would even survive that,and he had a 10% chance of not having irreperable kidney damage,resulting in lots more money to keep him alive.So i did the best thing for him,i wouldve paid the money but not with him going to have kidney failure.

People do not know what can happen tomorrow or the next day,circumstances can change in an instant.Last week i got a job but today now have to save up $2000 in bond again to rent somewhere else,the car needs major suspension work,my daughter needs $5000 + in dental work over the next year,my fiance and i broke up and i need physio on my shoulder 2-3 times a week which i go without to make sure i can feed the dogs ,health test etc.

So i can see where sometimes people just CANT scrape up the extra money and they should not be judged because of it.

what a crappy circumstance. I admire your honesty and Im sure you will get plenty of non judgemental support from DOL. Shit does happen to the most organised of people. You will get through it.

[Bluefairy]

I just wanted to say as I have been in your friends shoes, it saddens me to know what I did might be seen as the wrong thing to do by some of you here....

I had a gorgeous pup, that looking back since we had her had always been sick on and off for the 8 months she was with us. We used all our savings....$1,000's....and blood tests, xrays, stool and urine samples, she even had exploratory surgery to see if they could find something that was causing her temp spikes, vomiting, and her feelings of misery. They found she had cancer, but didn't know where. Yes we could have taken her to the city and had specialists test her....but the illness was becoming more frequent, and she spent more time ill than happy and alert, so at 11 months of age we did what we thought was best, we had her put to sleep.

Yes the money was a consideration as they said it could sore into the $10,000's and they still might not be able to help her. Money we didn't have nor could we get. When I looked into her face on the last day, a day she was in good spirits and health, I was heartbroken and didn't want to go through with it....but I knew tomorrow or the next day she would be ill again, her temp would rise and she would be miserable. I couldn't let her go through a life, though short, like that anymore.

So yes sometimes unless you have walked in these people's shoes, don't judge

BF

ps: I didn't have pet insurance then, I didn't even know it existed, next dog is definitely getting pet insurance.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Bluefairy