Beat: Spending more on your pet's health than your own.

[iswimbettor]

I appreciate hearing replies to this question. Like I mentioned before I have never had pets and I know other people love their pets and have been through similar dilemmas. I hope for the best for my cat and to all your pets too.

[iswimbettor]

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Vets are greedy vultures preying on the soft spot people develop for their pets.

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agreed, my brother's in vet school right now. he gonna be rich. the stupidest, most irrelevent tests given by a vet cost like minimum 100 bucks

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Is that what your brother says about taking your pets to the vet? I mean obviously we as pet owners are mostly willing to pay amounts for the health of our pets, but are we getting scammed? Is it something you can shop for?

[JeniR]

I have always had animals, and my personal feeling is that when I get an animal, I am taking them on for life, whether they get expensive, or inconvenient, or whatever. So far, this hasn't translated into any single big bill, but I do have a dog that I have spent an ungodly sum of money on over the course of his life, due to allergies and injuries from poor structure. The rest of the dogs have also had some fairly expensive bills, but once again, nothing like your first bill for your cat.

One time I did spot a kitten that had been hit by a car on the side of the road, and I picked it up and took it to the vet for repairs [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. He had a broken pelvis and rear leg, so I was due to have one expensive stray cat when all was said and done. Unfortunately, he had that fatal stomach disease (can't remember the name of it, but it's common, and I think there's a vaccination for it), and we ended up having to put him down before we scheduled the surgeries. So I ended up with a semi-expensive dead stray cat. I suppose that's a real beat LOL.

As far as vets ripping people off, I have my own personal issues with vets, but the typical general practitioner isn't getting rich (I have a few vet friends). They pay as much for their schooling as a doctor, and make much less money. The specialists that are coming out of the schools for the past 10 or so years now certainly make more, and I do think that they probably make a decent living.

Jeni

[RikaKazak]

Most I ever spent was $1,500 on my dog.

However I'm pretty sure that my current dog (1.5 years old) I'd be willing to drop $10K+ on because my fiance LOVES him to death. (he's basically a family member, he even has his own bedroom in my house now)

But I do have health insurance, and money isn't that big of an issue to me...if I was say doing "normal for an american" I doubt I'd even drop $5K on a pet. (that sounds bad, but is being honest)

[kkcountry]

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but are we getting scammed? Is it something you can shop for?

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for frontline and other prescriptions/goods, you're getting bent over if you're buying through your vet. it's also no surprise to find a difference in price of 30%-60% when it comes to specific services as well.

[Hurricane31]

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I'm pretty sure that my current dog (1.5 years old) I'd be willing to drop $10K+ on because my fiance LOVES him to death. (he's basically a family member, he even has his own bedroom in my house now)

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[prodonkey]

you do realize there is pet insurance right?