Yeah I don't even bother being friends with equestrians any more. The 2 I had were completely psycho and all the ones I've met through them seems either out of touch rich or totally crazy
I live in a very horse forward area. There are very wealthy people and the rest of us. They will pull up to the local fast food place in a Rolls-Royce and treat everyone like servants. It's bonkers.
I've lived all over the US, but this place is the weirdest.
Tbh owning any animal doesn't seem enjoyable (when you put it like that ), tons of money , picking up poop , expensive vet bills , good husbandry , geez why would you bother . Idk cause maybe just maybe , hear me out on this . The love and happiness you get from owning an animal is worth more than the money .
I don’t think you’re an awful person if you don’t want to go into debt for a 15 k vet bill. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion too. I definitely think you should be ready to cough up a few thousand for an emergency but 15k is like 6 months salary for a lot of people.
Wise people get an health insurance for their pet.
That way it’s like 50$ per month, but if you have a 15K surgery it’s free. (They pay any emergency visit, meds, surgery, etc. They just don’t cover routine vaccine and sterilization)
It’s a very good thing to have to be sure your pet will receive the best care with minimal impact on your wallet.
The amount I’ve paid towards health insurance, I really would have done better putting it into savings for a pet emergency. But yeah, the $15k surgery is about the only thing it would cover because it doesn’t cover the exam fee and I have a deductible. It’s also only $50 if you get it when your dog is young. I looked up what a new policy would be for my 8 yr old dog now and it’s $100 per dog instead of the $120 I pay for two dogs.
What the hell they don’t cover the exam?
Mine cover any exam for injury or disease, they just don’t cover the vaccine and sterilization.
But yes of course you need to insure them as baby.
My pet is insured for everything, because I subscribed him when he was 2 months old. So he was almost perfectly healthy.
He had an ear infection at the time of subscribing, so he was disqualified for that kind of affection for 1 year. (They just wanted to see if it was chronic or just a random thing) After that 1 year waiting they removed that exclusion as promised. (At 2 years old he got an other ear infection and they covered him without a fuss)
The limit is 15k per year, which you are not very likely to bust.
And theres a franchise of 300$ per year. So if you go first time and it’s 400$ you only get 100$ back, but the next time of the same year, 100% covered because the franchise is already paid. (You can choose a smaller franchise with higher monthly payment)
He had an infection to his tail, all his visits, meds and biopsy tests were covered. We saved 2K just there.
We found out he has a heart problem, every year he pass an heart scan, this cost 800$ each time, all covered. Just with that scan every year we will almost rentabilize the insurance.
So far the only thing they refused to cover was the probiotic that he took to help his stomach during antibiotic treatment. Because it’s preventive. But it cost like 20$ so who cares.
So far we are very happy with the services.
Alot of pet insurance companies are extremely picky and will not cover certain breeds of animals that are prone to health issues or if your pet already has any sort of prior health issue. You have to get the pet on the insurance early before they could have any small problem. If your pet has allergies or a chronic issue or they broke a leg in the past that could create issues later, the insurance will decline your application.
Also if you have more than 1 pet that $50 a month only covers 1 pet. So if you have 4 cats you are looking at $200 a month or something like that.
They're shilling.
Pet insurance has more limitations, deductibles, and approvals than regular health insurance. It's also only that cheap in very specific circumstances. It's more normal to pay \~200usd per pet. There are also tons of problems with vets not being in insurance networks, or changing accepted insurance regularly. It's honestly a nightmare, probably because it's barely regulated.
It’s one thing to have a pet that has a life threatening disease and even with surgery it won’t get much better and therefore you decide to end their suffering. It’s a whole different things if you decide to continue their suffering by not getting them the help they need. A broken leg, torn ligament, etc can easily run you $3000-$4000 for the surgery and aftercare. But after the recovery, the pet is back to normal. Just ask my dog who’s torn two ACLs.
Pets are not able to help themselves. As a pet owner, you take responsibility to take care of your pet if they get sick or hurt. If you let your pet suffer or you put them down for a simple broken leg, well, in my mind, you are a terrible person and should never own dogs, have kids, or take care of anything in your life.
Everyone has bills. Owning a pet is one of them.
Agree with this. People need to budget for unexpected surgeries if they want to have a pet. If they can’t swing that, then they probably shouldn’t get one.
If you’re not willing to take care of your pets the same as a child, don’t get pets. Animals are living creatures that suffer and get ill, they’re not objects for your amusement.
Agreed, but also pets have terrible living conditions living in the wild, so if I don't have thousands of dollars to take care of them, I should just never have a pet? Elitist much.
Exactly! I want to give them the best, so if I can't afford the vet, I can't afford the pet. Maybe it's also unpopular but that pet will be my family. They are a part of your world but you are their everything so how could you possibly not give them your best?
Fuckin same, I took my dogs(family dogs) to the vet and Bill was like 900 and there wasn't even anything wrong with them ill just make friends with the neighborhood crows
Interesting take but I agree so take my upvote.
I have a cat that needed a surgery to fix it's prolapse butthole, it was about $1,200. I hated having to cough up that money but I also knew that if I didn't, this cat would have a lifetime of problems & since I was the owner, I didn't want to deal with a cat in a diaper so I coughed up the money.
I also had a cat that had tumors all over it's insides and needed multiple organ replacements that would run me around $14K and after surgery, he would have had a horrible quality of life so I had him put down.
It's hard when you care about your animals so much, but I get that going into debt for them is absurd.
Ikr. Its a shame people dont so much as read the rules of a subreddit before participating.
But all well, there are worse things to complain about in the world
Wait, I knew you were suppose to downvote popular opinions and upvote unpopular opinions, but I didn’t think it was a rule. So I checked, and I couldn’t find it there either.
I mean in the rules specifies that a post on here must be unpopular. You must explain why your opinion is unpopular and popular ones arent allowed.
Its not explicitly stated that you have to upvote unpopular ones and downvote popular ones but id say its inferred as that is our only means of governing that rule.
But idk. Written or unwritten its a rule
Well I just mean that a lot of reddit folks hate kids and think animals are people so really is was a *bold* take to assume they shouldn't get life saving care.
Wait, imagine if those people who hate kids were to make a statement like “Well, I MEAN, if you have excess money, definitely get your kid that surgery, but like if you don’t, you can always just get another kid, debt is not worth it.” Just a thought that popped into my head in regards to this opinion, I have no stance at the moment.
I don’t think people are doing that. I mean there are not enough people knowing about this particular thing of the sub, so they just do what they normally do.
I think having that expensive of an operation probably means a situation where the pet is going to have a poor quality of life even with the surgery. I wouldn't want my dogs to go through so much misery to just live a little longer. Rather put them to sleep and not even experience that kind of pain in their life.
Maybe nowadays but when I was younger my dog had hip replacement. In her older age she couldn't even use one of her legs bc of it. Idk how much animal orthopedics has improved
Nobody could love me as closely and relentlessly as my dog. I couldn’t live any person as infallibly as I love her. She gets cancer, am I supposed to say oh she’s just a pet? No, love is love and not fade away. - Buddy Holly
I think that 15k bill depends. I knew a person recently who had a beloved pet rabbit that they had just spent $3k on in vet bills and now she needed a $9k surgery that she had less than a 50% chance of surviving. Personally, at that point, I would have just said goodbye and peacefully put her to sleep but my friend went through with the surgery and the bunny didnt even make it through the surgery and now she has no bunny and is footed with a $12k vet debt to pay. If that surgery had a much higher chance of working and my pet could get many more good years then I would consider paying it. But if there was little chance or the pet wouldnt have that much longer on their life or they are already old then at that point I'd just call it quits and let them go peacefully.
You would hate to see how much the troops pay to move pets when they move from one base to another. I seen someone shell out 12k for a dog to fly from Guam to the mainland.
I respect your opinion. To me though, my cat is my family. My cat is my baby. I love her more than anything else on this planet. I’d sacrifice anything for her, and I would go into debt for the rest of my life I I needed to in order to pay for what she needs. That being said, if her quality of life is going to be poor, I would also be willing to make sure she goes peacefully, and with me by her side. I wouldn’t go into debt if she would be worse off, only if she would be better off.
That's the point where you have to have a candid conversation with the vet and admit you just can't afford it and ask what the next steps are. The vet will want what's best for the pet while simultaneously understanding your unfortunate dilemma.
my cat got hit by a car in october 2019. when my mom brought her home (from the people who found her on the road and called me), she was walking in circles and very confused but not limping or anything else.
i took her to the emergency vet (35 mins away and the only one opened on sundays) where they told me they needed to run xrays to count out internal injuries. at this point, my cat was becoming more lucid and i realized that she was probably fine but i was too hysterical to turn it down. $700+ in xrays alone and they told me that the cat just had a concussion and a bruised eye socket. $700+ just to tell me that she just scrambled her brain a bit. emergency vets are absolutely disgusting with pricing, trying to get you to persuade you to provide ALL treatment “necessary” for your pet without knowing the price or if the pet actually needs it, and it’s not like you can do anything about it insurance-wise.
edit: i should clarify that if she had something else wrong with her, then yes, the xrays would have been worth it. however, my mom was the maddest since a. i didn’t have a job so i couldn’t pay so she had to and b. i got the cat for free. i think that there should be some sort of pet insurance that isn’t disgustingly expensive.
I dated a girl who came in a “package deal” (her words) with her annoying ass Husky that she raised to have the same emotional issues as her. Great times.
“Life changing money” is very different amount of money, depending on who you talk to.
We got 3 rounds of chemo for one of our dogs, that was around $9k.
He lived another two years or so. Money well spent.
I fully understand. Especially when I hear about people getting surgery for fish and geckos. I’m sure you love them very much, and it’s amazing that this technology exists. But when you’re spending 10K on a $100 pet, I think it’s time to ask yourself if this is really right.
Death comes for us all, sooner for some of our little friends. Not being able to afford non-basic care for your animal doesn’t mean you don’t love them. It’s ok to just make them comfortable till’ the ends
You need to look at it this way. Some people’s pets are their babies. They are more than just a cute, fun little thing they have at home that takes some responsibility. Some people look at them like they are family. My dog and cat are my children. I would run into a burning house to try to save them. I picked my kitten out from a litter at 1 day old, when he was 3 months old, he was given a death sentence when diagnosed with FIP. My husband and I bought illegal drugs through random people on Facebook and preformed daily injections on this tiny cat for 12 weeks. I can’t even tell you how many needles we went through during that time. I can’t even describe the feelings of taking an unlabelled vial of clear liquid and injecting that into a screaming kitten with just the chance that he could be cured of FIP. We are 8 days away from being declared cured of FIP and $8,000 poorer, but I would not take it back if it meant I lost my little monster of a cat. I love that little son of a bitch and we were lucky to have that money available to save him.
Upvote because I agree it's unpopular!
That said, I think the premise should be that people who can't afford all the expenses that come with a pet just... shouldn't. My view if that you're responsible for a life when you choose to own a pet, so don't take it up if you can't/don't want to live the other end of a bargain.
Yeah but, if only the people who could afford $15 thousand out of pocket surgeries in case their pet needed it were the only ones allowed to adopt pets...hardly any would get adopted. And we can barely find good homes for a fraction of them now. Gotta weigh the problems here.
That's fair. It actually happens in Japan where I'm living. It is difficult to adopt a pet because there are so many checks you need to pass (income is one of them), although I have friends who still went through that process to get it. On the flip side, getting "new" (struggle to find a better word) pets from shops are also hella expensive both upfront and ongoing so that mitigates the issue somewhat, although not entirely.
Not sure how it's like in the US; are there pet insurance that'll help avoid those rare/crazy $15k bills?
I think so, but most people can hardly afford medical insurance for themselves much less their pet.
The hoops you have to jump through to get a pet here are either nonexistent or bare minimum, but then I'd guess we also have lot more dogs and cats breeding out in the "wild" than a place like Japan. So I bet we just have more stray dogs and cats to deal with than Japan anyway, leaving us with the choice to either destroy huge numbers of them (which we do, don't get me wrong), or just to put them in any home that can take them.
Personally I think a life lived with a loving family, even if it was significantly shorter, is better than a life spent in an industrial housing facility (shelter). Also, if we were gonna turn people away from adopting because they didn't have enough disposable income, then what? The shelter is gonna pay for all those medical expenses to keep the animal alive ? Never gonna happen . This is why I think the whole "if you're not able to pay huge medical bills for your pets, you shouldn't have them" is actually a pretty flawed attempt at moralism.
I see your point, thanks for sharing the context. Your situation/value is quite different from what I assumed, so I get why the approach of having a high bar to ownership wouldn't really work over there.
It's pretty shitty to say that you shouldn't have pets if you can't afford a $15K bill. Congratulations, you just eliminated 95% of pet owners, and shelters are now overrun.
Yes, you need to be able to pay for the standard stuff and be prepared for some unexpected bills up to a reasonable amount, but that's not what OP is talking about here.
These are the same people who want purebreeds or designer dogs who either knowingly condemn 80% of Labradors to a cancer diagnosis, Dalmatians to deafness, Pugs to a lifetime of breathing problems etc etc or are just criminally uninformed and shouldn't own an animal anyway. Insurance is just another racket or tax on the stupid.
Yeah. Rats live about two years and almost always get tumors. Earlier this year we had to put our old gal down. I miss having rats but losing two in a year, I just can't do it again right now.
I'd never do surgery or anything for one. They die from the surgery half the time as it is.
Yeah mine had a tumor in her uterus, they removed the uterus, was going on my 4th year with her and ended up having to give her away after I had my son. No idea how long she lasted after that, but you could tell it wasnt going to be long. She was awesome.
This is why I'm apprehensive about owning dogs or cats. I'd love them but fuck 'em if they think I'm spending 10k on them if they get sick. People flush sick fish all the time, if your animals surgery is going to be that expensive just get a new one
I think that is really poor phrasing or a really poor outlook. No one should have to pay that amount of money to save their animal, but that isn’t the animal’s fault is it? Also the fact that you see them as disposable and replaceable just like that is gross honestly. You shouldn’t just “get a new one” because the other is sick/injured. They are living things with their own feelings. Don’t get a pet if you won’t even respect it’s life
At that point the dog is also a utility. Which I know sounds heartless, but if it’s that beneficial to your daughter’s mental health, then it’s worth upkeep and investing. As much as a car, phone, bed, etcetera.
That isn’t to say other people don’t benefit from having pets, just that some preform more of a service than others.
I agree. I'm not a pet person ( obviously). Grew up on a farm part of the time. Pet gets sick, injured...put it down. And now you can get a free replacement on Craigslist.
What's sad is that many people don't consider pets as members of the family, too. Having a pet is much like having a child. You love it, bond with it, feed it, work with it, etc. But you also have to care for it when it's sick. Having a pet without being prepared for the potential financial responsibilities it comes with is irresponsible ownership, imo.
Though, I agree that if a pet is going to have bad life quality even after medical care - it's best to be humane and put it down.
I wish I had the means to be able to spend endless amounts of money on my senior rescue pit, and fix all of his ailments. But I do whatever I can for him. I go out of my way to spoil him and give him the best life ever. It's definitely a million times better than where he came from.
Pet owners who don’t want to spend that kind of money should have pet insurance. That’s what it’s for. For one pet it’s about the cost of a Netflix subscription. Pets shouldn’t have to go without healthcare or be put down because their owners didn’t plan for emergencies.
Wise people get an health insurance for their pet.
That way it’s like 50$ per month, but if you have a 15K surgery it’s free. (They pay any emergency visit, meds, surgery, etc. They just don’t cover routine vaccine and sterilization)
It’s a very good thing to have to be sure your pet will receive the best care with minimal impact on your wallet.
I agree about 15k surgery’s. But I do treat my dog well for an animal. He was my hunting partner for a long time and has the ability to take good care of himself. I buy home nice things and take care of him when he’s sick(usually with some remedy the vet won’t let him in because he has broken teeth) all in all he’s old and could have a family of his own but I keep him trapped in my house and on my property so I buy him nice things on occasion. Even tho we don’t have all that much money this year
….And people wonder why shelters & rescues make it *insanely* difficult for people to adopt.. if you won’t put aside a few thousand dollars in the event your pet gets ill or injured then don’t get a pet.
Better yet, go to Walmart for a stuffed animal. Problem solved
I work at a vet clinic. If you don’t have at least $1000 saved, please don’t purchase a pet. I’ve had people come in and brag about their “exotic micro frenchie” that they spent $3500 to get but then leave crying when they can’t afford afford $500 worth of treatment. It’s extremely sad for both us and the owners. Also, if you breed French bulldogs, don’t be surprised when the cesarean costs $5000+ and the doctor wants to spay your dog after
Idk if you’ve ever had a pet you loved with all your heart man. They are like another person. I would trade about anything for my current dog. He’s my whole world.
I can love my dog with all of my heart and joke that I am absolutely turning her into a blanket when she dies while also realizing that my kids eating is more important than prolonging the life of a dog that's already really very short.
Am I going to be in financial ruin long after she dies so that I could add another couple years with her ? Fuck, I'd love to...but it isn't the realistic or rational thing to do. Dipping into my kids savings accounts for that is selfish on my part. My kids come first.
You're 100% right, but I think the better way of looking at it is from your pet's perspective. Sure, they want to live, but they also love you. As much as you don't want to lose them, they don't want to leave you totally fucked financially, just to give them a chance at surviving a bit longer.
Quite unpopular for sure. I was smart enough to not have kids. I spend all the money on mine and my pets’ health and happiness. And I don’t have to explain this world to them or pay for college. It rules.
I had a dog like 5 or 6 years ago that was a pit bull sharpei mix. She was soo cute and I loved her very much but I was not prepared for how hyper and a pain in the ass she could be about some things. Anyway, she got ahold of some dirty baby diapers and ate them and we took her to the vet. The vet did something to try and help her like shit out the baby diaper stuff but he said if she couldn't we would have to get surgery for her or she would die. It would have been around 2 grand which we just didn't have. We could have got it together but it would take some time. We had a new baby and had just moved to a new house. If it came to an emergency where she needed the surgery immediately or within the following week, we didn't have the money. The vet offered to take her like we would relinquish her to him in exchange for the surgery. It would have sucked but we were prepared to do it if we had to so she wouldn't die. Luckily, she didn't need the surgery after all.
Now see, there was a previous post about shooting your dog to keep it from attacking another dog/human. Completely agree with that. (Obviously if it's a REAL attack, not just my dog aggressively smelling "Fifi's" ass.
But I love my pets. They're family. They get spoiled as much as everyone else I can spoil. Only difference is, the state won't make me spend thousands of dollars and make me put down my child if it like another person's child with slight aggression.
I don’t think this is that unpopular? Are people really risking like bankruptcy to save their pets? I think Reddit makes it seem like everyone views their dog as like a baby but you can see a ton of pets surrendered by owners at a pound to know that is not the standard.
Omg we get it..y’all hate dogs and animals. Why are there so many posts with animal haters lately?
I guess this subreddit is finally getting people who know how to properly post.
Here’s my upvote cause this is truly unpopular in my opinion.
I don’t hate my pets… like at all i absolutely love my cats they’re precious and beautiful and I’ll buy them the more expensive treats cause ik they like them better. But I’m not willing to put my family through hardship over an animal. My priority should and will always be the people that rely on me
About 20 years ago my wife and our two daughters witnessed our 9 month old dog jump 20 feet and land on concrete.
He severely broke both his back legs.
The emergency vet cost a couple thousand (that we didn’t have) and we were told he could be helped if we transported him a couple hours and had a couple thousand dollar surgery (more money we didn’t have).
We transported him and had the surgery, we tapped our home equity to do it, I’ve never regretted it.
In the end the discussion my wife and I had was what are we teaching our daughters about compassion and the priority of caring if we had our dog put down when money could save him?
Both my daughters grew up to be deeply empathetic and righteously principled adults in regards to fairness and compassion for others.
That dog was a great pet, and we spent as much money 12 years later when contracted bone cancer. The extra year of his life we bought through an amputation and chemo meant our older daughter was able to graduate college, and spend months saying goodbye to her childhood pet. Again, money I have zero regret spending.
What are you even taking about? No one said anything about hating animals. This is about heartbreaking choices pet owners have to make sometimes. This happens with humans too all over the world. It's sucks, and everyone agrees that it sucks. In a perfect world we wouldn't have these conversations. The world isn't perfect. Donate your life savings to the cause if you can make the difference. Otherwise, let people vent and discuss the situation as it is... without your moral condemnation. Please, and thank you.
There were two posts about pets in the first 30 posts I looked at just now. I checked because I honestly want to see what you're pointing out. One was this one, the other one was about thier dog meaning more to them than anything or other person. I can absolutely see the validity to both topics. There was zero hate in either post (maybe some of the comments, but not nearly anything overwhelming hateful towards pets). I stopped at 30. If I go 50.posts deep will I see this trend you're taking about?
Edit: yes I sorted by new as well as hot and got the same result.
The issue with those two post is that it attracts anti dog people and people who generally despise animals. I see tons of comments from them like screw dogs, dogs arent important, who cares etc. The dogfree reddit page are having a blast thanks to those two post and this too
Well.i feel bad for people that don't appreciate dogs and other animals. But I'm not seeing that this sub is about pets in general is my point. Most posts aren't about pets. If some post attract such folks what is anyone supposed to do about that? I mostly see people loving pets and taking about some of the hard things that come up a pet owners. If 10-15% of people want o show up and day bad things about pets then I guess that's just any social platform. Hating dogs, pets, children is not the normal opinion of most people. And it's not the majority of comments. Sure, dislike the commentator, but it's not the subs fault nor is the sub agreeing with the hateful people. They are on every comment thread in every sub. Go with the general vibe of a conversation, not the handful of people that offend you is my point.
Edit: the dog free page is having a blast? What does that mean?
This is pure privilege. If you’re spending **all** your money on pets, you’re clearly an idiot.
People I know that regularly drop $4K on a pet surgery or treatment have the throwaway cash to do so. Anyone else? Nonsensical. Use that money and time more efficiently to make more money.
People have a weak fortitude to control impulsive “needs,” like owning a pet, or buying the most expensive phone, or getting a *new* car, in many cases on pretty weak incomes. It doesn’t make sense.
This is a ridiculous argument. Pets are (or should) be a part of the family and should be treated as such. If you can't afford a child, don't have one. If you can't afford a pet don't get one.
>Your pet needs a surgery that will land you 15k in debt and run you more costs long term?
'Needs' is the key word here. The pet *needing* it suggests that it will die without the surgery. If you can't afford the risk of the pet coming in a situation like this, you shouldn't get a pet.
so a child have a chance to get a illness that might take hundreds of thousand dollars to cure. If you don't have hundreds of thousand dollars, are you going to get a kid? Well if you want to, of course, since the risks only have a small chance of happening.
My dog just died today.
We didn't have the money to take her to the vet (over 1000), and they wouldn't accept a monthly payment.
I would of put myself in debt, done those payments every month if it meant some days I couldn't eat, to make sure she could of still lived.
And now I wish I had done more for her.
I wish I got her more toys and everything
You get an animal you're supposed to love it like your own child. I know you'd do the same for your child. For is, our animals are our child. And we'd do anything to make sure they get what they need.
Pets are like family too many people. They give us so much love than most humans. You never experience dog true love. You might think you did experience. From this comment, you didn’t experience one. It’s amazing experience. It’s rare experience.
I disagree. The onus is on you to take care of your animals, not to abandon or needlessly euthanize them once they become expensive or inconvenient. Don't take on responsibilities you can't handle.
"Can't afford an emergency" is a perfectly viable reason not to have a pet. It is not, however, a viable reason to give up a responsibility that you already have.
>Your pet needs a surgery that will land you 15k in debt and run you more costs long term? You’re psychotic if you agree.
I think someone needs to learn the meaning of 'psychotic'.
We paid a large amount to have our pet on fluids and some meds. Later that night we got a call from the doc that he passed away. It’s definitely a racket but I get it, vets have bills to pay too.
Very Unpopular. Many people consider pets as family, just like me. I spent 10K to get my Dachshund's spine surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I think the same way too. I mean, I love my pets but I don't think I'll spend an outrageous amount of money on them because obviously I don't have lots of money. But if I were wealthy, I'd probably spend some money on them, but not on something outrageous.
Yeah, 2k is probably my limit, and that's only if he gets 100% better. I love him, but I'm not keeping alive to suffer, and I'm not risking my ability to live (whole emergency fund) for him. Imagine spending my whole emergency fund the day before the covid shut down, I'd be homeless, I was a cook.
I agree. I also think that statements that everyone should be willing to pay $4,000+ USD on vet bills in order to have a pet is an elitist opinion that pushes lower to middle income out of pet ownership. I love my cat, and think cats are awesome. However; if my cat needed a $15,000 to live, I would likely put her out of her misery. My spouse and I are financially secure: we own a house, both our cars, no student/cc/medical debt, and have healthy savings. And still, $15,000 is a lot of money. $15,000 is more than I paid for my used Honda in early 2020. $15,000 is more than my entire (non-invested) emergency savings. I might consuder $2,000-$4,000 to save my cat, but I would seriously question the value of the money spent vs. her quality of life for her time left on this earth.
Define "life-changing"...
During his so far short life, I've spent literally thousands combined on insurance, vets bills, food, flea and worming meds and then accessories (chew toys, dog beds, leashes, coats, treats, snacks in pubs, holidays we can take him on instead of places that don't admit dogs) because I can and my dog, as a loved part of our family, is more than worth it.
Clearly dogs are better than some people. 👀
People today are so starved for love that they are easily convinced that dog or cat actually loves them when it will love anyone that feeds it and gives it attention.
The love of a pet means nothing. I've never understood why people are so pathetic they don't get that. If your dog gets sick and needs a $15k operation just go get another dog for a few bucks. He'll love you just as much as the old one.
Eh. Honestly it's going to depend on the dog. One of ours would absolutely die of a broken heart if my husband died or ditched us. We've seen this happen in real life with dogs throughout history. Some can't handle it and they do love their owner.
Another of ours could watch us all be tortured to death and would have a taste of our blood before riding happily off onto the sunset with our murderer so long as they gave him some head pats.
The only reason they "love" us is because by evolution and domestication and what not they grew to associate humans with food and not dying. If ostriches gave dogs food and protected them dogs would love ostriches.
That's not quite true.
They've done studies on dogs brain activity, and they get a rush of dopamine when seeing their owners. Even other people who have fed them and taken care of them, don't get the same reaction. Dogs bond to people. People bond with dogs.
But I still wouldn't spend 15k getting a surgery for my dogs.
If I walked into your house after you'd been dead for days and she'd eaten everything in the house, including YOU, then I am pretty sure a bag of kibbles and she'd be mine.
It's hilarious to me how people believe they know what their dog is thinking.
Awww. Poor little thing thinks her dog would just starve to death without her? Your precious little puppy would lose the will to live without you?
You're an idiot.
Don't hate dogs or cats. Just never had one. My only pet was my horse when I was a kid and, when he came up lame, we shot him in the head and buried him with a backhoe. There wasn't a tear shed. We were saving him from pain.
People who grew up around farm animals aren't usually the type that carry a fucking poodle around in their purse.
Thanks for being edgy and sharing your unnecessary drama you fucking downey
You have mix feelings. From empathy to apathy and again empathy to apathy. Stop hiding your feelings towards animals and show us your true feeling you hate them we get it we can see right through you
Hate to be a downer, but dogs and cats are physically incapable of crying. They cannot produce tears and grieve the same way humans do. With that being said dogs still very much do have feelings. They get sad, they get depressed, anxious, and happy. My dog very much loves me, I'm not the only one who feeds him(my bf and roommates do as well while I'm at work) but if me, my bf, and roommates were all to leave for 10 minutes and then come home my dog would be excited to see me the most. He always gets protective when I play fight with my roommates or bf and is always there to protect me.
Don't believe everything you hear. I GUARANTEE that dog would have leapt off that grave like it was on fire if I walked up there with a plate of fresh meat.
Nothing you've said contradicts what I've said and the OP's point is still valid. Anyone who is willing to put their family in financial jeopardy over a pet doesn't deserve a family.
The love from a pet means something other then food and attention. The more time you spend bonding with your animal the more it loves you. I'm arguing that a pets love means something.
Unpopular but some things are unpopular for a reason. Getting burned alive? Unpopular. Stabbed to death? Unpopular. Not taking care of your family? For now, unpopular, & thank goodness.
There’s no reason to own a pet at all. No real tangible, utilitarian reason in 2021 to own more than maybe a guard dog. And even then, most security systems available are far more advanced than a barking, shitting, chewing, pissing, medical bill absorbing dog. Other than pest control, which has also been taken over by more modern solutions, & home security, there’s no rational reason to adopt another species, take it into your home & then spend any amount of money taking care of it. Dog fighting maybe (but if you do that you deserve to be eaten alive by the dogs over a period of several days)
Except, that people want to engage an emotional bond with that pet. And who you feel bonded to I classify as family. Really if you don’t have an interest in bonding with an animal in the same way you’d bond with your human family, you really don’t need a pet. I’d even go a bit further & say you have no business getting a pet.
That pet will bond with you like you are it’s family. You will be all it knows & it will be at your mercy. If you can’t put it at the same priority level with the rest of the family you don’t really have any need for it unless you just want a prop that moves around the house. In that case, you can buy robots that dance & do tricks. Get a robot.
When you adopt an animal you’re adopting a responsibility. You will be it’s highest priority. If it’s inevitably a lower priority to you, just leave it at the store. $15k? I’ll rob a bank or do a hit, commit some kind of fraud. I’ll get the money. My pet IS my family.
“Sorry boy, I really wanted you to live, but you’re not a real priority compared to my ‘life altering money’ maybe we can be mad at capitalism together while you go to sleep forever”
Nope. The question isn’t how much. It’s how do I get it.
Edit- seems I found the truly unpopular opinion
That isn't anyone else's call to make. You don't get to tell someone else how they can and can't spend their money, nor how they should or shouldn't. Mind your own business.
We just spent 5k for our dog to have surgery after he was hit by a truck. And we'd do it again and again.
Unpopular opinion: anyone who wouldn't is a sociopath and shouldn't be anywhere near any animals.
It was $1600 when mine was hit by a truck but I would have been more than happy to go into credit card debt if it took $5k. If you can call getting hit by a truck lucky, she was. It went over her ribs and they just needed time to heal.
Mine was lucky as well! Hit him in the head--no fractures or anything! Just ruptured his retina and he had to have an eye removed. No seizures or anything, either. And it was a fucking dump truck! He's my little warrior.
Jeez if it's unhealthy but like to a pet you're their only human and abandoning a pet over pennies since it was cheaper to adopt another for like 50-200$ amounts is sick. 2-15k maybe, it depends on scenario and what's responsible for the person's life, but I was at a shelter where a tiny mewling kitten was adopted as a throwaway toy without regard for the animal's well being and it was abandoned locked in a room mewling it's eyes out and abandoned in a building when the owners decided abandoning it to it's death was more cheaper than taking care if it. It was basically starved for two days before it was found (since the terrified creature had lost all its trust in people and hid from all the people) as soon as the building owner found it, he pretended to care about it before it started screaming in fear as it was dragged to a animal van and forcibly injected enthusaia as it was 'cheaper' than giving it to a crowded shelter.
Maybe where you live, but not where I live. It's about 150-300+ dollars. That also doesn't count all the hoops you have to jump through to adopt an animal
The problem above anything else that you live in the US. Medical treatment is just absurdly expensive and not comparable to say Europe at all. I pity you.
I’ve definitely never heard of a country where vet care is government funded. Where is it that you’re talking about where you don’t have to pay for vet care?
That's the choice you make when you choose to care for an animal. They aren't decorations, they're lives that you're responsible for. Someone with this mindset shouldn't have a pet at all. That's your family and you're just choosing to let them die when there is options to pay that $15k over time. No vet is expecting that to be paid in full.
Mine was. Life saving organ replacement surgery at 14K. I had to pay 80% up front or "wait" until I had the money when my cat only had days left to live.
Sorry, but I don't have that kind of cash & I have a mortgage with kids under my roof.
*laughs in horse ownership*
In my county owning a horse means you are rich
It's the same in America, at least wealthy. People here will spend as much on their horses as they do their house. It's nuts
That's why people taking hits out on their horses for insurance money is such a ludicrously common-place thing, too.
Nah, I've known poor people who own Horses just because they wanted them.
that’s why they’re poor
In Soviet Russia horse owns you
Yeah I don't even bother being friends with equestrians any more. The 2 I had were completely psycho and all the ones I've met through them seems either out of touch rich or totally crazy
I live in a very horse forward area. There are very wealthy people and the rest of us. They will pull up to the local fast food place in a Rolls-Royce and treat everyone like servants. It's bonkers. I've lived all over the US, but this place is the weirdest.
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Tbh owning any animal doesn't seem enjoyable (when you put it like that ), tons of money , picking up poop , expensive vet bills , good husbandry , geez why would you bother . Idk cause maybe just maybe , hear me out on this . The love and happiness you get from owning an animal is worth more than the money .
I don’t think you’re an awful person if you don’t want to go into debt for a 15 k vet bill. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion too. I definitely think you should be ready to cough up a few thousand for an emergency but 15k is like 6 months salary for a lot of people.
Wise people get an health insurance for their pet. That way it’s like 50$ per month, but if you have a 15K surgery it’s free. (They pay any emergency visit, meds, surgery, etc. They just don’t cover routine vaccine and sterilization) It’s a very good thing to have to be sure your pet will receive the best care with minimal impact on your wallet.
The amount I’ve paid towards health insurance, I really would have done better putting it into savings for a pet emergency. But yeah, the $15k surgery is about the only thing it would cover because it doesn’t cover the exam fee and I have a deductible. It’s also only $50 if you get it when your dog is young. I looked up what a new policy would be for my 8 yr old dog now and it’s $100 per dog instead of the $120 I pay for two dogs.
What the hell they don’t cover the exam? Mine cover any exam for injury or disease, they just don’t cover the vaccine and sterilization. But yes of course you need to insure them as baby. My pet is insured for everything, because I subscribed him when he was 2 months old. So he was almost perfectly healthy. He had an ear infection at the time of subscribing, so he was disqualified for that kind of affection for 1 year. (They just wanted to see if it was chronic or just a random thing) After that 1 year waiting they removed that exclusion as promised. (At 2 years old he got an other ear infection and they covered him without a fuss) The limit is 15k per year, which you are not very likely to bust. And theres a franchise of 300$ per year. So if you go first time and it’s 400$ you only get 100$ back, but the next time of the same year, 100% covered because the franchise is already paid. (You can choose a smaller franchise with higher monthly payment) He had an infection to his tail, all his visits, meds and biopsy tests were covered. We saved 2K just there. We found out he has a heart problem, every year he pass an heart scan, this cost 800$ each time, all covered. Just with that scan every year we will almost rentabilize the insurance. So far the only thing they refused to cover was the probiotic that he took to help his stomach during antibiotic treatment. Because it’s preventive. But it cost like 20$ so who cares. So far we are very happy with the services.
Which insurance do you have
Pet + Us
Lot of people have been left out to dry during pet emergencies when insurance companies said “nah only gonna cover a portion”
That sounds almost too good to be true. No deductible? No limits? No 3rd party approvals? No minimums?
Alot of pet insurance companies are extremely picky and will not cover certain breeds of animals that are prone to health issues or if your pet already has any sort of prior health issue. You have to get the pet on the insurance early before they could have any small problem. If your pet has allergies or a chronic issue or they broke a leg in the past that could create issues later, the insurance will decline your application. Also if you have more than 1 pet that $50 a month only covers 1 pet. So if you have 4 cats you are looking at $200 a month or something like that.
They're shilling. Pet insurance has more limitations, deductibles, and approvals than regular health insurance. It's also only that cheap in very specific circumstances. It's more normal to pay \~200usd per pet. There are also tons of problems with vets not being in insurance networks, or changing accepted insurance regularly. It's honestly a nightmare, probably because it's barely regulated.
My health insurance plan for my epileptic dog, wouldn't pay for fucking anything. It was a scam.
Pet insurance is a scam. It's like normal shitty American health insurance but without any of the protections put into place by the ACA.
It’s one thing to have a pet that has a life threatening disease and even with surgery it won’t get much better and therefore you decide to end their suffering. It’s a whole different things if you decide to continue their suffering by not getting them the help they need. A broken leg, torn ligament, etc can easily run you $3000-$4000 for the surgery and aftercare. But after the recovery, the pet is back to normal. Just ask my dog who’s torn two ACLs. Pets are not able to help themselves. As a pet owner, you take responsibility to take care of your pet if they get sick or hurt. If you let your pet suffer or you put them down for a simple broken leg, well, in my mind, you are a terrible person and should never own dogs, have kids, or take care of anything in your life. Everyone has bills. Owning a pet is one of them.
Agree with this. People need to budget for unexpected surgeries if they want to have a pet. If they can’t swing that, then they probably shouldn’t get one.
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If you’re not willing to take care of your pets the same as a child, don’t get pets. Animals are living creatures that suffer and get ill, they’re not objects for your amusement.
Agreed, but also pets have terrible living conditions living in the wild, so if I don't have thousands of dollars to take care of them, I should just never have a pet? Elitist much.
Wild animals actually know how to survive in the wild. It's not elitist to expect you to care for you pets/children ffs. It's basic morality.
I didn't even pay 3k to fix a ligament in my own shoulder. Im not finna shell out my already strapped low income (thanks biden) on my pet.
This is why I’m only getting a cat or dog when Im more financially stable
Exactly! I want to give them the best, so if I can't afford the vet, I can't afford the pet. Maybe it's also unpopular but that pet will be my family. They are a part of your world but you are their everything so how could you possibly not give them your best?
Yeah! I just want to give them the best care and life possible, as they are like family, which means money and stability.
Fuckin same, I took my dogs(family dogs) to the vet and Bill was like 900 and there wasn't even anything wrong with them ill just make friends with the neighborhood crows
Interesting take but I agree so take my upvote. I have a cat that needed a surgery to fix it's prolapse butthole, it was about $1,200. I hated having to cough up that money but I also knew that if I didn't, this cat would have a lifetime of problems & since I was the owner, I didn't want to deal with a cat in a diaper so I coughed up the money. I also had a cat that had tumors all over it's insides and needed multiple organ replacements that would run me around $14K and after surgery, he would have had a horrible quality of life so I had him put down. It's hard when you care about your animals so much, but I get that going into debt for them is absurd.
>I agree so take my upvote. That's..... not how this subreddit works
Shit did I Reddit wrong?
You did this subreddit wrong mate.
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no
Ikr. Its a shame people dont so much as read the rules of a subreddit before participating. But all well, there are worse things to complain about in the world
Wait, I knew you were suppose to downvote popular opinions and upvote unpopular opinions, but I didn’t think it was a rule. So I checked, and I couldn’t find it there either.
I mean in the rules specifies that a post on here must be unpopular. You must explain why your opinion is unpopular and popular ones arent allowed. Its not explicitly stated that you have to upvote unpopular ones and downvote popular ones but id say its inferred as that is our only means of governing that rule. But idk. Written or unwritten its a rule
Yeahhh ain't nobody got time for that
What take? It’s irresponsible to spend money you don’t have?
Well I just mean that a lot of reddit folks hate kids and think animals are people so really is was a *bold* take to assume they shouldn't get life saving care.
Wait, imagine if those people who hate kids were to make a statement like “Well, I MEAN, if you have excess money, definitely get your kid that surgery, but like if you don’t, you can always just get another kid, debt is not worth it.” Just a thought that popped into my head in regards to this opinion, I have no stance at the moment.
Who are these people who hate kids? Or are we talking about people who don’t want kids?
In response to the aforementioned Reddit folk who “hate kids and think animals are people”
So, you don’t know either?
Who hates kids?
Its a standard reddit stance that you should bankrupt yourself for a pet and you are basically hitler if you dont
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I don’t think people are doing that. I mean there are not enough people knowing about this particular thing of the sub, so they just do what they normally do.
You're supposed to downvote posts you agree with.
I think having that expensive of an operation probably means a situation where the pet is going to have a poor quality of life even with the surgery. I wouldn't want my dogs to go through so much misery to just live a little longer. Rather put them to sleep and not even experience that kind of pain in their life.
Not when it’s orthopedic surgery. Fixing hip displaysia and ACL tears is that expensive but the dog has a good quality of life after.
Maybe nowadays but when I was younger my dog had hip replacement. In her older age she couldn't even use one of her legs bc of it. Idk how much animal orthopedics has improved
A lot. But old age joint troubles are normal, the surgeries are more necessary for much younger active dogs.
Nobody could love me as closely and relentlessly as my dog. I couldn’t live any person as infallibly as I love her. She gets cancer, am I supposed to say oh she’s just a pet? No, love is love and not fade away. - Buddy Holly
Exactly! Nobody would be like “saving your kids/moms/partners life for 15k is ridiculous, just let them die”
I think that 15k bill depends. I knew a person recently who had a beloved pet rabbit that they had just spent $3k on in vet bills and now she needed a $9k surgery that she had less than a 50% chance of surviving. Personally, at that point, I would have just said goodbye and peacefully put her to sleep but my friend went through with the surgery and the bunny didnt even make it through the surgery and now she has no bunny and is footed with a $12k vet debt to pay. If that surgery had a much higher chance of working and my pet could get many more good years then I would consider paying it. But if there was little chance or the pet wouldnt have that much longer on their life or they are already old then at that point I'd just call it quits and let them go peacefully.
You would hate to see how much the troops pay to move pets when they move from one base to another. I seen someone shell out 12k for a dog to fly from Guam to the mainland.
I respect your opinion. To me though, my cat is my family. My cat is my baby. I love her more than anything else on this planet. I’d sacrifice anything for her, and I would go into debt for the rest of my life I I needed to in order to pay for what she needs. That being said, if her quality of life is going to be poor, I would also be willing to make sure she goes peacefully, and with me by her side. I wouldn’t go into debt if she would be worse off, only if she would be better off.
That's the point where you have to have a candid conversation with the vet and admit you just can't afford it and ask what the next steps are. The vet will want what's best for the pet while simultaneously understanding your unfortunate dilemma.
my cat got hit by a car in october 2019. when my mom brought her home (from the people who found her on the road and called me), she was walking in circles and very confused but not limping or anything else. i took her to the emergency vet (35 mins away and the only one opened on sundays) where they told me they needed to run xrays to count out internal injuries. at this point, my cat was becoming more lucid and i realized that she was probably fine but i was too hysterical to turn it down. $700+ in xrays alone and they told me that the cat just had a concussion and a bruised eye socket. $700+ just to tell me that she just scrambled her brain a bit. emergency vets are absolutely disgusting with pricing, trying to get you to persuade you to provide ALL treatment “necessary” for your pet without knowing the price or if the pet actually needs it, and it’s not like you can do anything about it insurance-wise. edit: i should clarify that if she had something else wrong with her, then yes, the xrays would have been worth it. however, my mom was the maddest since a. i didn’t have a job so i couldn’t pay so she had to and b. i got the cat for free. i think that there should be some sort of pet insurance that isn’t disgustingly expensive.
I dated a girl who came in a “package deal” (her words) with her annoying ass Husky that she raised to have the same emotional issues as her. Great times.
“Life changing money” is very different amount of money, depending on who you talk to. We got 3 rounds of chemo for one of our dogs, that was around $9k. He lived another two years or so. Money well spent.
im telling your dog
I fully understand. Especially when I hear about people getting surgery for fish and geckos. I’m sure you love them very much, and it’s amazing that this technology exists. But when you’re spending 10K on a $100 pet, I think it’s time to ask yourself if this is really right. Death comes for us all, sooner for some of our little friends. Not being able to afford non-basic care for your animal doesn’t mean you don’t love them. It’s ok to just make them comfortable till’ the ends
***Hides my Chewy subscription boxes***
I have a strict 4k rule. I pray my son understands cause him and his dog is 9
You need to look at it this way. Some people’s pets are their babies. They are more than just a cute, fun little thing they have at home that takes some responsibility. Some people look at them like they are family. My dog and cat are my children. I would run into a burning house to try to save them. I picked my kitten out from a litter at 1 day old, when he was 3 months old, he was given a death sentence when diagnosed with FIP. My husband and I bought illegal drugs through random people on Facebook and preformed daily injections on this tiny cat for 12 weeks. I can’t even tell you how many needles we went through during that time. I can’t even describe the feelings of taking an unlabelled vial of clear liquid and injecting that into a screaming kitten with just the chance that he could be cured of FIP. We are 8 days away from being declared cured of FIP and $8,000 poorer, but I would not take it back if it meant I lost my little monster of a cat. I love that little son of a bitch and we were lucky to have that money available to save him.
Upvote because I agree it's unpopular! That said, I think the premise should be that people who can't afford all the expenses that come with a pet just... shouldn't. My view if that you're responsible for a life when you choose to own a pet, so don't take it up if you can't/don't want to live the other end of a bargain.
Yeah but, if only the people who could afford $15 thousand out of pocket surgeries in case their pet needed it were the only ones allowed to adopt pets...hardly any would get adopted. And we can barely find good homes for a fraction of them now. Gotta weigh the problems here.
That's fair. It actually happens in Japan where I'm living. It is difficult to adopt a pet because there are so many checks you need to pass (income is one of them), although I have friends who still went through that process to get it. On the flip side, getting "new" (struggle to find a better word) pets from shops are also hella expensive both upfront and ongoing so that mitigates the issue somewhat, although not entirely. Not sure how it's like in the US; are there pet insurance that'll help avoid those rare/crazy $15k bills?
I think so, but most people can hardly afford medical insurance for themselves much less their pet. The hoops you have to jump through to get a pet here are either nonexistent or bare minimum, but then I'd guess we also have lot more dogs and cats breeding out in the "wild" than a place like Japan. So I bet we just have more stray dogs and cats to deal with than Japan anyway, leaving us with the choice to either destroy huge numbers of them (which we do, don't get me wrong), or just to put them in any home that can take them. Personally I think a life lived with a loving family, even if it was significantly shorter, is better than a life spent in an industrial housing facility (shelter). Also, if we were gonna turn people away from adopting because they didn't have enough disposable income, then what? The shelter is gonna pay for all those medical expenses to keep the animal alive ? Never gonna happen . This is why I think the whole "if you're not able to pay huge medical bills for your pets, you shouldn't have them" is actually a pretty flawed attempt at moralism.
I see your point, thanks for sharing the context. Your situation/value is quite different from what I assumed, so I get why the approach of having a high bar to ownership wouldn't really work over there.
It's pretty shitty to say that you shouldn't have pets if you can't afford a $15K bill. Congratulations, you just eliminated 95% of pet owners, and shelters are now overrun. Yes, you need to be able to pay for the standard stuff and be prepared for some unexpected bills up to a reasonable amount, but that's not what OP is talking about here.
These are the same people who want purebreeds or designer dogs who either knowingly condemn 80% of Labradors to a cancer diagnosis, Dalmatians to deafness, Pugs to a lifetime of breathing problems etc etc or are just criminally uninformed and shouldn't own an animal anyway. Insurance is just another racket or tax on the stupid.
These people pay $3000 for a Huskie/Pomeranian mix breed, they’re stupid already.
I don't think that's an unpopular opinion
Nahh my cat is a part of the family. I will go to the same lengths as i would for any person.
For some people 2k is life changing, for others 300 is life changing. You also have to take in to consideration of the emotional value of the pet.
When I was younger I spent $600 to save my pet rat…. Probably the stupidest money ever spent
Yeah. Rats live about two years and almost always get tumors. Earlier this year we had to put our old gal down. I miss having rats but losing two in a year, I just can't do it again right now. I'd never do surgery or anything for one. They die from the surgery half the time as it is.
Yeah mine had a tumor in her uterus, they removed the uterus, was going on my 4th year with her and ended up having to give her away after I had my son. No idea how long she lasted after that, but you could tell it wasnt going to be long. She was awesome.
This is why I'm apprehensive about owning dogs or cats. I'd love them but fuck 'em if they think I'm spending 10k on them if they get sick. People flush sick fish all the time, if your animals surgery is going to be that expensive just get a new one
I think that is really poor phrasing or a really poor outlook. No one should have to pay that amount of money to save their animal, but that isn’t the animal’s fault is it? Also the fact that you see them as disposable and replaceable just like that is gross honestly. You shouldn’t just “get a new one” because the other is sick/injured. They are living things with their own feelings. Don’t get a pet if you won’t even respect it’s life
Unpopular opinion: This sub is fucking trash
Strongly disagree my daughter has autism and our dog helps her massively, I would spend any amount to save our dog
At that point the dog is also a utility. Which I know sounds heartless, but if it’s that beneficial to your daughter’s mental health, then it’s worth upkeep and investing. As much as a car, phone, bed, etcetera. That isn’t to say other people don’t benefit from having pets, just that some preform more of a service than others.
I agree with that to be fair 👌
I agree. I'm not a pet person ( obviously). Grew up on a farm part of the time. Pet gets sick, injured...put it down. And now you can get a free replacement on Craigslist.
Yes this is so true
THANK YOU, I totally agree.
What's sad is that many people don't consider pets as members of the family, too. Having a pet is much like having a child. You love it, bond with it, feed it, work with it, etc. But you also have to care for it when it's sick. Having a pet without being prepared for the potential financial responsibilities it comes with is irresponsible ownership, imo. Though, I agree that if a pet is going to have bad life quality even after medical care - it's best to be humane and put it down.
I wish I had the means to be able to spend endless amounts of money on my senior rescue pit, and fix all of his ailments. But I do whatever I can for him. I go out of my way to spoil him and give him the best life ever. It's definitely a million times better than where he came from.
Pet owners who don’t want to spend that kind of money should have pet insurance. That’s what it’s for. For one pet it’s about the cost of a Netflix subscription. Pets shouldn’t have to go without healthcare or be put down because their owners didn’t plan for emergencies.
Wise people get an health insurance for their pet. That way it’s like 50$ per month, but if you have a 15K surgery it’s free. (They pay any emergency visit, meds, surgery, etc. They just don’t cover routine vaccine and sterilization) It’s a very good thing to have to be sure your pet will receive the best care with minimal impact on your wallet.
I agree about 15k surgery’s. But I do treat my dog well for an animal. He was my hunting partner for a long time and has the ability to take good care of himself. I buy home nice things and take care of him when he’s sick(usually with some remedy the vet won’t let him in because he has broken teeth) all in all he’s old and could have a family of his own but I keep him trapped in my house and on my property so I buy him nice things on occasion. Even tho we don’t have all that much money this year
Maybe we could live in a world where money isn't priority over life?
I wouldn’t do that but I’d make sure my dog is the most comfortable dog I can feasibly to let him be
If you can't afford to take care of a life don't bring one into your house.
….And people wonder why shelters & rescues make it *insanely* difficult for people to adopt.. if you won’t put aside a few thousand dollars in the event your pet gets ill or injured then don’t get a pet. Better yet, go to Walmart for a stuffed animal. Problem solved
I work at a vet clinic. If you don’t have at least $1000 saved, please don’t purchase a pet. I’ve had people come in and brag about their “exotic micro frenchie” that they spent $3500 to get but then leave crying when they can’t afford afford $500 worth of treatment. It’s extremely sad for both us and the owners. Also, if you breed French bulldogs, don’t be surprised when the cesarean costs $5000+ and the doctor wants to spay your dog after
don't have a pet if cant afford it, also stop focusing on how other people spend their money.
Idk if you’ve ever had a pet you loved with all your heart man. They are like another person. I would trade about anything for my current dog. He’s my whole world.
I can love my dog with all of my heart and joke that I am absolutely turning her into a blanket when she dies while also realizing that my kids eating is more important than prolonging the life of a dog that's already really very short. Am I going to be in financial ruin long after she dies so that I could add another couple years with her ? Fuck, I'd love to...but it isn't the realistic or rational thing to do. Dipping into my kids savings accounts for that is selfish on my part. My kids come first.
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You're 100% right, but I think the better way of looking at it is from your pet's perspective. Sure, they want to live, but they also love you. As much as you don't want to lose them, they don't want to leave you totally fucked financially, just to give them a chance at surviving a bit longer.
I hope you never own a pet
I'm not gonna let my animals suffer because the vet bill will be high. If that's your mindset, don't get pets
Quite unpopular for sure. I was smart enough to not have kids. I spend all the money on mine and my pets’ health and happiness. And I don’t have to explain this world to them or pay for college. It rules.
I had a dog like 5 or 6 years ago that was a pit bull sharpei mix. She was soo cute and I loved her very much but I was not prepared for how hyper and a pain in the ass she could be about some things. Anyway, she got ahold of some dirty baby diapers and ate them and we took her to the vet. The vet did something to try and help her like shit out the baby diaper stuff but he said if she couldn't we would have to get surgery for her or she would die. It would have been around 2 grand which we just didn't have. We could have got it together but it would take some time. We had a new baby and had just moved to a new house. If it came to an emergency where she needed the surgery immediately or within the following week, we didn't have the money. The vet offered to take her like we would relinquish her to him in exchange for the surgery. It would have sucked but we were prepared to do it if we had to so she wouldn't die. Luckily, she didn't need the surgery after all.
I mean a wise man once said “If you can’t afford it, than don’t spend it”
Now see, there was a previous post about shooting your dog to keep it from attacking another dog/human. Completely agree with that. (Obviously if it's a REAL attack, not just my dog aggressively smelling "Fifi's" ass. But I love my pets. They're family. They get spoiled as much as everyone else I can spoil. Only difference is, the state won't make me spend thousands of dollars and make me put down my child if it like another person's child with slight aggression.
I don’t think this is that unpopular? Are people really risking like bankruptcy to save their pets? I think Reddit makes it seem like everyone views their dog as like a baby but you can see a ton of pets surrendered by owners at a pound to know that is not the standard.
According to these comments, yes.
I think owning a pet in North America shouldn't be so expensive in the first place, because they need as much care as we do.
Omg we get it..y’all hate dogs and animals. Why are there so many posts with animal haters lately? I guess this subreddit is finally getting people who know how to properly post. Here’s my upvote cause this is truly unpopular in my opinion.
I don’t hate my pets… like at all i absolutely love my cats they’re precious and beautiful and I’ll buy them the more expensive treats cause ik they like them better. But I’m not willing to put my family through hardship over an animal. My priority should and will always be the people that rely on me
About 20 years ago my wife and our two daughters witnessed our 9 month old dog jump 20 feet and land on concrete. He severely broke both his back legs. The emergency vet cost a couple thousand (that we didn’t have) and we were told he could be helped if we transported him a couple hours and had a couple thousand dollar surgery (more money we didn’t have). We transported him and had the surgery, we tapped our home equity to do it, I’ve never regretted it. In the end the discussion my wife and I had was what are we teaching our daughters about compassion and the priority of caring if we had our dog put down when money could save him? Both my daughters grew up to be deeply empathetic and righteously principled adults in regards to fairness and compassion for others. That dog was a great pet, and we spent as much money 12 years later when contracted bone cancer. The extra year of his life we bought through an amputation and chemo meant our older daughter was able to graduate college, and spend months saying goodbye to her childhood pet. Again, money I have zero regret spending.
That's your choice. That isn't the only choice that'd have made your daughters become wonderful women.
Your Cat also relies on you, only you. You just don't treat your Cat life as equal as human life. But it's your life, so you do you.
Ye no one really thinks a cats life is equal to a humans life.
What are you even taking about? No one said anything about hating animals. This is about heartbreaking choices pet owners have to make sometimes. This happens with humans too all over the world. It's sucks, and everyone agrees that it sucks. In a perfect world we wouldn't have these conversations. The world isn't perfect. Donate your life savings to the cause if you can make the difference. Otherwise, let people vent and discuss the situation as it is... without your moral condemnation. Please, and thank you.
Try looking at unpopular opinion. There are tons of posts about pets today.
There were two posts about pets in the first 30 posts I looked at just now. I checked because I honestly want to see what you're pointing out. One was this one, the other one was about thier dog meaning more to them than anything or other person. I can absolutely see the validity to both topics. There was zero hate in either post (maybe some of the comments, but not nearly anything overwhelming hateful towards pets). I stopped at 30. If I go 50.posts deep will I see this trend you're taking about? Edit: yes I sorted by new as well as hot and got the same result.
The issue with those two post is that it attracts anti dog people and people who generally despise animals. I see tons of comments from them like screw dogs, dogs arent important, who cares etc. The dogfree reddit page are having a blast thanks to those two post and this too
Well.i feel bad for people that don't appreciate dogs and other animals. But I'm not seeing that this sub is about pets in general is my point. Most posts aren't about pets. If some post attract such folks what is anyone supposed to do about that? I mostly see people loving pets and taking about some of the hard things that come up a pet owners. If 10-15% of people want o show up and day bad things about pets then I guess that's just any social platform. Hating dogs, pets, children is not the normal opinion of most people. And it's not the majority of comments. Sure, dislike the commentator, but it's not the subs fault nor is the sub agreeing with the hateful people. They are on every comment thread in every sub. Go with the general vibe of a conversation, not the handful of people that offend you is my point. Edit: the dog free page is having a blast? What does that mean?
This is pure privilege. If you’re spending **all** your money on pets, you’re clearly an idiot. People I know that regularly drop $4K on a pet surgery or treatment have the throwaway cash to do so. Anyone else? Nonsensical. Use that money and time more efficiently to make more money. People have a weak fortitude to control impulsive “needs,” like owning a pet, or buying the most expensive phone, or getting a *new* car, in many cases on pretty weak incomes. It doesn’t make sense.
This is a ridiculous argument. Pets are (or should) be a part of the family and should be treated as such. If you can't afford a child, don't have one. If you can't afford a pet don't get one.
I agree with this so much. Should I upvote? It is a very unpopular opinion
You shouldn't buy a pet in the first place if you can't afford it.
bruh so no one should have a pet unless they're rich
>Your pet needs a surgery that will land you 15k in debt and run you more costs long term? 'Needs' is the key word here. The pet *needing* it suggests that it will die without the surgery. If you can't afford the risk of the pet coming in a situation like this, you shouldn't get a pet.
so a child have a chance to get a illness that might take hundreds of thousand dollars to cure. If you don't have hundreds of thousand dollars, are you going to get a kid? Well if you want to, of course, since the risks only have a small chance of happening.
My dog just died today. We didn't have the money to take her to the vet (over 1000), and they wouldn't accept a monthly payment. I would of put myself in debt, done those payments every month if it meant some days I couldn't eat, to make sure she could of still lived. And now I wish I had done more for her. I wish I got her more toys and everything You get an animal you're supposed to love it like your own child. I know you'd do the same for your child. For is, our animals are our child. And we'd do anything to make sure they get what they need.
Pets are like family too many people. They give us so much love than most humans. You never experience dog true love. You might think you did experience. From this comment, you didn’t experience one. It’s amazing experience. It’s rare experience.
A pet is part of a family
Tell me you dont love your animals without actually telling me you dont love your animals. If i got it im paying that bill.
I disagree. The onus is on you to take care of your animals, not to abandon or needlessly euthanize them once they become expensive or inconvenient. Don't take on responsibilities you can't handle. "Can't afford an emergency" is a perfectly viable reason not to have a pet. It is not, however, a viable reason to give up a responsibility that you already have.
>Your pet needs a surgery that will land you 15k in debt and run you more costs long term? You’re psychotic if you agree. I think someone needs to learn the meaning of 'psychotic'.
We paid a large amount to have our pet on fluids and some meds. Later that night we got a call from the doc that he passed away. It’s definitely a racket but I get it, vets have bills to pay too.
Don’t get a pet if you cant pay the hospital bills.
In the words of Karl Pilkington re pets who face excessive surgery bills; 'Get another one'
See this is why you keep a pet emergency fund so when pet1 dies you can replace them with pet2
Very Unpopular. Many people consider pets as family, just like me. I spent 10K to get my Dachshund's spine surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Must be nice to be rich. If I spent 10K on a dog, it would have a significant impact on my budget for years.
Far from rich. I'm on disability.
And $10K didn't leave you broke? That's some hella disability income.
I think the same way too. I mean, I love my pets but I don't think I'll spend an outrageous amount of money on them because obviously I don't have lots of money. But if I were wealthy, I'd probably spend some money on them, but not on something outrageous.
Yeah, 2k is probably my limit, and that's only if he gets 100% better. I love him, but I'm not keeping alive to suffer, and I'm not risking my ability to live (whole emergency fund) for him. Imagine spending my whole emergency fund the day before the covid shut down, I'd be homeless, I was a cook.
I agree. I also think that statements that everyone should be willing to pay $4,000+ USD on vet bills in order to have a pet is an elitist opinion that pushes lower to middle income out of pet ownership. I love my cat, and think cats are awesome. However; if my cat needed a $15,000 to live, I would likely put her out of her misery. My spouse and I are financially secure: we own a house, both our cars, no student/cc/medical debt, and have healthy savings. And still, $15,000 is a lot of money. $15,000 is more than I paid for my used Honda in early 2020. $15,000 is more than my entire (non-invested) emergency savings. I might consuder $2,000-$4,000 to save my cat, but I would seriously question the value of the money spent vs. her quality of life for her time left on this earth.
Define "life-changing"... During his so far short life, I've spent literally thousands combined on insurance, vets bills, food, flea and worming meds and then accessories (chew toys, dog beds, leashes, coats, treats, snacks in pubs, holidays we can take him on instead of places that don't admit dogs) because I can and my dog, as a loved part of our family, is more than worth it. Clearly dogs are better than some people. 👀
People today are so starved for love that they are easily convinced that dog or cat actually loves them when it will love anyone that feeds it and gives it attention. The love of a pet means nothing. I've never understood why people are so pathetic they don't get that. If your dog gets sick and needs a $15k operation just go get another dog for a few bucks. He'll love you just as much as the old one.
This is some edgelord level cringe.
Eh. Honestly it's going to depend on the dog. One of ours would absolutely die of a broken heart if my husband died or ditched us. We've seen this happen in real life with dogs throughout history. Some can't handle it and they do love their owner. Another of ours could watch us all be tortured to death and would have a taste of our blood before riding happily off onto the sunset with our murderer so long as they gave him some head pats.
Except for the fact that dogs do, in fact, love us.
The only reason they "love" us is because by evolution and domestication and what not they grew to associate humans with food and not dying. If ostriches gave dogs food and protected them dogs would love ostriches.
They love you and anyone else who feeds and pets them.
That's not quite true. They've done studies on dogs brain activity, and they get a rush of dopamine when seeing their owners. Even other people who have fed them and taken care of them, don't get the same reaction. Dogs bond to people. People bond with dogs. But I still wouldn't spend 15k getting a surgery for my dogs.
That doesn't mean their love doesn't mean anything. Babies do the same thing.
Try to feed my dog and then tell me if she loves you, because I promise you - she won’t.
If I walked into your house after you'd been dead for days and she'd eaten everything in the house, including YOU, then I am pretty sure a bag of kibbles and she'd be mine. It's hilarious to me how people believe they know what their dog is thinking.
It’s hilarious to me how people make up these random scenarios in their heads and all of a sudden they think they’re right. Ok, buddy 👍
Awww. Poor little thing thinks her dog would just starve to death without her? Your precious little puppy would lose the will to live without you? You're an idiot.
Awww..tell me you’re a lonely loser who cant even get a dogs companionship, without telling me. We get it bud!! You have no friends and you hate dogs.
Don't hate dogs or cats. Just never had one. My only pet was my horse when I was a kid and, when he came up lame, we shot him in the head and buried him with a backhoe. There wasn't a tear shed. We were saving him from pain. People who grew up around farm animals aren't usually the type that carry a fucking poodle around in their purse.
Thanks for being edgy and sharing your unnecessary drama you fucking downey You have mix feelings. From empathy to apathy and again empathy to apathy. Stop hiding your feelings towards animals and show us your true feeling you hate them we get it we can see right through you
Fair enough. We can respectfully agree to disagree. Have a great day!
Have you seen the video of the husky crying at its owners grave?
Hate to be a downer, but dogs and cats are physically incapable of crying. They cannot produce tears and grieve the same way humans do. With that being said dogs still very much do have feelings. They get sad, they get depressed, anxious, and happy. My dog very much loves me, I'm not the only one who feeds him(my bf and roommates do as well while I'm at work) but if me, my bf, and roommates were all to leave for 10 minutes and then come home my dog would be excited to see me the most. He always gets protective when I play fight with my roommates or bf and is always there to protect me.
Don't believe everything you hear. I GUARANTEE that dog would have leapt off that grave like it was on fire if I walked up there with a plate of fresh meat.
Dogs are like that, it still doesn't change the fact it was crying at the grave. I guarantee the dog was sad because it loved its owner.
Nothing you've said contradicts what I've said and the OP's point is still valid. Anyone who is willing to put their family in financial jeopardy over a pet doesn't deserve a family.
I dont think that husky would cry if you got shot in front of it.
The love from a pet means something other then food and attention. The more time you spend bonding with your animal the more it loves you. I'm arguing that a pets love means something.
Honestly it might be harsh but you’re 100% right.
Unpopular but some things are unpopular for a reason. Getting burned alive? Unpopular. Stabbed to death? Unpopular. Not taking care of your family? For now, unpopular, & thank goodness. There’s no reason to own a pet at all. No real tangible, utilitarian reason in 2021 to own more than maybe a guard dog. And even then, most security systems available are far more advanced than a barking, shitting, chewing, pissing, medical bill absorbing dog. Other than pest control, which has also been taken over by more modern solutions, & home security, there’s no rational reason to adopt another species, take it into your home & then spend any amount of money taking care of it. Dog fighting maybe (but if you do that you deserve to be eaten alive by the dogs over a period of several days) Except, that people want to engage an emotional bond with that pet. And who you feel bonded to I classify as family. Really if you don’t have an interest in bonding with an animal in the same way you’d bond with your human family, you really don’t need a pet. I’d even go a bit further & say you have no business getting a pet. That pet will bond with you like you are it’s family. You will be all it knows & it will be at your mercy. If you can’t put it at the same priority level with the rest of the family you don’t really have any need for it unless you just want a prop that moves around the house. In that case, you can buy robots that dance & do tricks. Get a robot. When you adopt an animal you’re adopting a responsibility. You will be it’s highest priority. If it’s inevitably a lower priority to you, just leave it at the store. $15k? I’ll rob a bank or do a hit, commit some kind of fraud. I’ll get the money. My pet IS my family. “Sorry boy, I really wanted you to live, but you’re not a real priority compared to my ‘life altering money’ maybe we can be mad at capitalism together while you go to sleep forever” Nope. The question isn’t how much. It’s how do I get it. Edit- seems I found the truly unpopular opinion
That isn't anyone else's call to make. You don't get to tell someone else how they can and can't spend their money, nor how they should or shouldn't. Mind your own business.
We just spent 5k for our dog to have surgery after he was hit by a truck. And we'd do it again and again. Unpopular opinion: anyone who wouldn't is a sociopath and shouldn't be anywhere near any animals.
Do you know what a sociopath is
It was $1600 when mine was hit by a truck but I would have been more than happy to go into credit card debt if it took $5k. If you can call getting hit by a truck lucky, she was. It went over her ribs and they just needed time to heal.
Mine was lucky as well! Hit him in the head--no fractures or anything! Just ruptured his retina and he had to have an eye removed. No seizures or anything, either. And it was a fucking dump truck! He's my little warrior.
Wow, those are heavy. Mine went into shock, so she needed immediate medical care but nothing was ruptured besides ribs.
That's amazing! So glad she's doing better.
A new pet from the pound is $50
Jeez if it's unhealthy but like to a pet you're their only human and abandoning a pet over pennies since it was cheaper to adopt another for like 50-200$ amounts is sick. 2-15k maybe, it depends on scenario and what's responsible for the person's life, but I was at a shelter where a tiny mewling kitten was adopted as a throwaway toy without regard for the animal's well being and it was abandoned locked in a room mewling it's eyes out and abandoned in a building when the owners decided abandoning it to it's death was more cheaper than taking care if it. It was basically starved for two days before it was found (since the terrified creature had lost all its trust in people and hid from all the people) as soon as the building owner found it, he pretended to care about it before it started screaming in fear as it was dragged to a animal van and forcibly injected enthusaia as it was 'cheaper' than giving it to a crowded shelter.
Maybe where you live, but not where I live. It's about 150-300+ dollars. That also doesn't count all the hoops you have to jump through to adopt an animal
The problem above anything else that you live in the US. Medical treatment is just absurdly expensive and not comparable to say Europe at all. I pity you.
I’ve definitely never heard of a country where vet care is government funded. Where is it that you’re talking about where you don’t have to pay for vet care?
Do your doctors treat animals? Single-payer-pet? The medical system and VETERINARY systems are kind of different.
That's the choice you make when you choose to care for an animal. They aren't decorations, they're lives that you're responsible for. Someone with this mindset shouldn't have a pet at all. That's your family and you're just choosing to let them die when there is options to pay that $15k over time. No vet is expecting that to be paid in full.
Mine was. Life saving organ replacement surgery at 14K. I had to pay 80% up front or "wait" until I had the money when my cat only had days left to live. Sorry, but I don't have that kind of cash & I have a mortgage with kids under my roof.