Reply to When you can't afford $12,000 pet surgeries

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It really depends on the circumstances. If your dog is only 2 years old and needs a $5,000 surgery, are you really going to consider putting it down?? That's much different than an elderly dog who needs a $5,000 procedure that may or may not improve quality of life. [/quote]

Outcomes matter, too. We had a kitten growing up who developed a tumor that made it impossible for him to use his back legs. The vet explained that even if we removed the tumor, he probably would not get use of those legs back because of damage to his nerves from both the tumor and the surgery. We had him put to sleep. That seemed like a cruel fate to assign to him, and the vet was in full agreement that it would be a short, hard life.

One thing I learned from that experience, though, is that even short lives are worthwhile. We were very fond of that kitten and loved playing with him, gave him an affectionate name, and I have nice memories of him even though we only had him a couple months and half of that time he was ill. You cannot measure the value of a pet's life in the length of his life. Quality matters much, much more. That's why I'll never do life-saving intervention on a pet unless I know they have a reasonably good chance of living a healthy life after, even if I can afford it.[/quote]

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