Do You Own a Gold-Plated Dog or Cat?
Have you ever had a medical emergency with your pet-friend? Kitty and I had one a few years ago. My son’s girlfriend took Kitty to the vet for me saying that he needed to be wormed. This is a normal occurrence in the life of a pet. And, it’s a relatively inexpensive treatment.
Not this time.
By the time I picked Kitty up from the vet, we’d accumulated an $800 bill, a feeding tube and had a cat that just came out of surgery. The thing seemed to escalate. First it’s a test, then it’s a diagnosis, then it’s a treatment. It’s kind of like being in the taxicab from hell. The vet meter is running and even though you’ve blown your budget several miles back, you’re still accumulating that fare. And anxiously, helplessly watching it skyrocket.
You’d feel like a heel to bail. But, you’re just a teensy-weeny bit tempted. Especially after you compared your bank account against the new vet bills.
How much is the MOST you’ve ever spent on your animal? Did you dude him up with doggy braces, to the tune of $1,200 or have him ingest some illegal substance that just HAD to come out, via the incision in Fido’s stomach? Would your friends and family be astounded by the amount you dropped at the vet?
Did you feel guilty that you even put a price on your little fuzzy one’s head? Share with the Pet-Peeves community on what your sweet pets put your wallet through.
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If I ever totalled all the vet bills for all the animals over all their lifetimes I think I could probably feed a small country somewhere. The biggest bill I remember was $1900.00. Yes almost two grand. I had to rush my beagle Casey to the emergency vet with a high fever and convulsions. She was in ICU with all kinds of tubes and tests. They broke the fever and rehydrated her, but never found out what caused the episode. That was 6 months after we adopted her. Yes we are crazy and yes I would do it again if I ever had to.
Over the course of three weeks, I took my cat Yuna to the vet eight different times for a grand total cost of nearly $900, I think. She was in major gastrointestinal distress, wouldn’t eat, drink or groom herself and was leaking diarrhea wherever she was sitting — which became the litter box very shortly after I discovered that situation. She was rehydrated and soothed, fed, medicated and we tried several different treatment courses before starting her on steroids. It was the longest three weeks of my life.
We own an English Bulldog…enough said.
We love him to bits and treat consider him a family member. We have health insurance on him but that only covers NON hereditary health conditions and he of course suffers from those that are passed on generation to generation.
In the past 19 months (he’s 21 months) I am guessing we have spent about 3K on various treatments, daily suppliments, medication etc. and YES, I would do it again and most likely will down the road.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. A professor where I work just had major work on their dog who had to have reconstructive surgery on their foot after tearing all the tendons. They had a $5,000 bill. And, it all can happen in a second, can’t it?
We have rescued animals for years and “FREE” never means Free! Between a torn ACL in the knee of a treasured little Lhasa Apso named Annie, to cancer in a lovable black Cocker Spaniel named Oreo, to TWO neck surgeries, including the insertion of a rod along the spine of an angel Maltese, M&M, to the neurological issues of our feisty, but tiny 3-pound rescue Yorkie, Crissey Marie–we have spent our retirement on these “FREE” dogs!
But each one was worth the sacrifice and we would do it all over again. They all brought gifts to our lives that only they could have brought. They jump-started my writing career and taught me unconditional love, humility, surrender and “Trusting the Process” (http://web.me.com/inspireddesigns/Inspired_Reflections/Reflections_on_Life/Entries/2009/6/8_Trust_the_Process-Deborah_Thompson.html).
Our lives together were filled with ups, downs, thrills, heartbreak, and more love than I probably deserve. Thank you God, for the privilege of sharing our lives, our hearts, and MUCH of our MONEY with our companion animals who have been some of the greatest blessings in our lives. Caring for them may not have been “free”, but the abundance of their love was freely given and joyfully received.