How much would you spend on your pet?

[Anonymous]

When our dog was 10 (35 pound dog) he developed some health problems. We tried PT, acupuncture and a few other things, and moved on quickly when nothing was working. He was in pain, and it wasn't fair to him to keep him alive. We probably spent a couple thousand on trying new things, and when they didn't work, we contacted Laps of Love and let him go. It was a very difficult experience for our family, as we didn't want to part with him

[Anonymous]

We did spend $10K on our dog but it we were told that, if you spend this $ your dog will be fine and will live years and if you don't he has weeks. We'd just lost a human family member and could not imagine putting our kid through another loss so soon. It worked out and we got several more good years with the dog.

[Anonymous]

What helps me feel better about the dog vet bills is the horse vet bills.

[Anonymous]

Well, they are hunting dogs that cost around $1k each. So…$500? Maybe?

The hermit crab is $0. Just waiting for that god awful creature to die.

[Anonymous]

I did spend thousands of dollars on cancer treatment for my dog, whom I'd had since college. It was both a financial burden for me at the time, and also super stressful as the dog didn't understand surgery, chemo, etc. I vowed never to do it again (and haven't had to make the decision- last dog died naturally).

My brother is currently debating delaying retirement to pay for cancer treatment for his 10-year-old dog.

It's really such an individual choice.

[Anonymous]

If i am being honest, I would drop 50k on my dog if it meant she could live 7-10 more years.

I do view them as family members and my daughters most definitely do.

We're lucky to be in a position to do what is needed.

[Anonymous]

As long as it would actually be beneficial to their longevity and quality of life I'll spend any amount I possibly can.

I spent close to $30,000 on two cancer surgeries for my cat and have no regrets whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

I have insurance. It's not a number, it's a comfort/quality of life issue.

I would not put a dog through chemo, it's painful and the outcomes aren't good. I would pay a lot of money to detox an overdose if he ate a bottle of pills--it's 72-120 hours of fluids and care and then should be back to normal.

[Anonymous]

I can’t afford the bills. My dog is 11 and is starting to have issues. What do I do? CAn he be euthanized or does only my a vet have the right to decide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t afford the bills. My dog is 11 and is starting to have issues. What do I do? CAn he be euthanized or does only my a vet have the right to decide?

Yes, you have the right to decide. It is okay to give them a dignified ending before the issues get severe.

[Anonymous]

Well my lab is 11, so I probably would not spend endless sums of money to prolong his life if he had cancer or something unexpected. We do have pet insurance, which is pretty good about reimbursements.

[Anonymous]

Like others, it would all depend on the prognosis. One dog had cancer and the doctors told us that surgery would only prolong his life another 6 months, at best. He wasn't in pain so as long as he was eating and drinking normally, we let him be until it was obvious that it was time. It was about 3 months.

Our other dog was diagnosed last year around this time and we opted for surgery because the prognosis was good. They doctors removed the tumor and he is just fine now. He is an older dog but he probably has a few more years. That surgery was around 5K.

We have a less than 3 year old dog that we spent 4K on last year because he had an abcess in his mouth. The doctors treated him and he is fine now.

[Anonymous]

I have a chihuahua who could live to be 18 years old. He is 12 now. I've spend $14,000 so far. He is worth every penny. The one major expensive was for some teeth to be extracted.

[Anonymous]

As a nurse I've debated getting shots from farm stores and giving them to my dogs. You go in for a Rabies shot and you need a full physical and everything else and it's $250. I realize vets need to earn a living, but there has to be a cheaper way.

[Anonymous]

it REALLY depends on the dogs age. By the time we found out our dog had cancer she was 14, all we did was make her life comfortable and when it was time, we put her down. We might have spend $1200? She was never ever sick or injured before the cancer diagnosis.

we now have a new puppy and if she were to get critically ill and there was a chance to save her, I think my limit might be 10k? I do have a friend who recently spent 85k on cancer treatments for her rescue dog and I just about passed out when she told me. dog died anyways.