These stories...I still get weepy thinking about our critters that died or had to be put down. (And with every one that had to take that final ride we now realize we waited too long. The animal was miserable. It was us that couldn't deal with the death.)
In terms of pricey critters, I would like to introduce our Corgi named Stuart. We have macadamia trees and Stuart loved to crack and eat those macadamia nuts. If you have never tried to crack one of those, it is really tough to do. Anyway, last April my wife's father had just passed away. We were under a large pile of grief and details. Suddenly Stuart stops eating and starts throwing up. Off to the Animal ER. Found a whole macadamia nut in his intestine. Surgery. IVs. Over 3 days in the ER. Copilot - I'll call your $850 bill and mulitply it several times. Stuart came through just fine.
Why go this far? The dog was young and healthy. We had just lost one beloved family member and we did not want to lose another.
Pets are costly
-
CoPilot
- Status: Offline
OB- I hear ya! Right after our expensive visits, my co-workers all asked me why I did it, why I didn't just have her put down or leave her somewhere by the side of the road. YEAH, messed up people, I tell you. How can you NOT help an animal like that? I would've paid 3 times what I did if it required! You can't put a price on luv and health.
-
77_Bus_Girl
- 100th MEMBER!!!
- Location: Beautiful BC
- Contact:
- Status: Offline
-
spiffy
- IAC Addict!
- Location: Walla Walla, WA
- Status: Offline
We used it for awhile but our cats (listed by the Copilot ^^^^^) are young and healthy and the yearly vet check ups are fairly cheap. So it is not really cost effective for us but it may make more sense when the get older and need more to keep em healthy.77_Bus_Girl wrote:May be a silly question - but do people use pet insurance down there? All my friends and I have health insurance for our dogs. (if only I could convince the government they are really my kids, I could get FREE health care...)
78 Riviera "Spiffy"
67 Riviera "Bill"
67 Riviera "Bill"
-
hambone
- Post-Industrial Non-Secular Mennonite
- Location: Portland, Ore.
- Status: Offline
Pet Insurance....what a kooky land we live in.
I'm gonna get a babysitter for my bus so she won't get lonely.
Pet insurance!
I'm gonna get a babysitter for my bus so she won't get lonely.
Pet insurance!
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat
-
77_Bus_Girl
- 100th MEMBER!!!
- Location: Beautiful BC
- Contact:
- Status: Offline
-
LiveonJG
- IAC Jester!
- Location: Standing on the side of the road, rain falling on my shoes.
- Status: Offline
These are sad tales, thanks to all who've shared.
I really can't see the point of abandoning pet ownership due to the inevitable demise of the pet. You make it sound that all the years of love and companionship that a pet has to offer are minimal compared to the last few moments of the animal's life. Dogs and cats have much shorter life spans than the big monkeys that care for them. Death is the natural end to life. The sadness can be overwhelming but to the degree that you'd never want to go through it again? Never have those loving eyes looking up at you? Never having that head thrust under your hand for a good scratch? Never to be greeted with unbounded enthusiasm when you get home? Don't lose the lifetime spent with your pet just because the end is so hard.
-John
I really can't see the point of abandoning pet ownership due to the inevitable demise of the pet. You make it sound that all the years of love and companionship that a pet has to offer are minimal compared to the last few moments of the animal's life. Dogs and cats have much shorter life spans than the big monkeys that care for them. Death is the natural end to life. The sadness can be overwhelming but to the degree that you'd never want to go through it again? Never have those loving eyes looking up at you? Never having that head thrust under your hand for a good scratch? Never to be greeted with unbounded enthusiasm when you get home? Don't lose the lifetime spent with your pet just because the end is so hard.
-John
Keep it acoustic.
-
OB Bus
- Status: Offline
Yes we could have purchased pet insurance for our dog. The ins policies require you to have twice a year checkups (which we already do), and stay current on all the shots (which we also do). In addition most require you to have comprehensive annual blood, urine and fecal tests and well as a list of required x-rays. This is a quick way to add $600-$1000 to your annual vet bills. In the case of our corgi, the best insurance we could fiind only would have covered about $900 of our bill -- a small portion of the total.77_Bus_Girl wrote:May be a silly question - but do people use pet insurance down there? All my friends and I have health insurance for our dogs. (if only I could convince the government they are really my kids, I could get FREE health care...)