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Thread: How much for vet bill??

  1. #46
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
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    Ft. Myers, Florida
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    116
    This is one of our three dogs. Her name is Vanna. She was 7 weeks old when we rescued her from the shelter.
    When she was 3 months old she jumped off the bed and landed on her elbow.
    She had to have surgery to repair the torn cartilage. I think the vet bill was a little over $1300.00
    She is a family member, and we would do whatever it takes as long as it is in her best interest, not ours.
    So, I guess the answer to your question is, there is no limit.


  2. #47
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ft. Myers, Florida
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    By the way, we rescue all of our animals.
    This is how we choose them. We go to our local shelter, and we ask then what dog they are going to have to put down next.
    We take them sight unseen, sick or not sick, big or small.
    We have had dogs that are 15 years old that were given up because they were blind. Raj lived another 3 years with his new family ( us) until he finally passed away in his sleep. We rescued another dog Chloe that was given up because she barked constantly.
    Now she plays with the other dogs and she sleeps all day.

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Mid Michigan
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    3,559
    I had a cat several years ago that developed cancer of the jaw. (I am convinced that is was caused by her chewing on expensive audio wiring and headphone cords) I invested over $1000 in her for surgery. She lived 1 month after the procedure after living through a horrible time trying to adjust to living with part of her jaw missing. If it is cancer I won't have it done again with a pet, but physical injury I will pay to have the injury repaired if there is any quality of life.
    David B

  4. #49
    Well, A little over a year ago, I was working at home, and my neighbor knocks on the door. He was having back problems and he asked me if I could help him take his dog to his truck, because he thought it was dying.

    Went to the back yard and his black lab was laying there, completely out of it. I picked him up, carried him to the truck. Turns out his spleen had ruptured and he had bled out too much to save.

    A few weeks later, I'm taking my black lab for a walk, and he just wasn't right. Just wasn't walking along like normal. Took him to the vet, and the vet took x-rays and sure enough, my dog's spleen had ruptured as well. In fact, I had grown to a tremendous size. It was all a bit overwhelming as I knew what had happened to the neighbors dog.

    They told me I need to go to the the emergency vet. Took him there, they said it 'probably' wasn't cancerous, so we said to go ahead with the surgery. $4,000 bucks. They took a 14 pound tumor out of an 80 pound dog.

    He's doing pretty well, but at 12 years old, he's definitely slowing down a bit. Would I do it again? I have to be honest, the answer is a maybe at this point. It would depend on the situation. Not so much about the question of the money, but more about the expected quality of life and such.

    But I try to 20$ of affection out of him everyday until he pays the debt off

    Here's a picture of the old guy.
    smallindy.jpg

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Smithville Missouri
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    604
    OK, time to have a little humor here. I have had pets all my life and would do anything for them inside of rediculous measures (depends on the individual situation) and I respect that. This is just for humor purposes only and is the best CLEAN joke that I have ever heard.

    A frantic lady goes to the vet with a closed shoebox. She opens the lid and inside is a parrot. The vet determines that this parrot is dead and offers his condolences. (Parrot is stiff as a 2x6 native oak board and can grab him by his feet and use him as a mallet). Now lady is hysterical and takes the emotions up a few clicks. She states that there is something you can do and I'm not leaving here till you do it, the parrot can't be dead. I won't take no for an answer. Hook the little wires up to him, thump his little chest, mouth to mouth resucitation, etc etc etc. The vet obliges and goes over to a door and opens it. Out comes a big Labrador Retriever dog. The dog goes over to the exam table and props both front feet up on it and looks over the bird from head to toe. The dog shakes his head and procedes back to the room. The vet then goes to a door on the other side of the room. Opens the door and a big yellow barn tomcat comes running out and hops up on the exam table. The cat then begins to sniff the bird from head to toe. Cat gives a great big grimace, shrivels up his nose, then shakes his head no. Now the vet tells the lady again the bird is dead and there is nothing that can be done about it, take the bird home and give him the ceremonial rites of your choice. The lady reluctantly agrees. The vet hands the lady the bill at this time. Lady goes berzerk, $650.00, this is outrageous, you didn't do anything other than look at the bird, how can this be? The vets reply was "If you'd have taken my word for it that the bird was dead, it would have been a standard office call charge, but with the lab report and the cat scan....................!!!!!!!
    Been around power equipment all my life and can still count to twenty one nakey

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    Glenmoore, PA
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    Wow, I don't know how I missed this thread. Interesting to read though. I have a dog and I agree with most of the posters here that I would (and have) gone to pretty extreme measures in terms of time and expense for him.

    He is a boxer - about 10 years old at this point. There have been many $500 vet bills which we don't even really keep count of at this point.

    Wost incident with him was an ACL surgery though. My wife and I lived in a 3rd floor apt at the time and the dog needed to have the surgery but that left the problem of getting him outsude for his business. No problem for me but there is no way that my wife can carry a 75# up and down three flights of stairs several times a day. Solution - we MOVED to a place where we could get him in and out easily. We then had the surgery - ~$2,000. For him to walk around, he has to have a covering on his cast so it doesn't get wet. The one that the vet gave us was the bottom half of an IV bag. My wife was taking him for his FIRST post-op checkup and he got nervous in the car and ate the bag - on the way to the vet. Vet said that there was no way he was going to pass it because the bag had a stiff spine in it and that it had to be removed immediatly before it blocked something. $600 to open him up and remove the bag.

    The list of vet visits is quite long and distinguished - but he is a good dog and it is worth it to us.

  7. #52
    Well as an owner of a almost 3 year old Belgium working lines German Shepherd, she would get whatever was necessary to be healthy. The Food she eats cost $70 for the equivilent of 40 lbs of food as well as RMB (raw meaty Bones), Vitamins, Salmon Oil, etc. added and she eats 1 and a half that a month so it is costly. Why do I do this? Because it is the best for her imho and she deserves it. When it comes to Vet bills it is the same way, whatever she needs, No Questions. When she is outside her coat shines and her eyes are bright and clear. My vet constantly says "Whatever your doing, keep doing it"

    My previous dog was a GSD mix and I rescued her at 6 months and she lived until 15 years old. I have said it so many times over, If I could bottle the love that she had for me I would be a billionaire, Yes that much. When I adopted her I knew the day would come that she would be gone. The part I was NOT ready for was that the day would come when I had to make the decision to put her down. She could barely get up off the floor to eat or to go out but would try her hardest when I came home. That is love and I will never forget it.

    Different people look at Pets differently for sure but in our house they are family and are treated as such No Matter What...

  8. #53
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Eastern Iowa
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Velasquez View Post
    This is our dog Sam. He is a few years older now. He is the first to greet me when I come home from work. He sits and cuddles on my wife's lap when she is grading papers, He sits patiently outside my workshop till I am finished.
    Attachment 55039

    Took him for his morning walk today and he started limping on his front paw about half mile out. Had to carry him home (he's a Bichon, only about 20 pounds). After closer examination it was only a burr, but it got me thinking... "How much would I have been willing to pay in vet bills if it had been more serious?"

    I started to talk to my wife about it and her reaction was, "I don't want to talk about it." I think she thinks if we don't discuss it, nothing bad will happen.

    Which leads to the title.. and a question - how many have insurance on your pet?

    I will broach the subject with my wife again, but I thought I would try to get an idea from some others.

    Cross-posted to FW
    I asked this question eleven years ago. I know the answer.... whatever it takes. He is family.
    This morning Sammy succumbed to cancer. I will miss him.
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    N.E, Ohio
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    3,026
    Sorry for your loss. We are pet people. We spent $5,000 on chem for a loved dog and it bought him 5 more years of life and love for us. The saddest part is we took him to vet on Christmas Eve because he was in pain. She gave him a shot and he was comfortable. In the evening on Christmas Eve he became in pain again. We took him top a 24 hr vet clinic and they told us there was little that could be done. We had him put to sleep on Christmas Eve. The worst Christmas in my life.

    We currently have a dog that requires a shot for a allergy condition he developed and it costs us $140 / month. I am retired and obvisously on limited income but we will find a way to provide for his comfort. He is approx 9 yrs old and is a mixed breed of Rhodesian Ridgeback and German Shepard.
    George

    Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.

  10. #55
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    May 2004
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    N Illinois
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    Agree with the thought "whatever it takes"...Pets are family members and we love them..They are loyal and unconditional in their love unlike many human conterparts..

    As Mark Twain said" If there are no dogs in heaven, then I don't want to go there"....
    Jerry

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    In our case it is cats. We have no qualms about paying vet bills for their needs.

    Our cats have been like our children. Currently two or our cats adopted us and one was here when we moved here. Skittles came in an open door and stayed. That was over 20 years ago. He is now showing his age and we comfort him as much as we can knowing that he well soon be leaving us.

    If we can keep him happy and alive a bit longer the cost wouldn't matter. He has given us more joy and love than we could ever return.

    Our pets are some of our best friends. Money is only money, it never gives back any love.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  12. #57
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    Sep 2007
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    Upstate NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Bickford View Post
    In terms of insurance: don't insure anything you can afford to replace. If you can't afford to replace it (monetarily or emotionally or whatever) you should insure it.
    That sorta makes sense. You probably can't afford to replace your house and the insurance is pretty cheap; so you would be crazy not to have home owners.
    But it doesn't apply to your dog. Unless you want to bet that your dog will have significantly more medical bills than average, insurance is economically foolish.

    But how much for a vet bill....?
    7 years ago our 10 year old had a seizure and was catatonic. We took her to an all night animal hospital and they kept her overnight. In the morning they said a neurologist had examined her and she had to be put to sleep. However, for $1,500 they could do a cat scan and tell us whether it was a brain tumor or a stroke. We had not even asked what it would cost to keep her overnight or consult a neurologist. She was our baby and we would pay anything to treat her, but paying $1,500 out of curiosity was nuts.
    So that's how much for a vet bill.

    The punch line is that we took her home. She got better over 6 months and lived another 6 years.

  13. #58
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    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Velasquez View Post
    I asked this question eleven years ago. I know the answer.... whatever it takes. He is family.
    This morning Sammy succumbed to cancer. I will miss him.
    Sorry to hear that.

    I have over 50 animals here and most are family to some extent. (I took llamas and alpacas to a Christmas parade just this evening.)

    The hardest on me was when I lost my horse Sugar, a daily companion - we saw100s of miles of trails together.

    horse_sugar_snow.jpg

    If you are like me you'll keep lots of photos and think about Sammy often, remembering the good times. A friend even painted a picture of Sugar for me.

    JKJ

  14. #59
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    Dec 2009
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    El Dorado Hills, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charles McKinley View Post
    It is a DOG. I have had to put down more than my share of pets over the years. Live on a farm for a while and discover that it is cheaper to make hamburger from a cow that had problems giving birth than calling the vet. Yes, even your beloved 4-H project.

    With all of the people that could use a hand I cannot se spending thousands or even hundreds of dollars on a dog. The local shelters are over flowing with animals that have bee abandoned and could use a good home.

    I think it is selfish and foolish to spend this kind of money on a pet.
    Agree completely. Dogs are farm animals and can be replaced. This is even more true for cats, especially out in the country where outdoor cats often only last a few years because of the coyotes. Only a few smart ones last until old age.

    edit: sorry, I didn't realize I added to a 10 year old post that had waken up.
    Last edited by Steve Peterson; 12-10-2017 at 3:04 PM. Reason: added comment
    Steve

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post

    edit: sorry, I didn't realize I added to a 10 year old post that had waken up.
    How does that happen?

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