F....Animal Vets

LOL

It would be simpler, that's for sure. At some point, that is exactly the decision you have to make when the medical bills get too costly. Let's say your dog gets cancer. Really, your choices are pay $3000 for cancer treatments, or not to have a dog anymore (put him down).

It's a labor of love. And the cost is definitely worth it... up to a point.

That's the truth but it hurts just as much as losing a loved one. I had a black lab for about 8 years, up until August of 05, and he contracted heart and lung cancer and we had to put him down because there was no way my family could afford the payments that it would've cost to keep him alive. That's the price you have to pay in the end.

S10 thanks for all your comments today. You definitley gave me some hope!
Sadly, you are not the only one that will be ??????? foolish enough to lay some real $$$ down for your pet.........or famliy member. They do become more like family members. We paid to have a hip problem (much pain for the dog) corrected last year for one of our dogs. It was definately a good decision as the dog brings much joy to my wife (and more to me than I like to admit).
Had it were 5k, she would have to be put down. HOWEVER, we would grieve her passing like......a family member

Back in the 80's all a vet did was look at your dog and could make a few suggestions. In todays world they can now run test after test with expensive equipment just like doctors do for people. The tough part now is with all this new equipment and testing where do you draw the line "$". Before it was pretty simple either let the pet suffer or put them to sleep. I'm sure their are vets which take advantage of people.

Who's up for starting an insurance company for pets with me? We'd make millions!!!

Okay, in all seriousness deciding that it is too costly to keep treating a pet is one of the hardest decisions to make. My family was forced to do that with our 13 year old yellow lab a few years ago and it was like saying that we weren't going to pay for cancer treatments for a family member.
You also have to take into account what spending all that money will do for your pet. We decided that trying to literally buy our 13 year old dog another couple of months or maybe a year or two just wasn't worth it, especially since his quality of life wouldn't significantly improve.

As far as just deciding to not have a pet, I suppose that is the easiest course of action, but I think for some people you just don't feel right without having a pet around. I grew up with dogs and cats (I could have done without the cats) and I hate not having a dog right now. I don't have one because I know that it would be tough to care for a dog by myself, especially since I live in the city, but I do hope to get one in the next few years.

Trust me, I know this one by heart.

I have had two dogs die in the past 4 years. Both young, both expensive. Add in the 12 year old lab who requires $50-60 in meds each month for his dysplasia and we’re talking real money.

Abby had epilepsy and always had her worst seizures on off hours (of course). We took her to the Pet ER who gave her a shot and then would insist on her staying the night for monitoring. We did this once, at tremendous expense. After that we spoke to our regular vet who gave us an epi-pen for dogs so that we could administer the shot. We had to do this several times and our vet kept supplying us with the pens at minimal cost. On occasion, when she would have truly bad strokes, we would take her to the Pet ER and after they calmed her, take her home. In doing so, the Pet ER people made us sign a waiver that, essentially, said “We are horrible parents, if the dog dies it’s all our fault. We were warned but chose to ignore the warning.” I know it’s a disclaimer for the purposes of CYA as Schneed10 said, but, damn, they do their best to make you feel like crap sometimes.

Abby got cancer and died after some expensive tests and medication. She was six.

Then there was Bronwyn who died this past Christmas.

She was a sweet and beautiful puppy who led a short and hard life. In doing so, unlike many humans, she never complained, loved us with her last breath and was my son’s best playmate and protector.

She was a crazy happy puppy who wanted to play all the time. One day in April '07, she bolted out our front door and ran down the block and across the avenue to “her” field. She was only 7 months old and we were still working on obedience training. She simply was not responsive to my calls as her desire to play outweighed her desire to obey. She ran right in front of a car and was hit. Broke her back, fractured her skull, broke a femur and lost all the ligaments and tendons in a rear ankle. She spent 2 weeks in Pet ER (Do the math on that one!) and spent another six weeks, essentially, crated at home. Over that time, we had to change her bandage 3-4 times a day where the skin, tendons and ligaments had been ripped away to avoid infection and take her to the vet 3 times a week. Unbelievably, she made a full recovery with only a slight limp in her ankle. We called her the “Miracle Dog”. In September, she went to the beach with us and was swimming in the surf. The total cost of the treatment was in the neighborhood of 6-7K.

Then Christmas came and we went away for a couple days. When we came back, Bronwyn was clearly not well. We waited through the night to take her the vet. The tests came back very bad. She had an auto-immune disease called IMHA. Her red blood cell count was low and falling fast. Our vet told us to take her to the Pet ER for monitoring. 48 hours and two blood transfusions later, she died in the middle of the night (a kindly neighbor came over at 2:00 a.m. to sit with our kids while we went to be with her).

On the night she was to die, my wife and I were leaving around 11:00 pm. to visit her. As we were getting ready to leave, my four-year old son comes to me, sits in my lap, and whispers so only I could hear him - “Dad, please don’t let Bronwyn die.” It was the innocent plea of a child who still thinks: “Dad can do anything”. All I could say was “I’ll try son, I’ll try.” -- In all my life, I have never felt so powerless as that moment.

Bronwyn died 4 hours later. Did I mention I felt powerless?

Although her time with us was brief, Bronwyn left an indelible mark on our hearts. For all her troubles, she never slowed down. For her, regardless of the pain and suffering, life was about joy. She had no concept of bitterness or anger at her circumstances. Rather, at every stage and until the very end, she showed us that each moment of life is to be enjoyed no matter the trials faced.

In her short life, Bronwyn cost us well over 10K. My wife and I constantly stressed over money and, now, as we face tuition bills, we worry and punish ourselves with our choices. In the end, however, while I wish it had not been so costly, I would do it all again and my only regret is that Bronwyn is no longer with us.

Trust me, I know this one by heart.

I have had two dogs die in the past 4 years. Both young, both expensive. Add in the 12 year old lab who requires $50-60 in meds each month for his dysplasia and we’re talking real money.

Abby had epilepsy and always had her worst seizures on off hours (of course). We took her to the Pet ER who gave her a shot and then would insist on her staying the night for monitoring. We did this once, at tremendous expense. After that we spoke to our regular vet who gave us an epi-pen for dogs so that we could administer the shot. We had to do this several times and our vet kept supplying us with the pens at minimal cost. On occasion, when she would have truly bad strokes, we would take her to the Pet ER and after they calmed her, take her home. In doing so, the Pet ER people made us sign a waiver that, essentially, said “We are horrible parents, if the dog dies it’s all our fault. We were warned but chose to ignore the warning.” I know it’s a disclaimer for the purposes of CYA as Schneed10 said, but, damn, they do their best to make you feel like crap sometimes.

Abby got cancer and died after some expensive tests and medication. She was six.

Then there was Bronwyn who died this past Christmas.

She was a sweet and beautiful puppy who led a short and hard life. In doing so, unlike many humans, she never complained, loved us with her last breath and was my son’s best playmate and protector.

She was a crazy happy puppy who wanted to play all the time. One day in April '07, she bolted out our front door and ran down the block and across the avenue to “her” field. She was only 7 months old and we were still working on obedience training. She simply was not responsive to my calls as her desire to play outweighed her desire to obey. She ran right in front of a car and was hit. Broke her back, fractured her skull, broke a femur and lost all the ligaments and tendons in a rear ankle. She spent 2 weeks in Pet ER (Do the math on that one!) and spent another six weeks, essentially, crated at home. Over that time, we had to change her bandage 3-4 times a day where the skin, tendons and ligaments had been ripped away to avoid infection and take her to the vet 3 times a week. Unbelievably, she made a full recovery with only a slight limp in her ankle. We called her the “Miracle Dog”. In September, she went to the beach with us and was swimming in the surf. The total cost of the treatment was in the neighborhood of 6-7K.

Then Christmas came and we went away for a couple days. When we came back, Bronwyn was clearly not well. We waited through the night to take her the vet. The tests came back very bad. She had an auto-immune disease called IMHA. Her red blood cell count was low and falling fast. Our vet told us to take her to the Pet ER for monitoring. 48 hours and two blood transfusions later, she died in the middle of the night (a kindly neighbor came over at 2:00 a.m. to sit with our kids while we went to be with her).

On the night she was to die, my wife and I were leaving around 11:00 pm. to visit her. As we were getting ready to leave, my four-year old son comes to me, sits in my lap, and whispers so only I could hear him - “Dad, please don’t let Bronwyn die.” It was the innocent plea of a child who still thinks: “Dad can do anything”. All I could say was “I’ll try son, I’ll try.” -- In all my life, I have never felt so powerless as that moment.

Bronwyn died 4 hours later. Did I mention I felt powerless?

Although her time with us was brief, Bronwyn left an indelible mark on our hearts. For all her troubles, she never slowed down. For her, regardless of the pain and suffering, life was about joy. She had no concept of bitterness or anger at her circumstances. Rather, at every stage and until the very end, she showed us that each moment of life is to be enjoyed no matter the trials faced.

In her short life, Bronwyn cost us well over 10K. My wife and I constantly stressed over money and, now, as we face tuition bills, we worry and punish ourselves with our choices. In the end, however, while I wish it had not been so costly, I would do it all again and my only regret is that Bronwyn is no longer with us.

JR, nice post. Knowing that you'd do it all over again definitely provides comfort that you made the right decision. Not only that, but you can feel comforted by the fact that you did everything you could to take care of your dogs. In the process, you probably taught your kids a valuable lesson without even realizing it: you don't quit on family, you stick by them and you care for them when they need you.

Who's up for starting an insurance company for pets with me? We'd make millions!!!



Actually there is pet insurance, but coverage ends before the dogs get old enough to need it plus if the dog has a preexisting condition, you can't get covered.


It's basically useless. I looked into it because of how vets empty your bank accounts for tests...but if the dog won't be covered when it's older, there's no point.

My dog is 5 1/2 and hasn't had a single health issue, just a few broken toenails from ice or getting snagged on carpet while playing that needed to be cleaned up and wrapped up. So if I had the insurance, the premiums I paid would be for nothing.

I'm with Matty. I've never had a pet because I'm too cognizant of an animals life expectancy. I can however empathize with pet owners dealing with high vet bills. My wife buried her 16 year old yellow lab, much like AMD's story, a few years ago. The whole family was emotionally tore up over this loss.

Currently we have a cat, inherited with the marriage, that has an upper respiratory infection. The vet recommends taking him to have his nose checked out with a scope and possibly surgically removing whatever is causing the infection: pollup, foreign matter, etc. Approximate bill = $1500. It's hard deciding the best course of action when the bill gets to a certain number. I think I'd be okay if the cost were ~$500, maybe $750 but once we get into the $1,000 range you're talking real money.

JR, nice post. Knowing that you'd do it all over again definitely provides comfort at you made the right decision. Not only that, but you can feel comforted by the fact that you did everything you could to take care of your dogs. In the process, you probably taught your kids a valuable lesson without even realizing it: you don't quit on family, you stick by them and you care for them when they need you.

I agree with all that, but..............I WILL EVER read another post by JoeR, that even COULD BE on an emotional level!!! It took me 20 minutes to stop crying long enough to respond. What next, a story from your childhood, fearturing Ol' Yeller??????

JR thanks for sharing your story. It proves my theory someone always has it tougher.