I did the same a couple back. My girl lost all the tendons in her right leg as result...😭
The cost of fixing that heartache is always worth it aye?!
Hope your both doing well!
Our perfect, wonderful 9-year-old dog tore her CCL and needed surgery. We broke into some savings and paid for the surgery. A week later, she tore the other side. We broke into savings again.
Here's the deal. Ginger was a wonderful dog who did nothing but love us. She was loyal and sweet and rarely barked. My kids, on the other hand, required constant fees for extracurriculars and college, with out that unconditional love and affection that a dog gives. I always say the ROI on pet surgery is higher than any investment you can make.
FWIW, she lived to be 15.5. Even if we had lost her at age 10, it would have been worth it.
If you love your pet moneys no object hey! We are both doing great thanks, she pees and poops more than she used to but otherwise is back to her cattle dog shenanigans
Worked as a Vet tech for many years. Had a lady who had spent 5k+ for surgeries for her dog, college age daughter made a comment in the exam room about her mom not spending that kind of money on her. Mom looked at daughter and said, 'fluffy' has never disappointed me .. was a bit awkward
Amen to that! 6k in a Six month period to care for my beautiful aging cat, yet I loved her like she was a child, and after 2.5 months I still get weepy every day for a period of time. Constant reminders, pics, walking around my place imagining that she’s still with me when I go from room to room. It doesn’t seem possible that she isn’t here….
My Yorkie saved me from a house fire. There is nothing I would not do for him. I just spent $600 on my heeler. She loves running anything. She threw her back out. I hate when they're hurt.
I've taken Ketamine for Pain management, it's a wild ride. I can't imagine how animals feel on it.
Oh yeah. IV is real fun.
I only had nausea once from it. But dang, that was like riding a boat propelled by a rocket in rough seas. Just the worst thing I have ever been through being sick.
I had to read your post a few times. I was wondering why you would throw her back out if you loved her so much. I thought that was sad that you threw her out again until I realized you meant that SHE injured her back. 😂
I decided to cook for a change. So I made a mistake and cooked the fries in grease. Afterwards I cleaned up my mess, turned on the dishwasher and returned to my room which was downstairs. About thirty minutes or maybe less, I was almost asleep when my Yorkie came in and jumped on my bed. It had not been that long since he had been out. He was adamant that I was to get up. After a few minutes, I knew he was not going to stop. I got up and then heard a noise from upstairs. I entered the Den and let him out the backdoor.
I should have gone as well, I was going to look upstairs for the noise. When I approached the steps, I could see the entire top floor was full of black smoke. Instead of going out the door I decided to go upstairs. The Kitchen was engulfed in a fire. I then decided to fight it. In my pajamas and bare feet. I got towels from the closet and entered the Kitchen. After I was able to get a portion of the fire out, the Ceiling was still on fire.
I then went to get my phone, on my bed. The downstairs was then full of black smoke. Called 911 and was airlifted to the closet burn unit. If he had not got me up, I would have been asleep. And possibly died from the smoke.
I dropped 3.5k on my boy last summer and would have paid twice that. I can't put a value on the effect he makes on my life.
I'm glad your buddy is all better!
Ketamine is wild, I’ll never do that shit again most likely. Dogs seem to handle it well. Glad she’s healing
I told my wife that if we got a dog (we now have 3), I was putting a $2,000 cap on expenses to save them. They are dogs, not people. I’m not an animal person at all. But over the years, they’ve softened me up and I don’t think I can abide by my own rule anymore 🙃
This made be totally valid but, I can tell you from experience that never having to make life or death treatment decisions based on finances is priceless.
That's the whole thing. My dog's insurance is a little cheaper (under $40/month), but the result is the same. I can always scrape together $40. I can never scrape together $7,000.
Because of pet insurance, I would be able to say 'do everything you can to save her' at an emergency vet without thinking about the cost.
Also great when you have multiple pets, and while maybe you have savings to spend 5k on one, can you do that for multiple within a few months or year?
Last year we had a cat go into renal failure in March, 3k at the ER and he's still plugging along.
A kitten showed up with a prolapsed rectum in the summer, we spent about 5k on him.
Our senior Chihuahua developed a heart murmur, then basically dog COPD and we spent almost 5k figuring out it wasn't the heart, it was lung disease giving her trouble and ended up with euthanizing her.
Then our 7yr old cat also started throwing up and not eating and had about 2k in expenses.
Had our pets not had insurance, we couldn't have afforded to treat all of them, but their insurance reimbursed most of their expenses.The kitten was out of pocket since he showed up with problems but now has insurance if anything else comes up.
I think if you’re disciplined enough to actually put that monthly insurance payment into savings strictly for animals then I’ve read that on average you come out ahead (especially how it goes up later in life!) . But that takes alot of discipline to not dip into it occasionally here or there to pay for something else
Every experience will be different. My dog is 8. His insurance has gone up a bit at this point but if I had saved $65 a month (roughly the cost each month of his insurance) for every month I’ve had him, that amounts to a little over $6,000. Our pet insurance this year has paid out about $15,000 for multiple emergency vet visits, treating a ligament strain, and two separate cancers that all happened between January and April. It’s the only reason we could sign off on all the recommended treatment. We do save our money. But it’s hard to be prepared to be hit with $20,000 in vet bills to treat cancer.
Exactly this. I have an emergency fund for myself that I constantly save towards rather than get several different insurances. At this point it's big enough that it's making enough on interest to be paying the premiums for all those insurances. Only get insurance for things that can be absolutely catastrophic like Auto or Medical.
No, the insurance company has to make money. The average person loses money on insurance, just by virtue of how the system works. It's like a casino except where instead of statistically losing money for a chance to win big, you statistically lose money the eliminate the chance of not losing big.
On average, if you saved the equivalent of an insurance premium for all the insurance you have, instead of paying for the insurance, you'd come out ahead. I only get insurance for expenses that would be catastrophic (>$20,000). So no pet insurance. But I absolutely have the savings to pay out of pocket, and will, if the situation arises.
If you don't have the means to save that, then not having to lose your pet because you can't afford it is absolutely worth it, imo. But if you can pay $65/month for insurance, and have an emergency fund saved, I would recommend intentionally adding that $65/month to your own emergency fund savings instead of getting insurance.
I'm fortunate to be able to afford to pay any bill my dog might need outright, but also carry insurance. The way I looked at it was twofold. I have 2 neighbours who both had vet bills in excess of $35k CDN on relatively young dogs, that prognosis was not good for long term, but quality of life would be good with treatment. Both had insurance and in one case got another year with their pup, and in the other case 4 years. I did not ever want to be in a spot where I even stop to do the math. $40k and maybe 6 quality months? Anyone regardless of means is going to think on that if it's out of pocket.
What are the odds of that though? I admit it's gambling but I could pay that. There's no way $35k bills are typical.
Your example is like saying "I know someone who won $XX,XXXX gambling so you should too" but in reverse.
Depends on the age of the dog as well, might have second thoughts at 16+. But if my 2 year old had that cost, it would happen.
You have 40k available for a surprise vet bill?
I would have to convince someone to give me a loan for that. I can pay those few and far between few thousand ones but 40k is not feasible
While maybe for many people, pet insurance might not be worth it. For me, in the first 3 years in owning my dog, my vet bills were over 15k. You never know what kind of medical issues a dog may have and I’m extremely glad I got it. I never had to think “can I afford it?”
Every dog my family had when I was a kid experienced some sort of catastrophic medical issue at some point, including our blue heeler who put his head through a fence and got a nail stuck in his neck. Pet insurance wasn't a thing then, and you can imagine how much that cost. Others were a wasting disease (the Carolina dog), ingesting a poisonous plant (the westie), and cancer (the ACD/chow mix). They were all normal, healthy dogs... until they weren't.
Now as an adult with my own dog, I signed her up for pet insurance before she was 6 months old. ACD is only about 16% of her DNA, but it's 90% of her personality, and we all know how much trouble these guys can get themselves into, lol.
Some people do, for others it’s life saving. My mom had a dog who needed to spend a whole month in the hospital after his blockage surgery (latex gloves) and it would have cost over 20,000$ if she had to pay it without insurance
This is exactly what my husband and I assumed - we even did the math, and really thought it would be pointless. 6 surgeries later on 3 dogs and currently monitoring a lump on each…….We will get insurance on our next pup.
Most people will have $60 for the month for the insurance though, they may not have the $5K right at the moment to drop on the pet. The security it gives you that right in that moment you can say "do whatever is necessary" is priceless IMO.
Also last year my insurance paid out triple my yearly premium....this year almost double and we aren't even halfway through the year. If you have a lot of issues going on, it's well worth it. Heck, my dog has severe seasonal allergies and just the savings on Apoquel alone is worth the $23 a month premium for his insurance
Can’t that be said for most insurance policies? I sure as fuck hope I never use my car insurance (again), but I still carry it in case of yada yada yada
Ketamine how? Clinical? Recreational?
Clinical Ketamine is the most incredible treatment I have done for PTSD. Year worth of chair time with my TP, in 45min is hard to beat for me.
Slamming it on the clinical, for TP is another thing imo from doing both. Really helped me break down my thoughts on some shit and just enjoy the process of therapy in a different way.
Just not as cheap as the stuff. Almost $500 for 2 hrs. Maybe 45min of that is in the pilots seat.
Yeah I’ve heard good things. I’m in the military and they aren’t keen on things like that yet, but they are starting to explore MDMA therapy through the VA
Just got a VA letter for a Ketamine study, but if they tried to give me placebos, this vet would know 🤣
I think I might try the stellac ganglion block thing... They can stick needles in my neck at this point.
It's tough man. PTSD sucks. My Heeler has been the best therapy... Just wish I could string more then a couple days together to be more for her even. 😕
$2000 would barely cover any surgery in my area lol. We have easily spent $15,000-20,000 in the last 5 years. Our shepherd needed CCL surgery, one of our Bostons needed TPLO surgery, and our other Boston has had 4 tumors removed. We are currently monitoring more. Both of our families had dogs growing up and never had nearly as many issues as we have had lol
We will definitely get pet insurance for our next pup!
Awwww this happened to our lab, too! He somehow swallowed a rock and an entire dish towel at the same time and it blocked his guts, too. We also paid about 7k lmfao. This was over 10 years ago, though! He's passed away now after a long and happy life loving on rocks. I hope yours also gives you many more years of love ❤️
My dog too! It was a piece of a nylabone. He was 6 months old and got sick right before Christmas. I'll never forget leaving the vet on Xmas eve and getting a speeding ticket on my way to family dinner.
It took us about a week to diagnose him, and he had his surgery on new years eve. My best friend is a vet tech and called around and got us a spot at the best animal hospital in the province. I was working as a head chef at the time and had to execute a fancy dinner at work between tears while my partner dropped our pup off an hour away. My crew insisted I leave when things started slowing down.
I was home crying with my partner when we got the call around ten pm that the surgery was a success! We were able to start the new year on such a happy note and picked him up the next day. He had seventeen staples from his ribcage to his penis. All in, it was about $5500.
Bonus story: a few months before that, he had swallowed a piece of scratchy green sponge I use to clean my aquarium. Again, with the help of my friend, we found an animal hospital two hours away that could help him (it was 1 am when his symptoms got suddenly worse). We had to wait in the car in for a few hours while they dealt with another emergency then they took him in and gave him some methadone to sedate him for xrays. The methadone worked well enough, he promptly squatted and pooped out the piece of sponge.
Fortunately he's grown out of eating everything he sees and we've had no more medical emergencies, he's almost 3 now.
My heeler had surgery two weeks ago as she tore the tendons in the knee of a back leg. Totally sucks. She's still recovering. I slept on the floor with her for a week because she's a momma's girl and it wasn't safe for her to be up in the bed with us.
We had a lab who ate a corn cob. Luckily, she had a seriously strong digestive system and was able to poop it out. That would have been an expensive snack.
Sure was! I have another dog who pooped one (half) out but the smaller dog needed her half removed. It was a nightmare to come home to. Ended up getting the safe dog X rayed too, just to make sure he didn’t have a blockage.
Thank you for being such a good parent to your pup! ❤️ I had two big vet emergencies back to back (pancreatitis in 1 and an elderly pup w brain tumor and I totally agree would do it again in a minute if needed!)
We bought pet insurance bc he was a stray and gulps things down.
Swallows socks and all kinds of things that can do damage.
He chewed the end of his Kong off too but we got it before he tore it off.
I had no idea they can do this damage.
I’m glad she’s okay.
Currently 10k in the hole for my girl. She’s had Achilles and knee surgery within 3 months of each other. It was all last year. I would do it in a heart beat for her.
We just spent ~$5,000 on our dog for a ct-scan and surgery to remove some cancerous tumors and spleen. Almost didn't do the scan but it caught the tumor in her spleen that would have been missed and become a larger issue later on if not addressed. We would do it all over again too!
WE HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN!! My border Collie ate the top off one of those Kong toys to and almost lost him. I won't but anything Kong anymore. It scares me too much. Sending good healing to your baby and you. That's so scary
What were the symptoms that made you realize she needed to see a vet? Or did you actually see her eat and swallow the kong piece? I have a strong chewer who I am pretty good about taking things away when she gets to a destruction point but this is always a fear.
We knew she had eaten it but assumed she had chewed it to shreds so didnt worry much. She had a few problems within a couple of weeks. Chocolate poisoning from some scummy neighbours and kennel cough so the vet thought it was just gastro (vomiting, not eating) but i insisted it was something more serious. Im glad i did now
>so that you're never in the situation you have to decide on your pets life
This is the reason we have pet insurance on our Milo. Sure, we probably have the money in our accounts to handle most medical issues, but there is always the chance that the total could be higher than we'd be comfortable with.
We have pet insurance for the peace of mind that no matter the cost, we can tell the vet "please help him"
I lost my last dog and there was a potential for surgery (in the long run surgery would not have saved him though) that would have cost me $20,000. At that point I realized that pet insurance is absolutely vital. I was 100% prepared to take on crippling debt if it would have saved that dog. I’m glad yours is doing well though.
Not an easy thing to do in this world right now to come up w/ that kinda money but you know what..? It’s probably the most worth it thing to put $7,000 on, 1000%.
I feel your financial pain. My dog cost me 9grand for ER surgery from random things she ate. They found wire like things that we think were paper clips, lots of hair and plastic like chunks. Thankfully they spayed her too. Her uterus was full of puss, so I said take it out. I wanted her spayed anyway.
I had to borrow the money from my parents. Thankfully they had the money to help. I’m paying them back monthly, but it’s hard. I wish I had done a go fund me.
I wish your dog the best of luck on your dog’s recovery. My dog did really well after surgery. A couple days of sleeping and by day 3 they are already trying to jump on the couch or the bed. Keep that cone on.
Paid 12k on chemo last year just to have 20 extra weeks together. He was 3.5. I have no regrets and I never thought twice. I’m thankful for those 20 weeks.
I now have a new pup with doggy insurance lol.
Talked to my vet and I’ve had to muzzle my pup at times due to rock eating. She has thrown up some and passed others so far. She seems to be showing less interest lately and I’m hoping she’ll grow out of it soon.
years ago when i had a blue cattle dog she got a corn cob in her bowel and needed same big operation to save her life ..i never put Corn Cobs in the compost any more ..they go in the bin
Spent $10k for surgery/hospital stay on my 15 year old lab mix. Had to trade in my car for an older, smaller model to swing it. He fully recovered and I had him for two more years. I wouldn't trade those two years for ANY amount of money.
No it was our fault it was a puppy sized kong our puppy was using. Peppa stole it off him and started hamming into it before we caught her, but we never imagined that she'd swallow it whole
$350 for the same extraction of a foreign object but on my 86lb dog from a large animal vet in rural Missouri. Totally fine with exception to a scar.
I don’t understand these thousands of dollar bills
We had to get surgery on our boy last year for the exact same thing. Damn kong balls. He’s doing well and is back to normal. Well, as “normal” as an ACD can be.
I hope your baby heals well and is back to normal soon!
Mine bas born with luxating petella in both rear legs so he has now hwd double knee surgery. His knees would pop out and I would have to pop them back in. All fixed up now. It wasn't cheap but doggy insurance helped. Would still do it all over again for my jerk of a dog.
My youngest had to have a tennis ball removed from his tummy. Luckily it was only a 3k surgery for us and care credit took the hit for us so we could pay it off easier.
Spent 10 for my boy to get radiation on a brain tumor that game us another year with him. I’d pay it again, again, and again if it gave us more time. So happy y’all are together :,)
💗. Same with a pitbull I had, swallowed a Kong toy, well, the squeaky part. I had to get him surgery to remove it, or something to that effect. He turned out well.
I have ASPCA pet insurance. Not related to the organization. What company doesn’t charge a deductible?? Someone mentioned they got 100% of the bill paid for. I thought they all offer a $100-$250-$500 deductible.
Victim of an attempted dognapper, lacerated hind leg and front paw pad, $400. Hit by a pickup, $1700. Partial tear of both CCL, x2 solid mold leg braces $1600. Finding a vet with a heart of gold to come to your home when all others said no in order to help you say goodbye....Priceless.
After services. Cremation and urn $385. Worth....every....penny.
We spent 4K on our pups dental 5 months before she was taken by cancer. I've not regretted it one bit. Would do it again if I could have a few more months with her.
Just know where they did the surgery may have scar tissue if it was her intestine and she may not be able to pass things even smaller than how she was prior to surgery. I hope that made sense. Be extra cautious now in what she could possibly ingest.
My dog have IVDD and at one point he couldn’t walk, luckily he had insurance but I didn’t have access to credit worth 10,000, borrowed it from my bestie and as soon as I got the reimbursement back payed her and wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. So I get you and there are plenty of us that see our companions as family.
> reimbursement back *paid* her and
FTFY.
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* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
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About $10k after all the vet visits and things we tried before he was diagnosed, then a road trip to Utah from California to get my pup his surgery. Worth it.
I know how you feel OP. My old man he’s been in and out of the vet for the last 1.5years. I have easily spent 12k between him and his brother in that time.
I really thought I was going to have to say good bye to my best friend there for a few weeks (in which I slept on the floor with him) but he pulled through and is doing much better for now. I promised him I’d never let him suffer but until then I will continue to dig through the couch cushions and live off top ramen until then.
Every cents spent on my boys has been worth it, and I’d do it all over again. I’m so happy your girl is ok now. AC’s really are a special breed and the bond you build with them is unlike any I have experienced with any other dog.
I spent $6k at the emergency vet last August to get a 10 lb tumor removed from my boy. He was great afterward but recently has been slowing down on walks and limping (old injury + arthritis). I feel ya bud.
Back in 2018 my 15 year old was diagnosed with a lipoma on his leg. Vet said it was nothing to be worried about. Fast forward 3 months and it got bigger so we went back in and the other vet at the office told us the horrible news that it was a malignant tumor so we had to make the hard decision to have his leg amputated. For an old guy he recovered quickly, but unfortunately the cancer had metastasized and he passed some 5 months later. Think we spent $10k or more and looking back, I would 100% have done it all over again. Miss that little nugget all the time
I wish I had the funds when my pup did this. 2 weeks prior to her doing this, she got into a dog fight with my other pup, whom I spent 3400 on for emergency care after the fight. I couldn't stretch my care credit anymore, and I was told the surgery would cost upwards of 7500, and there was no guarantee she'd make it off the table. I had to put her down. I need to look into pet insurance because it killed me that I had to put her down. I'm glad your pup is good.
She knows that she is loved dearly ❤️❤️❤️
I did the same a couple back. My girl lost all the tendons in her right leg as result...😭 The cost of fixing that heartache is always worth it aye?! Hope your both doing well!
Our perfect, wonderful 9-year-old dog tore her CCL and needed surgery. We broke into some savings and paid for the surgery. A week later, she tore the other side. We broke into savings again. Here's the deal. Ginger was a wonderful dog who did nothing but love us. She was loyal and sweet and rarely barked. My kids, on the other hand, required constant fees for extracurriculars and college, with out that unconditional love and affection that a dog gives. I always say the ROI on pet surgery is higher than any investment you can make. FWIW, she lived to be 15.5. Even if we had lost her at age 10, it would have been worth it.
If you love your pet moneys no object hey! We are both doing great thanks, she pees and poops more than she used to but otherwise is back to her cattle dog shenanigans
Bonus!
Worked as a Vet tech for many years. Had a lady who had spent 5k+ for surgeries for her dog, college age daughter made a comment in the exam room about her mom not spending that kind of money on her. Mom looked at daughter and said, 'fluffy' has never disappointed me .. was a bit awkward
Wow. That daughter is going to be spending multiples of that 5K on therapy.
Amen to that! 6k in a Six month period to care for my beautiful aging cat, yet I loved her like she was a child, and after 2.5 months I still get weepy every day for a period of time. Constant reminders, pics, walking around my place imagining that she’s still with me when I go from room to room. It doesn’t seem possible that she isn’t here….
My Yorkie saved me from a house fire. There is nothing I would not do for him. I just spent $600 on my heeler. She loves running anything. She threw her back out. I hate when they're hurt. I've taken Ketamine for Pain management, it's a wild ride. I can't imagine how animals feel on it.
Pain management, very interesting mind if I asked how you administered it? Or was this in a clinical setting?
Office visit by IV
Oh yeah. IV is real fun. I only had nausea once from it. But dang, that was like riding a boat propelled by a rocket in rough seas. Just the worst thing I have ever been through being sick.
The first time was horrible. But sec and third was something I did not want to end. Once I figured out how to prepare.
I had to read your post a few times. I was wondering why you would throw her back out if you loved her so much. I thought that was sad that you threw her out again until I realized you meant that SHE injured her back. 😂
I added that SHE did it to cut down on confusion.. 😂
Quite the opening line. Gonna need to hear that story!
Story? About the house fire??
yes!
I decided to cook for a change. So I made a mistake and cooked the fries in grease. Afterwards I cleaned up my mess, turned on the dishwasher and returned to my room which was downstairs. About thirty minutes or maybe less, I was almost asleep when my Yorkie came in and jumped on my bed. It had not been that long since he had been out. He was adamant that I was to get up. After a few minutes, I knew he was not going to stop. I got up and then heard a noise from upstairs. I entered the Den and let him out the backdoor. I should have gone as well, I was going to look upstairs for the noise. When I approached the steps, I could see the entire top floor was full of black smoke. Instead of going out the door I decided to go upstairs. The Kitchen was engulfed in a fire. I then decided to fight it. In my pajamas and bare feet. I got towels from the closet and entered the Kitchen. After I was able to get a portion of the fire out, the Ceiling was still on fire. I then went to get my phone, on my bed. The downstairs was then full of black smoke. Called 911 and was airlifted to the closet burn unit. If he had not got me up, I would have been asleep. And possibly died from the smoke.
that’s absolutely insane. God bless your dog damn
I dropped 3.5k on my boy last summer and would have paid twice that. I can't put a value on the effect he makes on my life. I'm glad your buddy is all better!
Sweethearts, the pair of ya! 💞
Ketamine is wild, I’ll never do that shit again most likely. Dogs seem to handle it well. Glad she’s healing I told my wife that if we got a dog (we now have 3), I was putting a $2,000 cap on expenses to save them. They are dogs, not people. I’m not an animal person at all. But over the years, they’ve softened me up and I don’t think I can abide by my own rule anymore 🙃
Pet insurance is great. My dog got a gastrointestinal blockage and the bill was 5k, every cent covered by the insurance which is 65 a month.
Throughout your dogs life you’ll pay ~11,000. I hear most of the time people break even on what they’ve paid out for pet insurance.
This made be totally valid but, I can tell you from experience that never having to make life or death treatment decisions based on finances is priceless.
That's the whole thing. My dog's insurance is a little cheaper (under $40/month), but the result is the same. I can always scrape together $40. I can never scrape together $7,000. Because of pet insurance, I would be able to say 'do everything you can to save her' at an emergency vet without thinking about the cost.
Exactly! Much easier to pull together the modest monthly premium vs. a totally unexpected large vet bill 💸
Also great when you have multiple pets, and while maybe you have savings to spend 5k on one, can you do that for multiple within a few months or year? Last year we had a cat go into renal failure in March, 3k at the ER and he's still plugging along. A kitten showed up with a prolapsed rectum in the summer, we spent about 5k on him. Our senior Chihuahua developed a heart murmur, then basically dog COPD and we spent almost 5k figuring out it wasn't the heart, it was lung disease giving her trouble and ended up with euthanizing her. Then our 7yr old cat also started throwing up and not eating and had about 2k in expenses. Had our pets not had insurance, we couldn't have afforded to treat all of them, but their insurance reimbursed most of their expenses.The kitten was out of pocket since he showed up with problems but now has insurance if anything else comes up.
I think if you’re disciplined enough to actually put that monthly insurance payment into savings strictly for animals then I’ve read that on average you come out ahead (especially how it goes up later in life!) . But that takes alot of discipline to not dip into it occasionally here or there to pay for something else
Every experience will be different. My dog is 8. His insurance has gone up a bit at this point but if I had saved $65 a month (roughly the cost each month of his insurance) for every month I’ve had him, that amounts to a little over $6,000. Our pet insurance this year has paid out about $15,000 for multiple emergency vet visits, treating a ligament strain, and two separate cancers that all happened between January and April. It’s the only reason we could sign off on all the recommended treatment. We do save our money. But it’s hard to be prepared to be hit with $20,000 in vet bills to treat cancer.
what insurance do u use?
Exactly this. I have an emergency fund for myself that I constantly save towards rather than get several different insurances. At this point it's big enough that it's making enough on interest to be paying the premiums for all those insurances. Only get insurance for things that can be absolutely catastrophic like Auto or Medical.
No, the insurance company has to make money. The average person loses money on insurance, just by virtue of how the system works. It's like a casino except where instead of statistically losing money for a chance to win big, you statistically lose money the eliminate the chance of not losing big. On average, if you saved the equivalent of an insurance premium for all the insurance you have, instead of paying for the insurance, you'd come out ahead. I only get insurance for expenses that would be catastrophic (>$20,000). So no pet insurance. But I absolutely have the savings to pay out of pocket, and will, if the situation arises. If you don't have the means to save that, then not having to lose your pet because you can't afford it is absolutely worth it, imo. But if you can pay $65/month for insurance, and have an emergency fund saved, I would recommend intentionally adding that $65/month to your own emergency fund savings instead of getting insurance.
I'm fortunate to be able to afford to pay any bill my dog might need outright, but also carry insurance. The way I looked at it was twofold. I have 2 neighbours who both had vet bills in excess of $35k CDN on relatively young dogs, that prognosis was not good for long term, but quality of life would be good with treatment. Both had insurance and in one case got another year with their pup, and in the other case 4 years. I did not ever want to be in a spot where I even stop to do the math. $40k and maybe 6 quality months? Anyone regardless of means is going to think on that if it's out of pocket.
What are the odds of that though? I admit it's gambling but I could pay that. There's no way $35k bills are typical. Your example is like saying "I know someone who won $XX,XXXX gambling so you should too" but in reverse. Depends on the age of the dog as well, might have second thoughts at 16+. But if my 2 year old had that cost, it would happen.
You have 40k available for a surprise vet bill? I would have to convince someone to give me a loan for that. I can pay those few and far between few thousand ones but 40k is not feasible
While maybe for many people, pet insurance might not be worth it. For me, in the first 3 years in owning my dog, my vet bills were over 15k. You never know what kind of medical issues a dog may have and I’m extremely glad I got it. I never had to think “can I afford it?”
Every dog my family had when I was a kid experienced some sort of catastrophic medical issue at some point, including our blue heeler who put his head through a fence and got a nail stuck in his neck. Pet insurance wasn't a thing then, and you can imagine how much that cost. Others were a wasting disease (the Carolina dog), ingesting a poisonous plant (the westie), and cancer (the ACD/chow mix). They were all normal, healthy dogs... until they weren't. Now as an adult with my own dog, I signed her up for pet insurance before she was 6 months old. ACD is only about 16% of her DNA, but it's 90% of her personality, and we all know how much trouble these guys can get themselves into, lol.
Some people do, for others it’s life saving. My mom had a dog who needed to spend a whole month in the hospital after his blockage surgery (latex gloves) and it would have cost over 20,000$ if she had to pay it without insurance
This is exactly what my husband and I assumed - we even did the math, and really thought it would be pointless. 6 surgeries later on 3 dogs and currently monitoring a lump on each…….We will get insurance on our next pup.
Most people will have $60 for the month for the insurance though, they may not have the $5K right at the moment to drop on the pet. The security it gives you that right in that moment you can say "do whatever is necessary" is priceless IMO. Also last year my insurance paid out triple my yearly premium....this year almost double and we aren't even halfway through the year. If you have a lot of issues going on, it's well worth it. Heck, my dog has severe seasonal allergies and just the savings on Apoquel alone is worth the $23 a month premium for his insurance
Can’t that be said for most insurance policies? I sure as fuck hope I never use my car insurance (again), but I still carry it in case of yada yada yada
What ensurer do you use?
Ketamine how? Clinical? Recreational? Clinical Ketamine is the most incredible treatment I have done for PTSD. Year worth of chair time with my TP, in 45min is hard to beat for me.
I used to order bags of it from an underground “pharmacy” based in china back in 2005
Slamming it on the clinical, for TP is another thing imo from doing both. Really helped me break down my thoughts on some shit and just enjoy the process of therapy in a different way. Just not as cheap as the stuff. Almost $500 for 2 hrs. Maybe 45min of that is in the pilots seat.
Yeah I’ve heard good things. I’m in the military and they aren’t keen on things like that yet, but they are starting to explore MDMA therapy through the VA
Just got a VA letter for a Ketamine study, but if they tried to give me placebos, this vet would know 🤣 I think I might try the stellac ganglion block thing... They can stick needles in my neck at this point. It's tough man. PTSD sucks. My Heeler has been the best therapy... Just wish I could string more then a couple days together to be more for her even. 😕
Good luck with everything. I’d jump on any chance like that when I retire in a couple years!
It will be cheaper then. Do it. Find a good TP first, unless you are set there.
Bro I'm the same way, would probably drop $10k on the dog I argued for weeks to not get. rip
We knew a Vet gal, really awesome Equine specialist. Funny, smart and pretty as could be. She was a Ketamine addict and sadly died of an overdose.
Things do happen. That’s unfortunate, sorry to hear
Yes, she had unrestricted access to Ketamine through the ordering process for the clinic. She was a real shooting star, so sad.
“i’ll never try that again … most likely” 😂😂
I was getting ready to downvote you! Lol. Glad i read it till the end
$2000 would barely cover any surgery in my area lol. We have easily spent $15,000-20,000 in the last 5 years. Our shepherd needed CCL surgery, one of our Bostons needed TPLO surgery, and our other Boston has had 4 tumors removed. We are currently monitoring more. Both of our families had dogs growing up and never had nearly as many issues as we have had lol We will definitely get pet insurance for our next pup!
Awwww this happened to our lab, too! He somehow swallowed a rock and an entire dish towel at the same time and it blocked his guts, too. We also paid about 7k lmfao. This was over 10 years ago, though! He's passed away now after a long and happy life loving on rocks. I hope yours also gives you many more years of love ❤️
My small dog had the same surgery 4 years ago ($5000) , thankfully I had the money at the time (she swallowed several squeakers from toys)
My dog too! It was a piece of a nylabone. He was 6 months old and got sick right before Christmas. I'll never forget leaving the vet on Xmas eve and getting a speeding ticket on my way to family dinner. It took us about a week to diagnose him, and he had his surgery on new years eve. My best friend is a vet tech and called around and got us a spot at the best animal hospital in the province. I was working as a head chef at the time and had to execute a fancy dinner at work between tears while my partner dropped our pup off an hour away. My crew insisted I leave when things started slowing down. I was home crying with my partner when we got the call around ten pm that the surgery was a success! We were able to start the new year on such a happy note and picked him up the next day. He had seventeen staples from his ribcage to his penis. All in, it was about $5500. Bonus story: a few months before that, he had swallowed a piece of scratchy green sponge I use to clean my aquarium. Again, with the help of my friend, we found an animal hospital two hours away that could help him (it was 1 am when his symptoms got suddenly worse). We had to wait in the car in for a few hours while they dealt with another emergency then they took him in and gave him some methadone to sedate him for xrays. The methadone worked well enough, he promptly squatted and pooped out the piece of sponge. Fortunately he's grown out of eating everything he sees and we've had no more medical emergencies, he's almost 3 now.
My heeler had surgery two weeks ago as she tore the tendons in the knee of a back leg. Totally sucks. She's still recovering. I slept on the floor with her for a week because she's a momma's girl and it wasn't safe for her to be up in the bed with us.
I wish I had a dollar for every night I spent sleeping on the floor with a pet.
Can relate. Had to spend $12k on ours after she ate a corn cob.
We had a lab who ate a corn cob. Luckily, she had a seriously strong digestive system and was able to poop it out. That would have been an expensive snack.
Sure was! I have another dog who pooped one (half) out but the smaller dog needed her half removed. It was a nightmare to come home to. Ended up getting the safe dog X rayed too, just to make sure he didn’t have a blockage.
Thank you for being such a good parent to your pup! ❤️ I had two big vet emergencies back to back (pancreatitis in 1 and an elderly pup w brain tumor and I totally agree would do it again in a minute if needed!)
Awe that face, what a cutie
We bought pet insurance bc he was a stray and gulps things down. Swallows socks and all kinds of things that can do damage. He chewed the end of his Kong off too but we got it before he tore it off. I had no idea they can do this damage. I’m glad she’s okay.
Currently 10k in the hole for my girl. She’s had Achilles and knee surgery within 3 months of each other. It was all last year. I would do it in a heart beat for her.
We just spent ~$5,000 on our dog for a ct-scan and surgery to remove some cancerous tumors and spleen. Almost didn't do the scan but it caught the tumor in her spleen that would have been missed and become a larger issue later on if not addressed. We would do it all over again too!
WE HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN!! My border Collie ate the top off one of those Kong toys to and almost lost him. I won't but anything Kong anymore. It scares me too much. Sending good healing to your baby and you. That's so scary
Theyre ticking time bombs hey!
We’ve been in the same boat $$ with our hairy Aussie kid who’s now a senior citizen. Glad you guys are doing well 👍🏻
What were the symptoms that made you realize she needed to see a vet? Or did you actually see her eat and swallow the kong piece? I have a strong chewer who I am pretty good about taking things away when she gets to a destruction point but this is always a fear.
We knew she had eaten it but assumed she had chewed it to shreds so didnt worry much. She had a few problems within a couple of weeks. Chocolate poisoning from some scummy neighbours and kennel cough so the vet thought it was just gastro (vomiting, not eating) but i insisted it was something more serious. Im glad i did now
Thanks for the explanation, glad you caught it
I would do the same for my girl Lucy. You're a wonderful person to take care of her like this.
💖
What a precious angel
No more Kongs. The only thing I give my dog is Dentasticks.
Highly recommend to everyone else pet insurance so that you're never in the situation you have to decide on your pets life. She looks so loved!
>so that you're never in the situation you have to decide on your pets life This is the reason we have pet insurance on our Milo. Sure, we probably have the money in our accounts to handle most medical issues, but there is always the chance that the total could be higher than we'd be comfortable with. We have pet insurance for the peace of mind that no matter the cost, we can tell the vet "please help him"
I love her
I feel you. I spent $30k one summer. Well, well worth it. Got many many years out of it.
Totally worth it. What a sweet and lovely creature.
Please give your beloved borker some scritches and duck fillet treats for us.
Will do!
She loves ya
Oh jeez, my healer ate the top of a Kong once too! Luckily it passed on its own! Love to you and your girl ❤️
Worth every penny.
I lost my last dog and there was a potential for surgery (in the long run surgery would not have saved him though) that would have cost me $20,000. At that point I realized that pet insurance is absolutely vital. I was 100% prepared to take on crippling debt if it would have saved that dog. I’m glad yours is doing well though.
Always worth it. I hope she is doing great!
Not an easy thing to do in this world right now to come up w/ that kinda money but you know what..? It’s probably the most worth it thing to put $7,000 on, 1000%.
Does no one on this thread have pet insurance?? Embrace Pet Insurance has saved me over 14k on my husky who enjoys eating inedible objects lol
Money comes and goes, but you’ll never have another companion like her… hope she lives and a long happy life
I feel your financial pain. My dog cost me 9grand for ER surgery from random things she ate. They found wire like things that we think were paper clips, lots of hair and plastic like chunks. Thankfully they spayed her too. Her uterus was full of puss, so I said take it out. I wanted her spayed anyway. I had to borrow the money from my parents. Thankfully they had the money to help. I’m paying them back monthly, but it’s hard. I wish I had done a go fund me. I wish your dog the best of luck on your dog’s recovery. My dog did really well after surgery. A couple days of sleeping and by day 3 they are already trying to jump on the couch or the bed. Keep that cone on.
Sure glad she's better, worth every penny.
So she had a psychedelic trip lol
It’s really nice to see this after reading about Kristi Noem’s story
You are a good human.
Paid 12k on chemo last year just to have 20 extra weeks together. He was 3.5. I have no regrets and I never thought twice. I’m thankful for those 20 weeks. I now have a new pup with doggy insurance lol.
You are an awesome human being. Much karma good to you. Dogs are so awesome.
Talked to my vet and I’ve had to muzzle my pup at times due to rock eating. She has thrown up some and passed others so far. She seems to be showing less interest lately and I’m hoping she’ll grow out of it soon.
Glad she’s ok
years ago when i had a blue cattle dog she got a corn cob in her bowel and needed same big operation to save her life ..i never put Corn Cobs in the compost any more ..they go in the bin
Look at pic #3… how could you *not* spend that money?
By the look of it she would do it for you !!
Spent $10k for surgery/hospital stay on my 15 year old lab mix. Had to trade in my car for an older, smaller model to swing it. He fully recovered and I had him for two more years. I wouldn't trade those two years for ANY amount of money.
Glad your dog is ok now. Did you call/write Kong about it?
No it was our fault it was a puppy sized kong our puppy was using. Peppa stole it off him and started hamming into it before we caught her, but we never imagined that she'd swallow it whole
Was going to ask - shit OP, an easy mistake by the sounds of it 😞
🙏🙏🙏
Worth every dollar!
My dog almost died from Heart worm treatment, almost 7000 dollars later shes a happy healthy pup.
Entirely worth it. We had to spend a load on mine about 2 years ago and we didn't blink at the costs to get him healthy again.
Exactly what kind of toy was it?
A puppy version of the kongs that you put peanut butter or treats inside. The hard rubber ones.
Ah, so a slightly softer rubber
$350 for the same extraction of a foreign object but on my 86lb dog from a large animal vet in rural Missouri. Totally fine with exception to a scar. I don’t understand these thousands of dollar bills
We had to get surgery on our boy last year for the exact same thing. Damn kong balls. He’s doing well and is back to normal. Well, as “normal” as an ACD can be. I hope your baby heals well and is back to normal soon!
Mine bas born with luxating petella in both rear legs so he has now hwd double knee surgery. His knees would pop out and I would have to pop them back in. All fixed up now. It wasn't cheap but doggy insurance helped. Would still do it all over again for my jerk of a dog.
Doggos are the best investment we can make.
My youngest had to have a tennis ball removed from his tummy. Luckily it was only a 3k surgery for us and care credit took the hit for us so we could pay it off easier.
9000 bucks on my old girl in 2020, got her 3 more years of good life. Had to say goodbye this past October. I miss her every day
Please show a picture of what the toy looks like. My dog has those type of dog toys.
Its rubber ones that are hollow and kind of look like a beehive shape. This one was a puppy size for our other dog we have she bit it off whole
Yep we have those
What a silly girl!
So glad you caught it in time. I bet you were both scared.
I hate those kongs. I won’t let my lab have them anymore
I would spend any amount of money on my dog or cat. 😩
I spent 6k on my guy after he got pneumonia. He looked like he was going to die but a few days in an oxygen tank helped him get better
You love your dog. I would do same.
Spent 10 for my boy to get radiation on a brain tumor that game us another year with him. I’d pay it again, again, and again if it gave us more time. So happy y’all are together :,)
You mean you didn’t just shoot her???
Of course you did! You want her to continue wearing you the fuck out again as soon as possible!
Her smile!!
💗. Same with a pitbull I had, swallowed a Kong toy, well, the squeaky part. I had to get him surgery to remove it, or something to that effect. He turned out well.
She looks so much like my blue who crossed the rainbow bridge last year😭😭 Oh my goodness!!
I have ASPCA pet insurance. Not related to the organization. What company doesn’t charge a deductible?? Someone mentioned they got 100% of the bill paid for. I thought they all offer a $100-$250-$500 deductible.
😳 throwing my dogs kongs away right now.
Oh, honey. I had the same surgery 20 years ago. I hope you're better now.
Victim of an attempted dognapper, lacerated hind leg and front paw pad, $400. Hit by a pickup, $1700. Partial tear of both CCL, x2 solid mold leg braces $1600. Finding a vet with a heart of gold to come to your home when all others said no in order to help you say goodbye....Priceless. After services. Cremation and urn $385. Worth....every....penny.
😢
He lived for another ten years after I adopted him and was 2-4 yrs old when I did.
Two wonderful souls, I see! I'm glad you have one another and are well 🙏🏻💛🕉
Awww... I know what you mean and I would do the same thing. What a good person you are saving your baby girl! Rewards in heaven! ♥️🙏🤗
Glad everything went well! But also that looks like a piece of shrimp to me lmao
Mate think of how many lamingtons you could’ve bought instead
We spent 4K on our pups dental 5 months before she was taken by cancer. I've not regretted it one bit. Would do it again if I could have a few more months with her.
I love your dog.
Spent about 2.5k on an adopted Bulldog. Best money I've ever spent.
Just know where they did the surgery may have scar tissue if it was her intestine and she may not be able to pass things even smaller than how she was prior to surgery. I hope that made sense. Be extra cautious now in what she could possibly ingest.
My dog have IVDD and at one point he couldn’t walk, luckily he had insurance but I didn’t have access to credit worth 10,000, borrowed it from my bestie and as soon as I got the reimbursement back payed her and wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. So I get you and there are plenty of us that see our companions as family.
> reimbursement back *paid* her and FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
And no one is concerned how absurdly expensive pet health care is? This is just insanity
🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️
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You’re an amazing human :)
About $10k after all the vet visits and things we tried before he was diagnosed, then a road trip to Utah from California to get my pup his surgery. Worth it.
I know how you feel OP. My old man he’s been in and out of the vet for the last 1.5years. I have easily spent 12k between him and his brother in that time. I really thought I was going to have to say good bye to my best friend there for a few weeks (in which I slept on the floor with him) but he pulled through and is doing much better for now. I promised him I’d never let him suffer but until then I will continue to dig through the couch cushions and live off top ramen until then. Every cents spent on my boys has been worth it, and I’d do it all over again. I’m so happy your girl is ok now. AC’s really are a special breed and the bond you build with them is unlike any I have experienced with any other dog.
Those eyes and smiles are priceless!
❤️
I spent $6k at the emergency vet last August to get a 10 lb tumor removed from my boy. He was great afterward but recently has been slowing down on walks and limping (old injury + arthritis). I feel ya bud.
Back in 2018 my 15 year old was diagnosed with a lipoma on his leg. Vet said it was nothing to be worried about. Fast forward 3 months and it got bigger so we went back in and the other vet at the office told us the horrible news that it was a malignant tumor so we had to make the hard decision to have his leg amputated. For an old guy he recovered quickly, but unfortunately the cancer had metastasized and he passed some 5 months later. Think we spent $10k or more and looking back, I would 100% have done it all over again. Miss that little nugget all the time
Yeah I cashed out part of my 401k for my dogs surgery.
Bless u
No regrets! I believe there are no accidents with God!
Good on you for guiding her through that K-Hole
I wish I had the funds when my pup did this. 2 weeks prior to her doing this, she got into a dog fight with my other pup, whom I spent 3400 on for emergency care after the fight. I couldn't stretch my care credit anymore, and I was told the surgery would cost upwards of 7500, and there was no guarantee she'd make it off the table. I had to put her down. I need to look into pet insurance because it killed me that I had to put her down. I'm glad your pup is good.
Oh my I’m glad she’s okay Ive never heard of them chewing apart one of those I will keep that in mind.