What would you sacrifice to save your dog?

Question

prompted by a daft dog question I just answered.....
life savings?
house?
relationship?

Amanda - should have said 'if it was in the dogs' best interest'. Totally agree

Probably not protocol, but I can't pick a best answer to this, there are several I agree with totally. I have to say my dog isn't like my child (don't have any) but he's my best mate and my reason to get up in the morning. And yes, he's insured, just in case. Didn't realise this question would cause such a response, it wasn't meant to and nor were the examples meant to be either/or options. But there are certainly a lot of doggy people out there!

Answer 1

A dog is family. I would sacrifice whatever I could.

Answer 2

WIthout a home, money or friends, it would be tough to get by. Even tougher to support a pet.

When it gets right down to it, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure my animals are cared for, even if it means finding them a better home with someone who can afford them.

As far as vet care goes, I've never passed on any treatment because of money. As long as there is any hope, I will at least try. I owe them that.

There are things that we, as pet owners, can do to help avoid such "choices". Like pet insurance. Depending on the company and coverage, it ranges from $20-50 per month. Some companies also cover horses, birds and exotics.

This money could also be put into a savings account, but it would take a few years to have enough to cover any big injury or illness.

I think it's important that people consider the future, and do whatever possible to protect themselves and those they love. It really helps to have a plan, so you don't get caught with your pants down.

Answer 3

If they had a chance to recover and live a long and full life happy, almost anything, money will never be an object. I've already sacrificed several relationships because of my dogs. Family and friends who either flat out didnt like dogs (something i will never understand) or were so assinine about my choice in breed i could no longer respect them. And like Jennifer T most of my relationships are with people who either know how i feel about my dogs and accept it or my even closer friends are just as crazy as me. I almost gave up my job, my stipulation was that i could bring my dogs to work but since they are considered a "vicious breed" by my boss's apartments (im a personal assistant) i almost quit when i was told i couldnt bring them anymore. I was so offended she agreed to move when her lease was up to keep me. Again, I would only do this if they could live a full life.

I've had sooooo many nightmares about if something happened and i couldnt get my dogs to the vet. They were the worst dreams i've ever had.

I put my golden retriever to sleep almost 2 years ago, he had a tumor in his esophagus that was keeping him from eating or drinking. We were desperately calling everyone we knew to help raise the $5000 we needed to have surgury, until we found out that all they could do was a biopsy probably, they couldnt remove it because you cannot stretch the esophagus if you take a section out. It would have required opening his chest which is a horrible surgury and would have bought him a few months but he would have been ill and miserable and unless we put him down, he would have starved to death. It was the hardest thing i've ever done but i know it was the right thing. I would have quit school (which i ended up doing because i was so depressed anyway) to pay for the surgury, except it wouldnt have saved him and would have only hurt him. Instead i spent $1000 making the most of the few days we had left together. It was money i didnt have and it took me 6 months to pay it back to the friend that loaned it to me but it was worth every penny.

Answer 4

I agree with Amanda.It would depend on the circumstances.If I had a 15 year old dog and she developed a serious cancer,I wouldn't bother to have her treated beyond pain management,because it is physically and mentally taxing to the dog,and she would probably have a very poor chance of survival.On the other hand,I DO have 15 year old dog who just had surgery to remove a possibly cancerous tumor from between his toes on one of his front feet.However,the tumor was small ( dime sized),and attached by a very thin stalk,and my dog is in good health otherwise.It cost me 447.00 and change ( he had a teeth cleaning and 4 teeth pulled as well),as I also took one of my other dogs,who is 14 and has not been eating well.My vet did bloodwork on her.If she has something serious,like cancer or liver or kidney disease,I will do a special diet and medication,if needed,but to try anything drastic would be crazy,because she already has very bad hips and a bad back,and I know she wouldn't do well.If I had a young dog who got ill or injured,I would sacrifice whatever I could to save him.
Life savings - Yes
House - Maybe,but then my dog would have no place to live,either.
Relationship - Maybe,I'm not in one,right now,but if I were,he would have to love animals as much as I do,so I don't think I could,but on the other hand,if he loved my animals,too,then he would probably help me financially!

Answer 5

I am shocked. There are so many thumbs down here and this is the DOG section, not the hoard your money and material possessions section! I do not have children, and never will. Our dogs are very important to us, and their well-being is our responsibility. If it is in our monetary power, we would do anything to save our dogs if whatever was done would save a life. We have spent thousands of dollars on medical bills for sick and injured dogs, because we believe that our dogs deserve that chance. People who would rather have their computer so they can sign onto the Internet and not give medical care to their dogs shouldn't have dogs.

So to answer the question: yes, yes, and wouldn't come up-my husband believes the way I do. If he didn't, he wouldn't be the right man for me!

Answer 6

I would sacrifice anything except my children, my dog had the top cover in pet insurance so was covered for any and every eventuality, it cost really a lot more than i could afford but the thought of her needing an operation and my not having the money would have been unthinkable.

Answer 7

I think it depends on how much you really love your dog, whether or not you're a "dog person," and if you are financially stable.
For me, I have no children, but my Pembroke Welsh Corgi IS as close as it gets=) I would be truly devastated if anything terrible happened to her, and would do anything I could to help her. Unless it wouldn't benefit her in the end, then the situation would be different..

It looks like I'll be getting a few thumbs down on this one.. since obviously quite a few people are reading these who obviously don't have a dog of their own.

I couldn't care less=)
My dog is my baby, enough said=)

Answer 8

If I had a dog I would sacrifice my life savings and most likely my relationship unless the dog had been aggressive for no reason but not my home as it would be pointless for us both to be homeless.

Answer 9

I would love to say, "Anything!" but in reality, it would depend on the circumstances.

If, for instance, my dog was very old and needed some kind of treatment, and the treatment only had a medium to low chance of succeeding, and it would put her through a lot of pain to extend her life by only a few years, I'm not sure I would sacrifice much. I'm not sure it would be fair to her to put he through all of that just because I selfishly wanted to keep her around. I'm not sure it would be practical to spend money on a treatment that will mostly likely not give her any quality years anyway.

If my dog was young or middle aged and the treatment had a high chance of working, and could give her many more quality years of life, then I would probably sacrifice almost anything at all.

Truth be told, I would sacrifice almost anything under most circumstances. My dogs are truly my family members, and it would have to be a really hopeless situation for me to give up on them. I would do everything I could until it was clear it would do no good.

I would definitely sacrifice any relationship, though, no matter the circumstances. I wouldn't even think twice about that. No person is or will ever be worth what my dogs are to me (with my mom being the sole exception to that rule).

Answer 10

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING, without question or regret! Unconditional love and devotion are hard to come by. However, I would never prolong life if it meant the dog was in pain, suffering and/or would have no chance at enjoying a life of quality post surgery. If you love them, you do what you have to do. Period.

Answer 11

Not my life savings... especially with my 11 yr old. We have had a wonderful life together but I hope I would realize when enough is enough.

Not my house either .... where else would new memories come from.

And not my 19 yr marriage ..... I love my dog but I adore my husband and couldn't bare to be without him. Our dog is in every photo album (7 so far) so we can look at him anytime we want.

So what was this daft Q????