Do you have a limit?

[SpringerLover]

I just read an article linked by someone on FB about how much we spend on our pets. And it really made me think about how much I have/would/could spend on each of my pets.

I don't have a set limit. I have back up options for payment. I don't currently have a savings account just for them. All future pets will have pet insurance, for sure.

But I have spent thousands of dollars on each of my pets over their lifetime, just on veterinary care. It's not because I'm rich (I wish that was the case), but because if I know it can be fixed, I'm certainly going to give it my best go.

I guess I should consider myself lucky that "emergencies" have only been a couple hundred at most. We work with some very, very, very expensive dogs at work and that also makes me think about how far I would go. One of the dogs I currently work with had a total hip replacement. Not a salvage procedure like an FHO, but a hip replacement. The owner did presurgical rehab (prehab), surgery, and is now doing rehab post surgery as well. She is also not rich.

Sometimes I feel like I spend too much. But then I look at them as living, breathing beings, and I can't... not.

I know I'm not alone here, haha. But that article made me feel almost selfish. And I don't want to feel that way!

 

[Beanie]

I don't have a set limit either. I know if something came up there would be a cost-reward analysis. If Auggie came up tomorrow with cancer and they told me I could spend $10k and it had a 10% chance of working and even if it worked we might only have another two years... I would kiss my dog and have the absolutely best remaining time together we possibly could have. But I couldn't spend that much money on a small risk.

If, on the other hand, they told me it was $2000 for the same risk... I would more than likely do it.

I don't have a line drawn in the sand either of where this is acceptable and good and this is not, it just all depends on so many things.

 

[JessLough]

Yes and no.

I drop... A lot on my pets. My mom can't believe the amount I will pay in veterinary care for them in one go. They're living beings and my responsibility to give them the care they require.

But... I'm also not one to drop several thousand dollars on a single vet visit. It just wouldnt be fair to my other pets if i am poor. So, unless the treatment is 100% sure (or **** close) to solve the problem and it likely won't return and kill them three months down the road, yah, i do have a limit.

It's not a set number, and I've never been in that position yet, but I know that it's possible I could be.

 

[JessLough]

I don't have a set limit either. I know if something came up there would be a cost-reward analysis. If Auggie came up tomorrow with cancer and they told me I could spend $10k and it had a 10% chance of working and even if it worked we might only have another two years... I would kiss my dog and have the absolutely best remaining time together we possibly could have. But I couldn't spend that much money on a small risk.

If, on the other hand, they told me it was $2000 for the same risk... I would more than likely do it.

I don't have a line drawn in the sand either of where this is acceptable and good and this is not, it just all depends on so many things.

That's basically what I was trying to say.

 

[PWCorgi]

Siri has health insurance that is really, really good. Which means I never worry about a limit with her. Yes, I mean, if it was something that went on and on and on I could still spend A LOT OF MONEY, but it would only be 10% of whatever is going on. It is a huge relief to not have to worry about it.

With Frodo, so much more of my worry is spent about what I can do with his mental health what it is. He is currently having some worrisome symptoms/health issues. If it ends/ended up being something that would require ongoing care/many vet visits, without a great prognosis, I would not do it. He is a hard dog to handle at the vet, and he become very stressed very fast at the vet. I wouldn't put him through lots of visits for a maybe, or even just for a little more time, because that's not fair to him.

 

[Elrohwen]

Like most, I don't have a set limit. I am lucky enough to be able to pay for any regular vet visits or emergencies without having to take out a loan or eat ramen for a month, so I haven't been in a position to hit my limit. It all really depends on the situation, the chance of success for whatever it was, age of the dog, etc.

 

[BostonBanker]

Yes and no. As was already said, there is a point where you have to wonder if a small chance of recovery is worth the cost of trying. And there is a point where I simply wouldn't be able to get the money together.

On Tristan's last day, the vet asked the questions I knew were coming "Are you considering surgery" and "Do you want to bring him to the clinic so we can monitor him". And my answers were no to both. Some of it was financial - $15k is about normal for colic surgery now, and I would have expected about 1k/day to keep him there. But also - he wasn't really a surgical candidate. Or probably even a "go to the clinic" candidate. Maybe an 85% chance that they would have opened him up and had to put him down on the table. Maybe 3 days of clinic care would have bought him another 3 months at home. Although after he was put down, the vet told me she didn't think he would have even made it up to the clinic.

If he'd been 8 years old and in good health otherwise - surgery probably still wouldn't have been an option. The clinic would have been.

With the dogs - same idea. I'd go into decent debt for either of them in a heartbeat. I don't have a family I need to worry about, so my kids wouldn't be losing out on anything. If a treatment had a good chance of allowing them to live a comfortable life - I couldn't say no. Bring on the credit cards.

I would definitely do insurance on any future dogs.

 

[Julee]

For something I know is going to work and allow the dog to maintain a high quality life, and for a substantial amount of time? No. I just dropped $1200 on Bloo for her GI infection, if it had been a blockage... would have been much, much more. It doesn't matter to me. If I can save my dog, I'm going to.

For something like Beanie mentioned... my response would be very similar to hers.

Lauren, what insurance does Siri have?

 

[xpaeanx]

I'm with everyone else on the depends. I value quality of life very heavily and I don't just include the outlook of the procedure... I include the invasiveness and recovery needed.

So each situation has to be considered on a totally individual basis.

 

[Red.Apricot]

My limit is more about putting the through pain weighed against the odds of success than it is about money.

 

[Taqroy]

I'm with everyone else on the depends. I value quality of life very heavily and I don't just include the outlook of the procedure... I include the invasiveness and recovery needed.

So each situation has to be considered on a totally individual basis.

This is exactly what I was going to say (but I'm pretty sure you said it better).

There is a financial limit to what I would spend. It would be partially enforced by Matt but I know logically I can't go bankrupt to save one of my dogs - like someone else said, it wouldn't be fair to anyone else in my family (dogs or humans).

 

[Laurelin]

What kind of insurance do you all have? This last couple months I've had to spend $1600 on dog vets and it's had me thinking about what I want to do with Nextdog. Mia's already got too many pre-existing conditions to make it worthwhile- everything potentially pricey is already diagnosed. Summer is too old.

I do have a limit but it depends on many factors. Most of all would be risk and quality of life for the animal after the procedure. If Summer had been full of cancer after her ultrasounds then I would not have done anything other than palliative care. If it had been one tumor we could remove fairly easily, I'd have done it.

It really depends. It kills me to think about Mia's issues and what that may mean. Surgery is expensive and high risk with not the best outcomes. I don't want to have to make that kind of decision. We'll deal with it when the time comes.

 

[SpringerLover]

Siri has health insurance...

UPDATE YOUR SIGNATURE, woman! Also, health insurance. I need it for next pets.

 

[*blackrose]

I honestly don't have a lot to spend on expensive treatments, surgeries, etc., so I definitely would have to do a risk vs benefit assessment. I have a credit card that is only used for emergency purposes. And I'd be willing to use it all to save one of the animals if they had a high chance of recovery and living a quality life. For something that would only buy them some time, and/or harsh recovery with low quality of life...I take that into account.

And I'm not above price shopping and "alternate" sources for routine care. For example, Histamine is going to be spayed and vaccinated at the humane society for a total of $60 vs the hundreds of dollars the local vet would charge. I purchased her deworming medication from the feed store for $12 for 4 doses...The vet would have charged me that just to fill the script, not to mention the actual medication cost. I'm stingy when it comes to the price of their routine care so I can afford to handle the emergencies when they come.

 

[sassafras]

I don't have a set dollar limit. Like others, I will do what needs to be done IF it has a reasonable probability of a good outcome, if the pet's personality makes it feasible (I actually have one cat for whom basically nothing will be feasible), and if the cure isn't worse than the disease.

 

[Southpaw]

At the moment I don't have a set limit. But I also don't have many other financial obligations, my pets are pretty much my main expense. So to be honest I don't really give it a second thought when the emergency vet hands me an estimate for $1000+.... there's really no other option I would consider except to authorize treatment.
I was even willing to spend hundreds of dollars to treat my rat's pneumonia if there would have been a chance he'd survive it.

I guess to some degree I don't treat my pets equally here, either. I was going to spend thousands on Juno this winter when she was wasting away, on her emergency visit, ultrasound, endoscopy (which thankfully she didn't need)... and when my cat was in the very same boat a couple years ago, I said uuuhhhh no thanks we don't need expensive diagnostics.

I'm really fortunate that I work where I do. I don't worry much about vet expenses. I also am lucky that I have family/friends who would be willing to help out if needed.

 

[stardogs]

Here, the limit is benefit vs. cost determined on a case by case basis. We have insurance for all of them, a savings account, space on credit cards, and family that will loan money if needed, so we have a lot of flexibility.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I don't have a set limit either. I know if something came up there would be a cost-reward analysis. If Auggie came up tomorrow with cancer and they told me I could spend $10k and it had a 10% chance of working and even if it worked we might only have another two years... I would kiss my dog and have the absolutely best remaining time together we possibly could have. But I couldn't spend that much money on a small risk.

If, on the other hand, they told me it was $2000 for the same risk... I would more than likely do it.

I don't have a line drawn in the sand either of where this is acceptable and good and this is not, it just all depends on so many things.

Yeah, this for sure.

I mean, I spent $1300 to have Jackson's bottom canine tooth shaved down because he had an over-bite which was causing the tooth to poke his upper mouth. He officially got a vital pulpotomy. This was something causing him pain, and I technically could've pulled the tooth for a LOT cheaper but I didn't want to mess up his other teeth, and vet said she doesn't like to pull canines if she doesn't have to... so anyway... some may have said I was crazy for spending that. And I *certainly* am not rich. I was 20 and a poor college student at the time working part-time at a daycare, but luckily I did keep a good amount of savings in the bank and used it all up for that.

But something life or death, yeah I agree with Beanie in that it simply would depend on too many factors.

 

[k9krazee]

My limit is more about putting the through pain weighed against the odds of success than it is about money.

& this

I don't have a set limit either. I know if something came up there would be a cost-reward analysis. If Auggie came up tomorrow with cancer and they told me I could spend $10k and it had a 10% chance of working and even if it worked we might only have another two years... I would kiss my dog and have the absolutely best remaining time together we possibly could have. But I couldn't spend that much money on a small risk.

If, on the other hand, they told me it was $2000 for the same risk... I would more than likely do it.

I don't have a line drawn in the sand either of where this is acceptable and good and this is not, it just all depends on so many things.

It would definitely have to be a decision that we made at the time of need, taking in all of the factors.

 

[PWCorgi]

Lauren, what insurance does Siri have?

Trupanion.