Why do people buy animals that can’t afford to keep!

[Poppets14]

Exactly that!

My friend has just spent 2.5k on a french bulldog. She’s just been ranting at me about the cost of vet treatment (I work for a vet)

She’s moaning that the vaccinations flea and worm treatment has come to £100

So she’s happy to give a breeder 2.5k without blinking an eye but to spend £100 on health care is a problem!

Not sure what response I want really. I get so cross about people spending thousands on puppies and then moaning about the cost of vet treatment!

I moan because I don’t trust them, I’m yet to find a good vet, or rather I’ve found one and can’t get in as they have a waiting list. I’ve been paying £300 every three months for blood tests to monitor a chronic condition that I’ve now been told by the SAME vet my dog doesn’t have! I’ll be entering a formal complaint shortly, no doubt nothing will happen but I am incensed!
They always seem to be looking for a something to charge for, last time it was ooh we will just get the blood pressure monitor out - that’s an extra £30. All they see is pound signs. Bastards!

You must have better pet insurance options in the UK than I have in the US. When I've looked into it for our cats the coverage stops at age 10 and there were so many exclusions and deductibles it hardly seemed worth it.

I'm not in the UK, my cats have better health insurance than I do.

Good thing too, because one of them injured his leg aged 2. It cost thousands for a CT scan, X ray, and then months of kittycat physiotherapy. Luckily insurance covered most of it.

Because they're a bit thick?

Rabbits.

The amount I’ve spent on vet’s bills for rabbits.

Thousands. Just for the two rabbits I had.

I don’t mind. I loved them. They needed help. I regret nothing.

But it was fucking thousands.

And with most of my cats I’ve driven home from the vets with the cat on the passenger seat asking if their most recent ridiculous injury was really worth whatever I just paid.

They never answer. Cats don’t give a shite about their owner’s finances.

@MLMshouldbeillegal

Because they're a bit thick?

It is like buying a car and moaning that you also have to pay for insurance, tax, MOT, fuel, services, repairs etc.

She wants you to do the vet care for free op.

People are stupid, and she should be happy it was just £100. I've spent close to £12,000 trying to fix a horse and he had to be put down in the end. Thankfully that wasn't all in one go, but you get the picture. Never complained about a bill, often been surprised it wasn't more!

Quite honestly SixteenCakes should feel bad.

I honestly do not understand this mentality.

How can you get an animal and not even do the most basic bit of research on how to care for it and it’s well being ? It’s utterly irresponsible and sets a bad example to the children too.

Personally, I think it's because in those cases it's not really a dog they want. They thought they were buying a fluffy toy robot they could cuddle and post photos of but otherwise would not need anything from them in return.

Not a living, sentient being with needs and wants of its own.

Along with the expectation it won't have it's own needs, no doubt they also expect it to behave like a care bear rather than a dog - and put up with whatever they throw at it.

I remember seeing on the RSPCA website a chart of the yearly costs (on average) of keeping an animal. It was surprising.

For a dog it was £1000 I think.

Obviously these are averages but it really drives it home that it's quite expensive to have a pet.

We’ve recently got a puppy. It’s very expensive. You have to buy beds, collars, training pads, toys, etc and that’s not even the healthcare! Was discussing this with my sibling today at how vets must earn a shit tonne of money because people have to pay for it. There aren’t many vets around compared to doctors.

Luckily we are well off and can afford a dog but it made me wonder how most people can afford one. Most ordinary people have a pet of some sort so I have no idea how they are affording their animals. They need yearly boosters etc. Even with pet insurance, most won’t pay out as it doesn’t cover them. I over heard someone saying their dog got hit by a car and was quoted £30,000 as their insurance wouldn’t cover.

Complaining and not looking after their pet - unforgivable
Having a moan because it is bloody expensive - fair enough

Pets are definitely expensive. I’m very glad that we got lifetime insurance for my dog as he’s had epilepsy since he was a puppy so he’s been on medication for 8 years now. We’ve reached the limit for that condition now so have to pay the monthly £172 for tablets ourselves but the insurance has also covered x rays, scans and an op on his dodgy elbow. The premium is just under £100 a month but we’re tied in with his pre-existing conditions. When you add it together with food, treats, flea and worm treatment and vaccinations, it’s a lot of money! We love him and he is very well cared for but I will be taking a break from pet ownership once he’s no longer here.

@flippertyop

I can well afford it but still think Vets fees take the piss so I moan

Why do you think they are too expensive? Do you know the level of profit your vet practise is taking in each appointment?

I also work at a vets and share the same frustration, especially with these ‘trendy’ breeds like frenchies that are overbred poor broken animals that are literally being made to line breeders pockets. Even more frustrating when people scoff at paying £35 for a vet appointment- (someone who has spent the same amount of time training as a dr or dentist) but think nothing of paying thousands for a puppy to someone who may or (more likely not) be a licensed breeder. Which let’s face it, does not take any formal education requirements.

There’s really a huge issue with dog breeding in this country. It’s poorly regulated so it’s difficult to prove the breeders who are breaking rules. Literally anyone can put their bitch with a dog, have a litter of pups and charge several thousand a pup. The other side of it is people buying these dogs and doing no research on the breed or who they’re buying from. Its created the perfect storm and is showing no sign of stopping any time soon. Not to mention the severe shortage of vets to look after all these dogs that will inevitably have chronic problems in a few years time.

The point about free healthcare giving us no actual benchmark for medical treatment is probably really valid.

We have two dogs and a cat and insurance alone is almost £100 a month. We also keep a credit card for emergencies.

The only thing that does get me is the constant upselling of stuff. When DDog1 was castrated he came home with a "post-operative" pack of food which was about £5- he'd already been given part of it so I wasn't really able to refuse, but I wonder what happened to the days of boiling some rice and sticking some scrambled egg in it.

We also require six monthly health checks before we can be prescribed flea or worm treatment. I was happy to accept an annual checkup as this happened when they had their boosters, we are now however required to book another one six months later for a healthy animal with no underlying conditions.

Having said all that, my vets have done sterling and on occasion life saving work for my lot so I suck it up.

Why buy these trendy designer dogs that have been bred to have numerous awful health issues?

Coincidental dh I'd at the vet with our 12 year old dobermann right now. She costs us £80 a month on high quality dry food, €60 a month on meat and €100 a month on meds, tonight's visit is because we think she might need some pain relief for her joints so add that in too. We've four other dogs, two 9 years old and two youngsters of 2 years old, all are rescues and came with their own issues but we are willing to do without other things like weekends away, treats etc in order to afford them. I am involved with a rescue and the number of dogs being dropped off now is horrible, people got them during lockdown without any consideration for the future.

I struggle to understand why people want French bulldogs given that the poor breeding of them means that most bitches need caesareans.
Couple that with breathing issues, I don't understand why people want to perpetuate this cruelty.

The lockdown puppy frenzy just highlighted the need for people to want a hipster pooch.

Just so cruel.

Nothing wrong with moaning about it as long as she paid it! I moan about the vet costs for my horses but I pay them!

Some vets are money grabbers though. My cat had fleas so I rang the vet for Advocate and she said I'd need an appointment to see the vet first. I replied that the cat was fine, I just needed the stuff. She said that the cat had to he weighed so I asked her couldn't she do that. She could.
I got the stuff, treated the cat and she's fine.

Oh yes and the food. Grain free wet food only here with some raw, and despite being 3kg he eats like a horse. I reckon his food is £15-20 per week

I hear you with that! We adopted two 2 year old mogs from the RSPCA and it turns out they have terrible allergies.

They are my babies and I can't bear for them to be scratchy and scabby and sick, so top level grain free raw food for mine. It's a fortune but luckily we can do it and their health has improved immeasurably

Pets cost a bomb over the years with vet visits, but we love them so will always find a way of patibg

Paying

@tillytoodles1

Some vets are money grabbers though. My cat had fleas so I rang the vet for Advocate and she said I'd need an appointment to see the vet first. I replied that the cat was fine, I just needed the stuff. She said that the cat had to he weighed so I asked her couldn't she do that. She could. I got the stuff, treated the cat and she's fine.

I know my vets insist on only giving flea/worm treatment if they have seen your pet in the previous 6 months. Your GP does the same for any medication you are on, so this is not different. It is not money grabbing at all.