What happens if you refuse vet treatment?

[whateveryousay]

Recently, one of my dogs had an accident which left him in pretty bad shape. When the animal ambulance arrived in the first instance, I really didn’t think he was going to make it, he was in great distress and pain, and I asked the vet if she thought it might be better to just pts, as the suffering seemed unbearable, and he didn’t look good. I was also highly distressed.
The vet was lovely, and she said that she wouldn’t pts at this stage, and that if I refused to pay for his treatment, she would hand him on to another vet, she still wouldn’t put to sleep. She was telling me this to reassure me that there was still hope, and so of course we did everything necessary, and he is ‘out of the woods’ and on the slow path to recovery, for which I’m grateful every day.
But I’m just curious, what would have happened if I’d been unwilling, or unable to pay for his treatment? I made a decision years ago to ‘self insure’, and so I don’t begrudge a penny, I have saved on premiums over the years, but I’m wondering what happens to the poor dogs who aren’t insured, and the owners won’t pay 😞

Would you update on here with what your vet tells you, please? whateveryousay

Vet wouldn't put our dog to sleep either. We were totally held to ransom.

Trewser, so they would have let you take your dog home, with no treatment, if you hadn’t paid up front?!?

“I really don’t agree with thousands of pounds of treatment for pets”

The thing is, cost doesn’t always correlate with how invasive or unpleasant a treatment is for the animal.

I know someone who had their healthy old dog pts for no other reason than no rescues would take it and they no longer wanted or felt they could keep it. As far as I'm aware there was no argument from their vet.

There are much worse fates.

I actually think having your dog PTS before it suffers from the aches and pains of old age, incontinence, doggy dementia, cancer and the like is actually quite a selfless thing to do.

You're saving your dog from pain and unnecessary vet treatment and it's not like dogs are aware of death in that sense. The dog will go to sleep and just not wake up.

There are much worse fates.

That's what he said. Was furious with us for not having insurance - we'd got insurance three days before so we weren't eligible to claim. He was a total bastard. Choices were - pay up, up front. Or take dog home and let him try and mend naturally (shoulder was shattered into pieces).

Year ago I had a dog who suddenly became aggressive towards other dogs. This resulting in her attacking my mums JRT. I think her to the vet and after investigations it came to light she had a brain tumour.

They gave me the option of treatment. At the time we weren't in the situation to pay for the treatment (also no insurance) and made the hard decision to PTS. I know this is a different situation but I think it depends on the vet.

Sorry for the typos! Op I hope your dogs feeling better and on the road to recovery.

I’m pretty sure if you want your pet PTS they more or less have to do it. (I’m not sure if they can refuse if it’s completely healthy)

If it's healthy a vet will sometimes contact rescues for a space and ask you to sign the dog over. I know people who work in animal rescue who get asked by vets to take dogs in.

However I suspect someone who wants a healthy dog pts wouldn't bother to wait with the animal while it was done so how would they actually know?

I would be more comfortable putting a dog to sleep than letting it go to a rescue.

adaline absolutely there are worse fates for a dog.

I'm a great believer in not allowing animals to get to the stage where their lives are lacking quality or they are in pain.

This dog however, was nowhere near that stage. He hadn't even been going to the vet for anything. He wasn't in any pain, as far as they were aware he had absolutely no health problems at all. He was frankly 'just in the way'.

At least I suppose he didn't end is days stuck in a shelter. So in that respect he was better off being pts if a shelter had been the alternative.

A vet told me he had often taken dogs where the owner had asked for them to be pts and he took the dog and gave it to rescue. Owners clearly didn't care, just wanted rid.

I have known several people who have pts rather than treat, one for a young dog that had swallowed a sock for the second time and would have needed surgery for a blockage abdolute bastards

The worst I heard was a farmer who left a dog with a broken back ( hit by a tractor) for so long and wouldn't pay for treatment until eventually a vet visiting the farm pts for free as he couldn't bear to see the dog suffering any longer.

You are talking about lots of different situations.
A) Badly injured or unwell animal needing costly treatment which owner can't pay for - investigate charity options, cheaper course of treatment (e.g. Amputation rather than orthopaedic fixation) or offer euthanasia.
B) Owner requesting euthanasia for a young healthy animal - offer that the animal be signed over to the practice and rehomed. Some vets would refuse on ethical grounds to perform euthanasia in this situation, I would worry that they 'get rid' another way if I made it difficult.
C) Owner refusing treatment or not seeking veterinary advice in the first place (the farmer with the injured collie) should be reported to RSPCA.
D) Owner with financial or ethical limitations on treatment for a chronically ill or milder condition - this is fine, vet should be able to discuss options, and it's ok to decide 'this far but no further' with respect to treatment options as long as this doesn't cause any suffering.
What should not happen is you expect the vet to foot the bill or offer you credit - veterinary practices are a business with staff to pay and overheads like any other, and are not likely to be licensed to offer credit. Your pet's medical care is legally and morally entirely your responsibity. We always recommend taking out insurance so in an emergency situation the only consideration is what is best for the pet's welfare.

One of my rescue cats was surrendered because they couldnt afford vets bills when he was hit by a car. Hes such a brilliant cat though, I feel sorry for the previous owner. Must be heartbreaking. Its why ive insured mine. He had a mangled leg and broken jaw, but they pinned him back together and hes fine

I've declined invasive or stressful treatment if I felt it wasn't in the animal's best interests - mostly things like big operations on elderly animals, or hospitalization with a dog who would have been highly stressed by it and we could administer the same care at home.

If you take an ill or injured animal to the vet the are only a certain amount if possible outcomes. Go with vet advised treatment, decline and renegotiate different treatment, ask for second opinion, ask for payment plan, PTS or leave with no treatment.