Not being able to afford potentially huge vet bills

Red-Squirrel_2

fibonarchie wrote: »

I think this has become the mentality these days, sadly.
Totally irresponsible, - our parents and grandparents wouldn't have dreamed of taking such a cavalier attitude. No-one has a right to spend someone else's money, which when you think about it, is what debt is.

I’m fairly sure people of your parents’ and grandparents’ generation took on mortgages. They didn’t have to go into debt to get a degree of course, because it was free for them.

Failing to provide adequate vet care for your pet is actually against the law.

Nick_C

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Failing to provide adequate vet care for your pet is actually against the law.

But humanely killing a sick animal is not against the law. Vets do it all the time.

Red-Squirrel_2

Nick_C wrote: »

But humanely killing a sick animal is not against the law. Vets do it all the time.

This dog’s illness could be entirely treatable, lots are.

Nick_C

Nick_C wrote: »

But humanely killing a sick animal is not against the law. Vets do it all the time.

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

This dog’s illness could be entirely treatable, lots are.

You are correct. And so am I.

If the OP cannot afford to pay for the treatment, then having the animal put down is an option.

Red-Squirrel_2

Nick_C wrote: »

If the OP cannot afford to pay for the treatment, then having the animal put down is an option.

Clearly we disagree. The OP should pay for the necessary treatment but if they won!!!8217;t they should give the animal up to a rescue or even try to crowdfund ahead of killing it.

chucknorris

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

You absolutely can not kill your dog because you don!!!8217;t want to pay for the treatment it needs. You took on the responsibility of the animal and you owe it better, it deserves better!

If you can!!!8217;t borrow from friends or family, get the credit card, so what if you are paying it back for 10 years? If the alternative is that the pet you are supposed to love and care for dies unnecessarily then it!!!8217;s a small price to pay!

If you refuse to do that, at least sign the dog over to a rescue that can maybe crowdfund for the treatment.

The posters suggesting the dog be killed for the crime of being too expensive should be ashamed of themselves.

I totally agree, I think unless you can't prove that you can self insure, every pet owner should be legally required to have adequate pet insurance. Personally I self insure, but my dog would not receive anything less than the best veterinary treatment available. As an example when I was advised by the vet to put my last dog to sleep, I agreed to Pay £2,000 for a second opinion and an MRI from a specialist. My vet said that it was a waste of money, but I responded by saying that it wasn't. Because I had to satisfy myself that every possibility had been explored. We weren't talking about buying a new sofa, we were talking about the love of my life dying!

oysterpearl

Thank you everyone for your replies. Sorry for my delayed reply.

First and most importantly, the dog has made something of a miraculous recovery. After a terrible weekend, he started gradually improving on Mon and then by the end of Tues, he was back not only to standing, but he as walking too! He's not 100%, but he's vastly better than he was and is showing onward improvements each day and with supervision, is even managing the stairs. I took him to a different vet earlier in the week who had some neurology contacts. The opinion of the neurologist was that an MRI wasn't really necessary seeing as he was showing sure signs of improvement.

In response to some of the comments on here, particularly the ones by Red-Squirrel, the issue wasn't just as simple as whether or not to spend £2k on an MRI. The issue was more about the potential for subsequent treatment costs to spiral out of control financially and also the fear of spending all that money (getting myself further into debt) to only keep him suffering for longer (both in the physical and emotional sense) and for him potentially not being able to be saved anyway. For things such as spine surgery, one of the vets said that it could cost an additional £6-7k. My post on here was just to see if there were any other options out there that I hadn't already considered.

I've also since upgraded all three of the dog insurance policies, as this is something I could have certainly prepared for better. All three dogs are rescue dogs, two of which I've had since they were very young and when I took them on, I was in a marriage with someone which broke down and I was then left with all three of them (not a complaint!). Unfortunately I let their basic insurance continue each year, which in hindsight was a mistake.

Red-Squirrel_2

I'm pleased to hear your dog is recovering, aren't you glad you didn't write him off!

I'm even more pleased to hear that you've sorted out the insurance policies (Petplan?) so that you can more easily fulfil your obligations to the animals in the future. Hopefully they stay healthy for a very long time.

-taff

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

I'm pleased to hear your dog is recovering, aren't you glad you didn't write him off! .

I don't recall any post from the OP 'writing off' their dog. Still with the inflmmatory comments.

Red-Squirrel_2

-taff wrote: »

I don't recall any post from the OP 'writing off' their dog. Still with the inflmmatory comments.

There are loads of comments on here encouraging the OP to basically do that. They should hang their heads.