MMM pet owners: your pet emergency fund needs to be bigger than you think

[Urchina]

For those of us with pets, some recent and hard-won experience from the trenches:

Your emergency fund may need to be quite a bit bigger than you think.

Over the past 10 days, we've spent several thousand dollars on our dog for emergency treatment and diagnosis of a sudden illness. This is in a previously healthy, marvelous family dog with the potential to live several more years of healthy life.

In our case, most of this money (~ 65%) was spent in diagnostic testing alone (I kid you not. I had no idea the diagnostic testing was so expensive; our dog needed a lot of it), to see if we could figure out what was causing our dog's illness, since the illness could be caused by any of three things, each with a very different treatment plan and prognosis. Some of the money (~20%) was spent on stabilizing her medically so she could be cared for at home until we got a diagnosis (several of the tests took more than a week for results). Some of it was spent on critical care in the last 12 hours of her life (~ 14%); a very little (comparatively; ~1%) was spent on medications and equipment to help us care for her at home while we waited for a diagnosis.

In the past, when I've considered the appropriate amounts to put into our emergency fund to cover pet emergencies, I've been operating under the assumption that we'd actually have a fairly rapid diagnosis and then could make an educated decision about the treatment options, prognosis, and quality of life achieved by any given option, weighed against the monetary cost. This is actually what happened with an elderly cat we lost to cancer a couple of years ago. Based off our vet's advice, we chose palliative care instead of treatment (the outcomes for this type of cancer weren't good, and the treatment was expensive and unpleasant) and had a lovely two months with her before having her euthanized in our home.

I had not considered that I might spend many thousands of dollars just to run the tests that would enable a diagnosis, before ever getting to the question of whether or not to make a decision about treatment.

While our dog did not survive this illness, we are grateful that we had an emergency fund that handled this emergency. We are grateful for access to excellent veterinary care and the extra time we bought our family while waiting for a diagnosis that would allow us to make decisions about our next course of action (treatment vs. no treatment). And I am grateful for the opportunity to re-evaluate the cost assumptions underlying our emergency fund so that in future pet emergencies we'll protect our ability to pursue a diagnosis, when appropriate, while still having money for treatment.

If you have pets, especially young, healthy ones, it might be worth some time talking to people who foster/rescue older dogs or pets in your area, to see what range of costs you might anticipate if you plan to pay out-of-pocket for your pet's health care. For example, what would a typical supportive-care overnight at a staffed vet hospital cost? There's obviously a lot of unknowns in this type of care, so I found it difficult to get helpful estimates before the fact from the vets we worked with, but asking around might help you determine what even a fairly minor overnight illness might cost. You can then extrapolate from there.

Pet insurance might be a great choice for many of you; Our experience with our pets has been generally very healthy, and even with our dog's recent illness we've come out ahead by self-insuring. Still, it's something to consider.

Best of luck to all of you with sweet furry, feathery or scaly things in your lives. May they live long and cheaply. ;)

[gimp]

Sorry about your dog.

[Mattzlaff]

Sorry about your dog. I have lived with dogs all my life and after I moved into my own place and set myself up I got myself a husky. I feel like an emergency fund is responsible, a few thousand dollars, tacked in for an animal. I mean you have to include this animal in your monthly expenses and just like a person it deserves an emergency fund.

But at some point you come to exhaust your expected emergency fund. At that point it's time to weigh the pros v cons. It's sad to let the dog go, I know all of my child hood dogs who lived 12-15 years are gone now.

I had a friend who spent over 3000$ on a ferret just for it to die in the week that 3000$ was spent on it. It's just a ferret. I feel for the guy but really...it's just a ferret/animal.

I'd try to keep the animal around but after I ran through my fund...it'd be time to think about the financials of the situation.

[Dicey]

I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Our aging fleet includes two dogs and a cat, 2/3 of which we inherited when their owners died. We love all of them and care for them well, but we also understand that they are animals, not humans. We will not jeopardize our human family's security to perform medical heroics on our pets. The lesson of your sad experience might be to question the vet about likely outcomes before such expensive tests are run.

[former player]

Uchina

I'm sorry for the loss of your beloved family dog.   I'm dreading getting to that point with my own dog: the intersection of diagnostics vs treatment vs outcomes vs cost seems almost impossible to deal with.  I've got pet insurance not because I couldn't pay for any treatment I wanted him to have but just so that it simplifies those difficult decisions by taking cost out of the equation:  I can salve my conscience a bit if I decide against treatment by telling myself "at least I didn't decide against treatment because of the money".

I agree with Diane C that it's a good idea to think about outcomes before testing or treatment, but what do you do when you don't even have much idea of what the outcomes could be before the testing is done?

[katstache92]

I'm sorry for your loss.

I can also say that a pretty large chunk of money should be earmarked for a potential vet emergency.  I'm nearing $4k in the past 3 weeks for my cat.

One other thing I would encourage new pet owners, and maybe old pet owners too (I wouldn't know, these are my first two cats, before this I had fish and hermit crabs), is to figure out if you have a financial limit you are willing to spend on your pet.  It might be a different limit for different things (ie. up to 5k for a non-cancerous x, y or z but only palliative care for cancer.)  It will help to have an idea of that before you are in a situation where you will have to decide.

I haven't experienced the long diagnosis time, but I can imagine how that would complicate things very quickly.

[The_path_less_taken]

I'm sorry for the loss of your dog.

I don't know that anyone can truly be prepared for the astronomical heights vet care is exploding into: my last vet visit was $807 and it was basically to get two teeth pulled on a dog.

Even meds are insane now: price out Apoquel and seizure drugs and Tramadol and DES and Proin and it begins to be fairly depressing if you have to buy them all each month.

That said....to some people they aren't 'just animals'. They are family. And are treated as such.

Being single I'm not required to put them through college or bail them out of jail or take them for orthodontic braces and soccer practice like you do with your human kids...but I still consider them family.

And pay for what they need.

Is there a time to consider euthanasia? Yes: at the precise moment when there is more pain than pleasure in their life...you WILL see it in their eyes.

It will break your heart, but at that point, I feel the ethical thing to do is to free them from that pain.

And would move to Oregon if I ever felt that need myself. Life is precious. And magical. But no living thing should be subjected to constant misery.

[startingsmall]

The lesson of your sad experience might be to question the vet about likely outcomes before such expensive tests are run.

That's Urchina's point, though.... there are many situations in which the possible outcomes may differ drastically, depending on the diagnosis. And the diagnosis can't be known until tests are run.

To present a somewhat-common scenario that I see as a veterinarian: Imagine that you take your dog into the emergency clinic for sudden weakness/collapse that occurs in the middle of the night. The veterinarian runs some very basic/preliminary tests (physical exam, bloodwork & abdominal xrays).... and now, after $600-800 in testing, advises you that they suspect a mass on the spleen and blood in your dog's abdomen. There are three possible causes for this - one is a very malignant type of cancer called hemangiosarcoma, one is a benign tumor called a hemangioma, the other is a hematoma which is basically a blood blister. Surgery to remove the spleen is curative for a hematoma or hemangioma, but the prognosis is poor for a hemangiosarcoma. If you decide to go ahead with surgery to remove the spleen and submit samples for histopathology, just to find out the diagnosis and your dog's prognosis, you could easily be out another $2-3k or more... your dog may first need a blood transfusion and hospitalization to be stabilized for surgery and then there's the fee for the surgery itself. Then additional costs of post-operative care, histopathology, etc. When it's all said and done, you may spend $3-4k+ and have a completely healthy dog that goes on to live a healthy, normal life... or you may have spent $3-4k+ for a dog with a very small amount of time left. There's no way to know without doing the surgery & histopathology.

Obviously, every owner is going to have a different opinion of whether to go ahead with surgery in a case like that... and that's completely okay. I practice in a low-income area, so probably less than 20% of my clients would go ahead with surgery in that scenario, even in the case of a young, otherwise-healthy dog, and I understand and respect that. They just can't afford the surgery. The point, though, is to be prepared and to understand that you won't always know that you're spending money on a "bad disease" until after the money has already been spent. Vet care was cheap in "the good old days," because vets would palpate a splenic mass and a belly full of fluid and say "it's probably cancer - we should put her down." Now, we've learned that there are other options and that some scary-looking things aren't bad and can be treated effectively.... but clients need to decide to what extent they would want to take advantage of those options and sometimes that can be challenging.

Just this last week, I had a client bring a cat in with the complaint of "blood in urine." This is a cat that supposedly was previously healthy, but had never had any veterinary care. When I opened the carrier, the cat looked like crap. Yes, large amounts of bloody urine were leaking from the cat, but the cat was also very weak and dehydrated. I recommended bloodwork (including feline leukemia/AIDS test) and a urinalysis to start, with supportive care (IV fluids, etc) likely recommended after that... the initial estimate was something like $250 just for the minimal diagnostics, not even including any treatment. The owner couldn't do it... all that she would authorize was the urinalysis and then antibiotics for the cat, because she was convinced it was just a UTI. I repeatedly told her that I was concerned about other bad things, prognosis was guarded without appropriate treatment, etc.... and yet then she called and was angry at ME when the cat developed seizures the following day, saying that it was my fault because I didn't warn her that could happen. I get that she didn't have money to spend on diagnostics, but she didn't get that I couldn't treat her cat without a diagnosis. I wish that I could have offered a more educated guess regarding the cat's underlying disease, but unfortunately I can't do that without any testing... and that is often the case. Last I heard, she was going to take the cat to the animal shelter for euthanasia... and that was probably her best option, if she had no money. But the cat may have had something completely treatable.... there's no way to know without testing.

Urchina - so sorry to hear about your loss. I had one of my own euthanized last week and it sucks. Your dog was lucky to have a family that cared enough to give her a chance.

[Slow&Steady]

Urchina I am truly sorry for your dog.

I do agree that if you are going to be a pet owner you have to consider an additional emergency fund and you have to determine what amount/services you are comfortable with.  I have 2 such stories.

Our dog was a happy ball chasing, face licking, house trained, lovable, 7 year old ball of fluff that weighed 70 lbs and thought he needed to sit on your lap.  We noticed that he had started drinking a lot of extra water but one morning when we woke up and let him out we noticed that he had lost control of his bladder right there on his bed.  We immediately took him to the vet and they ran test.  The test showed elevated calcium levels and the vet thought there was a swollen lymph node that we should get biopsied to find of it could be cancer.  We agreed and it was cancer.  That left us with a couple options, we could do further test to determine the likelihood that treatment would be successful, we could just start treatment, or we could just do steroids and give him a good couple of weeks.  The further test were expensive and we weren't ready to to say goodbye yet so we decided to go ahead with treatment and were able to give him a decent additional 6 months with us.  We have decided that we will probably not do that again as it was hard on him and us.  The total cost came up to approximately $8k (heavier dogs cost more for meds).

We have another dog who is deaf and was rescued as a puppy, she is also very lovable and large.  One winter night when she was about 2 years old I let her out but she did not come back to the door to come back in.  I went outside and found her curled up under our heat lamps we leave out for them in the winter.  I tried to get her to come back in and eventually she did but she was very lethargic and just not herself.  I was up all night with her and as soon as 6 AM hit I called the vet and took her in.  He looked her over and decided it was some kind of infection and gave us an antibiotic.  We gave it to her until it ran out and noticed she never got completely back to her old self and as soon as the meds were gone she was declining again so we took her back to the vet.  They did more test and x-rays and noticed something in her chest cavity, they thought it was her chest bone growing into her lungs.  Although they felt it could be fixed with surgery and that our dog would live a long and healthy life after the surgery, they recommend us to the university vet hospital an hour away.  We decided that this was different than the cancer treatment due to the very positive outcome that was being predicted so we took her to the university fully expecting a large bill.  While the vets took some additional x-rays and test before the surgery and decided that it wasn't a bone they were seeing something else and a lot of pus.  We still decided to do the surgery, half way through it they called to let us know that our dog was not doing well and they wanted permission to put her on life support to finish the surgery, we said yes.  Turns out she had inhaled a stick or something that punctured her airway, her body was trying to fight the infection and creating a lot of pus.  Our dog did make it and is running around playing today but our total cost was over $9k.  Had our dog not been so young and the chances of a healthy life after the treatment been so high we probably would not have chosen to pursue this level of treatment.

[Elliot]

Sorry for your loss and thanks for sharing your story.


Our pet expenses are split by pet food and supplies (kept at 200) and then into a vet bills category (kept at 1200) we assume anything over that will come from our main emergency fund.

[Nate R]

Thanks for reiterating the risks. We had a similar experience earlier this year.

My 2 year old Australian shepherd went through a vet visit, surgeon consult, CT Scan, surgery/recovery, and lab work. He got a large tumor removed from his chest. Cost us about $7K for all that. We (a week after surgery)  found out it's a very aggressive cancer, and he's on a bout of chemo now that will cost us about $1400 for the full treatment. He may live a full life, but chances are he won't make it a few more years.

We didn't have the funds set aside for something like this, and I didn't realize how deep into it you could get before the decisions were informed enough to be worthwhile. We definitely are increasing the size of our emergency fund (once we pay off the bit of debt we incurred for this!)

[hypertrichosis]

This may be harsh and sure to generate a lot of criticism or at least hateful thoughts, but I have a strict $500 per pet limit on any vet care. Anything above that and we are getting a new pet. We have two cats and a dog, and while I love them, there are a lot of other cats and dogs out there which need a family and I could love just the same, some maybe more so! Some people think of them as their children, I disagree. They only have a life of 10-15 years if they are healthy! And if you have a social/companion hole to fill in your life, adopt or foster a kid and spend $5-$10k on them and improve the society a bit. Plenty of children out there need help as well. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and what they want to spend resources / time / energy on.

[Molzy]

Thanks for the reminder! We've been lucky and haven't had anything costing us over $1,500 in the past, but our dogs and cat are getting older. From experience, it's not often the vet can say what the final cost will be, and so we usually end up spending more than anticipated (for example, our dog had $500 surgery, and then ripped his stitches out, requiring a second surgery or the first round of antibiotics didn't work for UTI in the cat).

Anyways, my point is, even if you have a belief that you won't spend more than $X, you might not be able to anticipate the final costs.

We just have a general emergency fund that we can use for the pets, and we budget for 1-2 unexpected vet visits a year.

[celticmyst08]

This is definitely true. I had to take my cat to the ER shortly after I got him because I came home from work and his eyes were glazed over, he was lethargic, and one pupil was really dilated. He was laying on the floor seeming dazed, and he wouldn't eat. I remembered when I was our kid one of our cats got a concussion and had the same symptoms, so I took him in. The ER visit (not overnight) + meds cost ~$250, so I can only imagine how much it would cost to have one or more overnight stays.

He ended up being fine but I've always made sure to have extra cash on hand just in case. We budget a set amount for pets every month which covers food, litter, and annual vet checkups. Some of it rolls over which we would use in the event of an emergency, and supplement from our e-fund as needed.

[Mr. Green]

This may be harsh and sure to generate a lot of criticism or at least hateful thoughts, but I have a strict $500 per pet limit on any vet care. Anything above that and we are getting a new pet. We have two cats and a dog, and while I love them, there are a lot of other cats and dogs out there which need a family and I could love just the same, some maybe more so! Some people think of them as their children, I disagree. They only have a life of 10-15 years if they are healthy! And if you have a social/companion hole to fill in your life, adopt or foster a kid and spend $5-$10k on them and improve the society a bit. Plenty of children out there need help as well. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and what they want to spend resources / time / energy on.

People should absolutely understand what emergency vet bills can look like before diving into pet ownership. Understanding that it may be a 15-20 year commitment is a big deal too. We got our cats when I was 21. I'm now 32, and on the cusp of FIRE and my wife and I have cat logistics to deal with when considering extended travel. The cats have some health challenges that make an adoption difficult, plus they've been a part of our lives for 11 years. While it would be difficult for me to execute our plan in an emergency situation, my wife and I both agree that while they feel like children to us, they're just cats. There will never be a $5,000 vet bill in either cat's future, being 11, and having had some past health challenges. I recommend anyone considering pet ownership consider these things (how will you handle big expenses/longevity).

[sol]

We lost our cat last week. $231 for a ten minute eval followed by euthanasia and cremation.  My animals never seem to have problems during normal business hours, so we've spent like $2k in the past year at the emergency 24 hour vet, three visits for three animals, two of which survived.

But I try to remind myself that the humane society is full of healthy animals that will be euthanized if not adopted, so putting down a sick family pet in order to rescue a healthy one from the same fate is probably for the best.  I try to give them the best life I can, while it lasts, but I won't jeopardize my family's financial security just to prolong their suffering.

If my family wasn't so wealthy, we wouldn't have pets or we wouldn't pay vet bills.  I've never understood people who can drop $3k on the family dog and then have pork for dinner.  Animals are not people, no matter how much you love them, as evidenced by your casual willingness to eat them.

[Giro]

I agree with sol and hypertrichosis.

I do understand that pets are a part of the family but they aren't people.  And shelters are always completely full of healthy animals that will be killed just because there are too many of them.  Put down the sick pet and adopt a healthy pet. 

My neighbor spent $10k on vet bills last year and his dog died 6 months later.  The dog was 12 years old.  Now, he's complaining about his bills but had $1299 to spend on a new dog. 



 

[Curbside Prophet]

Great advice and I'm very sorry for your loss. 

My contribution (in general) is adopt, don't shop.  With so many animals needing homes, there's no reason to support puppy mills and mutts are generally healthier than pure breeds.   

[iamlindoro]

I'm so, so sorry.  We lost a dog a little over a year ago very suddenly, and it still hurts all the time.  I cried about it this week.  On almost the exact one year anniversary of his death, MMM wrote his "Dog Ownership is Optional" post.  I wrote this based on the feelings I had in response (which are not angry, just resolute that I am better for having had my dogs as family members).

http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/09/17/dog-ownership-is-optional-and-wonderful/

As with all things MMM, it is to us to be thoughtful when it comes to our spending, and for me, our expenses related to our dogs are tiny in comparison to the improvement we perceive in our lives when sharing with them.  As I said in the article, if not for this, then what is money for?

Outside of life-saving measures, we are very frugal when it comes to our pets... I make their toys, we have lots of free outdoor fun, and they're all rescues.

[JoRocka]

So sorry about you're pup. That's unfortunate.

I personally don't keep a very large emergency fund- I just have a cap on what I'm willing to spend on them. My cats get 500$ a piece- the horse is a obviously higher.
After that- if it's substantially more- and no certain out come- the animal gets put down. Sorry- a broken leg on a horse is very unfortunate- but it's more cost than I'm willing to bear.

I love my animals- but I"m not sinking my life's savings into them.

edit- I'm rereading a bit- I'm so with hypertrichosis.  Pet limit- not a massive emergency fund.

They are pets. not people.

And I sadly say that about my horse who is 23 this year- I've had him since he was 3 months old. He's my boy. But he's not going to bankrupt me.

[Cassie]

Vet bills really vary depending on what part of the country you live in. I have a friend in Texas that pays a third of what we do on the WEst Coast.  There is no way if an animal is sick that you can diagnose for under 500 here so as 1 poster suggested that as a cap you would have to put a healthy animal down if they had any problems at all. WE also weigh the age and health of a dog. An surgeries here start at 1k and go up.  I figured in the past 11 years we have had anywhere from 2-4 rescue dogs and have spent about 30k on vet bills alone. We don't do cancer treatment either.  Right now we have 4 old dogs and their meds every month cost about 200 which doesn't even count the heartworm meds, etc.  In the future we will only have 1 or 2 dogs. Even when our dogs were healthy they had a few things occur that cost us a couple of thousand each.

[smalllife]

We have $1k in the "vet" category,  which in our area can cover diagnostic tests,  and the resulting care for things we would do to extend life. We spent about that two years ago on a five year old, otherwise healthy cat with a mystery illness.  She pulled through and has a long life ahead. The most likely candidate is a $1500 exploratory surgery - at the discount surgery place -, and no way of knowing before whether that actually is the issue. Now, she's my baby and got me through a lot so just typing this is making me tear up, but when time is up, it's up.

We're in the middle of $500 to stitch up a deep cut on the other cat's paw. Again, six years old and something curable. 

The dog is 10/11 and we'll likely only do pain treatments should anything happen to him - arthritis has already taken hold so even a "recovery" wouldn't be worth it.

Even though we keep $1k on hand, we would spend more if needed for something like a broken dog leg - just no need to keep that in cash.

These amounts won't bankrupt us, and at well worth it. They are also why we only have three animals instead of four ... just in case. No kids, all rescues - my maternal instincts only work if they have four legs and fur lol

[Cassie]

We did 1k surgery for a 9 yo dog and 2 years later he is doing great.  Some big dogs live until 13 with a good quality of life and cats and small dogs can live 15-20 years. I think if you are going to own a pet you have to plan to be able to afford this.

[lbmustache]

I'm not in the "pets aren't people," category :) but I do agree that reason should be involved. Will I go bankrupt to save my pet's life? Probably not. Am I prepared for a relatively large financial emergency? Yes.

For example, a 15 yr old dog with a 50% chance of surviving a $5000 surgery vs 5 year old dog with 90% chance of surviving a $5000 surgery. I would spend money on the latter and probably not the former. As painful as it is... it's killing me to even think about the first scenario. :\

[couponvan]

We adopted a dog last year and within a week he had a ton of vet visits (turns out he had a weird parasite).  Luckily he came with pet insurance that first month, but we were still out of pocket a good chunk right away.

Now, we have the pet insurance and this year will upgrade for the teeth cleaning.  We only used insurance once for a normal pet visit.  However, I dislike unexpected expenses and am very risk averse - probably to our financial detriment.  Even so, I cannot imagine spending more than $1-$2K on a pet illness before switching to comfort care.

[Lanthiriel]

We've probably spent $10k in vet costs over my corgi's life, but nothing has ever been "life threatening," just confusing and frustrating (idiopathic tremors and allergies). We've said no to MRIs and other tests in favor of the "wait and see approach." Even though I love that little dog with all my heart, I would have a hard time paying thousands of dollars to buy him time in the 6 months to 2 years range.

Right now I'm dealing with the cat I had to leave behind when I moved to Alaska who now lives with my mom. He is 9 and had three seizures last week. She took him to the vet to run some blood tests (that I paid for). We decided not to start medication right away in case he got into something or it's a one off for whatever reason. If the seizures don't go away, we'll try the meds. If that doesn't work, it's lights out for the poor guy. He's a great cat, but I'm not going to shell out $1k in diagnostics to tell me he needs thousands of dollars worth of surgery for an unknown outcome. He had a very happy 9 years. It doesn't seem cruel to leave it at that.

[Dicey]

What makes this topic so difficult for Mustachians is that we are far more likely to have the money. The question becomes much more nuanced when it won't be taking food off the table or delaying RE.

Still, it's wise to have a frank conversation with the whole family about where the limit line is, especially as your animals age. I am comforted by the idea that losing one animal makes room for another. Good point, giro!!

[Knitwit]

Urchina, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. To everyone else who has lost a pet, my deepest condolences also. This is a really timely forum topic for me because my cat is currently sick. In the last week we've spent almost $1000 on exams, X-rays, subcutaneous fluid injections, and various medications. If she doesn't poop in the next 24 hours, we're almost certainly looking at exploratory surgery. She's only 5 years old and never sick a day in her life.  It's so very stressful to not know what's causing your pet pain.

[Shane]

Sorry your dog died OP.

I'm in the, "They're animals, not people," camp.

My limit for vet bills is $30. That's what the local vet charges to euthanize a pet.

The only reason I would spend $30 on having a vet euthanize an animal is because my wife and daughter wouldn't let me put the animal down myself. Bullets are cheap enough that you don't need an emergency fund to pay for one.

If everyone were like me, veterinarians would go out of business.

[Urchina]

OP here. Thank you all for your condolences.

A couple of comments:

Here, as elsewhere, I've noticed a couple of posters make a comment about how they wouldn't jeopardize their retirement / family's security to treat a sick pet. I agree with this sentiment -- but would like to be clear that this is not what my original post was about. Our vet bills were large, but not a major financial hit because we have an emergency fund that is specifically designed to handle situations like this. My point in the original post was that just getting to a diagnosis that would allow, as another poster put it, a decision informed enough to be worthwhile, was far more expensive than we'd anticipated, and that individuals who own pets and would pursue diagnostic testing for a pet's illness might be better prepared financially if they boosted their emergency fund in advance.

I recognize that not everyone would choose to pursue diagnostic testing for a sick pet, or treatment once a diagnosis has been made.  Again, how to handle a pet's illness is something for each individual pet owner to consider on their own and/or discuss with their vet. I mainly wanted to call attention to the fact that, for some illnesses, no informed decision about treatment options and the relative costs / prognosis of each can be made until your pet has been diagnosed, and the diagnostic process can be much more expensive than one might anticipate.

I took our dog's body to be cremated yesterday; our local Humane Society does cremations and it's also where we got our dog. That shelter is full of dogs who need homes, but the truth is that we got that particular dog because she had several unusual characteristics that made her particularly well-suited to our family's life and needs. She was a custom fit. We were willing to pay more for that, and I don't regret a penny of it.

[BTH7117]

Sorry for your loss.  Amazing how much we can care for our pets.

I have often gone back and forth re: amount in the emergency fund for our two dogs.  Sharing your experience is appreciated.

[aetherie]

Turns out she had inhaled a stick or something

I'm so glad your dog is ok now, and that must have been scary, but I laughed at this. Dogs, man. :D

[Cassie]

When we got our first dog she was 2 months old and we found out within 2 weeks that she needed heart surgery or she would be dead in about 8 months. We spent 4k and now she is 11 and perfectly healthy.  Well worth the investment.

[Lyssa]

Sorry your dog died OP.

I'm in the, "They're animals, not people," camp.

My limit for vet bills is $30. That's what the local vet charges to euthanize a pet.

The only reason I would spend $30 on having a vet euthanize an animal is because my wife and daughter wouldn't let me put the animal down myself. Bullets are cheap enough that you don't need an emergency fund to pay for one.

If everyone were like me, veterinarians would go out of business.

Do you neuter your pets? That investment alone is elevating the commercial value of an animal above 30 dollars.

I get it if somebody states that he or she is not willing to pay four figure vet bills but to value a living and feeling creature that you share your home with literally at zero is beyond me. I had an eye infection of my cat cured for about 50 EUR. What would you have done once you realized that something is wrong with her eye? Wait and see if she turns blind? Then put her down? Or before because the eye might get really nasty and unsightly and a cat moaning and crying from pain gets on your nerve?

I'm not saying every pet owner should keep a 5k emergency fund for vet bills. But you should be willing to pay the equivalent of an eat-out dinner. Or not have pets.

[Elliot]

A broken bone may be over $500, because of the imaging and anesthesia plus the pain meds. I think putting a healthy, under 12y dog down over a broken paw is silly, even if you're in the "animals, not people" camp.

[MayDay]

A broken bone may be over $500, because of the imaging and anesthesia plus the pain meds. I think putting a healthy, under 12y dog down over a broken paw is silly, even if you're in the "animals, not people" camp.

I'd spend 500 but that is about my limit. 

It isn't a matter of whether it is fully fixable, it is a matter of there being tons of other animals being put down daily. 

Our dog got very ill and after basic imaging the vet was stumped and said he needed exploratory surgery or to be put down.  It was an easy decision since he was 11.  But I would do the same with a younger dog even though I would feel guilty a bit due to societal expectations- its still just a dog to me.

That is why my chickens are the perfect pet- if they get annoying, I can eat* them with no guilt. 

*I don't actually since I am a vegetarian, but I give them to someone else to eat.  Also, this is perhaps why I have no feeling about putting down pets- it puzzles me that anyone is cool with eating meat but then spends thousands to keep a dog alive. 

[former player]

it puzzles me that anyone is cool with eating meat but then spends thousands to keep a dog alive.

Well, dogs are qualitatively different from most meat animals.  Also, even though they are not humans they are very definitely individuals with personalities, so it is not so much "spending thousands to keep a dog alive" as "spending thousands to keep that particular dog alive".

But I do agree with your main point: my own beloved dog is coming up to eleven and is starting to have old age issues (he was badly treated for a number of years before being rescued, and it is catching up with him rather quicker than I hoped).  Deciding on treatment for him is less a matter of money (I took out insurance mainly so my decisions would be led by what was best for him rather than by what it would cost) but mostly a matter of limiting his stress, pain and disability and maximising his happiness.  Also, I am afraid to say, my happiness - if unresolvable incontinence sets in I will be seriously considering euthanasia regardless of any other considerations about his condition.

[4n6]

We actually take care of this in some respects by investing in one of those diagnostic plans. It isn't pet health insurance, but most of our dog's tests, teeth cleaning, and the like are covered for basically $20 a month. Now that doesn't cover surgery or anything like that, but it has saved us money. And because our dog is like our kid I don't mind paying $20 a month to make sure his tests and the like are covered. It is like buying insurance for a kid.

[stashmeister1]

Last year my dog had numerous X-Rays, a CT scan, saw a neurologist, a cardiologist, and numerous other vet specialists. 

He is my companion, my competition dog, and a member of my family.  It's nice not to have to worry or even question (too deeply) if I wanted to spend the funds to help him. 
 

[fallstoclimb]

This is something I worry about for a different reason.

I love my dog so much and as long as there were a reasonably good chance of a full recovery, I would spend my whole emergency fund on him.  Anyone who says 'it's just a dog' has never truly bonded with a dog.  Our relationship and communication is deep and complex.  I just hope that when the time comes, I can see the difference between keeping him alive for us and keeping him alive for me.  I take comfort in the fact that dogs do not know their own mortality.  Once he can no longer be healthy and happy, it's time to let him go, no matter how much it hurts. 

However....I don't give a damn about my cat.  Apologies to all the cat lovers out there!  But our communication is NOT complex, I never understand what the damn thing wants, and I don't believe he has any feelings for me beyond a bland resentment.  He's not a bad cat, but we are roommates, not family.  I worry about the day the vet tells us we need to spend even a small amount of money on him. We take good care of him, but  I'm not willing to pay for much beyond routine care.  I'm already dreading the awkwardness of that conversation with the vet.  "$30 for insulin every month?  Nah, his time is up."  (But that's unlikely here, the dog keeps him thin.)

[ShortInSeattle]

I spent a few years caring for our elderly cats. Fluids, meds, tests, even subQ fluids at home. We had to be home every 8 hours and I hated it. The expense wasn't as bad as the constraints.

I may not have another animal. I'm too soft-hearted to euthanize a pet I can treat, and too miserable when I put my life on hold to care for them.

SIS

[Kitsune]

However....I don't give a damn about my cat.  Apologies to all the cat lovers out there!  But our communication is NOT complex, I never understand what the damn thing wants, and I don't believe he has any feelings for me beyond a bland resentment.  He's not a bad cat, but we are roommates, not family.  I worry about the day the vet tells us we need to spend even a small amount of money on him. We take good care of him, but  I'm not willing to pay for much beyond routine care.  I'm already dreading the awkwardness of that conversation with the vet.  "$30 for insulin every month?  Nah, his time is up."  (But that's unlikely here, the dog keeps him thin.)

I'm basically at the same point with our cat. No shame. (He doesn't like cuddles, isn't affectionnate, doesn't like to be petted by anyone except the toddler, and has taken to standing next to the toddler's crib at 5am and MEOWING UNTIL HE WAKES HER UP. Swear to god, every time he does that, he uses up one of his lives, and either it will catch up to him OR I WILL. *ahem*)

In all seriousness, though: I'm in a relatively cheap part of Canada for vet care (and the local vets deal over 50% in cows and sheep and other farm animals, so their approach to diagnosis and care is skewed towards the practical, which I appreciate.) I've spent 1K on a previous cat (urinary blockage requiring emergency surgery at 10pm on a sunday night while living in an expensive urban center... yeeeeah), and that's about my limit for 1-time treatment. Diagnostics are expensive, but if the cat is miserable and it's gonna cost 800$ to figure out of we're gonna put another 5K into treatment, I'm sorry, I just can't do it.

Then again, I'm also in a place where a broken limb, minor surgery, etc can all be dealt with for FAR under that, so...

[katstache92]

SIS, I'm so glad you were able to put into words exactly what I've been feeling.  I love my cats, but I don't think I can have any more after this.  These situations were not something I anticipated when I adopted them.

I can't take a vacation because one will go on a hunger strike which will land him in the hospital or worse.  Right now the other cat is on meds 3x/day and it's driving me up the wall, although today is the last day of that, post surgery.

I am also really glad to see other people saying they spent money on their pets while still being mustachian.  I was having a little bit of an identity crisis because of the money I was spending.  But then again, the point of all of this is to have the money available to spend on what we value, right?

The vet called yesterday and said we could talk about a kidney transplant.  That suggestion got a very strong NO from me, so I guess I do have some kind of line that I don't think is worth crossing that I just hadn't figured out yet.

[Cassie]

My pets are my babies but a kidney transplant?? YOu  have got to be kidding me.   3 are ( 5-10 lbs) so they can wear doggie diapers but the 80lb guy it would be the end if he couldn't hold his pee.  Also one of the tiny has a back problem and is on pain meds 3x's/day and she is pain free with it. I have to carry her around mostly and I am fine with that. Again if the 80lb guy can't walk it is done.  One of the little ones has a damaged anal gland and sometimes her poo falls out of her butt.  No problem but again if it was the big guy not so much. Although, we have spent a lot of $ on our dogs I would not do cancer treatment to the tune of 10k etc like I have known people to do.  Unless vets are really cheap where you live if you are going to put a limit such as 500 on a pet maybe better not to own one.

[tyleriam]

I love my dog dearly, he is my buddy and he looks up to me like I am god but I am in the $500-1000 limit range.  My brother's dogs recently got bit by a rattlesnake and he spent over $7,000 saving them including anti-venom for both of them.  No way no how.

Vets are out of control.  My dog is 11-12ish and after a long day or running he couldn't get comfortable, probably his back from when I sorta ran over him a while back when he stopped in front of my car (felt awful, he stopped to poop I didn't see him, going very slow, less than 3mph).  Anyway, he couldn't get comfortable.  Had a vet appointment I asked for Rimadyl.  She wanted to run $100+ worth of tests to check his liver since he is old.  WTF?  I asked the vet what human medication she would compare Rimadyl to, she said it was like Advil/IBprofrein.  This is what I thought she would say.  So I said, I have a bulged disc in my back, my doctor told me when it bothers me to take 800 mg (4) Advil/IBprofrein three times a day.  I received no liver test and I am a human, why would I pay $100 to test my 12 year old rescue mutt's liver?  She said well he is an older dog, I wouldn't feel comfortable unless we at least ran a $50+ basic blood panel.  I said, again...I am a human being and I received no blood panel whatsoever to take a massive dose of IBprofrein.  She said ok.  So she writes me a script for 20 pills, no refills.  I said no way, I want multiple refills.  She said what were you thinking, I said enough to last him the rest of his life, I don't ever want to have to come in again for a $50 office visit to get him doggy Advil.  She did not feel comfortable with that so we negotiated from 1 refill to 3.  Give me a freakin break lady.  So now when we go on a long run, go hunting all day, etc he gets 1 or 2 Rimadyl at the end of the day in case he feels uncomfortable.  I think that along with his high end dry food with wet food topper, the comfy king size bed he gets to sleep in every night is more than I owe my little buddy.  When he eventually gets too sick to recover I also owe him a humane death.  I do not feel obligated to diagnose, treat, or cure major or rare diseases/cancers.

We do not go to this vet anymore.

[zephyr911]

Awww, man. I'm sorry Urchina.
I spent almost $4K on my lab's torn ACL back when he was six (10 now) and about $1400 on a similar issue for our ~8yo beagle recently. We will soon reach the point of having to weigh at least some of these situations differently, in light of their lifespan and prognosis. It hurts my heart just to think about that, and I feel for you having gone through it.

I agree that the central point of what we're all doing is to be able to pay for the things that matter most to us. And personally, investing 10-15+ years in companionship, love, training, etc., is stupid if you're unable or unwilling to pay any surprise medical bills. But it's quite reasonable to differ on the exact break point, especially in light of all the factors that could affect each situation. I will always strive to keep the animal's quality of life in the forefront.

I love my dog dearly, he is my buddy and he looks up to me like I am god but I am in the $500-1000 limit range.  My brother's dogs recently got bit by a rattlesnake and he spent over $7,000 saving them including anti-venom for both of them.  No way no how.
**snip**
We do not go to this vet anymore.

Your approach seems pretty reasonable.

[onlykelsey]

I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I will need to move out of my walk-up apartment or put my dog down when it becomes impossible or very painful for him to use the stairs.  I only have 10 or 20 pounds on him, he is a big dude that I can't carry up two flights of stairs. 

[redbird]

We have a pet - a cockatiel that my in-laws gave to my husband for his birthday about 15 years ago. The bird was born maybe only a month before his birthday, and cockatiels can live until 25-30. We expect her to be around for another decade or so. She's super healthy and always has been.

But birds are the type of animal that hide their sickness as long as they can since they're prey animals. By the time you notice a bird is sick, they're VERY sick. So if our cockatiel ever got sick, there's probably not much a vet can do.

1 cockatiel is super cheap to take care of so we honestly don't even think about it too much. It only costs maybe $50 a year to feed her, and that's with some fancy food. If she got sick... well, I expect most likely she would die or be too sick that she'd just have to be put down anyway. So we don't think it's worth with an emergency fund.

[Smevans]

I am sorry for your loss.

And your point hits me personally. I purchased a home in 2010 and spent all my savings on the down payment. Literally 2 weeks after moving into the new home my dog developed bladder issues that required surgery. Between the initial diagnosis, the surgery, the multiple follow up exams and the now very expensive vet prescribed food (which she will be on for life- Urinary SO), it cost me several thousand dollars that I had to put on credit cards. If I had to pinpoint one moment that turned my financial life from ok to an absolute disaster it would have been the house/vet.

[Shane]

Sorry your dog died OP.

I'm in the, "They're animals, not people," camp.

My limit for vet bills is $30. That's what the local vet charges to euthanize a pet.

The only reason I would spend $30 on having a vet euthanize an animal is because my wife and daughter wouldn't let me put the animal down myself. Bullets are cheap enough that you don't need an emergency fund to pay for one.

If everyone were like me, veterinarians would go out of business.

Do you neuter your pets? That investment alone is elevating the commercial value of an animal above 30 dollars.

I get it if somebody states that he or she is not willing to pay four figure vet bills but to value a living and feeling creature that you share your home with literally at zero is beyond me. I had an eye infection of my cat cured for about 50 EUR. What would you have done once you realized that something is wrong with her eye? Wait and see if she turns blind? Then put her down? Or before because the eye might get really nasty and unsightly and a cat moaning and crying from pain gets on your nerve?

I'm not saying every pet owner should keep a 5k emergency fund for vet bills. But you should be willing to pay the equivalent of an eat-out dinner. Or not have pets.

My post was meant to be taken somewhat tongue in cheek. Yes, we get our pets spayed and neutered, and I would definitely pay a small amount of money, as in your example, to get my cat or dog treated for an infection that had a high probability of success. If I had a pet that repeatedly had eye infections or other minor illnesses, I'd put the animal down and get a new one from the local shelter or a friend or neighbor who had free puppies or kittens.

Just like humans, most pets that get sick eventually get better on their own with/without going to see a vet/doctor. That's why I rarely take my animals to see a vet after they've been spayed/neutered. One of my pets would have to be really sick before I would take him to the vet to begin with. If a vet told me my pet needed hundreds of dollars in tests just to diagnose an illness, I'd laugh in his face.

As other posters have pointed out above, there are many, many, many healthy pets that will be killed if no one adopts them from shelters. Why waste money on sickly animals?