My dog is sick & I don't have the $$ to take him to the vet?

Question

I am not in this situation, but I have seen this question on here way too often. I am simply asking this question to get good ideas on what someone should do if they are in situation. Hopefully the answers will help someone. Thanks!!

If I had a credit card I would use it, borrow the $$ from a friend or family member, see if the vet will put you on a payment plan, go to a cash advance place, Try the SPCA for lower costs.

No matter what one has to do, ALWAYS take the pet to the vet if he is in need of medical treatment!!!!

Answer 1

I have always kept an credit card exclusively for use on vet bills. It's never been used anywhere else except I will use it once a month for gas or something then pay it off right away to keep it active.

I'm not rich, far from it, but I would never let my babies go without treatment for any reason no matter what the cost. I have many things including my computer that I would sell too if need be. An animal is as big a commitment as deciding to have a child. You should not do it if you don't intend to care for it the way it deserves.

I myself spent over $4,500 in 2 months trying to save a dog 4 years ago.

I'm smiling reading the number of people who only read your subject line.

Answer 2

I agree! If you can not afford a pet, do not have one. If they need medical attention, a pet owner MUST take responsibility and get them to the vet. I know there are certain situations where there is loss of a job etc and in that case, I would call animal rescue groups, SPCA, The Humane Society or universities that have Vet interns. Most vets have credit applications for emergency care. There are also loan ceneters or Pay Day loans in last case emergency.

Answer 3

Hi, I guess i would have to say which i have come across this, is i am an established person at my vets office, and have always paid my bills and my dogs go in yearly or when something is wrong, when my Dane had signs of bloat, it was a time i didn't have money.. I took the dog in on an emergency visit, and because the vet knew me, said, write a post dated check for the soonest you would have it, i wrote it for 2 weeks later, they were ok with that, but i feel that is because i had a good relationship with my vet.. my thing is, once you get a dog or puppy, get established you would be amazed on being established will do for you..
Thank God it wasn't bloat, and $400.00 later, but, I would rather be safe than sorry..
I believe on YA you can ask alot of questions, but a lot of things could be other things like if you forgot to mention a symptom. The only way to be sure, is see your vet.

but something else you see WAY TO MUCH on here is most of the owners are children whos parents don't want ANYTHING to do with the dogs.. Parents have to realize , even if you bought a dog for your child, you are still the responsible one, NOT THE CHILD.

Answer 4

If you have an established relationship with a vet, they should have no problem putting you on some type of payment plan. After all, they love animals, too. They don't *want* to turn you away (but they do have to pay their staff, rent, etc.).

Also, contacting your local humane society might put you in contact with cheap/free services. (Don't know much about this, but I've heard that some limited services are available for desperate situations.)

We normally pay for service as received, but we did have one unfortunate situation when our last dog had her final illness. My husband was out of town on a business trip. After two trips to emergency clinics and then two more to her regular vet in less than 48 hours, I had reached the maximum amount that I could withdrawal from our back account using a debit card. (And, obviously, couldn't leave my dog to go to the bank.) I also had recently cancelled my credit card due to fraudulent activity and had not yet received a replacement.

Fortunately, our vet did not request payment at that time (I went back later that week to pay off the account) and the emergency clinic accepted credit card information over the phone from my husband.

But that was more of a case of not being able to access money right away, even though we had the money available. To avoid the situation of not having the funds, we keep a savings account earmarked just for extraordinary veterinary expenses. It's not meant for routine care, so it grows as the dogs age and is waiting for when/if they have major illnesses in their later years or if they have some traumatic injury.

ETA: I am not fond of pet insurance, but it's a personal choice. The Care Credit Card is an interesting idea - but it's only available in the U.S.

Answer 5

As an overnight emergency veterinary technician, I see this problem all too often. My clinic does not make payment arrangements, so the clients must be approved for CareCredit (which is a credit card type loan) before their pets can receive treatment. If that does not work, we suggest calling friends or family to borrow the funds, or their boss for a paycheck advance. If none of those options are feasible, we do very minimal treatment and hope the pet makes it to the regular vet in the morning.

Anytime a pet is owned, money should be set aside for routine veterinary care AS WELL AS emergency veterinary care. Pets are not inexpensive, and often times their vet bills can be exponentially high. (I have seen owners drop $20,000 easily.)

If I were ever in that situation, I would call my parents or grandparents and beg for money. I am not above that if my pet's life is in danger. I also would have cash saved up somewhere, or a credit card that is to be used for pet care only...

Additionally, I do not know of many veterinarians locally that make payment arrangements unless the clients are long-term clients that have excellent payment history in the past. New clients that walk in off the street with a sick pet are unlikely to be offered any type of payment arrangement. And no, this is not because we hate animals and only care about money; it is because we are small, private entities that get no government assistance, and if we don't get paid, we can't provide services to anyone since we will get shut down for nonpayment of our bills or not have the appropriate equipment required to properly diagnose and treat problems.

Answer 6

I have been in situations where I was living hand to mouth and....I didn't have a pet!! Pets are expensive. But I do understand that sometimes people have a hard time. I know it's dishonest, but when I used to be really poor and had to go to the doctor, I didn't tell them I couldn't pay until after seeing the doctor. I know that's messed up, but I always paid the bill later and didn't have insurance, so I only went to the doctor for emergencies. I wouldn't be below doing something similar if my dog were in danger. I always have lots of available credit in case something happens. I buy pet insurance, which is $100 a year, so that I'll never lose my dog because I couldn't pay for his care. I would beg, borrow and steal for my dog. I would sell anything I own. When people say they don't have enough money, I don't get mad at them. I am sympathetic- I understand how hard it is to make ends meet sometimes. But when it comes to my dog, all is fair....

Answer 7

It's pretty disgusting isn't it? I can't count the times I've been at the vets office and someone bring a sick animal, usually a dog and then say they can't afford the treatment. I've paid for several of them just because I can't stand to see an animal suffer. People that acquire pets shouldn't do so unless they are sure they can afford any emergency that comes up, they get sick at odd times, have problems that require a lot of testing just like humans do. We put money aside every month just for emergency vet care, if we don't use it this month it stays where it is and keeps growing until needed and it's worked out for us. Last year when one of my dogs came down with cancer we spent over $3000. just for the tests, didn't hurt our pocket a bit because we had money set aside for it.

Answer 8

Unfortunately I don't think these animals have ever been to a vet in the first place. Any decent vet will run a tab on a regular client. I know rescuers that owe thousands. To wait until there's a big problem is usually a bad plan and very expensive.

Sadly these people can afford internet access, a computer and to sit around and ask questions on YA all day. Meanwhile their pet suffers or dies.

I have a real problem with people giving medical advice here. Yahoo! should cease this immediately. Most of the veterinary advice is horrible.

Answer 9

Well

I got 5 thumbs down for my answer to someone that wrote this question.

I agree with Goldengal. And that's what I wrote in my response. Sure, it was harsh, but isn't letting your pet suffer worse than a mean (honest!) response on yahoo answers??!!!

Here's what I don't get:

people say that they don't have any money - but they have a computer and the internet - and neither one of those are free.

Many of them have cell phones - plans starting at 30.00/month

Many of them have TVs and cable, have kids, have Xboxs, Playstations, Wiis, and a gajillion games to boot.

They have cars, they pay for gas.

They have memberships to the gym.

Maybe they don't have all of these things - but if they are posting the question on yahoo answers, chances are, they have a computer and internet. If my dog were dying/sick/ill I would sell my couch, sell my clothes, sell my computer, sell my jewelry, in order to get the money. I would borrow money from friends, I would borrow small amounts of money from several friends. I would call my sister, my mom, my dad. I would call the Humane Society and ask about low cost clinics. I would pull out the credit cards, you name it, I would find the money.

Many vets don't do payment plans now-adays (mine doesn't). Why, because too many people came in saying they would pay the bill and they never did.

But number 1: If I couldn't afford a pet, if I couldn't weather an emergency situation, I wouldn't have gotten one.

Answer 10

Just wanted to add no ones perfect and **** happens, Most vet offices if your established custom will bill for emergency services. I don't know about other area's my vet will meet you at his office after hrs but when I have used emergency vets they rape you on the costs something here in Orlando area that would cost 250 normally cost you 1000 and they use low cost labor vets just out of school or ones that can't find jobs elsewhere.