AIBU to be annoyed with people who can't afford to look after their pets

[Allelbowsandtoes]

Just saw a post on Facebook, someone trying to fundraise for surgery for her 7 month old puppy that has hip dysplasia. Lots of people were commenting about how vets charge way too much and it's all a "money making racket". I pointed out that veterinary surgeons are highly skilled and train for years, and we only think its expensive because we have the NHS and mostly don't pay our own healthcare costs.

Maybe I ABU because its a shame if people can't afford pets, because they bring joy to our lives.

Totally agree. Children too.

IMO 99% of crowdfunders are scams. What better way of scamming money out of people than laying on the emotional guilt about a poor sick puppy who will have to be put to sleep unless people stick their hands in their pockets and give money to the perfect stranger with no way of knowing where it’s gone.

As for putting an animal to sleep, good luck if you think that’s the cheaper option. I had to have my dog PTS a couple of months ago, it was Sunday and was the emergency vet, but to have him pts, cremated and the ashes back cost £465.

No excuse not to insure at all. Our two dogs had pre existing conditions so certain things couldn’t be covered. The £5k bill we had this year for unexpected illness has been covered.

Circumstances change but you wouldn’t not give your child medical treatment if they were ill so why even consider that a pets welfare to be unless important.

Years ago I was at the vets when a tiny puppy was bought in. The pup had eaten left over curry and was seriously ill. They had no insurance (and no clue - who the heck feeds any dog curry/onions). The vets agreed to a payment plan and took the pup in. No idea what happened to him but it didn’t look good.

Pet ownership isn’t for the wealthy; it’s for the responsible and considerate. Put money aside. Speak to the vets about the likely costs of an animal over a life time. Sadly people don’t bother looking into all the uncomfortable truth before bringing home a cute little puppy.

Annoys me as well, we pay over £100 a month for pet insurance for our two. Having pets costs money.

@StEtienne93
Similar situation here. Relationship breakdown, and I was left with the dog and her £110pm insurance premium (that was 6 years ago, so goodness knows what it would be now!). There is no way I could afford it, and at her very old age now, I would not pull any heroics anyway.

Like everything there are risk takers. They never think a huge vets bill will happen to them, or they know someone will be there to pick up the bill.

I agree in principle, but, on the subject of insurance, it's not always the saviour.

I've had two experiences where I've been paying a fortune for insurance and then had to pay the bloody vet bill anyway because they've haggled and argued ridiculous and non valid points to avoid paying out. And it's taken me months and a referral to the ombudsman in one case, to get the money back.

They will exempt certain things over a certain age or with the slightest excuse IME too, premiums increase and cover reduces making the insurance redundant.

I think most vets are worth what they charge, to me it's the insurance that needs a kick up the arse tbh.

I do get frustrated when people spend thousands on an animal and then can't afford to treat fleas or injuries/illness, or routine things.

But as pp said, circumstances change and it doesn't cost anything to love your pet and they can mean the world to someone who doesn't have anyone else.

I thought I was doing the right thing by my dog insuring her until they exempt just about every part of her body (for example a leg exempt completely from any claims because she ripped a dew claw and the vet cleaned it and gave antibiotics, I didn't even claim because it was barely above the excess and the vet said once healed it wouldn't cause any problems at all and it didn't, but if she'd broken that leg in a completely unrelated incident then there was no cover, break any of the other 3 and they were covered, it's crazy).

Neglecting an animal is abuse. So no, yanbu. Similar to neglecting to neuter and chip a cat, but claim you adore the animal? As if.

It's performance pet ownership, treating a defenseless creature as a commodity rather than a responsibility. It disgusts me.

I agree. For every responsible pet owner there's another who treats animals like a commodity and simply doesn't think enough about the potential costs of pet ownership.

As for those who dump them, give them away or sell them on when they're no longer cute puppies and kittens... 🤬

Fwiw I agree that it's not black and white, and I sympathise with those who have elderly animals where the insurance has become unaffordable for various reasons.
I think this case in particular annoyed me as it was such a young dog with a new health condition, and also looked like an overbred pedigree that you'd obviously expect to have loads of health issues 😑

This is certainly true for the vets we use - their fees have doubled in the last 2 years since being bought up by one of these corporations.

Completely agree with you regarding not having pets unless you can afford to look after them and that includes having to pay any potential vet bills even if they are extortionate. You either have to have the money or have insurance.

The only thing I will say is I do think vet practices charge ridiculous amounts for domestic pets just because they can. I have some livestock and they are purely pets. One of them had to have an emergency c section recently which involved a scan, x ray, complicated operation and medication. Total cost was £180!! Now just imagine if that was a cat or a dog…

How many people research prices, tho? It cost me £6K to fix 2 cruciate ligaments on my dog. I had no idea of the cost. The same dog had an MRI that cost over £2k, yet a friend had a private MRI recently for £450. Even if you get a pet from health tested parents and do your best to ensure it’s going to be fit, accidents happen. I don’t know many people who could afford those kind of prices if they’re not insured and probably the reason they’re not insured is because they can’t afford it.

YANBU, I feel the same about people not taking travel insurance out.

I think some people just don’t think - they live in the moment and expect others to pick up the bills for their lack of planning and thinking. It’s rather like people who go on holiday and don’t buy insurance because after all the British Embassy in what ever country they visit will sort them out. Makes me so mad that they could be so stupid!

Yes! Boils my blood when people crowd fund to get their relative home who "just wanted one last holiday in Benidorm" etc 😠

I don’t agree with a lot of vets prices, no matter how much they get defended on here. I got a rat last year who is prone to ear infections and requires antibiotics every few months. The first few times we went to vets for pets who charge me £40 for the consultation fee and £35 for a minute amount of antibiotics, never enough to cure the infection so I end up going back. I then registered her with a different local vets who charge me £15 for the consultation fee and give me a free prescription to get the antibiotics from an online vets, the antibiotics cost me 90p and I get triple the amount that vets for pets prescribe. Someone explain to me how it’s right to charge £35 for 5ml of antibiotics when I can get it for 90p for 15ml from the suppliers.

Having a pet is expensive and as a kitten/cat foster person I do get very annoyed. I also have been a front line child child protection worker for nearly 2 decades and I have seen far too many dogs kept in kitchens/cats that have not been neutered having endless kittens/lone rabbits kept in tiny hutches etc.

However, I have grown up with animals and all were taken to the vets when needed, no insurance. We had rescue moggies, paired guinea pigs and my mum seemed to rescue every rabbit needing rehoming within a 20 mile radius who then hopped around the house or had the run of half the garden which was bunny proofed. The reason it was affordable is that they were treated if it was something simple or if not PTS.

I have an old girl tabby who turned up in our garden without a chip. She is not insured because at the time she turned up I could not afford to insure her. She has been here 8 years and has a pampered and happy life. When her time comes, she will be PTS. We adore her but spending several 1000s on an animal in pain, particularly when the treatment itself can be horrific, is more about the owner needs than that of the pet.

People buy insurance in good faith - then discover it doesn't cover nearly enough!

A colleague of mine is having to fundraise. She has insurance, but it will only cover £2,000. The treatment needed could come to £10,000. £5,000 is the least, if everything goes well.

Not everyone has £3k to £7k readily available to cover unforseen costs. Should people only get a pet if they have high four figure savings?

Our cat died last year, he was 12 and had a heart condition. We paid a fortune in insurance and additional vet bills over the years, he was very very well looked after. We've just got a new kitten, nearly every rescue wanted us to take two. We earn well, but had to say no, not because of the initial cost, but the ongoing insurance and vet bills. Mind you if our mortgage wasn't going up by nearly £500 it would've been different.
I understand people's circumstances can change after a number of years, but the example in the OP is a puppy under a year old, why isn't it insured?

That's why you take out comprehensive lifetime cover, no one made your friend buy a useless insurance product.

The amount covered by insurance is clearly laid out and you are given various options for cover. I've just taken some out for the kitten. Add with anything don't sign up for anything without understanding the detail.

YANBU , their was a go fund me last year on our local equine page for someone who’s mare had complications giving birth , why would you be bringing another horse into the world if you can’t afford adequate veterinary care for the one you’ve got .

Same situation l am in. Made a claim once for a skin tag close to dog's eye to be removed, and an exclusion was added for tumours, lumps and bumps by the insurance company. Dog in final life stages now and insurance policy won't cover her illness so l may as well stop paying the monthly premium.