Highest veterinary bill?

[Sunnyday]

Jan 25, 2024 18:22:23 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Approaching $20K and counting while the initial bills were about $14K. 

This is a fear of mine. I've been wanting a dog for so long, that I know that when I do, that it will be for life, and I will likely spend that kind of money.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I do think owning a pet comes with having to really think about what you are willing to spend on quality/longevity of life.

I had people on here call me a monster for not doing chemotherapy on Sabah.   But based on current research I would have been spending close to $20k to maybe if I was lucky get a few months more with her and it was not going to improve her qualify of life any.   So we chose to let her go.

Doing the heartworm treatment on Charlotte was a no brainer.  It was caught extremely early, she's fairly young and it has a very high success rate.  Plus it was only $1200.  That being said our vet was surprised we agreed so quickly because $1200 is something a lot of pet owners would balk at and he doesn't entirely blame them for it.   We had the cash upfront but since we've been long term clients they allowed us to pay as we went to spread it out.

[chiver78]

that was pretty much the logic behind the three knee surgeries. Punk was 5 and 6yo for hers, and LD is way too mobile, even at 8 when he had his surgery. the recycle bin diving episode was a no-brainer for how routine that procedure apparently is. but even still, definitely thankful I decided to insure when Punk was a puppy. b/c there was a stretch that I would not have been able to afford any of that OOP with the stupid financial decisions I was making. 

[TheOtherMe]

There is no way my finances could take on a $10,000 to $20,000 vet bill.  I can't increase my income and $20K would be almost 1/3 of my income.  

If only I had gotten the insurance when I first got the cats and they had no known ailments.  That is now in the past.

[steph08]

Jan 26, 2024 11:23:49 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I do think owning a pet comes with having to really think about what you are willing to spend on quality/longevity of life.

I had people on here call me a monster for not doing chemotherapy on Sabah.   But based on current research I would have been spending close to $20k to maybe if I was lucky get a few months more with her and it was not going to improve her qualify of life any.   So we chose to let her go.

Doing the heartworm treatment on Charlotte was a no brainer.  It was caught extremely early, she's fairly young and it has a very high success rate.  Plus it was only $1200.  That being said our vet was surprised we agreed so quickly because $1200 is something a lot of pet owners would balk at and he doesn't entirely blame them for it.   We had the cash upfront but since we've been long term clients they allowed us to pay as we went to spread it out.

Same with us - our boxer was 6 when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, but this was 12 years ago and DH had just graduated from going back to college and I made like 35k. We couldn't see spending 5-10k on chemo when even the vet said that chemo for dogs is not like chemo for humans. It very rarely is a cure - it is just going to buy us maybe a year. 

We did a chemo pill and steroid pill combo, and he got 6 more months of good, quality life from that, plus he didn't have to go to the vet for IV chemo every week, which he would have hated. It was maybe $50-100/month for the meds.

I know someone who did do chemo for her boxer's lymphoma. I think he lived 9 months. 

[Bonny]

Jan 26, 2024 11:23:49 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I do think owning a pet comes with having to really think about what you are willing to spend on quality/longevity of life.

...

Doing the heartworm treatment on Charlotte was a no brainer.  It was caught extremely early, she's fairly young and it has a very high success rate.  Plus it was only $1200.  That being said our vet was surprised we agreed so quickly because $1200 is something a lot of pet owners would balk at and he doesn't entirely blame them for it.   We had the cash upfront but since we've been long term clients they allowed us to pay as we went to spread it out.

This is something I say about both vet and my own medical stuff. I am so very   that I can afford the care because so many people can't.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jan 26, 2024 0:06:25 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

Jan 25, 2024 18:22:23 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Approaching $20K and counting while the initial bills were about $14K. 

This is a fear of mine. I've been wanting a dog for so long, that I know that when I do, that it will be for life, and I will likely spend that kind of money.  

I don’t think you should look at it as “likely”.

I have had and lost several dogs during my life. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and have always taken my dogs to the vet when it seemed like something was wrong. I’ve had to make some really tough decisions, but I can’t recall having spent more than $1500 at once to “fix” something for any of my dogs.. Trying to save my Bullmastiff wouldn’t have even cost $10k, and I didn’t do it only because the odds were not in her favor as far as it actually helping her.

I’ve cried rivers over the dogs I’ve had when they left me for one reason or another, but I would not change anything because they were all so special to me in their own ways. The pain of losing them was awful, but the joy of having had them in my life reminds me of the saying “it’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved” or however it goes lol. I know that saying is really referring to human relationships, but that’s how I view things with my dogs.

The first time I had to make a tough decision by myself, was with my chow chow. The receptionist at the vet came out and hugged me and cried with me. She told me to try to hold on to the fact that I’d given my dog a good, loving home and said she knew I took good care of her, from me bringing her to the vet over the years. She told me my dog could’ve ended up anywhere, and possibly in a home where she wouldn’t have been loved and cared for like she was in my home.

Her words meant a lot to me, and I remembered them the next time I had to make a tough decision, and when I lost my big Poodle.

You are doing great to have a plan for having some money set aside to care for your future dog if he/she ever needs something besides routine care. I think you said $10k in your OP. I think that is more than enough. As a dog lover myself, I wouldn’t let the unusual cases here, deter you from getting a dog. Yes, you could run into those kinds of unexpected expenses, but I think it is more likely that you won’t. Imo, the joy of a faithful canine companion is priceless.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jan 26, 2024 0:06:25 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

Jan 25, 2024 18:22:23 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Approaching $20K and counting while the initial bills were about $14K. 

This is a fear of mine. I've been wanting a dog for so long, that I know that when I do, that it will be for life, and I will likely spend that kind of money.  

While not impossible it's also probably unlikely.  Between myself and my parents we've had 10 dogs so far and not a one of them has ever cost us $10k+ plus.

One of the reasons I won't own an Aussie again is because as I was doing research I learned about the high rate of cancer even in mixed breed Aussies.  That is not something I want to take on again, not only because of expense but because it was so freaking heartbreaking.   

Turns out Basset Hounds can also have a high rate of liver/pancreatic cancer.  Like in people once that appears there is really no going back.   There is a part of me that loves basset hounds but another part of me isn't keen on owning another one for that reason.

When purchasing pugs we look for breeders who don't select for extremely pushed in noses.  Obviously pugs still have smooshed faces but if you look at Wilbur you can tell he has a muzzle. That makes a significant difference with their potential breathing problems.

Hip dysplasia can be a thing in labs and isn't something I can 100% stop from happening but in general picking a reputable breeder (in the case of Wilbur, Charlotte was a rescue), making sure they stay active and regular vet care can help with that.

I can't predict or control everything but in general with dogs if you do your research and have a discussion with yourself about what you are willing treat/how much you're willing to spend.  Get a dog!  I wouldn't trade any of my pets for the world.   They've given me far more than I have ever spent on them.  

I can't imagine my life without a dog.  To the point where after Sabah died I was swearing we'd take a break but ended up with Charlotte three weeks later because I couldn't stop trolling the humane society page.

[souldoubt]

Jan 26, 2024 0:06:25 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

Jan 25, 2024 18:22:23 GMT -5 souldoubt said:

Approaching $20K and counting while the initial bills were about $14K. 

This is a fear of mine. I've been wanting a dog for so long, that I know that when I do, that it will be for life, and I will likely spend that kind of money.  

To be fair over 60% of what we spent was on the surgery which had they known it was lymphoma before would not have been required.  We also live in a HCOLA so I'm guessing they get away with charging a bit more.  As other posters said our situation is not the norm.  I've had numerous pets in my lifetime as have my in-laws and our older cat is an outlier.  That said I totally understand where you're coming from.  I'm thankful we could do what we did and feel bad for people who can't because pets are family.  They did offer an option of coming to our house or taking her somewhere that she could be put down peacefully if we couldn't afford the surgery or treatment.  Not most people's first choice but at least it's an option so they don't suffer.

In my experience whatever the outcome the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to having pets.  I think having pets definitely makes most people happier, improves their quality of life and leads to a longer life. 

[Sunnyday]

Jan 26, 2024 15:50:10 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Jan 26, 2024 0:06:25 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

This is a fear of mine. I've been wanting a dog for so long, that I know that when I do, that it will be for life, and I will likely spend that kind of money.  

I don’t think you should look at it as “likely”.

I have had and lost several dogs during my life. I consider myself a responsible pet owner and have always taken my dogs to the vet when it seemed like something was wrong. I’ve had to make some really tough decisions, but I can’t recall having spent more than $1500 at once to “fix” something for any of my dogs.. Trying to save my Bullmastiff wouldn’t have even cost $10k, and I didn’t do it only because the odds were not in her favor as far as it actually helping her.

I’ve cried rivers over the dogs I’ve had when they left me for one reason or another, but I would not change anything because they were all so special to me in their own ways. The pain of losing them was awful, but the joy of having had them in my life reminds me of the saying “it’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved” or however it goes lol. I know that saying is really referring to human relationships, but that’s how I view things with my dogs.

The first time I had to make a tough decision by myself, was with my chow chow. The receptionist at the vet came out and hugged me and cried with me. She told me to try to hold on to the fact that I’d given my dog a good, loving home and said she knew I took good care of her, from me bringing her to the vet over the years. She told me my dog could’ve ended up anywhere, and possibly in a home where she wouldn’t have been loved and cared for like she was in my home.

Her words meant a lot to me, and I remembered them the next time I had to make a tough decision, and when I lost my big Poodle.

You are doing great to have a plan for having some money set aside to care for your future dog if he/she ever needs something besides routine care. I think you said $10k in your OP. I think that is more than enough. As a dog lover myself, I wouldn’t let the unusual cases hear, deter you from getting a dog. Yes, you could run into those kinds of unexpected expenses, but I think it is more likely that you won’t. Imo, the joy of a faithful canine companion is priceless.

Yes, I believe this. At this point in my life, I think I rather give what love I have to give to a dog.  My goal of home ownership is in large part to ensure that I can always keep a dog.  I was looking at the cost, interest rates and what I currently pay in rent, and financially it doesn't make sense to buy a condo.

Maybe it'll make more sense in a couple of years, but not now.  But the stability in knowing that a landlord won't keep jacking up pet rental fees or change their mind about animals, well that is priceless as well. 

[Sunnyday]

So I just spent the last 20 minutes looking at dogs at the animal shelter website.

They are asking for "experienced" owners because a lot of the dogs are "reactive." They can't be around other animals and children.

Almost all have that description, there were some puppies, but they are the breeds that requires lots of exercise, and that ain't me. 

Most were what I would call "pitbull" mixes. I'm not scared of pitbulls, but clearly they had previous bad owners and they weren't properly socialized or trained, and most of them are around the 3-5 years range, so the possibility of me being able to work with them successfully on their issues is pretty low. 
I haven't had a dog since I was a kid. 

I also emailed my landlord, asking about the renewing the lease and the conditions, very subtly hinting that I might go rent somewhere else if I'm not allowed a dog.

It's a bluff, but who knows..... might work.....

[chiver78]

Sunnyday - have you thought about fostering? that way, you could brush the rust off your dog handling skills, and see what level of activity you're comfortable with across the breeds. that will ultimately end up helping you find your furever friend.