Curious where people draw the line money wise when it comes to care for your dog?

[Gunny Jake]

Knowing that Vets use the love people have for their animals against them to convince them to do cancer treatments, diabetic shots, dialysis and many more treatments normally performed on humans.

Where do you draw the line at?
$500
$1000
$2000
$4000
$5000
$10000+

I personally spent $1500 on a dog that was a 8yr old family pet. He died anyway.

Sorry your dog died. On cats, nah. Just regular visits for cats. My dogs though, there’s no limit if it’s necessary.

 

[Gimmebackmybullets]

I've buried better dogs than family members.
The answer lies within your heart.
Last year an 11 year old Dalmation ,the 2ond I raised for my daughter, stripped out a knee.
She couldn't even stand up and walk outside to piss.
My mom had custody of her while I worked thru the week and gave her treats all day long to get her to do what my mom needed her to do at any given time of the day.(is go to the other room so folks could visit,etc)
We talking 10 # boxes of milk bones every week.

Long short story.
Hardest thing I've ever done and I've shot my own dogs in my lifetime.
Understand I love dogs more than most humans.
Vet wanted 750 for visit and x-rays to determine that day that 5k at university of ga possibly could fix her.
No guarantee
I had to send my dayghters brother to sign the papers to have her put down.
I had the hole dug when he returned with her.
A part of me died along with her that day.

 

[TrueGrit]

My Ruby before I put her down, I owed her that and more. She hated going to the vets.

 

[fuelman1]

My 10 1/2 year old pittie started having issue with her back legs last year. I had her xrayed to check hips last spring. Everything checked out. I was giving her carprofen and glucosamine chews. Things got progressively worse. My vet thought she might have an issue with a disc and referred me to an animal neurologist. They wanted to do a MRI to see what was going on and said that surgery on disc was usually successful. $8000 later they determined that there wasn't an issue with her disc and that it was degenerative myelopathy. Basically ALS for dogs. There was nothing they could do. I had to put her down in December. Knowing what I know now I would have had them do the genetic testing first to look for markers for the disease. They used the process of elimination to get the diagnosis but it was my money that was getting spent. It's ridiculous that I could go get a MRI for me for $1k or less and it cost that much for a dog. Some of these vets are like predatory lenders. They want to see how much they can milk out of you.

 

[POPS73]

Duh!!!!! There is no line!!

 

[baxterday]

Just like the Drs. that work on humans, Vets can be as or more money hungry, playing on the emotions of distraught owners. Three are some good ones in the area, but I have found the majority to be greedy and unethical. Last really great Vet we had was in Williston, FL. He truly cared about animals and not his Rolls Royce payment.

 

[glocker]

Here's a story for you.

A buddy of mine and his wife adopted a rescue cat. Cat cost $5. Required to be spayed on adoption. Said cat got sick. The wife took it to the vet at UGA vet school. $5000 later the stray cat was cured. A few weeks later my buddy came home from work and the cat ran out the door. He tried to catch it but as it never liked him it just ran further away. He went home figuring the cat would come back. Wrong! Cat was ran over and killed. Wife blamed him for the cat's demise. Physically attacked him. Led to police being called. She filed for divorce! He spent a fortune on attorneys fees. Still had to pay alimony. Don't know the final cost but I do know it all started with a $5 cat.

5 bucks for a cat? That’s almost cheap as the Costco roasted chicken !!!

 

[GAGunguy]

We have pet insurance, not sure what it costs, but when the chow/golden mix had an intestinal issue it probably saved us a couple thousand. Overnight stays at the vet are pricey.

I would recommend pet insurance for anyone that has a pet.

 

[MRH]

I love my dogs but I do have point I will not go beyond. I have a 10 year old son to take care of and I won’t allow us to go belly up for our pets. They are part of the family but they are not my children.

I have spent a couple thousand at the vet for emergency treatment. My Lucy girl. She was a 3 year old Weimaraner. She died anyway. I was heartbroken.

Insurance sounds like a good idea, but I am willing to bet it is one of several reasons why vets gouge folks like they do.

 

[MRH]

I'm a lucky guy. My neighbor and I share two yard cats. She waters and feeds them but for some reason they sleep in the chairs on my front porch every night. They are feral as hell. Nobody pets them but they bring us both "gifts". Before they showed up we had a plague of chipmunks. Now I never see any. Remind me of our barn cats back home. Perfect cats!

I like having a cat or two around the place. Outside only. They are great for varmints. A little Meow Mix is worth the trade off.