vet bill for eye surgery: 1500 dollars

[JanMichael]

OK...so it's going to take about 4 months to pay ourselves back...but, here's a question:

What the HELL happens to dogs whose owners can't afford a non-life threatening eye surgery??

Healthcare for animals sucks in this country.

[woo me with science]

1. Not to mention all those animals in the wild

who don't have health insurance.

My brother's dog is on an HMO, but I have been warned that a lot of them are rip-offs.

[JanMichael]

2. I can't decide on those pet insurance places

they kind of seem like a total ripoff.

[Captain Hilts]

3. They suffer or are put to sleep. Little Skeezix's surgery cost more than that. nt

[JanMichael]

7. Sad but true. I just wonder about families with pets...

...that are their 100% loved ones.

Do they have to watch and let the eye die and fall out? How disturbing that must be for a family that can't afford the rip off prices of most greedy veterinarians yet have pets that are family members...

[flvegan]

4. If they can't afford it, and therefore don't get the surgery, the dog loses

some/all of his her sight in the affected eyes.

We've rescued a couple blind dogs in our time here. To be honest, they get along really well. Remember, dogs rely mostly on their hearing and smell. Eyes, not so much. I think that it's great that you got the surgery because I can also say that at times the blindness seemed to be frustrating for them. But, they got along okay.

[davsand]

5. How about $900 for a sick cat?

Never did find out what it was that made him so sick, but we came home from dinner out and found him vomiting blood. Cost $600 at the Emergency Vet clinic because, of course, it was after hours at his vet's office. I transferred him to his regular vet very early that next morning (this is how that vet ER works, I guess...)

Oh--and you pay up front. With your sick pet right there along with your panic stricken 12 year old begging you not to let her cat die. TELL me the bastards aren't deliberate with that policy. Veterinary X-rays. labs, and meds are pretty damn expensive


Laura

[undeterred]

6. I have VPI pet insurance for my dog

even though I don't have heatlh insurance for myself. I had 3 life threatening emergencies with my last dog. Its awful to be in the position of deciding whether to treat or to put a dog to sleep because of money. So with the insurance I can always choose to get him treated. So far nothing drastic has come up, but eventually we all get sick.

[Kali]

8. they do the exact same thing as humans who can't afford care -

they either survive and heal with first aid and good home nursing or they die.