Let's face it, no one asks for an emergency but times come up where they happen...and not just to us but to our beloved pets too.

 

Are you prepared to finance a potential pet crisis/emergency? Vet bills can EASILY rack up in costs. Yesterday my dog had a life or death situation and needed emergency surgerical procedures. Over 5,000 later he is alive. Thank the Lord for that. Now the payment part comes and the torture of "how on earth are we going to afford this high of a bill!?"

How do you afford your pet vet bills? Are you prepared for emergency vet visits? Do you have a pet crisis savings? pet insurance? financial assistance of some sort? How have you productively managed to pay for high pet bills? Most want money down up front but what happens if you don't have that to begin with?

I think this is a very important topic to discuss and hope some pet owners/lovers here will share their experiences, plans of actions and stratagies, best advice, etc.

Good topic. I admit that we do not have a separate fund for vet expenses (out of ordinary like routine vaccines/exams that we will now put in the budget). We too have had emergency surgeries, etc. and the costs quickly added up.

Luckily, our vet takes credit cards and will do a monthly billing for large expenses. We have had to put a bill on a credit card (hate to do that) so it would have been better to have an "emergency fund" set aside.

Now that we have a new puppy, this may be something for DH and I to visit about. However, I'm not sure how much to put in it. We do have an emergency fund with $1000 but even basic vet surgery can be that in a heartbeat!

Mamas, what are your thoughts on puppy pet insurance? I remember looking into it when my dog was a wee lad but neve went through.

Ps. what kind of new puppy did you get?

Oh I miss my boy so much and can't wait for him to come home this evening. He went through bloody h to the e to the double L yesterday.

We have 3 dogs, so I know how expensive it can get. I have spent over $500 dollars in the last 2 weeks at the vets office for routine care and sick animal care. I will be calling the vet today about my little girl, it looks like she has another eye infection. Hopefully he will give her some cream without having to bring her in. The last time we got a huge vet bill I had no choice but to put it on the credit card. Pets are expensive. I try to keep enough money in savings just incase we have a pet emergency. An emergency fund for the animals might be a good idea.

Hugs Riley, that poor dear. Prayers for the pups! I know how special they are to you.

I have done a lot of natural, herbal, home remedy healing with Dante with positive results. However, emergencies are emegencies and with the vet comes the bank account - that's for sure. Pets are viewed as family members here and their well being is just as important as humans.

Riley, sending your dogs blessings on the fourth and the anxiety factor of the noise.

Thanks BB,

She is my baby and I will do what ever it takes to get her well. Her jaw is healing nicely but her eyes are a mess. I will be glad when she is back to her normal self again.

OH I hear you on pet issues it's weird we have all had pets over the hears but  my mom has 2 dogs (a pound puppy Lucky and a Maltes poodle Emma) these 2 dogs have had more issues they any other pets we have had..why is that?

Lucky got sick after we got her with Parvo (needs lots of meds and still has some yearly issue plus teeth issues from this condition)

Emma she is a mess at times she is allegric to everything even getting groomed so we have to CONE her head at times due to bitting due to itching as well as put a doggie shirt on her 24/7 so she can't stratch her self RAW and create cute costly infections trust me she has had 3/4 even with all the extra help to avoid this.. At time she needs Benadryl to stop the itching so we have to wash/clean her alot to lessen this issue...She has to have special Dog food ( no wheat) she gets RUNNY eyes....looks a mess.... Pour dogs we sure love them but I think pet insurance is only right u just have to set a budget plan for it as well....

WE have a pound Kitty at our home she was so cute got her home and later that day notice a few issues she sleep alot ( she was tiny as well) but more then normal she didn't eat or drink well either acted sick...took lots of special over the next 2 days feeding with bottle and getting food milk from the pet store got her to the VET ( the Vet was covered by the pound $500 of free care with purchase of pet) on that monday to find out lots of scary things about the pour kitty...she was NOT 6-8 weeks old she was less then 4 weeks (a baby) and they already fixed her. So she was sick from that as well plus she had an infection ( needed meds) and we had to feed her baby food since she couldn't eat or digest the cat food. Then she was allergic to the baby food tried 3-4 different brands of special cat food vet suggested from her place (still got sick on this) but with lots of trial and error and LOTS of 24/7 care ( fiance worked from home so he could care for her as well) we finally got her a little better and on some prescription cat food that was $60 a month but she needed it my mom helped us cover the cost dd would have been heart broken if anything happened to her kitty..She is now over 2 years old and Fat and healthy only leftover issues is she is a food addict ( do to feeding her every 2 hours when she was a baby so we have to watch how much food we leave out for her)but she is now on regular cat food (Blue bufflo brand ) and she is doing well cost is better then $60 a month which was over  year but she is happy and cute as ever...

Dear Forumites, We are so BLESSED w aid from Pets Are Wonderful Support/PAWS of San Francisco. The agency has a waiting list of 18 months, but even while on it, they provided us w some prescription medication .... Now that we are clients (I qualify as both a person w disabilities & a person aged 60 or older.), we get a $200 stipend f vet care (+ one wellness exam w immunizations annually) & 10%-20% discount on any overage (depending on your choice of vet -- at our allergist's, it's a 10% discount.). THEN, in casde of an emergency, they have a special fund that they can sometimes tap. (Frankly, I suspect that they will taap it f us if in need. It is simply AMAZING what a little communicated sincere gratitude can do -- it's as though it is SO rare!) ALSO, the State of CA gives us a Service Dog stipend of $50/mo. Half of it goes to grooming, the other half to her meds (unfortunately, PAWS only carries one of her several.) This thread has given me the idea of keeping track, & putting aside any remaining portion of the stipend (if there is any) after I pay f her meds. Thanks, Bargain Binge, f having initiated this important thread. Yours in Him, Deborah & Heart

We do not have a specific emergency fund for anything. However, we both keep a cushion in our checking accounts for unexpected expenses. Just annual shots and checkups for our two dogs when we had them ran over $400, and when they got older and ill the bills just went up. We have no dogs now, but I've been actively lobbying DH for another dog, which we will get when we have time at home to devote to one. We don't want to get one and then leave it alone all the time.

Jill

I am just so sad. He does not get to come home today. They are keeping him overnight again. I feel so bad, that poor dog must be so lonely and scared without me.