(Untitled)

[kutie_kara]

As much as cleaning Lucky's vomit EVERY DAY sucks, and as much as all the vet bills (only to hear, "We have no idea what's wrong with her!") suck...I am glad she is ours and not someone else's. There are too many people out there who "love" animals when everything is going well and they're healthy, but who would abandon them to die (or put them to

Comments

[lalanav]

This made me choke up. One of our cats got sick about a week after our honeymoon and we had no idea what was going on so we took her to the veterinary hospital at UPenn, and while we were waiting, this man came in to put his dog down because he could no longer hold his bladder the way he used to. The dog was old, but clearly not on the brink of death. It was horrible.

[lalanav]

And of course, thinking about that dog made me so sad that I forgot to keep going. I meant to say - thank you for posting this, because it reminds me that there are still people out there who care about their pets more than they care about their wallets and their precious conveniences.

[nacho_cheese]

Oh no! :( It's stories like that that make me so sad! If you're not willing to treat your pet like your own child, you shouldn't own said pet. And if you treat your child like that... well, there's a reason why we have CPS. Too bad we don't have something similar for animals. :(

[kutie_kara]

That is horrible. You know, I would say it shouldn't be legal to put an animal to sleep unless it was THE BEST THING for the animal...but there are people out there who would just take matters into their own hands and shoot or poison the animal. I just...I don't get how someone can put an animal down because it's an inconvenience to clean pee/vomit/whatever...an animal that has most likely been part of the family for years!

[sailorgarnet]

Amen.

I just told Pat on Saturday when he took Wuffie in for a second opinion and it was even more dire than the first something like this (I couldn't go because I had an all day meeting). He was blaming himself saying it was because he (Pat) is a bad person. I told him that we were chosen to give Wulfgar a loving happy home with every advantage for the little time he has.

[nacho_cheese]

Me, three. <3

[alwaysanewday]

Hm, I suppose I agree within reason. Not sure I would ever go into debt, deplete my savings, or buy services I couldn't afford for a pet. Sure, I do and will try to treat my cats as best I can, when/if issues come up, with the resources that are available, but if I simply couldn't afford care or it was likely the animals were in too much pain to function, I probably would put them down because I can only do and support so much. I don't think it makes me cruel, just reasonable.

But I think the important thing is to do your best with pets and treat them as well as possible with as much compassion as possible. So, I definitely agree that it's good your pets have somebody as compasionate as you as their owner.

[lalanav]

I think there's definitely a difference between not going into debt or easing a pet's suffering, and just not feeling like spending money or putting an animal down because taking care of it has become inconvenient. So, I agree with you in that your expectations are not cruel.

[kutie_kara]

I agree with this as well. I understand that there are limitations (both financial and otherwise) to what you can do for animals, but I know some people would not even TRY to care for Lucky. The minute she threw up on an outrageously expensive cashmere Versace coat (yes, actual example), she'd be put to sleep by some people. She throws up on everything, at least once a day, and trust me, it ANGERS ME. But I know she can't help it, I'm sure it's not enjoyable for her either. I just know some people would put her down even though the vet says she's not in pain or anything, and that makes me sad. I love having nice things (clothes, furniture, etc.) so I DO get that it's hard to put up with...but she is more important than any Versace coat.

[chapstickqueen]

I agree with all of this.

Also, we HAVE our dog because someone gave her up.

[da_shpoon]

*Hugs*

For me, the amount of money I'm willing to spend on a pet's vet bills is fairly proportionate to their expected life span - eg: I'd be willing to spend more on a cat or dog (life expectancy 9-20 years) than on a mouse or small bird (life expectancy 3-7 years), & I'd be willing to spend more on a Macaw (life expectancy 50-80 years) than I would on a cat or a dog.

That said, I'd never abandon any pet. Even my mouse that we couldn't justify surgery for (he had a tumour), still got special treatment (extra treats & so on) & I made sure I was with him when he eventually passed.