"The $20,000 Pet"

[Whitefang]

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[ckranz]

Not to long ago Khan and I found ourselves in the ER (he ripped off a dew claw). While there a young couple came in and it was clear their dog was in great distress. After the initial exam, there were several treatment options offered that the couple just simply could not afford. It was truly sad because you could tell they really cared for their dog and wanted the best but it was simply out of their reach.

They paid the er exam fee and left with antibiotics and pain meds to go to their regular vet in the AM. It was absolutely heart breaking.

I have also seen those of have plenty of money and yet their dogs eat the cheapest food, get minimal care and have the cheapest toys. Would they spend money on vet care....probably not..and when I mean have money I mean 6 figure incomes.

What is important to value is spending money is an individual decision. What you or I may spend may not be in the ball park for some, or they may not wish to spend it. To complain about someone willing to spend 20k on medical procedures is rather stupid...its their money to spend as they wish.

I have a friend who I know spent a good bit of money battling caner with their dog, for them the few extra months it bought was worth the expense. She was devastated when she lost her dog. (Ironically the dog died of old age as the cancer had gone into remission).

When our little Ruggy was diagnosed with cancer, we discussed possible treatments....more importantly, possible outcomes. In her case she was 10years old. Surgery would not have been able to remove all the tumors, and it would have remove significant portions of her spine. The cancer had eaten away most of the hard outer shell of the bones in her legs and she could have had a spontaneous fracture. In her case chemo, radiation or surgery would not have significantly provided a better quality of life so we chose hospice care. We spoiled her for the next 2 weeks until it was clear she was ready to say good bye.

As far as the comments, I don't pay much attention to those anyway. You cannot know who they are from if its some 14yo hooligan trying to get a rise out of people or a serious adult.

[Sarah83]

No way I could spend 20k on my dogs healthcare but if I had the money and the prognosis was good then I wouldn't hesitate and to hell with what people thought about it. What difference would it have made to the rest of the world if this woman hadn't spent that money on her dog?

My money is my own and it's up to me what I spend it on. I'd rather spend £10 a month on world of warcraft and up to £30 a month on cross stitch stuff than spend £100+ each weekend on booze. Apparently that makes me weird so I might as well be even weirder and be happy to pay for medical care for my dog when he needs it

[Fundog]

I remember one year when my cat was still alive, I took him and Annie to the vet for annual boosters and check-up. The vet discovered Andrew was not well enough for vaccinations, and instead recommended a blood draw to find out just how sick he was, and why. It cost us $300, and was the extent of our ability at the time. We ended up having to forfeit other plans/purchases because of it, but we do not regret it to this day. However, that was the maximum that we could fiscally do for Andrew, and so rather than submit to more testing and more expensive treatment, we allowed his illness to run its course and take him naturally. At the time he became ill, he was twelve years old. He passed away due to liver failure two years later, at 14. I do have to confess that at one vet visit I brought up the dilemma of whether or not to euthanize Andrew. The vet observed him for a few minutes, and asked some pertinent questions, and by this it was determined that Andrew still had a bit more time left, and a lot more love to give still. So we enjoyed him while we could. Interestingly enough, I remember the day before Andrew passed away, he insisted on a game of "tackle my arm" and would not allow me to go back to sleep until I had satisfied him. And that was just 24 hours before he died!

All that being said, if one of my dogs were to become sick or injured, Mr. Fundog and I would do everything in our power to help them. If we had the money, and the outcome was optimistic for the dog, we would spare no expense. Unfortunately, we are limited at this time, so if something happened, we would opt to euthanize rather than let them suffer, depending upon how much pain and suffering the illness/injury was causing.

[Whitefang]

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[wvvdiup1]

I realized something while reading this article and that is how many doctors, whether that doctor practices medicine on people or animals, are using another method of treatments they're calling "Preventive Medicine" in the United States. I do not know for sure how doctors practice medicine in other parts of the world. But, for me, I have a few doctors who practice "preventive medicine" and a couple of vets who do the same for animals. The cost of using preventive medicine is cheap, but it requires the willingness of the person to implement this plan either on themselves, their families, or their pets.

What is "Preventive Medicine"? Preventive medicine is taking steps to ensure your, your families, and your pets. It also goes further by keeping an illness such as cancer going to the next level by making the body heal itself/fight the illness, which also uses current, up-to-date medicines, and treatments. Preventive medicine goes as far as keeping you from injuries from exercise by showing/having you do certain things like stretching before you go exercising. Eating the right foods, eating smaller amounts of food, exercising, sleeping -all of those- come under the umbrella of Preventive Medicine.

Thus, reading this article "The $20,000 Pet" and talking about Preventive Medicine, I began thinking about what is in our environment that makes us humans and our pets ill. We think we can control our environment up to a certain degree, however, it is what in our environment we don't see, smell, or feel that may be the cause of our and our pets illnesses. For example, I live in an area of high concentrations of radon. Along with my carbon monoxide and smoke alarms and detectors, I have radon detectors, my basement and house is well ventilated so that this gas doesn't seep into my home. But all this sounds good until you begin to think how many things that humans create aren't exactly faultless or perfect. In any event, we and our pets are affected. I wonder what I could do here to have some control over my environment.

So, here's my thinking: If we implement our own "preventive medicine" on ourselves and our pets, we may not have to fork over a lot of money for veterinary care! Another thing that article pointed out is that even our doctors are "specialized" (they practice certain areas of medicine) and now are our veterinarians here in the United States. Notice that now how hard is it to find a doctor who practices generalize medicine to humans and notice how this trend is spreading to our veterinarians?

NOTE: I call this "Preventive Medicine" but I think they're calling it "Preventative Medicine." Seems to me it's the same thing...

[CoolDog]

AHA! I know what you're saying about preventative medicine, Wvvdiup1! It's taking steps to try to prevent an illness or injury in or to ourselves and our pets just by doing what you've mentioned earlier: Eating the right foods, eating in moderation, exercising, and getting enough sleep, but I think you forgot something here, too, and that's releasing stress. My doctor tells me the same thing, too! But, if we take these steps with our animals, both of us won't need to pay a lot of money in health or veterinary care! When you think about it, didn't our health/physical education teacher tell us the same thing?

[wvvdiup1]

That's exactly it, CoolDog!

[Desiree]

I haven't been on here in awhile so I am just now seeing this thread. I can totally understand why the lady would spend that kind of money on her dog. When my dog Darla was sick, she had thyroid cancer, I spent well over 14,000$ on her. Betweem the initial surgery to remove the tumor, the MRI's, cat scans, and radiation, that was about $6,000. The pneumonia, 13 days in ICU and the trach was the rest of it. I would have done anything I could have for her to make her well again. Unfortunately for us and her, it didn't work out. I would never take the same route again, having learned many things that they don't always tell you, but that was b/c it was too hard on her, not the money. I am by no means wealthy. I had saved for 3 years to buy a new car and spent that on her. She got the nickname Caddillac (sp) But people I work with all thought I was crazy, b/c she is "just a dog". To me my pets are my family and as long as I can afford to take care of them they will get the best care I can get for them. And be happy driving a beater if thats what it takes