How much do you love your pet?

[CatWoman]

Family forgoes Christmas to save dog

Dec. 16, 2003 | NORTH MANKATO, Minn. (AP) -- Josie was in bad shape by the time the veterinarians at the University of Minnesota saw her: broken back, dislocated hip, internal injuries. Surgery would be expensive, they told the dog's owner. Death would be much cheaper.

"It was a pretty easy choice, and I know people who don't have pets don't understand this. But Josie is like one of my four children," said Stella Twedt. "If my daughter had been hit by a car, I'd do anything to save her, to give her a normal life."


So Twedt, 36, borrowed $3,000 from her father and raided her Christmas savings. The surgeries began last week to repair the damage left behind by the bumper of a speeding pickup truck.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2003/12/16/family_dog/index.html

[LynneSin]

1. I love my cat - but that would so not be me

I'd give her one last gentle hug and scratch behind the ears.....

And then time to move on!!

[GOPisEvil]

2. I'm not sure I'd have made that choice.

But, for a member of the family, I guess no sacrifice is too large. :shrug:

I hope Josie is able to live a long time after all of this...

[Liberal Veteran]

3. Nice to see someone treat their pet responsibly.

I suppose I can't really advocate someone who is totally broke spending thousands of dollars to keep a pet alive when they don't have it, but if you can, why shouldn't you do everything you can to return the unconditional love and joy that pets bring into your life?

[CatWoman]

8. also, it would be nice if the vet gave them a discount

tho I know he has to make a living too.

[ronnykmarshall]

18. Mine did.

In fact the afternoon before Mickey died, my vet told us that they were going to discount a lot of the cost. My vet felt that Mickey had a chance and wanted to help us fight for his life.

[CatWoman]

20. AWWWWWWWW

that's so sweet.

:hi:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. I'd do it in a heartbeat if it saved the animal

[Susang]

30. Damn you!

You used exactly the same phrase I intended to post (had I not read yours first)!

So instead I'll say, "I'd do it without hesitation if it would save my dog". I think it still conveys the same feeling. ;-)

[LuLu550]

5. I spent $900 tryng to save my dog

after she was attacked by another...she was fairly young (six years old) and I thought she had a good chance of making it, but she died the next day.
It was a very emotional response. I'm not sure what I would do now....but probably not $3,000.

[commander bunnypants]

6. If I could afford it

Damn right. I consider pets to be family memebers

DDQM

[Bertha Venation]

7. Yep. I'd do it.

If the animal would have decent quality of life & no lingering pain after being fixed up--no question.

[demnan]

9. If the animal would not suffer too much and have a good

quality of life I would say yes. In fact I have said yes. I have put a risky cat operation on my credit card when I couldn't afford it. I never hesitated or regretted that decision, even though I know even my parents wouldn't have done so.

However there does come a time when you must put aside the selfish desire to keep the animal alive if to do so will make the animal suffer too much.

[Cooley Hurd]

10. No question, I'd spend as much as it would take...

I'd raid every account, credit card and even the coin jar to save Charlie.

My poodle, Paddy, at 14 years old, developed cancer. The surgeries would cost over $1000, but the vet gave a good prognosis for recovery, so I agreed to have the surgery done. Paddy's recovery went well, but she developed the cancer again a year later and died shorty after that. But I feel it was worth the $$$ because I had her for another year...

[Mikimouse]

11. Wife and I have done some strange things...

We had a sick kitty, and refused to have him put down just on the Vet. School's say so. Two years later they admitted that they may have made a mistake in the diagnosis (Jerks!). My cats are my only family presently, who are here. Wife is in Louisiana for the next two years on a research job, and I am still here in Texas. She has one ofour cats with her, and I have the other three. They keep me going with their antics and their love. If something happened to one of them, I would do anything that was possible rather than lose them. My old geezer was kicked by someone here in the apartment complex three years ago, and he was really touch and go for a while. The Vet. was not sure that he would make it, as his injury was in the throat. I laugh now, because he is right beside me on the couch right now, snoozing away, but he wasn't so funny when he was in the hospital for a week, with IVs running and a monitor on his back. Money isn't important to me if it serves no useful purpose, and I consider the cats to be in a category of their own as far as companionship goes, so yeah, I can understand what the family in the original post did for their dog.

[Cleita]

12. Well, I just did it.

I borrowed money I could have used for my own health care, to save my kitty Benny, who had swallowed a needle. When push came to shove, these are the things I thought about.

This little two-year-old life had been entrusted to me. I couldn't order it taken and I couldn't let him die an awful death. He's bouncing around again and happy as a lark. This is worth it to me.

So I'll have to wait a year or two to get some medical procedures done that I need, but my heart is in a good place now, so I don't care if it was a dumb thing to do.

[SoCalDem]

13. A pet . grown up, is very much like a toddler child..

They do have instincts that children may not have, but just because the dog looks longingly out the window, or "tries" to get outside, does not mean that they should go outside.. If a person truly loves his pet, he/she will treat them like he/she would a 3 yr old.. Would you put a 3 yr old outside near a busy street?? Would you put a 3 yr old out at night, to sleep in the cold damp backyard (doghouses are not all that comfy)(unless you are TammyFaye's dog)..

Same goes for the kitties..

If something terrible happens to your pet when he/she is out "exploring" , it's your fault, unless the pet got out accidentally.. (That can hjappen to anyone, and sadly, it happened to us once)..

I applaud this family for having the decency to see that the dog is their responsibility, and for loving it enough to realize that a living creature is more important that a few boxes of plastic junk made in China..

Bravo to them.. I hope the dog does well and lives many years.. I bet that dog will never be allowed to "run free" again ..

[CatWoman]

17. amen, So Cal

Male got out a couple years ago, and was missing for over a month.

I searched for her daily, calling for her throughout the neighborhood.

She came home one day and I was so happy. I could have clubbed her for putting me through that.

Bottom line is, even though I cried a lot and anquished through that ordeal, I never gave up hope.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. We Would Have Done That, Too!

No question in my mind. We've spent big bucks on vet work before, and we'd do it again.

The beasties are part of the family. One does not have a sick pet and not spend money one haves because it convenient to let them suffer or die. If they're suffering, we need to make it better. That's really all they ask. I'm willing to give my beasties what they need.
The Professor

[FlaGranny]

15. I would spend the money for my pet.

I've had her since she was a baby and she's now 7-1/2 and my constant companion. The thing that interests her most in life is my location. She wants to know where I am at all times. I trained her as a pup that it was a good thing to come when called and she always does. I temporarily "lost" her twice in that seven years. She wandered away with her nose to the ground. By the time I missed her, both times, she was on her way back after only a few minutes. She suddenly realized that "mommy" was not nearby. How could I not do everything I could for her if she needed it?

[arwalden]

16. Whatever It Takes... I Love My Sweet Mitzi More Than Many Relatives!!!

-- Allen

[BurtWorm]

19. If our cats could be saved by money that would otherwise be wasted on

Christmas presents, we'd do it in a second. How many Christmas presents does anyone wind up enjoying anywhere near as much as you enjoy your pets?

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. You bet. I know Jessie (our dog) does what she can to take care

of us, so I could only do the same. Pets, like children, are not disposable. I'd work to jobs to pay for it if I had to.

[pmbryant]

22. I'd spend as much as I could possibly afford

We have 3 cats and 1 dog and I absolutely adore all of them. Even the dog. ;-)

--Peter

[Skittles]

23. nobody should second guess what people spend on their pets

it is F***ING RUDE. Most of my friends live in houses way more expensive than they need. How about if I asked them WHY? And that's just a f***ing THING.

[DemExpat]

24. I love my 14 year old dog as if he is my third child, but I will not

spend so much money to keep him (even if he were younger) alive should he fall very ill, or be terrible broken from an accident.

Even though I love him and will be sick with grief when he goes, I still see him as "not human".....just about, but not quite.

What would bother me greatly would be the thought that that very same money spent on my pet could be spent on a life-saving operation for a child somewhere, and this makes me feel so guilty that I couldn't defend the decision. In a way this feeling is ridiculous, because even the love, shelter, food, attention and costs spent on Mikey are all "energy" that could be invested in a child rather than a pet, so I'm depriving a child already......

But still....$3000.00 on a banged up puppy....
I would decide to let him go.

But I totally understand others for chosing to try to save their beloved pets....:-(

DemEx

[slackmaster]

25. I spent over $1,000 on dental work for a cat

He needed three root canals and an extraction. That's as much as I've spent on my own teeth in about 10 years.

[oxymoron]

26. I love my pets enough...

not to let them roam where they might get hit by a car. Cats live much longer lives indoors and mine are well adjusted and a big part of the family. I guess I don't understand letting an animal loose where it might get injured.

[kodi]

27. if i love my dogs as much as they love me i would be more than human

when my original kuvasz AJA passed way.. i had to kill her as she had a stroke and was paralyzed from the waist down, i realized that i had no regrets since i knew that while she lived i loved and cared for her as much as i wished i had once she was dead.

but, she loved me more.

[welshTerrier2]

28. humans

my pup depends on me ... no price could ever be too great to help her ...

family is family ... it's too bad humans continue to see themselves as higher life forms ... that's where many of our problems begin ...

[SOteric]

29. If it's within my physical ability to do so,

there's probably no limit to what I would do, what I would sacrifice to keep any one of the animals companions I've had in my life healthy, happy and alive.

[peacebuzzard]

31. My Bella the bassett needs a tumor removed

the vet told me yesterday. It was just a small lump but after so many days of travel when I noticed it again it had quadrupled or more in size. She will be operated on after the holidays. Yes, I will spend money on my pets, I have already been paying on this house for them for years now. I just go out to work to bring home the money for the bills. But I am a single person, no strings; and I love my pets and all animals more than people.....people are so high maintenance.......