Guest team_weasel Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I don't find this poll offensive at all.. it's simply a question. We would do everything we could.. If we could not afford something then DH and I would have to sit down and discuss all our options. We would certainly do everything we possibly could with what we have... if treatment was an option and it would improve our dog's quality of life, then we would probably take out a loan or work out payments, etc... We cannot have children -- our hounds are our kids. Putting our "child" down because of a broken leg (or something that wasn't going to affect their quality of life) would not be an option for us... but that's just my opinion.. I respect everyone else's decision and would never judge someone based on their opinion. Everyone has to do what they have to do.. Pretty much everyone in my office is "sympathetic" when/if our hound(s) gets sick.. I'm very thankful for that. I have taken time off to care for a sick hound -- my boss didn't even bat an eyelid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShantisMom Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I am not at all offended by this post. I think what I would spend would depend on the situation. If it is something correctable, or thought to be correctable, there would be no limit. If this is something that is not and we are spinning our wheels and spending money to buy a few more weeks and the dog is miserable, well then I rethink it. I have gone through $1000 in the past 30 days on Shanti. I am not done yet. That does not include all her medicine costs per month either. She is not cheap! At this point what we are dealing with is possibly correctable. So we are trying all we can. Do we cringe at the amount? Absolutely! Would we not do it due to cost? Nope! But, I could see some people may not have this sort of option. I think the amount of money you make plays very little into this. You can make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year and still be left with $10 in your pocket when all is paid out. The most one can ask for is that you do your very best for your animals. You are really the best judge of that. The Girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Machbragal Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 No limit. Couldn't remotely put a number on it. If I had to work three jobs, I would -- whatever I had to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilythetigerdog Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 There is no dollar limit on what I would do for my hounds, but there is a practical limit on how much I could afford to spend on my hounds' medical care. I don't know what that limit is, precisely; it would depend on my financial resources at the time. It is far more likely that the decision to put one of my hounds down would be based on quality of life rather than quantity of money. That said, and with no offense intended toward anyone, I'd have to say that anyone who says money is no object is either extremely wealthy or they are misleading themselves, because the vast majority of people have fiscal limitations they cannot ignore. I would not be too quick to judge those who know that their resources are not limitless. Agreed. And well said. In theory, if an affordable solution were available with relatively little negative impact on my fur-child I would pay whatever I could afford to make her better. Unfortunately, we have to make hard decisions sometimes based on the relality of our individual situations. When I look back at life one day I hope I'll never say, "wow that proceedure was expensive", I'd rather say "she was a great dog and I'm lucky to have spent so much time with her". Image removed. Not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 17.51 KB (17,929 bytes) file size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anneh Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 (edited) This is a good topic. I am hoping to get insurance coverage on both my dogs in order to prevent some catastrophic vet bill. We are retired seniors on a fixed income so realistically there would be a limit. On the other hand when I look into my dogs' eyes I would never refuse treatment IF the outcome was going to be positive. I am on the fence about how much to invest in the insurance, will go with the Embrace company because they seem to be best. I can either take a $5,000 policy or a $10,000 policy, there is only $40 difference in total price. For both dogs the total together would be approx $391 yearly if I take a high $500 deductible and a 20% copay. I know that in each case each dog has a possibly pre-existing condition (one tested positive for Lyme) but hopefully it won't mean that anything that happens to them will be attributed to those conditions. Its a hard decision to make, I know if I put away a certain amount every month (say $200) and put in a special account that would be good but in the meantime if something terrible happens in the near future I wouldn't have accrued a large enough amount. I do have a CD that I could tap into if needed. anneh Edited December 29, 2007 by anneh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I learned this year that I don't have a limit. In my head, I think I had a fuzzy notion that I'd go to 5K per dog. That sounds horrible to me now, as if I were putting a price on their health. It isn't about the money, it's about the particular medical situation. Determine the medical options, make the decision that's best for the dog. I easily spent 3 times my preconceived limit on two dogs this year. If they had not survived, I would have been ok with that and would not have second guessed myself. We all spend our money on something, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I am on the fence about how much to invest in the insurance, will go with the Embrace company because they seem to be best. I can either take a $5,000 policy or a $10,000 policy, there is only $40 difference in total price. For both dogs the total together would be approx $391 yearly if I take a high $500 deductible and a 20% copay. Do you have a link to this company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TBSFlame Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I think it depends a lot of how we feel about our own health care. I know I do not want to linger and have lots of stuff done to me when it is hopeless. That is why I have a living will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4greyhounds Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Last week, a dog that a friend of mine owns got EXTREMELY sick. She was told by her vet that they couldn't figure out what the problem was and her only choice was to take him to a Vet University that is a five hour drive from where we live. Without hesitation, she called in to work (I also work with her) and told our manager that it was an emergency and she had to rush her dog to the vet and that she would be taking the time as vacation (which she is entitled too). Well, you should hear some of the things people at work are saying. They can't understand how she could spend that much money on a dog (we are talk THOUSANDS of dollars here). To me, I can't understand how these people can be so cruel. If my dog needed help and all that was stopping him from getting better was money I would do whatever it takes. What is she supposed to do, let him suffer! Anyway, it got me curious, are we just crazy or are others out there willing to do whatever it takes? Also, she got in quite a bit of trouble for taking the week off that got me REALLY ticked off because I know I would have done the same thing had it been me. She told our boss that family comes before work and if she had to write her up then that is what she had to do. I say good for her.....ARGH my work drives me nuts sometimes. When our champ got a tumor we would have sold our house to save him, some people just are not animal lovers!!!!!! Darlene Mom to: Aladdin, Sophie ,Pongo, Jasmine, Relic Forever in our Hearts Champ at the Rainbow Bridge. Let a greyhound race into your heart Adopt Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions INC. Naples/ Fort Myers Chapter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anneh Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Yes its embracepetinsurance.com Let me know what you think, am making myself dizzy trying to decide anneh I am on the fence about how much to invest in the insurance, will go with the Embrace company because they seem to be best. I can either take a $5,000 policy or a $10,000 policy, there is only $40 difference in total price. For both dogs the total together would be approx $391 yearly if I take a high $500 deductible and a 20% copay. Do you have a link to this company? c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Javagirl Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I don't find this posting offensive, but I do question what the value of it is. I mean - this is a community for dog lovers and in a dramatic situation I believe the answer would be that people would do the very best that they could for their dog - there is no dollar value associated with that kind of love. The real world has crappy bosses who say cruel things and the good part is that people like the ones in this community would step up and find a very sweet way to tell them to SHOVE IT. The actual reason that I wanted to post is to say that if you find yourself in a situation where you cannot pay for the care your dog needs approach your adoption group. If they have an e-community they will very likely try to find a way to help you by spreading the word. I understand that this is personal and you may not want everyone to know that your dog needs a 5k surgery and you can't afford it, but hey, this stuff is pricey and people are happy to help a friend and a grey in need. My friend just spent 10K on her 13 year old greyhound after a bad fall. It's a personal judgement call. Yet our adoption agency stepped up without even asking first and said, hey, if you can, help a girl out. It was a no brainer because they would do the same for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greybookends Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 ANOTHER OLD POLL FROM 2005!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlies_Dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 We committed ourselves that if any happens to one of ours, we would do everything feasible we can to help them. That could mean many things and could mean a lot of money. When I say help, one has to make the decision what is the best solution for your dog's ailment and that is where we rely on the professionals to help us make that decision. Help may be the final gift we give them, letting them pass in peace and free from pain or it may mean surgery and thousands of dollars later. Everyone has their own decisions to make and yes, finance sometimes place a part. As for the topic, I believe people need to mind their own business. It's not their loved one, so it's not their decision nor does it affect them. We spent a lot of money trying to help our Dally through her final years. Her heart issues became far worse requiring several pills a day and we truly believe these help give her a couple of years. Were they expensive, you bet ya! Then when she was losing her vision to Glaucoma, we opted for laser surgery, let me tell you that is not cheap especially when they do it several times to try and save eyesight. In the end, I would guess $5,000-10,000 in her final years. She was our baby, she was with us through everything, always showed us love so we did everything we could to make her life better. She died peacefully in my arms when we made the decision that putting her through more (surgery in this case) for her useless left rear leg, was too much. It wasn't the money, I would have spent anything to keep by my side for the rest of my life, it was love. I couldn't see her suffer any longer and she had fought long and hard and at 14.5 yrs old, she had a good life. I miss her everyday but I don't regret my choices...perhaps the final one but I don't think I had any real choice. Kyle with Stewie ('Super C Ledoux, Super C Sampson x Sing It Blondie) and forever missing my three angels, Jack ('Roy Jack', Greys Flambeau x Miss Cobblepot) and Charlie ('CTR Midas Touch', Leo's Midas x Hallo Argentina) and Shelby ('Shari's Hooty', Flying Viper x Shari Carusi) running free across the bridge. Gus an coinnich sinn a'rithist my boys and little girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest koolaidnconner Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 We all have limits, they are just all differant. Depends on financial obligations. If I was told that a procedure cost 20,000 and would give my kid more than a 50% living rate, and I had the 20,000 to spend on it, I would not think twice I would do it. But that is me. Unfortunatly I don't have 20,000 to spare for that. But I have spent about $3000 just this year on Conner because of his IBD, and that is just tests and vet bills. That does not include his expensive food and meds every day he has to stay on. And we still are not finished. He has some spinal issues that have not been diagnosed yet. I think of him as my child, and always will, but we have to speak for them. I don;t think anyone could ever answer the question where everyone will ever agree on when is it enough? I have had many days this past year where I almost thought enough is enough, he is in too much pain and then something would help and work for him. We can all agree though that we love our hounds and take care of them the best we all can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Redpack Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I don't find it offensive, but unanswerable. We face each situation as it comes and make the decisions we can at the time. $800 cured Emissary's stomach problem...all the money in world would not have cured Diplomat, or even bought him more quality time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greensleeves Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 (edited) I actually don't mind so much about the old bumped poll; the subject matter continues to be relevant and resonate with people. I picked "no limit," but as Koolaidnconner pointed out, we all have limits. I briefly investigated the possibility of dialysis for Nelly--it's not available anywhere near locally, but if it were, it was going to be something like $50,000 for one year. I thought, "Fifty thousand dollars for another year with Nelly? Sure, I'd pay that, no question." And then it occurred to me that it might not be a year--what if it were three years? Five? She's only eight, after all--if it weren't for the kidney disease, she should have lots of good years left. But $150,000, $250,000... on *one* dog, of a family of 10... that started to seem like an awfully inequitable division of resources--one that was probably untenable. And then, at what point do you then have to decide that you've reached that limit, having already spent the $50,000? "Sorry, Nelly, we'll pay for one year, but not two?" It didn't seem fair to prolong her life only to arbitrarily stop once she reached a financial benchmark. (Hypothetically speaking, of course. I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision for real, for real.) Edited September 11, 2008 by Greensleeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShantisMom Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Reality is there are limits. Even if you mortgage your house, etc. But, I would do all I can. In the past several months I have gone through HUGE amounts in vet bills. It hurts. I have taken on contract work to cover them. Ha, "will work for vet bills". So far Shanti has had all fixable things. So I have to try to fix them. She has drained our savings account, and some people think I am nuts to put in the expense we have, but it is my obligation. I committed to her. She is not "just a pet", she is family to us. I will do all I can. I hope and pray I don't ever come to a point were I can't find a way to do it. The Girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamngrey Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 ANOTHER OLD POLL FROM 2005!!! I never look at the dates of origonal post...and I always get sucked into them. Thanks for the heads up Cassie: Pikes Clara Bell Swoop: My Man Swoop BRIDGE ANGELS Psi:WD'S Aleford 3/17/00-4/25/10 Snowman: Gable Snowman 1/9/96-2/14/08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liz Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 It would depend on the problem everyone has limits they are all just differant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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