Why do families who are poor, have pets

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They are expensive to feed, look after and to recover from illness and injuries.

Hear people who have a dog who swallowed something they shouldn’t have - £900 at vets. I’m sure these poor families don’t have £900.

Literally.

There are other lives involved here, whether it’s a pet or a child. It really shouldn’t be controversial to say that if you know you cannot afford to do the provides the absolute basics for another life then you shouldn’t be taking it on- it’s not fair on the pet or child.

Same reason we go on a yearly holiday despite not really being able to afford it (a week in a caravan park in the UK during the school holidays can easily cost more than the £900 of vets bills in your example OP). People on minimum wage deserve a holiday, just as they deserve to experience the love and health benefits a pet brings. Few people on low wages like me that I’ve met have multiple pets (or indeed multiple holidays). I don’t think a pet or similar things like a holiday should be seen as extravagant, despite not technically being essentials to life.

How can people even use the argument about them having kids? People accidentally get pregnant. You don’t accidentally get a massive dog. It’s a choice.

There’s poverty and poverty. Only in UK poverty is the absence of a dog seen as a hardship. In sub Saharan Africa they would laugh at that probably.

No, but neither are anything to do with anyone other than the person spending the money on them either.

I know the comments in here about poor people having to live on gruel and live in workhouses are satire, but some people do, in a round about way, agree that people on the breadline should have no joy in life as joy is a luxury, and the taxpayer should not be funding that.

Well yes and even ‘accidental’ pregnancies are really just careless pregnancies 95% of the time.

No not dictate but they have a right to be pissed off if they have gone without luxuries themselves.

Well I would object to every benefit claimant spending their money on crack cocaine as it increases violence and crime in society.

I thought people on benefits were so hard up that sitting around musing how they should spend their spare cash, like a dog or drugs are the only option, wouldn’t be possible.

I agree with you OP. Having a pet is just another thing in a long line of things that can make a happy life along with having a child, eating well, affording gym membership, etc. If you cannot afford if, you cannot afford it. It sucks, but that is the world we live in. If the argument is that everyone should be able to have a pet no matter their income, I would argue that be the case for some of the other things in my list.

What charity was that?

My dog costs over £120 a month in food, grooming, insurance, pet plan. I am fortunate that I can afford it. When I was struggling to make ends meet, I couldn’t afford a pet so didn’t have one.

I love my dog and can see the benefit to the whole family. Exercise, responsibility for the kids, companionship etc etc but if folks can’t afford that then they shouldn’t have one.

Oh gosh absolutely OP it makes me clutch my pearls in horror when those grubby poor people dare to have anything other than the most basic things needed for existence. The poor should not be seen or heard and definitely don't deserve the love and companionship of a pet, they should just stay in their grubby hovels apart from when they are working minimum wage to make my life better, and oh dont even get me started on those on 'shudder' benefits.......

It's not usually the owners who "do without" it's the animals who suffer
Gobsmacked that people think owning a pet is cheap
Food, vaccines , flea/ wormer and insurance costs a lot
Sadly it's often unwise decisions and in many cases MH issues or a history of trauma/ chaotic lives which lead to poverty and animal hoarding

All this "awwww poor people deserve pets" is bullshit
It's completely irresponsible to have pets you can't afford

What is poor ? What does poor mean? How do poor people live? What do poor people's life look like according to others.

My family is in a fairly high income bracket. 3 years ago we got a dog. That dog has brought more joy than literally any other experience or thing. Given the choice between 2 annual holidays or the dog, the kids would choose the dog. Sports and activities v the dog, the dog would win again. Sometimes I think of all the money we have spent over the years on nice things for our home, trips, lifestyle things and every single one of them is trumped by one little pet. If the tide turned and we had to live on a low income, downsize our house, sell the car etc then I think we could manage. But without the dog, we'd be terribly unhappy people.

It's often about distrust of other people due to trauma so they get animals to fill that need.
Often unwisely

The same reason people have more kids then what they can afford, drive cars more expensive than what they need to take them from A to B.

Lower income comes (many times, not always) hand in hand with poor education and ability to see the bigger picture and even mental health issues.
If it was really just for the love for dogs, they could walk neighbours or friends dogs, use apps like Borrow my dog and so on. It is what is.

I think there is a difference between having 1 or 2, to 4 or 5. No?
Or just keep popping them out, hope for the best, cause Love and the Government will sort it?

We had a cat when we were young (and poverty stricken)

Because our council house was infested with rodents.

Hopefully one day you will be in their position

I’m on benefits, and I can’t afford a pet. Just that, really. I’d like one, very much, but couldn’t afford the insurance or vets bills, so I go without.

I’m not offended by OP’s question at all. Are you being offended for me? Please don’t be.

I'm also on benefits, im a disabled, single, solo, stay at home parent to 2 disabled DC and my only income is from the government. I am offended on behalf of myself. I accept OP may not have meant it in the way I read it, I'm peri and not having a great day, but to me this is just goady and yet another dig that "poor" people shouldn't be allowed to have anything, not one single thing, that could make their life better/happier/whatever

Surprised how far I had to look down to find any reference to pet insurance! Our naughty rescue Bengal (with previous health conditions prior to rescue - he’d been fed the wrong type of food and ended up with a prolapse, bless him) is insured. It did go up nearly a tenner this year (my fault for forgetting to get quotes from other providers before renewal) but is still “only” £48pm for comprehensive with extras, which is much cheaper than treatment. I wouldn’t say we’re “poor” (bit of a classist way of putting it tbh) but a few years back our last lovely cat required treatment at a regional animal hospital for a rare type of cancer, that would have cost £1000s (around £7,000 I think it was) without insurance. You’ll be able to get cashback or free gifts with most new policies too. I think we got £40 in Amazon vouchers last time which more or less pays for 6-8 weeks food.

ManyPets offer a money back scheme if you pay a small premium and don’t claim too. Think it worked out £2-3 ish extra per month - we’re now due £100 back for last year which will be paid in October.

If you don’t want to insure you can also just put aside a set amount each month instead of paying a premium - the risk is this won’t cover something very costly though.

As for pet food there was a recent post in a different thread (about budgeting for a family of 4) about homemade dog food being cheaper and healthier for them!

A lot of people grew up having pets when it wasn't so expensive, so they just see it as a normal way of life.

Unpopular opinion - I think it's ridiculous how much people are pressured into spending on their pets these days, especially compared to even 30/40 years ago. I've got a friend who's spent thousands on chemo for her dog because she feels guilty saying no. There should be no shame in having a dog with cancer euthanised (it's very sad, yes, but it shouldn't be considered shameful)

Same with £££ food. Great that the option is there for wealthy owners, but dogs survived for generations on literal kitchen scraps - buying Tesco own brand dog food is not neglectful.

The tax payer certainly shouldn’t be supporting Bob to have Tiddles, Rover, and Muffy. I don’t have a Ferrari because I can’t afford to keep it, even though it would give me great pleasure. Should I get one and hope that Rachel Reeves introduces some sort of tax credits for people who can’t afford petrol for their Ferraris?