Where To Draw The Line With Vet Bills?

[~Myschafis~]

Hi All,

This is going to be a very personal question and will probably get a wide range of answers based on personal preference.

It would seem recently our good luck with avoiding huge vet bills as all but run out, we have had a broken leg requiring surgery an unwell animal requiring several days in critical care, undergoing xrays,pathology, ultra sounds etc etc etc. All amounting some seriously large vet bills over the space of about 2 months.

For us it was financially very straining and im sure for a lot of other people to find that sort of money in a short space of time. But of course there was no question about it the bills were paid and hopefully all involved are now on the mend albeit a long road to full recovery.

In any case, this whole situation sparked a great deal of opinions amongst peers, family, friends etc about what they would do given our situation, some would've put them down, some would've paid the bills twice over etc.

So I was wondering when do you say NO I cant afford this, where is the line? Is there one? I realise in these situations including my own, you are highly emotive and a lot of decisions are based on emotion at the time, sometimes logic isn't a deciding factor.

I personally don't know if I could ever say no, unless I was prolonging a life that was un-savable and largely uncomfortable to be kept here, the last few months has shown me, I have a very limited 'no' button in this situation.

I am interested to hear others thoughts/opinions on their ability to know when to say no?

[Staffyluv]

Ollie's chemo and holistic therapy for MCT was a lot - I actually stopped keeping track over the $10K mark but it has been lots more since then too.

Edited to add - I think it is a personal issue and what you can afford or are willing to pay.

I would have taken out a second mortgage on the house to save my boy but I am also prepared to let him go, when he is no longer enjoying this life...

Edited November 22, 2010 by Staffyluv

[BigPaws]

I recently took out pet insurance so I don't ever have to be in that position.

[corvus]

To me, the quality of life my animal can expect after treatment is what dictates how much I would spend on them.

[wagsalot]

For me it would depend on the dogs quality of life afterwards - I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on vet bills if the dog was going to have poor quality of life afterwards.

If Riley was sick and spending thousands would get him better and he'd have good quality of life, then I think my limit would be quite high. I wouldn't put a price on his life, Id probably pay whatever was neccessary, but I think my OH would be the one (as much as he loves Riley) to be practical about the situation.

Edited November 22, 2010 by wagsalot

[Vehs]

big paws - I hope you aren't! I didn't think pet insurance was worth it when I was investigating it.

mys - very personal decision. You would have to consider quality of life, expected lifespan of the animal and what you can afford. I've spent a lot on my pets over the years and don't regret it at all - it's just money. But it does make me think I need to get a decent amount of money in account for them in the future to avoid the scramble I'm in atm!

[W Sibs]

To me, the quality of life my animal can expect after treatment is what dictates how much I would spend on them.

Same.

[megan_]

I recently took out pet insurance so I don't ever have to be in that position.

you do have to pay upfront though, so you actually need access to the cash or credit.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

The insurance company I've got puts a limit around the $15000 a year mark. But maybe I'd cough up more.

It depends on a lot of things, mostly being on the chance of a good quality of life after spending the bikkies and to a lesser amount - what else could I do with the money - ie if I get another dog that is healthy. Like how many dogs could you rescue for the same money?

[Little Gifts]

For me it is about what the treatment would achieve for the animal. I adore my dogs and am a VIP client who gets a discount at my vet, so that tells you how much money I have spent there over the years. As an example - I have an old staffy who has cancer. I know owners who would say they didn't care what it cost they had to try and save their dog. I say she has cancer, it is terminal and rather than subject her to excessive treatments to prolong her life so I can feel better I will closely monitor her and seek vetinary assistance if/when she needs it. I will feed her what she needs to keep her body strong. I will massage her to keep her joints and muscles active. I will change how I walk/exercise her to minimise strain. I will create more comfortable and accessible sleeping arrangements. I will give her more of my love and attention for as long as she has got left. So far that has equated to several quality years together even though the cancer is now in her organs.

When there has been an accident and bones are broken I think it would be very difficult to say no to treatment but I would be seeking a second opinion and ensuring I was paying for a specialist if the bill was high. I remember taking one of my dogs to an emergency vet after she was collar choked by someone breaking up a dog fight and all her eyes went red with burst blood vessels. It would be negligent of me to have a healthy 1 year old dog go blind because I didn't get it checked, but it cost a lot to be told it was all ok and would heal.

I remember on Bondi Vet ages ago a lovely dog with a deformity who had to have all four legs reset with pins and the owner had to tighten the pins every day. How do you explain that pain and encumberance of a metal frame around each leg for months to a dog? I am still not sure I could put a dog through that kind of surgery because of its inability to understand what it was going through. It cost thousands as well.

[sllebasi]

I am pretty much the same, depends on the quality of life during and after the incident and how old they are.

[Guest Tess32]

Depends if I could borrow it or not. I'd say around 5k if I could get it but I'm not going to starve myself for years to save him unfortunately. That's just life.

[raz]

In any case, this whole situation sparked a great deal of opinions amongst peers, family, friends etc about what they would do given our situation, some would've put them down, some would've paid the bills twice over etc.

I think that's really rude, especially when you've just gone through the stress, hardship and heartache of having a dog go through expensive treatment (I'm sorry to read about your dog's predicament). The same thing happened to me when I had my dogs treated for snake bite - it's just so incredibly rude and insensitive to say to an animal owner they should have just put the dog down rather than pay the money.

Where do I draw the line? I havent figured that out yet but it's a really important question and just something I tend to avoid thinking about. I really dont know. Would I have a dog's hind legs amputated and hook him up to a little cart? No but someone else would think that was important. Organ transplant? Nup. Spend 10k plus on a dog like staffyluv's who needed extensive cancer treatment if I thought he'd have a great life like Ollie post treatment? Yes. The limit of the $ amount I just dont know and will have to cross that bridge when I come to it. I wouldnt risk losing my house over vet bills but I'd sell my car and go hungry to save one of my dogs if I had to.

[Elsha_UK_AU]

quality of life after injury/illness etc but we also have Gold Paws insurance up to $15,000 per annum and we'd obviously go above that as much as we could afford/borrow dependant on outcome etc etc. It is a position I hope never to have to be in.

[MolassesLass]

Assuming good quality of life afterwards, my limit depends on what I can pay back in the timeframe available.

I have a GE Care Credit thingy to pay for large bills and the most you can get is 12 months interest free. So I've worked out what I can spare and set my card limit to the amount I could pay back in that 12 months.

I've been lucky though, I think on-going, small costs would make up the majority of my vet expenses rather than large or emergency events.

[helen]

I have had some big vet bills on one of my dogs, firstly when she had cancer and then other illnesses that have cropped up since. Although the bills have been large it was not in one big hit so like Staffyluv said I stopped counting. It was worth it though because she is in great health, but is still expensive, her medication at the moment, and for the last 5 months is $85 per fortnight. It is much easier this way I think when you are not hit with a huge bill straight up

Edited November 22, 2010 by helen

[Agility Dogs]

To me, the quality of life my animal can expect after treatment is what dictates how much I would spend on them.

Same.

Another one here.

I would not spend one cent on my dogs if the vet could not give me an indication that treatment was likely to be successful. I would spend whatever it took to keep one of my dogs happy/healthy if treatment was likely to be successful long term and not just management of an accute or rapidly deteoriating problem.

eg: CK cracked his elbow at 4 months and took a LONG time, a lot of effort/inconvenience for the entire extended family and a considerable amount of money to get him right. He is now 4 and has no problems. (Inconvenience is not really the word I want, because it suggests I begrudge doing it, I don't, but I just couldn't think of a better word.)

Before CK came to live with us we PTS a 7 month old pup with severe OCD. The vet told us that it would take two operations and ongoing pain management for the remainder of his life. I didn't even ask how much the operations would cost - that was not the point.

I would do either again knowing for us it is the right decision.

It is very personal and I don't judge anyone for the decisions they make for their animals - as long as an animal is not suffering unnecessarily.

[raz]

It is very personal and I don't judge anyone for the decisions they make for their animals - as long as an animal is not suffering unnecessarily.

That sums it up for me. Well said. For one person it might be tens of thousands of dollars. For another it might be a few hundred. As long as the animal gets seen to by a vet rather than - I cant afford/dont want to spend the money so I just wont take Fluffy to the vet at all - that is something I dont understand. I'd rather see a dog euth'd rather than not be taken to the vet at all due to cost.

[poodlefan]

It is very personal and I don't judge anyone for the decisions they make for their animals - as long as an animal is not suffering unnecessarily.

That sums it up for me. Well said. For one person it might be tens of thousands of dollars. For another it might be a few hundred. As long as the animal gets seen to by a vet rather than - I cant afford/dont want to spend the money so I just wont take Fluffy to the vet at all - that is something I dont understand. I'd rather see a dog euth'd rather than not be taken to the vet at all due to cost.

x 3

Too personal to make a call on.

However the moment someone raises the "it would be cheaper to get a new pet" argument, my blood boils.

[Remarkabull]

It would depend upon the illness, prognosis and age of the pet.

My old Dobermann (RIP Sarge) had Lymphoma. I was told that we could do chemo and that it would keep prolong his life for another 6 months or so, but no chance of curing him. He was 9 years old. We decided not to put him through it just to keep him with us a little longer. We ended up having him PTS after his illness was affecting his brain function. He started stumbling and running into walls and we could see he was distressed by it (although not in any pain) so we gave him his wings. That was 3 years ago this December.

If there had been a cure I would have begged, borrowed and stolen any amount of money to save him as he was (and still is) my heart dog and was otherwise healthy.

I have a 9 year old DA dog and we have discussed what we would do if she became very ill or seriously injured and due to the fact that she misses out on alot of stuff because of her aggression and causes some problems for us we have decided that if it was going to put us in a difficult position financially then we would pts.