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Veterinary bills

posted 6 years ago by snepts (11123)
34 replies | jump to latest

Yesterday a friend surprised me with a GoFundMe request as her dog needs 2K of surgery BEFORE physical therapy. It's an ugly little pug that hurt itself running around the yard (torn ACL).
At the risk of sounding hard hearted, I don't understand how people adopt pets, fall in love then are stunned at a vet bill. I don't own animals, and I feel bad when they take ill, but I couldn't afford to pay a big bill. And unfortunately, this woman has a ton of college debt which her present job doesn't really address. Plus she recently cracked up a car that had to be replaced with a brand new, fancy and expensive Rav4. She's lucky she lives with a practical boyfriend who pays for a lot.
People need to live within their means, and if that means not being able to pay for surgery on an animal, well that's how it goes.
How do you feel about pets and vet bills?

[–] Catbookss (13664) 6 years ago

This is two questions: how do you feel about pets and vet bills in general? and how do you feel about this specific instance?

About pets and vet bills in general, I feel vet bills have gotten out of hand, just as human doctor bills have. In both cases, increasingly with vets, insurance is necessary when not too long ago people managed to pay without insurance. Because the cost wasn't outrageous.

But they've pretty much got us over a barrel, because whether a child, pet, or ourselves, we do the best we can to help those we love who need it. And yes, to me my animals are members of my family; that's how I feel about pets. They're my responsibility, until death us do part.

About your friend, while I understand she loves her pug and of course wants to help him or her, she's irresponsible with money. I think she's got a lot of nerve asking her friends, at least some of whom are in less better financial shape that she, for financial help.

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

Haha. I must have touched a nerve here.
I like other people's animals, but I kind of have a gag reflex about poop. Whenever I see poop I want to retch. Maybe not poop in a cat box but even those aren't all that appealing. I've never had to pay vet bills but sounds like they are excessive, and health care in general has become tremendously expensive which is a big problem here in the US.
I'm not here to rip on my friend. It was just a surprise to get the Go Fund Me alert. And I have speculated about her finances and I don't think that's fair. Now she's stuck with an injured dog and there it is. I've never considered GFM as an answer but others seem to. She probably isn't cognizant of my perspective when it comes to finances. I suppose to make a GFM account to work, it's not simply the amount of $$ but maybe the amount of hits it gets. Then $1 dollar hits may be more valuable than a $20 one time donation. I really don't know.
But thanks for keeping in touch.

[–] Catbookss (13664) 6 years ago

Eh? Not sure what you mean about touching a nerve, unless you mean about the excessive costs of vet bills, but then you went on to agree that medical costs of all kinds have become a problem at least in the US, so I don't get it.

Well, I was just going off of what you said about your friend's financial situation. If you feel you were unfair and that isn't the case, that's a different story. I do feel for her having an injured pup, and apparently not having the funds to pay to help him or her.

No one enjoys dealing with the poop! But, it comes with the territory, and for me it's a small price to pay for all the joy they bring (along with said poop ;).

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

I figured the thread had died, and iirc, you said you are very invested in your pet(s). I didn't expect you to go further, i.e., touching a nerve.
Sorry if I sound like I am equivocating. I understand my friend's emotion and maybe using social media is a valid way to go. She has a BF who has given her a comfort zone (and he's a long time friend of mine) so I didn't expect a charity plea, but like I said, our knowledge and perception of our personal finances is limited. I was just surprised when she threw that out there and I thought it would make for an interesting GD topic.
And when I say I have a gag reflex, I'm serious. When I see poop in the grass or sidewalk, I quickly look away and try not to think about it. It makes me want to throw up. I don't know why. Some people freak out at the sight of blood. Same thing.
All the best !

[–] Catbookss (13664) 6 years ago

Nah, someone gave it CPR the other day and I found it on page 2. Since I love animals, and vet bills are an inevitable part of having them, I was interested in your thread.

I'm one of the people who freak at the sight of blood. Human poop makes me gaggy. I had a friend over for a BBQ recently and she brought up the topic (won't go into why *gag*) and I told her to stop because we were going to be eating in about 15 minutes 😬

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

And now, for the rest of the story ....
Turns out the dog is pretty old, and it gets around ok when it can and rests when it needs to. They are just going to let it be the way it is. I kind of regret making her look bad. I think she just freaked out over the cost and since she is a real computer geek, her first thought was GoFundMe. All the other stuff was just conjecture and window dressing.
Still, we had a nice convo about it, right?

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Kind of easy being female isn't it? Just find a man, he'll pay for it all!!

I believe people should think in advance and live within their means as well. Pets cost a lot of money, especially when they get sick or hurt themselves. Pugs are prone to lots of problems because straight up, their design is all wrong.

I can't help but laugh at college debts too. Does she even work in a field related to her studies? Was the expense worth it in the end?

So anyway, how do I feel about vet bills? I am neither black or white about it. In the case of the woman you mention it sounds like she just does what she wants and then complains about the expenses later on. You can't do much for those people but let them fall.

If it were some elderly person and that pet was like vital to their well being and happiness than yeah, sure, I might pitch in a little to help them out. Or at least understand why they would go to the expense of saving their little buddy.