Pets are a luxury

[Custardandcreamp]

I have a friend who is on benefits and struggling financially. She has a dog that doesn’t get the proper care it needs because of her money troubles, so the dog lives on a small amount of own brand kibble each day and never visits a vet. She threw her carpet away as she couldn’t afford flea treatment when her house was infested, and now lives in a house with boarded floors so her children get splinters in their feet often. She told me this morning she wants to get a puppy and I lost it and said she’s being selfish and cruel to do that when her existing dog isn’t eating how it should. I reminded her pets are a luxury and when you’re on benefits they are to cover important things such as bills, rent and food. She disagreed as I knew she would, and phoned a benefit advisor in front of me asking if she could claim benefits for her dog! Obviously they said no.
im not sure what to do now or if I was being unreasonable to snap, but I don’t think people on benefits who are not in a financial position to spare excess money to care for a dog properly should have one.
I know pets are a life line for many, particularly the elderly, but if the pets needs aren’t being met then they shouldn’t exist for the humans gain. I now feel really strongly that those in a bad financial position should not be allowed to own a pet without a certain amount of spare income a month.
i know this won’t be popular for many, but I’m genuinely concerned about her dog and future puppy so it got me thinking about pets in the same position all over the country, even world. It’s in no way a benefit bash because I went through a bad patch and needed them once upon a time, there are those who work hard and don’t receive help yet struggle financially too and I think this applies to those families aswell, and I know circumstances change such as a job loss, and temporary financial difficulties so this is aimed at those who already have trouble paying for food and bills yet get a pet anyway.
Does anyone think more should be done to ensure pets go to homes that will meet their life time needs?

Pets are definitely a luxury but I think the "more should be done to ensure pets go to homes that will meet their lifetime needs" bit is unrealistic and on that basis unreasonable. More done how and by whom? With regards to dogs and other large animals (especially horses and ponies who are also sometimes horribly neglected and similarly to dogs don't wander the unfenced world unsupervised) however it might well be realistic.

I do think dogs (and perhaps horses and ponies) should have to have insurance (both health and liability) and have to be registered with proof of this. This is enforceable in some other countries, where (surely not coincidentally) dogs are also much better trained on average - having an off lead dog run up to you is almost unheard of in some countries and this situation is better for the dogs, not only the general public!

That poor dog - please do the right thing to help it by reporting your friend to the RSPCA. The below is advice from the Police

Animal cruelty
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Animal cruelty is when someone doesn’t care for or deliberately hurts an animal.
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It can include anything from physical violence, to deliberate mental distress or neglect, for example not feeding or cleaning an animal.
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If you see, or suspect, that a person may be treating an animal badly, whether this is physical violence, neglect or any other form of cruelty, you should report this to the RSPCA’s cruelty line (8am-8pm, seven days a week).
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You can contact them on 0300 1234 999. The call will cost the same as any call to a UK landline number.
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We work with the RSPCA to investigate cases of animal cruelty.

Animal Cruelty- the Metropolitan Police

YANBU to tell your friend that she shouldn't get a puppy.

While i would not use the term 'a luxury' because to me this implies fancy meals out better than average cars / phones / clothes etc

I agree that the cost of a pet certainly needs to be taken into consideration before purchasing one whether it be a mouse or a horse .
If your friend can not afford the very basics like decent dog food and monthly flea treatment for her current dog and house there is no way she could afford it for two dogs, what would she do if one needed vet treatments ?
I would be cross and disappointed with her is she went ahead and bought another dog ( or any pet )

My cat has just cost me £1,400 last month and £1,200 a few months ago , not a cost I expected at all but he is in my care and I have to provide for him so I do .

If she can't afford to flea a dog (which you can buy for as little as £4) then how can she afford a puppy?!

She's being irresponsible

I agree with you, pets are a luxury and your friend sounds very selfish.

Yes definitely a luxury. Our cat cost us £800 recently in vet treatment for a cancerous lump to be removed and that was with insurance (older cat) but she's our responsibility so it wasn't a question of what do we do. It sounds like she isn't taking proper care of her kids if they are getting splinters from the floor let alone pets.

The Insurance rule would be great wouldn’t it, breeders ensuring new owners can cover all costs for their reassurance too would help. I know there are a lot of back yard breeders who only want the money, but the good ones would surely want their puppies going to good safe homes. Even a minor credit check somehow. I know very unrealistic to expect the government or anyone to bring in a law like this but it would help in cases of neglect and cruelty.

I had a relative who went without a meal once a week to feed her bird which I found bizarre and sad. I know good owners would give their pet their last piece of food if they needed to, but I don’t think anyone should struggle more to keep a pet they don’t need (without sounding heartless). I’d be lost without my pets but I wouldn’t put us or then in a position to go without if I had to live on X amount per week.

I did actually speak to someone at the RSPCA before this talk, and because she does feed the dog (albeit disgracefully) they had no concerns.

Its shocking how pets are neglected. Just look at all the covid cats and dogs who have been returned post covid, mo longer wanted.
It will be the same this winter when the extra costs bite.
I'd like to think that everyone should be able to have a pet to share their lives with but unfortunately pets are not disposable toys and deserve basic care and reasonable food.
I had cats when I was a single mum years ago and there wasn't much money to spare but I would always get them insured and make sure they had decent food and vet care, I was a nurse so I'd go and do extra weekend night shifts when the fees were due like I did to pay for Christmas and birthdays.

I was going to add that I think all pets should be registered and vaccinations and insurance should be mandatory by law. That would make people think twice.

Circumstances do change but she definitely shouldn't get a puppy. We thought very hard before we recently purchased our puppy. We obviously had the purchase cost. The basic set up was easily £400 on top of vacs, fleaing and worming. His food and treats are about £40 a month and a decent whole life insurance policy is £22 a month. That doesn't include leads, collars, coats, brushes, toys, etc. Being a responsible dog owner isn't cheap. I don't even know how those on benefits afford it.

I think it should be a legal requirement to have pets insured too. Ours cost a couple of thousand in treatment recently. Wouldn't have been able to afford that without insurance. I know the PDSA treat pets for people on lower incomes though.

I agree too. I don't want benefits payed for by my taxes to be spent on pet food - unless the pet is a support pet such as a hearing dog or a guide dog or something.

The PDSA do not cover the town I live in. You have to have a postcode in a given area, the closest being a city sixty miles away.

@Custardandcreamp PDSA treat animals for free/ small donation if you claim benefit.

YANBU I feel pets are a luxury if you want one. My Lab now costs me £500 a month in food and pain relief and grooming.

Your friend could foster instead- they give you everything you need including food. Shelters are crying out for help.

Ah I didn't know that. I assumed there weren't many around though.

She phoned up about claiming benefits for a dog?
Right.

What sort of benefits did she think she could claim for a dog?!

She can’t use PDSA from her address, the dog will suffer if it needs medical treatment. I have bought the dog food and treats on occasion but didn’t want to make it a habit as she’s known to ‘borrow’ money from gullible people who feel sorry for her.

yes she thought she would get an increase of her benefits for having another mouth to feed. If it wasn’t so sad I’d laugh as much as my dh did when I told him.

Yes newboots you’re completely right I invented someone because I’m bored, what with not being at school today 🙄give over love

@NewBootsAndRanty I think op means to go via PDSA. Not literally asking for benefits for a dog🙄.

That’s a shame @Custardandcreamp the PDSA do what they can, it’s unfortunate it’s a postcode lottery.

If she can afford a puppy, she can afford to care for her existing pet. I'm not going to condemn someone for using the kibble you don't approve of - for centuries dogs have survived exceedingly well on scraps, kibble you wouldn't approve of and few visits to the vet. And done very nicely, thank you. I am 65 and my parents had healthy and fit dogs that lived into their late teens without any of the "essential" fripperies that are deemed so necessary today. You need to separate your disapproval of her conduct between "what is actually fine" and what is actual cruelty or neglect. The "wrong" kibble is neither, and nor is not going to the vet regularly if the dog is otherwise healthy.

I might do things differently. So might you. That's a choice. But you cannot prevent people from obtaining pets simply because they are poor, or because they cannot afford the things you deem necessary. And are we to also seize pets when people become poor? Two decades ago I was unfairly dismissed and it took a tribunal and nine months to get another job. I was unable to claim benefits because of the dismissal, even though I won my case in the end. I used up all my savings surviving. My dog ate "own brand kibble", and more than once I went without food myself to even buy that. When he needed an operation I had no money to pay for it so I wracked up the debt on my credit card. Did I not deserve to have my dog because I became poor?

By the way, this terrible experience of having to eat own brand kibble occupied did no harm, as he died ten years later at the age of 17.

Nobody should be cruel to, or neglect their pet. But equally nobody should be so snobby as to think that poor people don't deserve pets. There are plenty of well off people who are cruel or neglectful. It's the deeds that count, not the income.

YANBU.

I know someone on benefits with four horses.

I agree that nobody should be taking on an animal if they can't afford to look after it, especially if they are already struggling with costs of current pets.
Although this situation doesn't make much sense as its unlikely a puppy would be given away for free and apart from food they also need a more frequent worming regime, yet can't even afford to flea spray home & give dog a preventative which aren't particularly expensive and can buy online, certainly less than replacing the flooring by letting it get to an infestation.

Anybody's situation could change as it did with covid and may find that they now reliant on benefits, pets are also family members to many rather than luxuries they can easily give up like gym membership. Its better to seek out support to help keep pets in their homes rather than pass the burden fully onto rescues to deal with where possible. PDSA, RSPCA & some other charities do help with vet treatment for those in receipt of some benefits and likely a local rescue may have helped friend out for basics like flea/worming food or food in the short term from their donations.

Some rescues encourage those who maybe time rich but cash poor like disabled/pensioners to become long term foster homes for the animals that are unlikely to be adopted perhaps due to age/health conditions and the rescue will cover the food/vet costs.