Dogs

[Lily]

I am thinking very seriously about not having one full stop now, gutting as that is. There is no way I could get £8k out of nowhere and £2k would be an enormous 'suddenly got to find' amount. How on earth do people do this on their own?!

[Morganna]

Where have those figures come from, Lils? Puppies can be expensive, but I'm guessing they'll be getting cheaper now that people aren't all wfh, and rescue dogs are free.

ETA I've looked back, and read Luce's post properly :))

If you get the insurance S uses, they cover everything, so you'd have peace of mind that in the unlikely event of an expensive op being necessary you wouldn't have to shell out beyond the excess.

[Toast]

Rescue dogs aren't free.

[Pippedydeadeye]

Whichever way you cut it, pets are incredibly expensive. We priced it all up and decided there’s no way we can justify one, alongside the huge lifestyle adjustment too.

My understanding of pet insurance is that you often have to pay upfront before you can claim back (some of) the cost.

[sally maclennane]

I am thinking very seriously about not having one full stop now, gutting as that is. There is no way I could get £8k out of nowhere and £2k would be an enormous 'suddenly got to find' amount. How on earth do people do this on their own?!

I think a lot of people just don't give it much thought, tbh. I'm not saying they're right, but i do know quite a few people who have essentially got a dog because they think it's a cute thing to have, without considering all (or any!) of the implications.

Those figures are a worst case scenario obviously and I guess only you can decide if you want to be prepared for that before you become an owner.

[Luce]

I am thinking very seriously about not having one full stop now, gutting as that is. There is no way I could get £8k out of nowhere and £2k would be an enormous 'suddenly got to find' amount. How on earth do people do this on their own?!

I'm not trying to enable but we were very, very unlucky and the vets were as sure as you can be that it was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. I think our pet insurance was with Legal & General and had been brilliant for every other thing with Rox (she had quite sensitive skin and we had a few incidents where she had digestive stuff and the insurance was great for all of that etc). I can't remember the reasons why we weren't fully covered (T will know but I blocked it out) but also know that even if we did have the £8k she was likely to have been lame or semi-lame for the rest of her life (she was only 4) still so it isn't always as simple as money = problem solved.

It has permanently broken my heart and I honestly don't think I could ever go back BUT it was incredibly unfortunate and lots of people have much happier, more successful stories than we did.

[bramblerose]

Whichever way you cut it, pets are incredibly expensive. We priced it all up and decided there’s no way we can justify one, alongside the huge lifestyle adjustment too.

This is what I have been wanting to say.

[Little My]

Dogs, pets, babies, homes, cars.. all very expensive. It comes down to how much you value them.

[Ella]

And what you can afford!

[Toast]

Or what you'd be prepared to borrow, etc. I think it would be very difficult when faced with an expensive procedure to just write it off as something you can't afford. So there's also the potential debt issue.

[Shoe]

The only reason I have Tabitha (a cat) is because my aunt couldn't keep her and agreed to pay all the costs. She pays the insurance, vet bills, food and any other expenses. I couldn't justify having a pet otherwise. Despite how much I love having one.

In saying that, if you are thinking about a dog, I second Luna in suggesting a staffy. I used to 'work' with one. He walked to work in the morning, did a 20 minutes loop at lunch with me then walked home later. The rest of the time he snoozed happily in his bed while we worked. He was an older rescue.

[Morganna]

I'm not trying to enable but we were very, very unlucky and the vets were as sure as you can be that it was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. I think our pet insurance was with Legal & General and had been brilliant for every other thing with Rox (she had quite sensitive skin and we had a few incidents where she had digestive stuff and the insurance was great for all of that etc). I can't remember the reasons why we weren't fully covered (T will know but I blocked it out) but also know that even if we did have the £8k she was likely to have been lame or semi-lame for the rest of her life (she was only 4) still so it isn't always as simple as money = problem solved.

It has permanently broken my heart and I honestly don't think I could ever go back BUT it was incredibly unfortunate and lots of people have much happier, more successful stories than we did.

I agree with all of this. It sounds as though Loki's problem was very similar, and again, it couldn't have been prevented. His op was risky and there were no guarantees. He might not have come round, and it was possible that he would have never made a full recovery - S was looking into dog wheelchairs! As Luce says, it's not just about the money. Realistically, they would have really struggled to keep a lame dog and go to work, with all the best will in the world. So yes, many people are luckier, and yes, Luce's case was very, very unfortunate. My heart goes out to you, Luce, as even at second hand I would have been devastated if Loki hadn't come through, and it would have broken S and J.

The thing is, Lils, that you could say that about anything (or anyone) you love. If things go wrong it is heartbreaking, and they might. That's not a good reason for never loving though.

[Morganna]

Rescue dogs aren't free.

They can be, depending on age and breed (up here, anyway). You have to pay for vet things (eg neutering) if the centre has paid for it, but if the dog arrives neutered, then obviously they don't charge. I think some puppies cost money, but again, that's to cover the vet fees if the mother was rescued and gave birth in the centre. That was the case when we flirted with the idea of getting a rescue dog, anyway.

[Lily]

The thing is, Lils, that you could say that about anything (or anyone) you love. If things go wrong it is heartbreaking, and they might. That's not a good reason for never loving though.

This is true. I can handle heartbreak, but what I couldn't handle is not being able to afford to treat an animal which I've taken a responsibility for.

I am going to leave it for a few months at least until the stupid court thing is over and I go on holiday wherever that is. Then I can think straight and I will have some more money in my savings. Perhaps saving up for that magical "3 x your salary" is what I should aim for first?

I do not know how people who don't have much money do this; I mean I'm not rich but I'm earning a good wage and have no debts now which is a very privileged position. That makes me sad: having an animal is such an enormous pleasure and I think it can really improve one's health, mental and physical. I feel like there ought to be some sort of animal NHS.

In the meantime I am pondering guinea pigs or rabbits, something I can cuddle.

[ParisGal]

I think a lot of people just accept that if their pet needs multi-thousand pounds of surgery, that they'll have it put down.

[Squirrel]

I think a lot of people just accept that if their pet needs multi-thousand pounds of surgery, that they'll have it put down.

Unfortunately yes, we have good insurance but if we had to make a hard decision about expensive treatment that wasn’t covered, we probably wouldn’t go through with it.

I can’t even bring myself type the actual words!

[sally maclennane]

I read something recently by a vet who said that often people spend money on treatment for pets that he wouldn't recommend because the owners can't face losing the pet, rather than because it's the best thing for the animal. I'm not criticising anyone for that and neither was he, he was just saying it reflects people's different attitudes to animals* now.


*I always think of Papa Mac who had grown up in rural Ireland in the 50s and thought dogs having a bed was a nonsense :lol:

[Lily]

That makes a lot of sense Sal and I agree what is best for the animal is not always what the humans want.

TBF Squizz reading that makes me feel a lot better as I think it's a realistic as well as kind view. You can't explain to an animal what it's going through when you're giving it prolonged painful treatment, or the outcome, or how it will make it feel.

[SunnyMum]

Sally, our dogs don't have beds. They sleep on the floor (tiles). We tried beds, they never slept in them so we ditched them.

[nineseven]

I didn't get that amazing massive cat last year because he had a pre-existing condition that wouldn't be covered by insurance. I just couldn't take on the potential massive expense (for a massive cat).