MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Pet versus debt?

Idiophreak

I don't really like animals, so am probably going to be a bit unpopular here

The only thing that crosses my mind is why are they wasting money on a pet in the first place if they're in severe debt? I suppose they might've got it in better times, but still, I think I'd take the illness as a get out of jail free card, have it put to sleep and let my finances recover before getting another.

bordercars

The animals quality of life must come first, every time, remember a PET IS FOR LIFE, we had a situation about 5 years ago our cat had been run over needed both back legs working on , 1 required phsio for quite some time, he was a just an ordinary cat ,£500 bill, we were short at the time and someone suggested the Cats Protection League, they stumped up £100, Sammy lived with a limp for another 4 years sadly he went last year.

Which reminds me, i have a little extra right now i must send a cheque to the Cats Protetection League, anyone else feeling a little flush may i ask you to think about doing similar. Thank You

Diddidi

I agree with the other posters - owners have a duty to care for pets - the same as parents do for children. I know people who have sold their possessions to pay for vet fees. The idea of going to an animal charity for assistance is a good one and many vets will reduce their fees if they know that it is not an insurance claim.

I recently had almost £10,000 worth of work done on my dog - a dog who means the world to me. Unfortunately he had cancer and needed several operations. The insurance covered about a third of this amount and I needed to find the rest. Thanks to Moneysavingexpert, I found the best means of borrowing money. Lady Luck must have been smiling because a few months later I received a large tax refund that repaid the rest of the loan. End result - one happy owner and one happy dog who is doing really well despite what he has been through. Yes, at the time I did wonder what I was putting him through, but I just didn't feel that his time was up yet - and neither did the vet.

A difficult question that I think only the owner can finally address.

Diddi

gemlcoleman

i would say this shows the importance of pet insurance. its not that expensive, and obviously worth it if someone gets put in this dilemma.

Beware the terms and conditions though - some will only pay a certain amount for one illness!

UKJubilee_2

If there was no other choice but to pay the £900 or have the dog put down and in the financial situation descibed it would have to be put down. The level of debt described combined with this addition would be devestating for the family in the long run.

Luckily the above options are not the only ones, I know from experience when I was a child that the PDSA used to give free vetinary treatment to people on benefits.

(P.S I am not heartless, I had to fork out over £300 for hospilisation 3 weeks ago to save my cats life after a hypoglycaemic attack, sadly his diabetes is an exclusion on his insurance policy as he has had it too long...paid it happily to keep him with me)

Monteil

For me there might be worry regarding the bills but no dilemma for, having undertaken to have an animal I have also taken responsability for it's welfare.
When the issue should be querried is at the time when the pet was acquired, much as one can want a pet it is not fair on the animal to take it on a whim and without weighing the ways in which the food and health bills might put too much of a burden on the budget.
It truly upset me to see so many pets at the mercy of people who do not regard their welfare as a prime decision making point, leaving them alone for too many hours and discarding them when they become too much. But I am passionate about animals, as you can tell.:A

borderterribles

"Treat 'em well in life and learn to recognise when it is better to show compassion over sentiment."

Couldn't agree more.:T

madmuvva

Although of course they are in lots of case the only company someone has and our feelings for our pets run deep - IMO they cannot really be compared to children. Can any of us put hand on heart and say if we had to choose between pet or child - we would struggle with the decision? I would give up my job/house if my child were terminally sick, but not for my dog. I have two dogs/two cats (plus other various) and love them all dearly. Jarvis (cat) shattered his leg at 6 mths (he is now 6) cost £400, we paid because 1. it is our responsibility as his owners 2. it was "just" a broken leg. Lulu (dog) has a lump. We have not taken her to the vets because she is old, happy and I do not want to put her through the discomfort/pain she doesnt understand. The family in this scenario should do the kind thing and euthanase.

gallygirl

'Severe debts and struggling to stay afloat'..... sorry, as far as I am concerned there is no choice to be made. 'The family' as a unit is more important than any pet - yes, all will be devastated but not as much as if they end up with home repossessed / evicted by council and end up in a hostel - in which case they would lose their pets anyway.

tfdodo

Awful lot of "at any cost, a pet is for life not for Xmas" replies here - doubtless heartfelt and in good faith - but where do you draw the line ? a grand for a dog ? £1500 for a cat ? £2000 for a hamster ? Due largely to pet insurance, vets these days have the capacity to do quite complex operations on rat- or hamster-sized pets. It would probably be feasible to spend three grand on a pet rat. Our last car cost that. You have to draw the line somewhere I'm afraid... you may think life is sacred ,but it DOES have a price.

More credit to organisations like the PDSA that help out. Some vets also have an unpublicised degree of flexibility if you need care but really cannot afford it.

My partner ran over a cat some years ago, found it, took it into a vets and said "fix it - I'll pay, whatever it costs". My mum's response ? "NEVER let her run over a Horse!"

As an aside, we now own the cat... previous owners said they didn;t want him back, even though he was 7 months old and we'd said we'd pay. They had the spectre of future heavy bills, having already in the previous year spent over £1500 they couldn't afford, half unplanned and all uninsured, on their two dogs. So Tigger is one of the more expensive UK cats (about £800! cats home is cheaper...). I'd describe him as priceless, but we were lucky enough to be able to afford it.