Vet costs and pets

AdrianH

AdrianH

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My dog was acting a bit odd this morning, wasn't eating, wandering around. She's also been coughing for a week as well. So I took her to the vet this morning and the vet also did some blood tests and ruled out tick bite and the usual stuff. It was discovered she has a high temperature of 40.8 and a high white blood cell count which means she has an infection so he asked to keep her there for the day to get the fever under control.

Vet phoned back late this afternoon and said that her fever has gone down a bit but not to normal level, so he wants to keep her there tonight to ensure she gets better. He also wanted permission to do a chest x-ray to see if there's a reason for the coughing because the blood tests aren't showing anything that can cause the cough. But long story short, the bill will be about R2000, and I said that fine.

My colleagues at work heard the bill amount and started saying that they would never pay that much for a pet and would rather put them down. Their attitude was pretty much the maximum amount they would pay is R1000, anything over that just put the animal down.

Do people really value their pets so little that a bill of R2000 isn't worth the love and joy a pet gives you? My dog is 10 years old, and apart from the annual visits to the vet for boosters, this is the 3rd time she has gone to the vet for being ill which averages out to about R600 per year in vet bills.
 
Paid R10,000 trying to save one of my cats in 2012 that had a blood clot. Would have paid double happily if they saved him.
 
We have petsure...152 a month covers all "hospital" for our doggie
 
I have spent R3500 for a knee surgery (tore a ligament) as well as r3000 for parvo, R2000 to have my shar-pei's eye's tucked (so they dont droop so much). all in all, the best money i have ever spent.
 
My sister has chows. The vet phoned and offered her a beautiful 2 year old male chow for free. The dog had been sick and his owner wouldn't pay for his treatment and told the vet to put the chow down. The vet fixed the dog, told the owner he'd put it down and gave it to my sister. Disgusted with the previous owner who could afford the vet's fees but chose not to pay them.
 
Our old dog goes on average every 6months to the vet for ear cleaning at a cost of R2k. We pay it happily because he is like one of our children. People also rolled their eyes when we paid R1.5k to have our dog cremated and ashes returned to us when she died..said what a waste of money when we were really struggling at the time...grief..she was with us for 10 years..what is wrong with some people??
 
Well, it depends one 1) how much you love your pets and 2) whether or not you can afford it to spend money on expensive medical treatment for pets.

I tend to agree with your colleagues, but other people are welcome to spend their money as they wish, as long as they don't go overboard. It's sad to see people who are already under immense financial pressure spend money they don't have to save the life of a old dog. But if you can afford it, go for it.
 
maumau said:
My sister has chows. The vet phoned and offered her a beautiful 2 year old male chow for free. The dog had been sick and his owner wouldn't pay for his treatment and told the vet to put the chow down. The vet fixed the dog, told the owner he'd put it down and gave it to my sister. Disgusted with the previous owner who could afford the vet's fees but chose not to pay them.
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Sounds strange. Are you sure they could afford it? How would the vet be able to tell?
 
Spent 12K on my Great Dane to try save her. She lost all nerve and feeling in her back.
Unfortunately after spending that it was in vain we were still charged 2K to have her put to sleep.
I love my pets but vets I think are ripping us off.
 
If you don't expect to pay future vet bills when you get a pet, then you can't afford one.

Although when my dogs get to around 14 and they get age related illnesses I will probably have them put down. I don't see the point in trying to give them a few extra months.
 
Hemi300c said:
Spent 12K on my Great Dane to try save her. She lost all nerve and feeling in her back.
Unfortunately after spending that it was in vain we were still charged 2K to have her put to sleep.
I love my pets but vets I think are ripping us off.
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I do somewhat agree with this...I had an emergency with our dog and my vet, who I have been taking my pets to for over 8 years, and knows my dog well, still umm'ed and ahh'ed when I called and asked if he would see him and I pay month end. I was so pissed off but sadly I still use him, better the devil you know than the one you don't and all that.
 
GoB said:
If you don't expect to pay future vet bills when you get a pet, then you can't afford one.

Although when my dogs get to around 14 and they get age related illnesses I will probably have them put down. I don't see the point in trying to give them a few extra months.
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I guess it's the same as people having babies, I see on FB all the time.. "Please help..my sister/brother/niece etc blah is having a baby in 2 months and they have nothing for it" and I just think wtf?
 
As I said in another thread today, my boerboel just had 3 spinal cysts removed at a cost of R20k - three weeks in hospital for recovery (4 physio sessions a day) + went for an MRI at the nearby human hospital. Busy relearning to walk now :(

Cost is what it is - she is a family member to me.
 
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Carol35 said:
I guess it's the same as people having babies, I see on FB all the time.. "Please help..my sister/brother/niece etc blah is having a baby in 2 months and they have nothing for it" and I just think wtf?
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Not to be rude or anything, but did you not in some sense do the same thing by asking to only pay your vet later? If you needed to wait till the end of the month to be able to pay him, could you really afford the treatment without taking too big a financial risk after considering the wellbeing of your family members?
 
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Viva said:
Not to be rude or anything, but did you not in some sense do the same thing by asking to only pay your vet later? If you needed to wait till the end of the month to be able to pay him, could you really afford the treatment without taking too big a financial risk after considering the wellbeing of your family members?
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Lol..not to be rude too but really??? Are you comparing asking a vet for an account (first and only time in 8 years) to bringing a child into this world not being able to afford the necessary basics? No, in no sense did I do the same thing unless I'm totally missing your point. :)
 
Carol35 said:
Lol..not to be rude too but really??? Are you comparing asking a vet for an account (first and only time in 8 years) to bringing a child into this world not being able to afford the necessary basics? No, in no sense did I do the same thing unless I'm totally missing your point. :)
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Sure, it's not the same in magnitude, but the same principle applies.

If you ridicule the one ("...and I just think wtf?"), surely you must feel uneasy about the other.

Remember, asking for an account is a form of short term debt. At some point, the wellbeing of a family must surely take priority over getting the dog's ears cleaned at 4k a year, or cremating the dog that you dearly loved. To my mind, given financial pressure, it's simply a question of priorities. If there is enough money, there is no issue.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
My dog had the parvovirus and he clocked +R3000, no moaning here.
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Our dog also had this dreadful virus last year. We also spent around 3000-4000 on vet bills but luckly he made it.

And then later the year he got diarea and took him to overnight vet near Clearwater and spent another R1500 as it was on a Sunday.

But it seems like some vets don't really care about the animals and are just in it for the money.
 
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