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.

YANBU

Is that aimed at me?

I didn't suggest that the insurance cover wasn't clear.

What isn't clear is how much people might need to pay for vets fees, and so how much cover they should be looking at taking out. People take out insurance cover assuming that it will be enough. £2,000 sounds like a lot. In many cases though, it's not enough.

I agree.
Although you're wrong on your point about veterinary surgeons. Yes they're highly qualified, but the vets don't see a fraction of what's charged to customers.
That goes to the corporations who own the franchises. A vet typically earns about the same as a marketing manager.

Pets are a luxury. Don’t get them if you can’t afford them. Friends daughter got a kitten and has had to get a voucher to get it neutered- so clearly can’t afford to pay for the inevitable costs of having a cat. But got donations from family to get previous dog cremated privately, ashes returned in a nice box etc etc.
DONT GET A PET IF YOU CANT AFFORD THE VET BILLS. No excuses.

People's circumstances can change.

Just to add, particularly where dogs are concerned, there seems to have been a huge trend towards breeds who have been bred to have health problems. I certainly judge every pug/french bulldog owner. If you want a dog/cat less likely to have health problems get a mutt or moggie. If you want a certain breed- do your research and then meet their needs/be prepared for the health needs of the breed.

Some people may have a pet and be able to afford it. A couple of years down the line and the owner loses their job. The pet loves them, is used to their home and is comfortable. Vet treatment is then needed but someone should not have to give their loved pet away if they can't afford the treatment at that time.

DM has had several dogs with hip dysplasia over the years (known issue with the breed). She's spent a small fortune on various surgeries, with minimal (if any) improvement on quality of life. If the dysplasia is already presenting at 7 months, that is a very severe case. I agree with your assessment, if it were my dog (and I bloody love dogs) I would opt for PTS. Much kinder that a life of suffering.

You need to take our a reasonable level of insurance - it covers what you ask for, much like car insurance.. I have a rescue large breed dog, his monthly insurance is around £75 but covers £10k.. My two elderly dogs cost around £100 each per month but their insurance has paid for itself over the years.

You can't get pet insurance if you can't prove how old they are.

I don't need to take out any insurance. And with hindsight, I'm sure my colleague would have taken out a better level of cover. But there will (almost?) always be a limit, and there will always be animals that need treatment that goes above the level of cover available. I guess it's possible that there's pet insurance that offers unlimited cover, but I haven't seen it.

Vets are inflating prices. My little cat needed emergency care (ended up being heart failure and she had to be out to sleep) I took her to the local vet hospital (out of hours contact for my vet). It was £235 before they opened the carrier. At a vet hospital. Where there’s a vet on duty all night anyway. What’s the justification?

I disagree with you because that is definitely an unusual/emergency situation rather than not being able to afford daily pet upkeep. You’re essentially saying pet owners need to have thousands in savings at all time, but then you’re probably knocking out thousands of pet owners from being able to have a pet.

Circumstances can chance but it doesn’t change the fact that pets are a luxury and if you can’t afford it you can’t have one, you shouldn’t expect the world to fund them for you.

Yes, there will always be a limit, but 1k, for example, is never going to go far.. You do you, but I will never put money above my much loved pet if they are treatable and will maintain a decent quality of life thereafter.

"You do you"?

What part of my post are you referring to? The fact that I don't need to take out pet insurance? And for some reason that makes you think I'm putting money above treating animals?

I'm so confused 😆

I would agree if the dog owner was after food/flea treatments/routine things, but this is not the case.
Even dog rescues have targeted fundraisers when a dog comes in that needs surgery or emergency treatment. They don't have thousands sitting in a bank either.

I agree with the sentiment about spending thousands to keep an animal going for the sake of what? Sometimes not even spending thousands even, just invasive treatment that reduces quality of life as much if not more than the actual issue.

Yes the technology and medicine may exist but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. As said, quite often the treatment is awful and reduces quality of life itself, along with the illness or injury.

I have just faced a similar situation, I could have absolutely kept the animal going, but they were miserable with the treatment needed, it was a battle, but also with the management needed for recovery and to try and prevent it again, because we'd faced this before and each time the treatment got longer as did the level of management that affected quality of life.

I made the decision to not put them through it, I feel that there's far worse things for an animal than being peacefully euthanised with a kind word and pet to the last, and it's got nothing to do with money or lack of insurance.

It would have been for me I kept him going, not him, and I do think that's part of the issue, and that there's a belief that as long as the animal is alive then, to put it bluntly, it's better than being dead. I don't think some people can understand that's not necessarily true, I guess though that's just my opinion.

My vets has just started charging extra per appointment if you need to claim on your insurance, so I'm seriously thinking about switching.

They are going to charge a minimum of £40 per appointment, plus an extra fee if the insurance is taking too long to pay out.

I have pretty comprehensive insurance, but if something goes on and I need an extra 5 appointments, that's already £200+ that I can't claim, plus my excess, plus any fees if the insurance takes too long.

It's crazy.

Yes, you seem to be..

Are you unable to come up with an explanation?

Tbf there are a lot of people who can somehow find the 3k they need to buy an overbred designer pup from the nearest puppy farm can't find the money to insure it or care for it properly. Then it's all GoFundMe and a load of "pay up or the puppy gets it" blackmail.

WT actual F? I hope you reported her and the vet to the RSPCA / Cats Protection. That's actual abuse.

Insurance was part of my calculation about whether we could afford our dog. If the cost goes above the £10,000 cover then yes, we would have to seriously consider whether we could afford it, much as we adore her. That's reality. She's a rescue dog, and until/unless that point has landed on her paws compared to her life as a stray. Being PTS isn't the worst that could happen.

I don't understand people buying breeds with known health problems.

Too often the insurance doesn’t cover. We had pet insurance for our labrador, when he accidentally ate grapes we had insurance which didn’t cover it, cost us £650. IMO it’s better to just save the amount you’d spend on insurance - they look for absolutely any reason not to pay out.