Why do families who are poor, have pets

I'm poor and dying but got my pets 14 years ago when I was in a great job and great health.

Food banks do not turn people away because they have a pet, nor do they see food given to people with pets as a wasted resource! Food banks often try to change the root causes of food poverty. Loneliness and poor mental health can play a role in this and a pet can give someone a great support and routine, which can at times help them get back on their feet. Food banks and benefits aren't about people living on gruel until they can suddenly pay their way.

Poor decision making skills.

Living for the moment rather than planning for the future. A lack of responsibility - just doing what they want rather than thinking through the impact and consequences.

You got all that from a simple question to someone who doesn’t have pet insurance, my only comment on this thread so far?! Relax a little and let the other poster answer if she wishes to.

What!?

Kitchen scraps?
They ate tinned food -as far back as I can remember , 50 years dogs/ cats ate tinned food

😂

Can I ask this, let's imagine you have insurance but it won't cover the full surgery, and there is an additional £4,000 to pay. Are you saying that if people couldn't pay that, they shouldn't own a pet?

Do you think that in order to own a pet, everyone should have thousands stashed aside just in case?

I think people also misjudge the cost as well.

we knew getting our lab would be expensive. We had a general idea of costs having always had labradors. What we didn’t expect was that our new puppy would be £92 a month just for good pet insurance.

wasn’t a issue for us but we had assumed it would be around the £30-40 mark as our previous lab was about that.

we have very good insurance who work directly with my vet, but if we have to see the emergency vet it’s £330 just for a consultation before any treatment. It’s the only emergency vet locally and even the local pdsa vets have the contract with them. this wasn’t the case when we first got our boy. It’s a recent thing that they became the only emergency vets and of course they don’t work with insurance companies.

So what would you do if your pet became unwell?

Nowhere in the OP's very short post does it say that, she literally says why do poor families have pets.

By every metric you could measure, my family were poor and yet we cut out cloth to pay for our pet. She assumes a poor family she knows couldn't pay £900 for the vet but she doesn't know that for sure, doesn't she?

If she said why do people get animals if they aren't willing to budget for them or sacrifice to meet their needs then I would agree with her (and there are many people with money who are too selfish to meet their pets needs) but she didn't, she just generalised about lower income families.

I wonder if some posters are being deliverately obtuse or disingenuous.

The OP isn't suggesting that anyone but the wealthy should own pets. Or that people on a lower income should have pets.

When she asked why 'poor people' have pets, she doesn't mean people who have to cut back on luxuries to afford a vets bill or prioritise differently for a month or two or who need a repayment plan at the vets. Or who have to fit animal food into their existing weekly household food budget.

She means people who can't afford to feed them properly or look after them adequately. People for whom there are no 'luxuries' to cut back on. If you can afford your pets through 'making a few sacrifices', I don't think she's talking about you.

What do you do when the family of 3 suddenly go on benefits (health, job loss, bereavement etc.) put 2 in care, let them starve?

Not poor now but I grew up very poor..

We had a dog because as a family we felt the financial cost was worth the privilege of having him and we went without things to make sure he was taken care of. I remember one particular surgery that cost £1500. That was a lot of money for us obviously. The vet let us do a repayment plan and we all worked together to pay it off. We sold some of our things, lived off beans and toast for weeks. Some of us who were in our teens did odd jobs for neighbours. The dog had his surgery. We brought him home and my mother took such good care of him afterwards, cooked him a plain dinner and changed his bandages every evening. He was 10 years old and lived another 3 years.

In contrast, our well off neighbours used to shoot their dogs if they got too old or sick to work (farming family) as they said it was cheaper than a vet!!

Some of these responses are so condescending. Low income does not mean irresponsible and it does not mean an animal is going to be neglected, just as high income doesn't guarantee the opposite. Clearly we adored and cherished him when we were willing to sacrifice so much for him.

We have two elderly dogs, who we got as puppies. Our disposable income now isn't as good as it was when we got them, exacerbated by COL (and kids!). On paper, they're an expense we can't really afford, but they're members of the family and so we sacrifice other things in order to cover their needs. Circumstances can change very quickly for people, but there are also definitely plenty of people who buy a cute puppy or kitten with zero research into how much they'll cost over the next 10-20 years.

People's circumstances change. You can't go through life thinking oh I'd better not get a cat/dog/rabbit because 5 years down the line,I might be made redundant/develop an illness that leaves me unable to work.

That is horrible. But people who do have money can and do do the same too.
Having money does not mean you will take proper care of a pet.

I know a family with five DC, and no working adults (all on benefits) who have six pets, and recently left their cat to die at home because they didn’t want the vet bill.

Pets are a luxury and they deserve a good life, and medical treatment. If you can’t offer that, don’t get a pet, because they deserve better.

You can say the same about having children.. why have them if you know you won’t be able to support them? Obviously if one’s financial situ changes that’s different.

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/how-we-help/ownership/hope-project

This has some.good info

I’m disabled. My dog is my trained service dog.

is he a pet or not?

What do you suggest? Everyone on benefits should submit their outgoings for your approval?

You could argue that poor people do a life with a lot less and waste very little. Even homeless people take great care of their dogs.

I don't think they're the same thing either, I'm saying that many people put a family pet in that same bracket of "things they should have". Try telling the average dog owner that their pet isn't essential.

I'm old and partially disabled. I live alone in a remote rural area. I have a an old horse and a young cat. The works pension pays for the horse and some of the my old age pension pays for the cat. They are my boon companions and they give me a reason to carry on living. The horse has aged out of his insurance and if he becomes chronically ill, I will have him pts.
The cat is my constant friend and companion. He's insured and has a veterinary payment plan for vaccinations, health checks and any treatments that he requires. If I die, he will be cared for by the Cat's Protection Society and found a suitable home.

Because, quite rightly we don’t police people’s spending. There are people out there earn massive salaries but overspend, living on overdrafts or credit cards every month, maybe they shouldn’t have a pet either.