Pet Health News

Struggling pet owners who can't afford Vet care

Are you one of the struggling pet owners who can’t afford pet health care? Sadlly, you aren’t alone according this article in the Washington Post. With the economy hitting everyone so hard it is no surprise that people can’t afford to take care of their pets. Families who had no trouble taking Fifi and Fido to the vet a few years ago are saying they can barely afford pet food anymore. What can you do if you are one of the struggling pet owners who can’t afford pet health care? The choices are not too good.

“Vet visits cost pet owners an average of $505 dollars last year, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll, with those whose pets faced serious illness spending more than $1,000 on average.Eight in 10 pet owners took their animal companion to a veterinarian in the past 12 months. And cost was an obstacle for a third of those who did not visit the vet.

“But most pet owners trust that vets are not suggesting unnecessary treatments, and the bulk of pet owners faced costs below the average. Sixty percent of those who did take a pet to the vet spent $300 or less on their animal’s care, the average expenditure was boosted higher by the one in eight (13 percent) who spent $1,000 or more.”

“About one in six pet owners say their pet faced a serious illness during the year, and those pet owners spent an average of $1,092 on vet care. One percent say they took their pets to the vet and spent no money.Thomas Klamm, 76, of Boone, Iowa, says he and his wife Beverly spent $3,000 on their two Chihuahuas, sisters Kati and Keli, and he would have spent more if necessary, even though his annual income is under $50,000.”

“The biggest bills resulted from a spinal condition Kati had, but Klamm says he has a lot of confidence in the vets and senior students at Iowa State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in nearby Ames, where the little dogs have been going since they were pups.According to the poll, most pet owners have faith in the treatment vets recommend. Overall, 52 percent say vets do not often recommend excessive treatment, 26 percent say that happens moderately often, 17 percent extremely or very often.”"Those whose pets had been seriously ill in the past year were no more likely than others to say that vets suggest treatments that go beyond what is reasonable and necessary.

Among those who did not take their pets to the vet last year, 52 percent say they only take their pets to the vet “when they’re really sick” and a third say they can’t afford it at all.

Luis Calderon, 56, of El Monte, Calif., couldn’t afford to take Buddy, his 3-year-old German shepherd, to the vet last year. Buddy was given to Calderon when the dog was 6 months old. “We have become best friends,” he says.

Calderon, a self-employed handyman, has a wife and two kids and says work is scarce. If Buddy needed a vet, Calderon says he would have to go through public services or use credit. “We would have to get him help.”

How much would be too much? It would depend on what was wrong and what the vet said, Calderon says. “At that point I would have to consider whether to keep him or let him go, put him to sleep,” he says.

He hates the idea of putting limits on Buddy’s health. “But we have to survive. At this point, my mortgage is No. 1. This month is really close to the edge,” Calderon adds.

Fifty-eight percent of those who did not take their pets to a vet in the past year said they “have a type of pet that doesn’t need much veterinary care.” Among them, 52 percent have dogs, 52 percent cats, 10 percent fish, and 5 percent birds.”

The situation is dire for many struggling pet owners who can’t afford pet health care any longer. My personal suggestion is to shop around a little bit. You may be comfortable with one particular vet, if he or she is willing to let you pay off your bill that is one option. Another option is to switch to a less expensive vet, competition is good for business and it offers some relief for struggling pet owners who can’t afford pet health care.