Puppy needing surgery - would you pay?

[Kijaji]

Our current situation is we have a 12 week old puppy who has a grade 4 heart murmur (picked up at 8 week vaccinations, was checked at birth and everything was fine), he’s awaiting further tests but worse case scenario it could cost us £5K to operate, if you had the money would you do it for a puppy you’ve only had 5 weeks but mostly everyone’s attached too and loves?

Yeah poor Cavvies. Lovely dogs but genetically doomed 😢

7 weeks! 😮

I would pay yes…even though I would have to borrow money to do so.

I wouldn’t have bought a 7 week unvaccinated pup in the first place. Most puppies are sold at 10 weeks after having a check up and first vaccination…along with being chipped.

I could not put a young dog to sleep knowing it can be fixed. Getting a puppy makes you responsible for their health and well-being.

No, I wouldn't pay, because I never committed to children or "pets". It's a trap like anything else.

God there’s some weird posters on this thread. What do you mean you never committed? Do you mean you chose not to have children or pets? If so, your contribution is hardly relevant.

Wish people would pack it in supporting these horrible breeders. God knows what conditions the mum is kept in. They will probably put the puppy to sleep if op returns it, they wont be wasting their precious money.

You are misreading. I am saying human life is more valuable and that we overlook animal suffering every day. We choose to save some animals but tolerate cruelty on industrial scale. Im not vegan, not even vegetarian but i do own that choice. Im not stopping you making your choice. It is anthropomorphic behaviour that leads us to develop attachments to some animals not others. That's not a bad thing though. I talk to my cat every day!

FFS, there is enough information out there in this day and age, that there's no excuse for how iresponsible you've been.
Give the puppy to shelter where they can find it an informed responsible owner, and don't buy a dog again until you take it seriously.

That still sounds like you are saying because some animals suffer they all should. It’s not anthropomorphism to give healthcare to animals FFS. Even farmers will happily pay for their livestock to have surgery if it’s economically viable. Treating animals for illness or injury doesn’t mean animal life is more valuable than human life, what an utterly bizarre conclusion to draw. Also, while we are on the subject, just because an animal is used for food production doesn’t mean we don’t need to give a shit about its welfare during its life. Have a look into UFAW it might help to open your mind.

Worrying to hear that you are a pet owner. Does that mean that if your cat becomes unwell you won’t be treating it? Do you bother with any preventative healthcare or is that also too good for the likes of animals? Why did you get a pet if you aren’t going to look out for its welfare?

Depends if you have the money. Sometimes the insurance doesn't cover the cost.

It's easy to judge someone else if they don't have enough money. Some people love animals and don't have a lot of spare cash, so they give the animal as much love as they can and hope it won't cost them a lot of money.

Having a pet should be far more affordable, so the poor can have one too!

Why on earth would anyone be as attached to a random cow in a field owned by a farmer, as they are to their own dog? Are you as attached to other peoples children as you are your own? That's not anthropomorphic behaviour.

I am saying human life is more valuable

Why do you say that @Hameth? What's your justification? Have you had a look at the state of the world these days and asked yourself who is responsible?

I still don't understand your point.

I would spend x amount of money on my pet as I chose to make them my responsibility when I entered into pet ownership.

Surely that is what pet ownership is all about... giving the pet the best life you can and ensuring that they don't suffer?

I get that as humans we choose some animals life as more valuable than others, and I don't necessarily agree with that but in pet ownership, you choose to take responsibility for that animal, or why bother having the pet?

Can't help with your misunderstanding of my position. Collecting pet medication today, thank you. I will take all reasonable steps to care for her. The distinction is not that all animals should suffer but to discuss why we have tiers of animal welfare. The fact is we do. Some farms do better and some are even kind. But every single one of the intelligent amusing pigs visible from roads will shortly be killed. Yes it's OK to say you commit fully to your pet even up to £10k or more. As some friends have spent. And there is an argument for a basic level of compulsory insurance to ensure minimum care standards. But its ok to say as pet carer you feel there is a line that can be drawn. I compare a £5k vet bill to the gofundme pages of US child cancer patients denied treatment or other children dying for lack of clean water. That's my position.

But a £5K vet bill is nothing. It could be a routine operation or a few days inpatient care. Even certain medicines can end up running into the thousands. Do you think the only way to run up a £5k vet bill is by some Hail Mary heroic surgery or something? You’ve got no idea.

To say you wouldn’t spend £5k on your pet’s healthcare even if you had millions in the bank is basically saying you don’t give a fuck about your pet.

And why is it ok to spend £500 on your pet rather than sending it to the child cancer patient and not £5k? In fact, why is it ok to have the pet at all, surely you should add up everything you would spend over the pet’s lifetime and donate the money instead?

Because its always about drawing a line somewhere. Id like a cat, and I keep an eye on my donations and acknowledge my messy hypocrisy. But probably I think about £1000 is my level. But you are welcome to spend as you please without criticism from me.

Well it’s good of you to acknowledge the hypocrisy. Is that £1k limit per condition, or per year, or per lifetime? If you had two cats would it be £500 each? If you took out basic insurance for your pet with a £5k limit (you’ve suggested this should be mandatory for everyone) would you only allow yourself to spend £1k of that limit?

I spend nearly £1k a year on dog food alone. Is that also a frivolous expense?

My cat fell off a fence, shattered his knee, and ripped all the ligaments off it during covid era. He needed reconstructive surgery.. the other option was amputation of a hind leg. His care cost me £5k without even blinking to fix him. ( yes he was insured, he maxed it out that year)

It is in no way equivalent to a childs go fund me in the USA.

I don't think the Op is returning to inform us of the decision.

They never do when it’s not what they want to hear

Bigger dogs usually go around 8 weeks - a few days either side is fine. Only small dogs stay 10 weeks. Unvaccinated is the norm because different vets use different brands of vaccine and like to give two shots of the same brand. If the breeder gave one shot the vet might give two more = unnecessary over medication.

In this case I would expect the breeder to at least go halves with you. What did you pay for the pup? Breeder may well refund you. Also the breeder needs to know as they should avoid pairing the dog and bitch again.

What?! NOt right? Why? What are you wittering on about with its not right?