The mind behind Free Money Finance ran a post yesterday about paying for your pet care. An AP poll showed some disappointing results, people generally will not pay a lot to save their pets.
It’s not surprising mind you, especially all the horror stories my wife and I have heard while taking our own dog to the vet. Speaking from experience, we’ve spent more on our dog than it cost to go on our honeymoon to Hawaii. And we’d do it again.
That’s because when we got a dog I immediately prepared for those expenses. I bolstered my emergency savings which allowed for me to simply deal with the emotions of having a sick or hurt pet. Then I refilled my emergency account so we’re prepared if it happens again. Mind you now, we’ve had two emergencies with this dog that almost took him from us. If you aren’t prepared for something like this I don’t think you should have a pet.
Alternatively, you can get pet insurance. For a monthly fee they’ll cover the big stuff. In the future, we will do this.
But there is also a line where you can’t throw good money after bad. Putting $10,000 into cancer treatment that will make the dog miserable and extend his life a month or two may not be worth it. That isn’t even worth it to keep me alive.
If you want to get a pet, take the necessary measures so that you can treat them like a member of the family. If you can’t do that, then you don’t have a pet, you have a petting zoo.
Check out the post for the poll results and some great comments from people like me, who can speak from experience.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
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A few years ago, one of our cats had emergency surgery to fix a blocked bladder. That ran almost $1000 and he was partially incontinent for the rest of his life. He spent the next 3 years slowly losing kidney function. We should have put him down long before he died.
We won’t do that again. I’m not sure where the actual line is, but I’m pretty sure it’s well under $500, unless the animal is young, otherwise healthy and won’t have long-term issues from the treatment or injury.