Our rescue Border Collie had hip surgery (for dysplasia) less than a year after we got him. He was only a couple of years old and had very good success with it until he was about 11. Then arthritis set in and he ended up having liver failure from the arthritis meds.

A few months after he passed away, our rescue English Setter (age 10) tore her ACL. The vet said it had to be operated on as soon as possible. It was a terrible surgery. She was given no pain meds except baby aspirin afterwards and kept very confined for several months. A year after that, she tore her other ACL. We opted not to have surgery this time . . . just limit her activity for a while. She has done as well with that as her surgical leg. (She is being medically treated).

After going through two major surgeries with two dogs and very long recovery periods, I'm less inclined to do it again. Not because of the money, but because our dogs don't understand why they aren't being allowed to go off leash for several months/why they aren't allowed to jump up on their favorite couch/etc. while they are recovering from the surgery.

For food, I believe in high quality food . . . it makes cleaning up after them much easier.

That's a tough call to make. I have 2 cats right now that I adopted from pet shelters. While they're still relatively young, I've wondered about potential future costs. I give them high quality dry cat food (not people food) and I think if it came down to it, I would be willing to pay for costly surgery, if necessary, for the most part of their lives. Perhaps when they're getting old I'll consider other options, but they're still young and I think of them as my babies (for now, while I'm unmarried)! It would just tear me apart to have to see them suffer if there's something I can do to ease their pain.

I think that this is something every potential pet owner should consider. There's too many people who adopt animals and find that they are unable to cover the financial costs.

I recommend buying the higher end pet food, like Science Diet. It will save you so much in the long run. Cheaper pet food has a lot of fillers and preservatives that are bad for animals and can cause health problems as they get older. That just leads to expensive surgeries and treatments later on.

My parents' cat, Frisky, had to be fed the expensive food because he had a problem with his bladder when he was young. The cheap stuff created crystals in his bladder that were very painful. He was about 2 when my parents made the switch. He is now 11-years-old with no arthritis, no major health problems, and still plays like a kitten when the mood strikes.

Our family has had several cats over the years but Frisky is the first to have had the good food for so long. He is also the first to be in such good shape at such an age. I also have several friends who can claim the same thing.

My cat and my dog eat Science Diet. It can be difficult to spend $30+ on food for a pet but, when I think of the fact that my pet will live a long, healthy life without major surgery, the price stings a lot less.

I live on Social Security and naturally, my options are little and none. However, I do something that no one here has mentioned. I cook for my dogs.

The only vet bilsl that I've had in about 20 years was surgery for my guard dog (she was stabbed during a break-in) and euthansia for them as they couldn't go on. They have their shots (I give all but rabies) and I bathe and groom them. It is time that I could be spending watching t.v., but the dogs are more important.

I disagree with the idea that you have to buy a $30 bag of food for dogs. And there are less expensive cat foods that are formulated for the bladder problem.
I use ground turkey, turkey parts (necks,etc.) brown rice, garlic, huge cans of mixed vegetables and I cook bones separately to leach out the calcium and pour that water into the food mix. NO vet bills!!!
I am talking about 10 dogs..over the past 15 years.

That's a tough question. We can't have a pet in our apartment right now, but if I did, I think the money threshold would have to be low. I love pets, don't get me wrong, but I would hate to see it suffer through a painful and expensive treatment. My son has some medical issues and that use the money that might be there. That sounds awful and I certainly hope it never happens. I would love to take care of a pet and pay bills for it (it's all part of taking care of one!), but it was something huge, I'd have to really think about it.

It would be nice to have limitless funds to spend on sick animals,but the fact is, I don't. I've had three cats in the last 15 years. I was young when I got them and not at all prepared for the expense. I rescued stray animals, spayed & neutered them, and I've given them a home during their lives,but $3000 surgeries would have been out of the question, although I haven't had to make those kinds of decisions, fortunately. I have decided however that after my current 15 year old male goes,I won't have any more pets because the pressure now to conform to this ideal of spending on pet health what I would spend on my children is too intense.

Now is this a good thing? I've cared for and loved these cats that otherwise would have been strays, dead long ago. Given their propensity to snuggle with me at every opportunity I'd like to think they loved me back. I would love to continue to have a cat or two for the rest of my life, but I can't afford the standard of care that vets and some of my friends seem to think is essential.

I am one of those crazy cat ladies - single, childless, and two cats. One of them has a sensitive stomach, so they get canned food that costs about $2/can. Last year he was diagnosed with a serious thyroid problem. He's only 11, so with treatment could live another 8 years. So I paid $2,000. Crazy. But it felt like the right thing.

Aw. Poor girl.

My BF & I adopted Rona our crazy mangey mutt a little over two years ago from the local SPCA. And truly, our lives have never been the same again, ever decision revolves around her. From dinner out, to staying late at work to a weekend trip to any trip at all! We would go EXTREMELY far for her. And we have.
I truly thank g*d each and every day that on that fateful day at the SPCA (the BF told me we wouldn’t walk in there w/o walking out w/a puppy! Hahaha) WE were the ones that walked out with her. Two other families were looking at adopting her, one was actually just deciding they could not take her, the other was a family who’s dad got all pissy because he claims he saw her first and should get to visit with her first. But I’m really glad we got her because not accounting all the preliminary vet bills that comes with adopting a 10 week old puppy we found out she had demodex mange. Not transferrable to other animals or humans thankfully. But it was a long battle to get rid of it. Over a span of 1-1/2 years we must’ve tried 10 different brands of food! From generic, hypoallergenic, holistic, you name it! Getting fish oil pills for her to help her coat, adding steamed vegetables to her diet. The poor girl was on SO many different medications, constantly on antibiotics, if any of you are familiar with demodex mange we were one step short of the dip. I’m really happy we did not have to do that. So over the course of 1.5 years after we got her –not accounting regular vet visits that comes with a puppy- we definitely spend roughly 2k+ on her.
On a bright note, she has the most amazing silky coat for a short hair dog! She is much healthier now and still itches like crazy, I think she’s just so used to itching and we’re trying so hard to stop her of this bad habit. But she is the most loving, playful, friendly, lazy, rambunctious dog you will ever meet. She loves EVERYONE!

But, I think it’s different for everyone. We are a young couple with no kids, both with good paying full time jobs that we were able to make sacrifices in other areas to help pay for these vet bills. Some with a family and kids might not be able to make the sacrifice if it came to their dog or their kids. For us at least, having Rona now even when we have kids if she had to have treatment of any kind –god forbid- we will definitely do it if we can swing it because she’s not just our dog, she’s a family member.

It varies. I think it's ridiculous to spend a huge amount on any animal but I will spend a bit more on occasion. My vet is wonderful, when first treating any animal he asks the importance and what the goal is (keep comfortable, fix at all costs, until some date or event, whatever the treatment goal is) and we do appropriate testing and medicines as needed to meet the goal.

Pets are not people and each person has to decide what level of care is right for them. The only restriction IMO is basic preventative care (like vaccinations and deworming) appropriate to the species and any items required to safeguard human health.

I would encourage all potential pet owners to make those decisions up front so you are not forced into a decision you cannot afford at a time when you are dealing with the emotions of having a sick or dying pet.

I'd even go so far as to write them down and let your vet have a copy. That way if your vet is aware of the decisions you have made he or she will support you. Talk to them in advance, it's like a medical directives statement for your animals.

I treat them as I would a child.
By getting a pet, you promise to do the right thing for them, whatever the cost, time, or inconvenience. If you can't commit to that, don't get a pet.
I also have older dogs, one is 14 and two are 12. I cook their food each day,veggies, (no onions) meat and Flint River Ranch dry food. none are sick.
They also like pasta.

We adopted a rescue dog just under a year ago and we love her to bits, but despite being only 4 and looking extremely fit we have had a catalogue of problems with her health in the last year. She is prone to ear infections and hayfever so we have meds for those; she has had two random unsolvable limps needing x-rays and meds and rest (she hates that!); she poisoned herself (on fungi we think) and was in the vert for 3 days on drips and so on; she had an ongoing eye problem which required two surgeries and meds; and we have recently had a cancer scare which thank goodness was benign but also required more x-rays and biopsys. Phew! We love her a lot, and will do what we can to treat her well, but thank goodness for pet insurance. I think otherwise we would have been looking at bills of several thousand pounds this year alone. I will never be without insurance.

We feed her pretty good dried food and also supplement that with white fish sometimes as a treat, and lots of veggies because she adores them.

$4000 for emergency medical treatment when my dog ate rat poison at my mother's house on my 40th birthday. She almost died & everyone forgot it was my birthday until a week later, when I remembered it while sitting at my desk at work.

It was a horrific distraction! My dog is now 7 yrs old & supremely healthy & a frisbee champ, but she got her first gray hairs that day. (I probably did, too, but I'm not checking.)

The question should be re-worded. How much would you spend for someone you love? My answer? Everything I have. Love is irrational.

My husband adopted a dog from the shelter a little over two years ago, knowing he had special needs. He was only 7 months old and had 3 prior owners before us. He has had an ACL tear, hip and back problems, even separation anxiety that needed to be treated with medication because he was so anxious he broke a wire dog crate when we weren't home. He HAD to be crated because during his anxious fits, he had eaten a couch, a armchair and broke a door. We finally decided to crate our two dogs together in a huge mastiff size crate, and the anxiety abated.
Needless to say, after many vet visits and even switching veterinarians, we have finally gotten him healthy. Our new vet takes a holistic treatment approach, never medicating unless necessary, even referring to chiropractic treatment when necessary. Believe it or not, combined with exercise, the chiropractor has nearly abated his back and hip pain, and he has had no limping episodes for nearly 8 months. We take him bi-weekly for adjustments and he's doing great.
If your vet costs too much, try out another vet. There's vets that care about the big picture, because your pet can't be safe or healthy if you lose your home due to the expenses. Check out pet insurance, it helps a lot, especially in the event of an emergency.

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Just came across your terrific blog too...and I love the magazine. Been reading it at the side the "baby" pool this summer as my kids exhibit some independence in the water! Had to comment, as this issue has come up for us as well with our 9-year-old Tabby cat, Sabrina, recently diagnosed with diabetes. Prior to her diagnosis, if anyone would have asked me whether I'd be willing to inject insulin - with an actual NEEDLE - into a cat (they don't exactly come when called) twice a day, I'd have thought them insane...but yes, here I am, injecting insulin into cat twice a day (and feeling so confident about it I'm certain I missed my calling as a healthcare professional). It all has not not been as daunting as I imagined. The biggest downside is her diet change makes her CRAVE food at precisely 5:00 every morning on the dot. The expense is another issue, and certainly always a tough call nothwithstanding the current economic climate. So far our expenses have been manageable, but I too wonder often how much would I be willing to spend. Pet insurance is absolutely a sound solution. Hope Franny is doing better!