Should people who can't afford medical treatments for pets own a cat or dog?

[TheBlackAdder]

30. I owned a farm, sometimes pets do die. It's best to give them a happy home as long as possible.

I have had numerous farm animals and family pets.

BASIC MEDICAL CARE IS MANDATORY! If a person can't afford that, then they can't afford to feed the animal.

I have had several pets that were rescued from animal shelters or were obtained as kittens from animal shelters. These animals had dubious medical histories or were subject to maltreatment leading to physical damage to the animal.

The worst for me was one rescue cat I took to the vet because he became suddenly ill after we received two additional kittens from the shelter. The animal hospital said that it would cost $2,500 just to perform basic exploratory tests on the animal and the final bill would be over $6,000 if surgery were required -- and there was no guarantee that would cure the animal or be the end of therapy. Though greatly attached to the cat, I made the decision to put him down. It was heart wrenching and I cried for a couple of days. Don't let the animal suffer though - that would be inhumane.

I donate $600 every year, via the United Way, to two animal shelters in my area. I know that, after saving many animals and losing others, there is a limit to what should be done. The animals in my care receive wonderful lives full of pamper, better than most other places they would have been sent. Now, my sister does not have any children and she spends thousands on them every year for medical treatments, saying these are her children.

===

You shouldn't focus on whether a person can or cannot afford exorbitant medical procedures on animals, you should be thankful that there are people out there who are making their best attempts to rescue an animal from euthanasia or from developing physical or mental issues from being in a kennel cage for months on end -- leading them to be put down.

Without knowing the bloodline of rescue animals, you don't know if they were destined to have long or short lives in the first place.

As an animal rescuer, be the best pet owner you can be. Save the animal from a fate that would be worse than your lack of intervention. Perhaps, down the road, you might be able to afford the pet insurance most hospitals offer. In the meantime, save a dog, give the dog a great life and if the worse were to happen and you couldn't afford to spend onerous funds to 'possibly' save them -- use the money and rescue another one. Great Danes and several other dogs only live 5-7 years. Others might be in their mid-teens on average. As callous as this sounds, the funds spend to save the dog might only prolong death for a couple of years and that needs to be weighed against your financial disposition and emotional investment. Sometimes, it's better to save a new animal.

Best wishes.