by Claire
Pet ownership can be very expensive. We have two dogs and feeding them alone is costly. I’m a big believer in “never say never” but tonight when a friend asked for donations to pay for vet bills for her injured cat…I admit it…I said “I will never solicit help from friends to pay for vet bills.” Am I being harsh here? Is it just plain tacky to ask your friends to each contribute to prevent Fido’s leg from being amputated?!
I remember reading that Beks faced vet costs and I think she borrowed to pay those—but I haven’t had a chance to go back and look at the related posts.
It is easy to say that we’d have a dollar limit set ahead of time but the reality is all bets are off if something were to happen to a family pet. Obviously our emergency savings is pathetic so we can’t afford a pet..at all..let alone an injured pet!
Anyway, I hope this isn’t something we have to deal with during this journey but my friend’s request reminds me of the importance of an emergency fund as well as the reality that pet ownership is like anything else…expensive. Oh…and my husband’s employer now offers pet insurance…any thoughts on that? We haven’t even discussed it or looked into it but I do know it is offered. I am not going to sign up for it tomorrow but I am curious to know if any of your have experience with this.
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
We had pet insurance at one time but after the deductible and given that certain procedures/medications had a cap, we barely broke even after paying the monthly premium.
I’d never ask for help paying a vet bill. This weekend we had to take our 10 year old diabetic cat to an animal hospital. She was suddenly very ill and the prognosis was with a week in the hospital and at least a $2000 bill she might make it. We chose to put her to sleep.
Even if we could have afforded it, it would have been hard to stomach the cost. A healthy younger pet with an injury would have been easier. She was getting old and required daily insulin. We still miss her very much and it was quite emotional.
Oh no…I’m sorry about the loss of your cat! It sounds like you made the right decision though. Tough stuff.
My mom has a bulldog, and a random accident meant $2000 in vet bills that could’ve been avoided with insurance. Check up on your breeds- if you have breeds that are prone to health problems, get the insurance.
it’s an animal. take it behind the barn.
there, now you don’t sound harsh, i do 🙂
in reality, yes, I’ve heard of pet inusrance but never looked at the details. if the pet is that important to somebody, they should probably have insurance.
otherwise, let it be put to rest.
Yes, check your breed, but also check the policy limits. You will get some relief from costly vet bills but there are limits to what is covered and how much is allowed for each procedure/condition.
My policy was $500. It cost more than that out of pocket, then the kitty has to go.
That was/is my policy too Jeff! But with my attack the debt mindset taking root even that seems excessive. Let’s hope they stay healthy!
I have three dogs and we spend a ton of money on them, avg is $400+ month. Luckily we are DINKS and only one of us has major debt.
I had two (a spaniel mutt and a Brittany Spaniel) and my fiance had one (Golden Retriever). Unfortunately for us, the largest dog (GR) has the most medical issues and costs us the most money. Which is funny because he was bought as a “well-researched” puppy from a “well-researched” breeder. Mine were rescues with medical problems that no one else wanted, except me of course.
I am of the stance that once I get a pet, that pet is mine for life all expenses included (now the GR is included). That being said. I have lines I won’t cross, but they are not financial. For example, if they get cancer, I won’t pay for chemo, not because of the cost, but because of the toll it would take on the pet and they won’t understand why I am putting them through it. I would rather euthanize and take away the pain. I only hope I’ll never have to do it.
I’ve had pets, and loved them dearly. Thankfully, I was never put into a situation where I had to decide whether or not to spend outrageous sums of money to keep said pet alive. I know that the expense would not have been justified over the mortgage payment or groceries, so I’m sure that we would have had to take the euthanasia route.
I want to say that I would never spend thousands of dollars on a pet, but I really can’t as I have no idea what life will bring me in my later years. I can conjure at least a couple of situations where a pet might be my only daily companion at some point. The lengths that someone will go to in that situation are very different from someone in a different one.
A friend of mine is unable to have children and takes great joy in caring for her pets. One of them was sick and needed some testing done. It was expensive but worth it to her. In that case, I can’t judge her for spending the money – although I believe it was far more than I would ever shell out.
You sound sane. One of my parents grew up a true city-slicker in a big European capital and the other on a US apple farm and they both are very matter-of-fact regarding pet’s medical expenses. Maintenance is one thing, but if the procedure cost and possible outcomes are unfavorable you have to make the hard choice. A weekend emergency vet suggested a $2k bowel surgery to prolong the life of our 10 year old German Shepard maybe 6 months on meds and in pain. I couldn’t believe she suggested it. We chose to put her (the dog, not the vet) down.
A friend of ours got pet insurance after their one year old cat experienced a broken leg, abscess in her cheek and something else all before one year of age. During the next year when they had insurance, nothing happened. We joked when she got the insurance that nothing would now happen and sure enough, she never had to use it.
When i worked for a very large lucrative cable company they offered pet insurance through pay roll deduction and i took full advantage of it. I had 4 cats, 2 rabbits and a dog at the time. I really only utilized it a few times for the dog, but it did come in handy. And it was all taken out pre-tax so it didnt really miss the money.
Right now I wish I had it because our newest dog jumped out the car window a few weeks ago and caused a big gash in her front leg which required an Emergency vet visit ($116 to walk in the door) plus the remainder of her fees to get stitched up, bandaged and a splint as well as antibiotics and pain meds.
I myself am a Vet-Tech Student so i knew what was necessary for her procedure. I too her back once for a bandage change, and then when it was time, I removed her splint, bandages and stitches myself. After all, that’s what I’m going to school for!
Luckily, my credit status has improved ever so slightly and I was able to apply for CareCredit (line of credit) for the remainder of her vet bill that was due. Another $265, same as cash for 6 months.
I’m a pet lover through and through, and I’ll do anything it takes to keep them healthy and happy. I’m lucky to have a boyfriend and family members who feel the same way and will contribute any funds needed.
I sure hope you utilize coupons for feeding your two dogs! I know its a life saver for me, whether I buy it at petco/petsmart, target, or costco i get the most savings every time i need to re-up on pet food/litter.
I’m not sure what my financial limit is when it comes to the vet. My current dog is pretty young, 3 or 4, so he shouldn’t have too many issues just yet. I have set up his own savings account at ING. Part of my paycheck each payday goes to him for vet bills. This includes the annual shots and things like heart guard. It does not include food and toys. Hopefully there will be enough in there to take care of him when he’s older. Those arthritis meds are not cheap!
That is an excellent idea. I’ve looked at pet insurance in the past and it just seemed to expensive on a monthly basis. $30/animal, with 2 cats and one dog. Putting $30/month for the remaining cat and dog in savings would give us $360/year. If I don’t use this money for normal vet visits just emergencies like we had this weekend it should cover things.
These are all great comments!!!!
that’s a great idea, ive never thought of that!
Love of pets is great motivation to have be financially responsible and to have a giant emergency fund. Choosing to have an animal means committing to it for life and meeting all of its needs, including expensive healthcare needs. The animal is totally and completely at your mercy, and you have to take seriously that its life is in your hands. I would NEVER cut my pet’s life short by denying it medical care. I’d rather cut all sorts of unnecessary expenses for myself. And I’d rather be frugal in daily life and have a big emergency fund. And if I had to, healthcare (for humans and pets) is the only reason I’d create credit card debt.
I can’t believe no one has suggested just putting the monthly premiums into a savings account of your own. When mr. maven was hardcore trying to convince me to get pet insurance for our 2 young cats, I looked at the numbers and it was totally not worth it. $30/month for 2 animals? then that covers only some of vet costs and you have to pay a deductible? Like Mike says, that comes out to $360/year per animal. Instead of paying a company, put it into savings. In a year or two you’ll have enough to cover expensive procedures/emergency care if needed. If you start early in an animal’s life you’ll have a ton of money a few years down the line, more than enough to cover expensive procedures as an animal gets older. I’d probably get it to $2-$3K and keep it as a pet emergency fund. I was on the path to do that, but due to a breakup, I no longer have the cats, so no longer save the money, though I would have had that much saved up in 3-4 years.
My previous pet was a large dog that got hit by a car when he was 8. He had a $3K emergency surgergy requiring a cast for 3 months. I loved him greatly and spent the money. He lived to be 17, so it was totally worth it.
My workplace offers pet insurance as well; I never got it because my vet actually told me it wasn’t worth it! They recently started offering a vet discount program as well; it’s called “Pet Assure” and it’s only about 8 bucks a month off my pay, so I figured what the hell I might as well try it. Turns out they only pay 25%, but in two months at the vet I had bills for close to $250, so yeah – ended up saving about sixty bucks. I wouldn’t say it’s a substitute for pet insurance, but I think you’ll probably have a way better pay-in to pay-out ratio.
I have always had dogs – we’ve had 2 dogs at all times since 1990. We’ve always had rescues (all costing below $17 – one was free), and the two current ones came with their shots and spayed.
They have all been unbelievably healthy. My sister, a vet, tells me that this is because they are mutts. “Breeds” of dogs are necessarily inbred. Even when you get a pet from a reputable breeder, it will have a genetic predisposition to all sorts of problems. Generally not true of mutts. Our dogs have lived long, healthy lives. We’ve never taken extraordinary measures with any of them. When they finally got too sick (at 13 and 17), we put them down.
I think one thing you have to look at is is how having a pet enriches your life and that of your children. Our dogs are a huge part of our lives, so giving them up is not an option.
Pet insurance isn’t a good deal, once you look into it. I have to admit that we tried to get it for our old dog (she was about 14 at the time), and they refused. Naturally, they like to insure healthy dogs! I like the comment above about starting a pet fund, if you feel it’s necessary.
We spend about $350/year on our dogs, plus food, but could pay less if we attended free clinics. According to my sister, there are a lot of good, cheap dogfoods these days. Definitely no need for fancy, organic or raw foods. Just make sure the protein content is high enough. And avoid feeding them human food! Dry dog food only.
I should also mention that our dogs get exercise twice a day, when we walk them on leashes. We don’t leave them outside, which seriously reduces the likelihood of them getting hit by a car, eating a stick, getting in a scrape with another animal, etc. Plus, it’s good for us!
I can’t believe you have a friend who asked for money for a pet’s vet bill. That is amazing to me. I imagine a very awkward situation with that one.