How much is your pet worth to you?

[Dinner]

I ask because my pet dog has just come down with his third tumor in four years. I know in the end I will just pay the money to have surgury done again but it is getting me to question exactly how much a dog is worth. The dog keeps having tumors grow at the end of his colon right by his anus. The result is a huge swollen area around his butt which he won't stop licking and which (the first two times) turned into a egg sized growth on his butt. The first two tumors cost me $1100 plus tax each time and now the vet is telling me the dog needs a specialist in dog cancer.

Ugh! This mutt is getting to be expensive.

[Kuciwalker]

Nothing, since the guinea pigs are my little brothers' and they smell bad (apart from being some of the dumbest animals I've ever seen).

[snoopy369]

I'd suggest seeing the specialist... he/she can tell you if it's going to help, or if realistically the dog just isn't going to make it much longer.

Anyway, there's a reason they sell pet insurance

[Dinner]

I guess dogs are worth more. They live longer, it is a pain in the ass to train a new puppy, and once they're trained they're great pets.

[SlowwHand]

"My pet is like family to me and I would spend what ever it takes to save my pet's life."

[Jon Miller]

I will pay for standard things.. but not for anything intense..

JM
(of course, I haven't had the option yet.. I might pay for more if I did)

[SlowwHand]

I've a cat that follows me everywhere. To me, he's my grandson. I intend having him a long time. About 7 now, and I hope for 20.

[DinoDoc]

Quite a bit. I would have done anything in my power to have saved its life if I had thought it would have eased the pain and made her happy longer.

[ajbera]

Whatever it takes. I love my dog like a child, and I intend his senior years to be as happy and comfortable as the previous 10 years.

But "happy" and "comfortable" are key adjectives. It's not just quantity of years, but quality of life. If he's hobbling around blind and deaf but still seemingly content, I'll do anything to keep him alive. If he's in constant pain, I'll do the right thing (though it will kill me inside).

[Dinner]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I've a cat that follows me everywhere. To me, he's my grandson. I intend having him a long time. About 7 now, and I hope for 20.

While growing up we had one cat, big kitty (a rather small black cat with huge puffy hair which made her look huge), for 14 years. Since we lived on the edge of a canyon there was always a problem with Coyotes. My sister loved cats and kept adopting them but it was extemely hard to keep them inside since we had several dogs and a dog door. All of them except big kitty kept getting eatting by our local coyotes (a type of wild canine). The other cats would last for a few years then get cornered by the coyotes but some how big kitty just kept surviving. Several times she came how with gashes on her side from where the coyotes had almost caught her but she always managed to climb a tree and escape.

I guess she eventually got old and was a bit to slow because when she was 14 I went out one day and found bits of her strewn all over. It looked like a pack of the bastards had riped her apart. I totally support shooting and posioning coyotes especially since their numbers grow rapidly in suburband areas due to more food and water (meaning pets and sprinklers).

[Mr. Harley]

For me they are animals/pets. I will pay the rational cost of food and the various vaccines, but beyond that I have no paticular interest in spending money on the pet. I have buried everything from Guineau Pigs to dogs - and family members, for that matter - and spending large amounts of money on a pet when I do not have that level of disposable income has little interest to me.

However, when kitty gets sick and my wife and daughter want her treated, I will probably shell out the bucks, after a family talk on the maximum we will spend. Family life means compromise, especially on issues like this.

Reference coyotes, read these links of their attacks on people, especially children. I wonder if some of the "abducted children" who disappear didn't have an adult around in the highlighted situaltions.

coyote attacks

[Arrian]

I honestly won't know until I'm faced with a similar situation. My inclination is "he's family, whatever it takes for his quality of life," but I'm not staring down thousands of dollars of vet bills.

-Arrian

[Donegeal]

(For me) Its a cat. No matter what you say, it won't change that fact. Cats are great pets, but they are a dime a dozen. If it's something like a tumor, put it out of its misery and get another one. Chances are, you love it just as much as the last one.

[Wezil]

Sorry to hear your dogs situation Oerdin.

How old is the dog?

I had an old ferret put down rather than incur the cost. I could have paid but the animal's quality of life would have been reduced and he was already quite old. Very tough decision.

[Stuie]

My oldest son was diagnosed with asthma last year, and already had a known allergy to cats. The doctor recommended getting rid of the cats as they would only exacerbate my son's condition which would be detrimental to his health.

Son's health > stupid cats