Why do people hold off taking an animal to the vet when they are ill, then ask on here what they should do?

Question

Its just i have read so many questions about sick animals and their owners, obviously knowing the animal is ill, ask on here what they should do. Especially questions on animals in labour. Its like they dont even call a vet and ask advice. It just angers me.
They wouldnt if it was a sick child, they would take them to the doc, so whats the difference for an animal!?

Cost shouldnt be a factor. In my opinion. Vets fee's should be taken into account when you get an animal.
Most vets will set up a "pay weekly" scheme, although i do realise not everyone knows this.

And vet fee's should DEFINATELY be accounted for if you breed an animal!

To Sharon W.
If you were having medical treatment from your vet then this question does not apply to your circumstances. This applies to people who put off taking their animal to a vet. A sick animal, not looking for advice on flea treatment as some else said.

Answer 1

Simple non-life threatning queations (ex; my dog keeps scratching itself) are fine in my opinion. But when people post questions that are obviosly serios illness's there is a cause for concern. When a person decides to take in an animal as a pet, it should be thaought about very carefully. The animal WILL get sick, old, and will need veterinary care sometime in its life. If one can not afford veterinary care than plain and simple they should not have a pet. Owning a pet is not a nessesity, its a luxury.
Where I come from if you own an animal and it is sick or hurt and is obviously suffering, you as the pets owner must provide veterinary care. If you neglect to do so, you may be charged with a crimanal offence with jail up to 6 months and /or a 5000.00 fine.
I understand that at times people may run into financial difficultys in thier lives, I have been there myself. But all one needs to do is devise a plan if in case that happens. Ask oneself where would I get the money do pay for care. Put a little money aside, like you would for your childs future. There are pet insurance companys out there with many different packages available. Decide what illness or injury and how far in care would you pay for. Ex; dog is a senior and breaks its legs, or has acute cancer. Would you pays for the rest of its years to treat the illness? Are you prepared to pays thousands of dollars to treat the animal? There is no right or wrong answer to this. Whats wrong is to have animal who is suffering and in pain all because that person did'nt think long and hard enouph when they took the animal in , in the first place!!

Answer 2

Yes Lily your right to an extent, but it is ignorance, most people really don't know symptoms of illness and just don't think it's that serious and so they want others advice as to whether or not it can wait or if it even needs to be seen by a vet at all. You would be surprised how many phone calls come into an Emergency clinic at night question whether or not they need emergency care or not, things like a tick bite all the way to by dogs tongue is blue and he's won't move should I be worried? A lot of times it isn't an emergency and by making an inquiry like that they just saved themselves hundreds of dollars at an ER for somthing that could wait till the day clinics open up at 8 am. Sometimes is a simple at home fix that doesn't require a DR. All else we on this sight would refer to a Dr. immediately I hope! Also yes money should be factored in when owning a pet, but most have more love than money in their wallets and that doesn't happen either. I have been guilty of this as well at times and I'm in the pet industry. I usually only have what I can afford, but I have been hit with a box of strays out of the blue cause I'm the animal lady in my neighborhood and you do get in over your head sometimes. People think that their love will be enough to care for the animal and that's fine as long as nothing goes wrong...ever!

Answer 3

Actually, plenty of people DO hold off taking their kids to the doctor. People even hold off going to the doctor for THEMSELVES all the time. A lot of it is the cost, but it’s also an inconvenience, and generally an uncomfortable experience.

At this point I want to make clear that I am in no way justifying withholding treatment from an animal or child.

Spend only a single day here, and you’ll see many questions like, “My dog has been vomiting for a week and won’t stop shaking and can’t seem to walk well. What should I do?” These questions disgust me. These people deserve all the harsh judgmental answers in the world, IMO.

However, you also get people asking about “little” things like hot spots and fleas. These are not things that need to be seen by a vet, but they are things a first time dog owner may need a little advice about. Often, even with these questions, you STILL see answers like, “TAKE HER TO VET NOW YOU NEGLIGENT MONSTER!” I believe this kind of answer to these kinds of questions is unnecessary.

As for people who say they can’t afford treatment, it’s very easy to say, “If you didn’t have the money, why did you get a dog?!” But a lot can happen in the lifespan of a pet. Maybe they had money 10 years ago, but something beyond their control, like a divorce or medical bills, drained their savings, leaving them unable to afford proper care for their pet or even themselves at times. No one can say where they will be in 10 years, and dogs and cats live a long time. No one ever plans to go broke. Now, getting a pet when you have no money to begin with is another story. However, even these people have the option of finding a vet who will accept payments. There is never an excuse to let an animal suffer.

It really, REALLY does bother me when I see questions regarding birth and related subjects, though. You’d think it would be obvious to anyone to find out this information well BEFORE the pups/kittens are due, and from someone who actually knows what they are talking about. It frightens me that such people are allowed to bring lives into the world at all, since they apparently only care enough about them to ask for help on Yahoo! Answers, and only at the very last minute.

I’m not against asking for medical advice here, but I wish both the askers and the answerers would use a little common sense. NO ONE should need to be told their critically ill or injured dog needs to see a vet ASAP, and NO ONE needs to be called an irresponsible pet owner for not rushing their dog to the vet for extremely minor problems like fleas or a single day of tummy trouble.

Answer 4

Don't get too angry. Some people are house bound or there is no veterinary clinic within a reasonable distance.

Some people are not able to afford the veterinary care they may need. It's easy to say that they shouldn't have pets, but sometimes circumstances cause a temporary shortfall in someones financial situation.

Some post these messages at times that veterinary care may not be available. Not everyone has 24-hour care available.

Some simply want reassurance that their pet will be OK.

Some people probably want assurance that their veterinarians diagnoses is reasonable, so they want to see if anyone else has had the same diagnosis for the symproms their pet has.

Give them the benefit of the doubt and be as helpful as you can. Not everyone knows how to tell something serious from a common or benign symptom.

Some of the people posting obviously believe that any symptom is a good reason to take their pet to the vet.

Answer 5

Cant understand it myself either. I'm off to the vet this morning with my little female shih tzu who has the start of a cough - better to catch it now than leave it till she is really poorly. You know your own pet and are usually very aware that they are off colour - some people really cant afford the vet fees, in which case dont bother having a pet as they are always going to need medical attention through their lives - and some people are just too bloody tightfisted to spend their money at the vet surgery!

Answer 6

If the canines in basic terms has a minor problem, then i will positioned it off till all my prevalent charges are paid. no remember if it extremely is a extreme emergency, it extremely is the reason I quite have a mastercard. respected Akita Rottweiler 2 Dobermans Bullmastiff Miniature Pinscher Carolina canines Mutt I quite have a cat and four horses, I quite have had circumstances wherein extra suitable than one animal required emergency clinical care and as hence of mastercard and money stored i replaced into waiting to handle them. i don't have coverage or a rate reductions account committed to my animals, i in basic terms have time-honored rate reductions that i'm able to circulate into whilst a topic comes up. i might in no way circulate with no use like warmth or electrical energy for my animals yet i might cut back back on some luxuries if it meant them living or death.

Answer 7

I think most people worry about the cost and hope that they are able to sort it without a visit to the vet. That is the problem now, you need to take into account the fiances when taking on a pet.

Answer 8

A lot of it could be to do with the price, I know if you have pets you should be prepared to pay to take them to the vet, but it may be that it is something simple that other peoples pets have suffered from and can give advice before uncessassarily(?) paying vets fees.

Wait until we have to start paying to visit our GP,s this will be full of questions relating to health!

Answer 9

money. 9 times out of 10, they just don't have the cash to go. I know what its like, I've been broke. But the vet will always let you pay later, on an account, so it is always best to go

Answer 10

Amen sister! I have 4 dogs and a cat. They are my responsibility so if they get sick, they go to the vet.