Say you have a dog. He is 4 years old and gets sick. You love him very much. The doctors say he can recover but needs a surgery that costs $10K. What do you do?
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
That's a hard decision - if this is you, can you find somewhere else that could do it for less (possibly by Vet students or something)?
Something like 9 out of 10 cats and dogs born in the US are put to sleep just because no one adopted them, so if you gave one of them a chance at life, that's a way out (imo) where you can feel good about yourself. Hard though because you have a personal friendship
__________________ In order to manage risk we must first understand risk. To understand risk, we must first define risk. How do you spot risk? How do you avoid risk and what makes it so risky?
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
My dog was put to sleep and could not be saved at 7 years old. It still cost my family $5k but would be at least $10K if full surgery were to be done. He died in January.
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
Not that hard. Which would you rather have, the $10K or the dog? Either way, you will lose something you love, but you must decide which you love more. I see nothing wrong with euthanizing an animal in a humane manner if that's your choice. The animal doesn't know that it is going to happen and doesn't suffer.
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
Originally Posted by Big
My dog was put to sleep and could not be saved at 7 years old. It still cost my family $5k but would be at least $10K if full surgery were to be done. He died in January.
Sorry to hear that, Big. It was unfortunate that you had to make that decision. Either way you would suffer a loss.
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
Originally Posted by Spider
Not that hard. Which would you rather have, the $10K or the dog? Either way, you will lose something you love, but you must decide which you love more. I see nothing wrong with euthanizing an animal in a humane manner if that's your choice. The animal doesn't know that it is going to happen and doesn't suffer.
Its harder than that actually; as Big indicated, you can't be 100% sure you are getting your old dog back. the age of the dog, the ability to restore him, money, . . . a lot of things have to be considered
A friend of mine paid a lot of money to get an operation for his dog and they realized later it was bone cancer that was causing his problems and he was put down weeks later.
That was nice of you Big. I have 2 dogs that are now older (8.5 and 9.5 - both Rotts), at this age I would not do anything although I think my 9.5 year old is the smartest dog ever - everyone thinks it as soon as you meet him.
I came home a year ago and my first pet (an amazing and badass cat with Dracula fangs) was in the basement near death. They figured it was somethiing serious (and realized later he couldn't be saved). It hurt very much, he was 14 and I thought he had a lot of years left.
I went out immediately and grabbed two kittens from the pound, one whom was a return - worked out great and I felt better about everything.
__________________ In order to manage risk we must first understand risk. To understand risk, we must first define risk. How do you spot risk? How do you avoid risk and what makes it so risky?
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
Originally Posted by clmetal
Its harder than that actually; as Big indicated, you can't be 100% sure you are getting your old dog back. the age of the dog, the ability to restore him, money, . . . a lot of things have to be considered.
You are right, of course, clmetal. The choice is the money or the chance that the dog will recover. A few years ago, my girlfriend's dog (and her best friend, probably including me) had cancer and needed very expensive treatment. I helped her with the expenses even thought the prognosis was very iffy because I knew that if she didn't do everything possible, she would always regret it and wonder if she could have saved the dog. In this case, the treatment was worth the money, even though the dog died, because it gave her the peace of mind that the loss was inevitable. I know from experience that the knowledge that everthing possible was done is a great comfort.
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
Originally Posted by Spider
You are right, of course, clmetal. The choice is the money or the chance that the dog will recover. A few years ago, my girlfriend's dog (and her best friend, probably including me) had cancer and needed very expensive treatment. I helped her with the expenses even thought the prognosis was very iffy because I knew that if she didn't do everything possible, she would always regret it and wonder if she could have saved the dog. In this case, the treatment was worth the money, even though the dog died, because it gave her the peace of mind that the loss was inevitable. I know from experience that the knowledge that everthing possible was done is a great comfort.
Sad. If doctors told or guaranteed something for the vast sum you were about to lay out, it would be different.
Vet bills are outrageous. In my cat story, they told me to keep him for the night (monitor him) it would be $3g. He had seizures there and they figured it was serious and put him down. I let them use his corpse for medical students and they called me weeks later to say it was a blood clot and he could not have been saved. If he was 6 or so, I probably would have spent thousands on it. Also, since I love animals and have a lot of them, I try to view it as I can't go as crazy to save one; better to give another a chance at life; having a home
__________________ In order to manage risk we must first understand risk. To understand risk, we must first define risk. How do you spot risk? How do you avoid risk and what makes it so risky?
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
The other side of the coin:
I had a cat for about five years. All of a sudden, she started peeing on my bed. I tried everything I could to break her of the habit - tranquilizers (for her, not me), putting a plastic tarp over the bed, expensive hormone sprays on the bed, etc. etc. - and nothing worked. When my vet (also a personal friend) ran out of things to try, we decided to euthanize the cat. It wasn't an easy decision, but how can you put up for adoption a cat who pees on the bed? I am an animal lover and respect their right to a happy life with kind treatment, but this cat obviously wasn't happy (okay, I'm rationalizing), and as I said above, I don't feel that it was a cruel thing to do. I did feel bad about it and I missed the cat, but my life became much simpler.
Re: Impossible decisions you can face as a dog owner
John Stuart Mill said in his critique of capitalism how capitalists often use death as a way to make money. People will give their arm to have a chance to save a loved one and doctors know that.
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