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My Boston Terrier and a couch are the only two things besides my education that I can remember purchasing with my graduate student loan money. And whereas I often say he was the best money I ever spent that didn't belong to me - and he died owing interest to the Federal government, I'm sure - my dog was an expensive little guy.
Like human beings, animals have health issues. Some crop up in young animals, and others - like cancer, respiratory and cardiac conditions - are more commonly associated with aging. Dogs, cats and other pets age more rapidly than humans, and when these animals are part of our families, caring for them throughout their life spans is a financial as well as an emotional and physical responsibility.
My father estimates the cost of care for my dog's various health problems over the past eight years at around $10,000. He was diagnosed with epilepsy at five years of age, and took medicine twice daily to manage seizures for the rest of his life. The meds themselves were expensive, and the regular blood monitoring required to make sure the dosage was correct was over $100 per bi-monthly visit. Without the help of my parents as co-caregivers, there is no way I could have afforded the chronic care he needed without going to debt. Frequently when I was writing the check at the vet counter I'd look down and remind him - hanging on my every word, as usual - that he got better health care than I did.
For some pet owners, the question becomes, "How much is too much?"
The Washington Post ran an article Sunday called Pets, Vets and Debts, detailing the struggles of many pet owners to provide good care for their pets without going bankrupt. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that Americans spent more than $24.5 billion in 2006 alone on health care costs for pets. Post readers who made up a chunk of that total shared their stories in an addition to the article.
Pam Robbins of Mid-Atlantic Shar-Pei Rescue wrote:
As an animal owner and rescuer, I can tell you that just about every
pet owner out there has had to face the horrible decision of having to
put their pet down because they couldn't afford the vet bills to treat
their animal. Our rescue gets calls daily from people who have to give
up their pets because they have been told the vet bill will be
astronomical. When I get a call from a big-hearted person asking to
adopt, the first thing I want to say is: Do you have a savings account
available to use for unexpected vet bills? Because you will have them.I personally have limited the number of dogs I own due to the vet
costs that I have experienced. Last year I spent several thousand
dollars on my pets (vets, food and kenneling).Our rescue vets give us deep discounts, yet our costs continue to
increase. We must presume that advanced technology is driving these
costs. Without these discounts, our rescue could not survive. How does
the normal pet owner overcome these expenses? They give up their pet!
Anne at An Undone Calm is a veterinarian who gets irritated when people complain about the bills.
Second, don’t get a pet if you aren’t prepared to pay the associated
costs. Just as you wouldn’t (responsibly) have a child without being
able to afford their care, you shouldn’t have a pet if you can’t afford
one. Or, you can have the pet, but you have to realize that you might
encounter a financial liability that you can’t take on. You can’t
expect veterinary care as a right, free ofcosts.
Riayn, a self-described "thirtysomething lesbian geek" in Australia who blogs at Dancing About Architecture thinks you'd better be prepared for the costs of pet ownership. (Estimates are clearly her interpretation and will vary depending on the pet.)
If you can not afford the initial cost of an animal then you have no
business owning one. Yes, I know this sounds harsh, but owning a dog or
a cat is expensive. You have to be able to afford not only food but
their vet bills as well. In the first year, the vet bills for a dog is
approximately $600 - that is for three vaccinations and desexing. It
does not include flea treatment, worming or heartworm treatment - for
that add on about another $150. So, all up, you are looking at about
$750 in standard vet bills for the first year alone and then about $200
a year for the next 15 or so years.
