So last night my gorgeous labrador mix was very sick...to the point he was throwing up what looked like blood. Panic is the natural reaction when you see something like that, and it looked like a lot of blood.
Because this was happening at 1am, the only option was the emergency vet....a few days before payday. And therein lies the rub for most people. I'm quite careful with money, but I'm not on a high wage either, and we all know vets aren't cheap at the best of times. The quote was £200 just to see the dog, not including medication or any testing done on him, because it was out of hours. I know that's not a lot of money to many people, but there are also a lot of us living paycheck to paycheck and a few days before payday, I was struck with this terror that my dog was really sick and he was going to die on me, unless I paid this bill which I had no way to pay.
The bill ended up being way more than the minimum charge of £200, but fortunately insurance for dogs here in the UK seems to work pretty well...I know a lot of people have gripes with their dog insurance here but ours has always been very reliable about paying out. According to the vet there, they usually make the owner pay the full bill and then claim back off the insurance, but they were kind enough just to let us pay the £100 excess fee on the dog insurance, as long as we signed a form for liability for full payment if the insurance fails to pay up...our insurance has been super reliable so I'm confident they will pay up. Mostly I am just overjoyed that my dog is OK, it turned out to be nothing more than a burst blood vessel in the stomach...but I can guarantee you if you had seen that amount of blood coming out of your dog you would have been very worried too. I love my dog to bits and if I had thousands of pounds in the bank I would pay it over and over for his good health, but unfortunately, like many of us, I don't right now.
It was a PDSA clinic, which is a charity for UK pet owners on low incomes that allow you to pay by minimum donations. It doubles as the emergency vet for our city so we did not get that service, but they must see people all the time who are in dire financial straits and just want the best for their animals, so I'm guessing this is the reason they were so accommodating with us. I don't qualify for PDSA here, you need to be on some kind of benefit (it isn't paid for by UK taxes before anyone asks, it's a legitimate charity run by donations).
The bigger issue is dog ownership in general on a low income, or ownership of any pet really. Keeping your pet on a good quality food that will ensure s/he lives a long lifespan can be expensive, especially in the case of a large dog like a lab. But the vet fees are the biggest thing. I'm so truly grateful for our insurance but I know that so many people in other countries don't have the option of dog insurance, or it seems like dog insurance is a rip off (I've heard really bad things from people in the USA, and quite frankly a lot of companies in the UK have a long way to go).
I hear so often the harsh statement "don't have a dog if you can afford the vet" but I think it's a shame that pet ownership should be restricted to "certain people" who fit the bill for so-called "responsible" ownership. Especially when "the vet" can easily cost you thousands in an emergency. It also cuts down the pool of people capable of taking on rescue dogs by a huge amount. My own dog was basically a hand-me-down from my brother, if I hadn't taken him he could've well ended up in a rescue, and we all know what a dire situation that can be if no-one adopts the dog.
It also doesn't take into account people who did have a reliable income but then lost it due to this crappy economy. Or the fact that increasing numbers of people think you shouldn't even own a dog if you work full time and can't be around for the dog. It seems pet owners are increasingly between a rock and a hard place, and it seems you cannot win and people criticise no matter what you do. I can't imagine having to fork over thousands of pounds for a vet bill or a surgery, I would just not be able to do it and would be faced with the situation of having my beloved dog put to sleep. It seems crazily unreasonable to expect your average person to be able to afford to have thousands stashed away in an emergency vet care fund if they live in a place where dog insurance is unreliable.
I feel it's a real shame we've reached a place in our society where people need to be on a high income to even consider being able to own a dog (or any animal) because of the potential for vet fees. I'm not criticising the vets themselves, they are hard working individuals, but I have seen more than a few practices that will use the slightest sniffle in a dog to order the full battery of blood tests, xrays and everything else. I had a friend with a pet snake which had to be kept in for a week or so at a vet hospital. On the bill she got it included daily force feeding. If you know anything about snakes you will know most of them eat once a week or less so this will have been extremely bad for the snake, and force feeding is a last resort as the stress can kill them quicker than anything else, and you shouldn't be force feeding in case of a respiratory tract issue (which was the problem with this snake). This was a fancy vet hospital, the most well reputed one in my country...the fact that they seemed to be force feeding purely so they could slap that on the bill is insane. Then there's the recommended foods which the vet companies are sponsored by, and when you do a little digging you find out a lot of these foods contain very suspect ingredients and are far from the best foods to feed your dogs.
It leaves you in a real quandary as a pet owner. If you lose your job do you give up your dog because one day there may be an emergency you cannot pay for? Bearing in mind that dog will probably end up lonely and unloved in a rescue centre if not put to sleep because everybody wants an adorable fluffy puppy? If you are a lonely old person on a fixed income do you just not get a cat or a little dog to keep you company? If you are a bullied teenager who just wants something to love, do you not buy that rabbit or guinea pig because your parents are low income and even small animals can cost you thousands in vet fees? Should you leave that beautiful, sad looking animal in it's cage at the pet shelter because you worry you might not be able to pay a vet fee for it?
I feel people can be so harsh with the "if you don't have money, don't get a dog" when there are so many that cherish their pets beyond measure and treat them with such kindness yet have very little money. Conversely, there are some very well off people who treat their animals as no more than objects (this is not a comment on class or who cares for their pets better, but purely that you cannot judge how much someone loves their animals by income alone).
Anyway, these are just some thoughts I've having about the dilemma of keeping a pet when you don't have a lot of money, and how harsh people can be about it. Some people really do love their pets like members of their family and the guilt if they cannot afford to pay a bill must be absolutely crushing. In this case I am just so incredibly grateful for my awesome insurance company who has paid out every time I have needed them. And I am truly, truly grateful to the emergency vet clinic who were so very kind enough to just let me pay the excess on my insurance instead of slapping me with the full bill, and chose to give my dog only the treatment he needed instead of asking for every single test and medication on the books to get away with charging more money. These guys are heroes. I wish all vets could be like them. And I am so very truly blessed that my dog was absolutely A-OK and is napping beside me on the couch right now.