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I still defend the position that anyone who loves an animal enough, can find a way to care for it properly should the need arise. I am a dog person, but ironically I grew up with cats. When I was just a kid of 18 I adopted – basically rescued – 2 kittens from a neglectful home. They were a BYB just giving the kittens away to whoever. The kittens were undernourished, matted, covered in feces, running at the eyes and noses, and very scared around people. I took them home, bathed them (bathed 2 scared kittens-you never forget that experience), took them to the vet, had the female spayed and the male neutered, got them their shots, and litter-trained them. They always had good food, toys, love and care. This was in 1985 supporting myself on an income of $5.75 an hour. I was just an 18-year-old kid, and I managed.
When I moved to an apartment that didn’t allow pets, my dad took the cats and they lived out the rest of their lives with him in the Poconos. When they went to him they were healthy, well-nourished, friendly, affectionate and well-adjusted house cats.
I stand on my opinion that financial status has nothing to do with being able to care for a pet any more than caring for a child. If you love someone or something, you find a way. I feel it is more about maturity and knowledge than money.Hi Annie
I’m one of those people you described. I can cover day-to-day bills, but unexpected emergency medical care for my dogs is kind of a problem for me.
thank heaven for credit cards…..
when my youngest dog was 4 1/2 months old, he stumbled and shattered his right front elbow. he also snapped the bone above it right in 2. he had to have micro surgery, and now has a steel plate and 2 pins in it. that cost me over $5000.00, and they actually gave me a $1000.00 discount on his surgery. but my attitude was, and always will be, "do what is necessary".
and they did. I’m careful with him now-we live in Canada, where we already have snow on the ground, so I don’t keep him out any longer than necessary, because he’s going t be subject to arthritis as he gets older, and I want to put that off.
so, to answer your question, I found the money, borrowed a bit from my parents, and got him all fixed up. he’s the picture you can see. and he’s been in good health ever since. and he’s very sweet and loving.
a success story.I guess I can be considered one of those "poor" people you are referring to. All I have to say is I make do, and my dog is happy and is in need of nothing. He gets his shots, he is fed "high quality" food, he has toys and chews. He needs nothing more than what he has. If an emergency were to arise, I would deal with it. I have no children, and my dog comes first.
hi i agree to a point,that pets are just like children and you should have enough to give them all they need and the best there is.it makes for a happy healthy pet ,together with plenty of love and care and the propper grooming .i have 17 persiaN CATS ,AND CAN AffORD THEM WITHOUT WONDERING WHAT I SPEND.MY CATS ARE MY CHILDREN AND COME FIRST!!!but we also breed selectively and i only let qualyfied carefully screened parents adopt my kittens.-though still they dont always have a huge moneybag tied to them,the way they care for the kittens and love them is as important as purchasing all the luxuries.i allow paymentplans.these people might payy off,but are willing to sacrifice to get the best and i have seen many of them make that special trip to the vet without question.once you love your pet ,you will do whats needed.its in the heart of the pet parent,not how much money,but heat do they have.
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Here’s my two cents on this topic. 🙂
There are a few basic things that pet owners, at minimum, should be able to afford. Annual vaccines and checkups, deworming, and spaying/neutering pets are a must. Some pets will live healthy lives and will never have a medical emergency requiring lots of money to fix. But lots of pets will. I don’t think pet owners should have to have unlimited resources to pay for unexpected bills, I just think they should be responsible. Like if a pet gets injured or ill, and the owner can’t afford to take care of the problem, I would hope that the owner would at least consider getting help, finding the pet a new home, or even euthanasia if the problem is severe enough so that the pet doesn’t suffer. Personally, if a pet has to either go to a home with limited money or NOT go to a home at all, I would rather see the pet have a home where it is given at least basic care.This is and iteresting debate. I have been reading the posts and I do have to admit that I agree that it is irresponsible to get a pet when you absolutely don’t have the money to pay for it properly. You probably shouldn’t have children if you aren’t in the financial posistion either. Many people go buy cars, boats, you name it when they can’t really afford it so you can’t rely on peoples good sense to make the right desision.
However, in the area I live I know of houses that I drive by in high end neighborhoods that have more than enough money to care for the pets they have and they are tied up, crated and ignored. The same well off people would put an animal down before they would part with money over it. I knew a family that gave up a wonderful purebread that lived the goodlife and did nothing wrong except grow to an adult dog and was traded in for a cute little designer dog puppy. I live in michigan and my family has been hit very hard by the economy and we don’t have much left after the bills are paid. My cat was sick last week and cost me $400 at the vet and bad economy or not, she got the treatment she needed. Money does not make a responsible pet owner! Do you think just because someone isn’t as well off as you that they don’t even deserve the love and compainionship of a dog or cat? Thousands of animals are put to death every damn day in this country because there are not enough homes. Worse case senario: someone who can’t afford expensive treatment in an emergency or just do to things that come up with aging has to put the pet to sleep instead of treat it. This pet was loved and charished for all those years up until this time occurred, would it have been better put to death as a baby because a rich person didn’t show up to take it in?
Open your eyes and drive through the rich neighborhoods and see if those animals look any happier than the middle to lower class neighborhoods!i agree with this
Well, after reading U’r post…I’m not sure that you live in "reality". There are PLENTY of pet owners who cannot really afford to pay for all of the "luXuries", you speak of…
I HAvE MONEY, but I will NOT spend a thousand or more on any of my animals, on one vet visit. I haVe, howeVer, spent thousands, upon thousands of dollars, making their liVes wonderful, I take care of them, they get bones, chew toys, good food, and LOTS of loVe! Think of all of the elderly folks, on fiXed incomes, who take care of their pets, as best they can, giVing & recieVing companionship.
There are a lot of people, good people liVing without health coVerage for themselVes, who giVe they’re pets a good home…why should U condem people who take care of they’re animals, but couldn’t afford to spend 800 or eVen 300 on a surgery for a pet? Everybody’s story is different. So, I guess now, U’r going to say, haVing a pet is only for the rich???…lol…Have you noticed that even the people who are rich has dumped their dogs in shelters?If the poor shouldn’t have dogs because they can’t afford them,then they also shouldn’t have alot of kids.
ya know,i just joined this site today looking for help for my sweet dog.i sign back on to see that "poor people"shouldnt have pets.why shouldnt they?its not fair for you to judge people because they are "poor".i look around this world and i see so many children that have parents that are poor.so do they need to be judged also?i really dont understand why poor people should be judge so harshly.i am disabled and my income is fixed.so does that mean i shouldnt have a pet?get real please.my baby girl is taken care of whether or not i have money or not.she always comes first.at the moment i need dental work.as one person said,id spend my last dollar on my precious dog.so i go without just to make sure she gets fed,shots,clothing,toys and check ups.we come to sites like this one for advise not to be judged on how much money we have.people that judge others is more than likely to have misserable lives.atleast i can say that i dont judge people i love people for who they are and not what they have!
Maybe I’m wrong in some people’s eyes, but I WOULD not spend more than $1000 on saving a dog. Maybe if I were independently wealthy and money was not object it would different, but I believe the majority of America is not and cannot afford to fork out that kind of money to save an animal. I am a responsible pet owner who believes they should be treated as part of the family, however I also try to keep my priorities in order and know the difference between saving the dog and saving the house. If I have to decide between the two on which one to pay, I’m sorry, but the dog would have to be let go. So, if you can feed your family and your dog, go for it! If you can’t, then I’d say "no dog".
I think all poor families should have a dog… that way if you have areal tough week and food is scarce you can rely on one last bit of meat!! I heard it tastes like chicken =)
As a family that is not very "well off", I think I can answer from the other side of the coin on this one. My husband and three sons and I have always had pets, they are just more members of our family. I may not be able to buy Pedigree dog food (which my dog has had and dislikes very much) all of the time, nor high-end chew toys, but he seems very happy playing with a rope with a few knots in it and eating ‘Ol Roy (Wal-Mart brand) dog food. He gets left-overs from dinner mixed in his food, and really enjoys the rice and chicken that I mix in it 3 times a week to make sure he’s getting some extra protein. We pay our vet bills in monthly payments and have had the last one paid off for over 2 years. If an emergency should arise and he need treatment, our vet would treat him in a heartbeat and we would continue with monthly payments. Same thing if our kids got sick, we would pay off the bills as the money comes in. The wagging tail and excited jumps when "daddy" comes home, the tiny curled up ball across my feet keeping them warm, and the literal smile on his face tells us that he’s just as happy as a dog could be. He doesn’t know what a paycheck is, nor do I believe he would care that our’s isn’t as big as some other families.
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I have many pets. I dont make a lot of money but i feed my pets every day. They are as happy as can be. I dont think people shud not have a pet cuz of the money they make. Thear are some people who have loads of cash and dont take care of thear pets. It depends on the person and the love they have for the animal.
I think anyone should be able to own a pet as long as they can feed and love it. It isn’t that costly to maintain care. A yearly vet visit not affordable maybe the humane society could help. there are too many animals needing to be loved.
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