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Todays article Digging Out is about a solution for credit card debt. However it has morphed into a discussion about our pets. What length will you go to if your beloved pet needs expensive medical procedures? What goes into your consideration?
A good friend rescued a young dog that soon became very ill. He spent nearly $8000 at the vet without any regrets at all. What would you do?
Last year, our 11-year old west highland terrier named Lola, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. The oncologist gave her less than three months to live without treatment. Going the chemotherapy route could possibly extend her life another 12 months on average but would cost $20k for the entire treatment. We had no pet insurance. but Lola was a loving member of our family and because we had the financial means, we agreed to go the treatment route. At the time, I remember feeling guilty that dog owners without the financial means, when faced with those same decisions, were not in the position to make that choice for a pet that they loved as much as we loved our Lola. Sadly, Lola passed away after only 5 weeks of treatment. Do I regret my decision? No, we had the financial means, and I would have felt worse if she had died without us trying to save her because of cost alone. Was it a good financial decision? At face value, spending $20k for a chance to extend the life of a pet by just 12 months doesn’t seem like a good financial decision. But replace the word “pet” with “daughter” and the decision becomes clearer especially if you have the financial means. Lola was like a daughter in our family, and we were fortunate to have the financial means to try to save her. If I didn’t spend the money to try to save a loving member of our family, why then have the money?…that was my philosophy. However, In the end, it doesn’t matter how much money you have…money can’t cure cancer.
I think it’s a judgment call. Our last dog was a black lab. He tore a rear ACL. As I recall surgery was about $1,500, back when $1,500 was meaningful. But he had the surgery and did well and was part of the family for many years. At about 13 he started to show signs of cognitive decline. He also was losing weight, for no apparent reason. The Vet said she could do exploratory surgery but did not recommend it. One ironic thing – at one point Marley and my wife’s aging aunt were taking the same medicine to try to prevent cognitive decline. It worked for neither of them, but hers was covered by insurance. At about 14 1/2 we , and the vet, judged it was time. It was very sad, and we missed him, but were grateful for 14 years with Marley.
Aside from the money and possible debt, it seems to me the animal deserves consideration. What is the pet being put through and what are the likely results? Who are we trying to help, ourselves or the pet? In other words are we being selfish?
The day before my daughter’s aging Black Lab was going to the vet for the last time I drove an hour to see him, lay next to him on the floor held him and cried, but it was time and fair to let him go.
This is Chris. We have had cats for all of our 42 years of marriage. Sometimes more than one. It can be hard to know what to do when they get older. It is a long term commitment when you have pets. We have had a few occasions where we had cats with more needs than usual. Sometimes we have decided the kind thing to do is euthanize. On one occasion we took in a stray kitten (free cats are never free!) and spent more than we normally would have to get her well. The expenses were not all at once. Because of her condition, she has to be an only and she is 11 now. She will probably be our last one, depending how long she lives. We don’t want to put our kids in the position of having to take in a pet after we are gone. They have their own.
We might sit in judgment of the amount spent by others. But I’m not inclined to question how they’re spending their money. Is a pet any less worthy an expenditure than a second home or a luxury car? It all comes down to what each of us values. If it’s something that we highly value — which, for many folks, includes their pets — I’m not going to get on my high horse if they end up temporarily carry a credit card balance, even if I consider it financially foolish.