I´m sorry but I just have to complain for a sec.

I am SICK of seeing people (on here and other sites) who have multiple pets (or even just one--but especially if there are several of them) and yet, obviously, don´t have the means to care for them properly. I understand as well as anyone that dogs are expensive--usually at the very time that you can´t afford for them to be (Bear has a special affinity for getting injured near Christmas). If you can´t afford to care for your pet--and I mean even in emergencies then you shouldn´t have them-period.

If your dog needs medical care you should never say "well I can´t afford it." That to me means that you are too selfish to find a way or that owning this pet is more about you than it is about making them a part of your family. I am blessed financially and I know that but even when I wasn´t--as a freshman in college, when Bear needed WAY more than I could afford--I found a way. I may have done without (and he did too--he had less toys than I would have liked and such) but he never suffered medically when there was something that could be done. ARGH--I´m sorry but it is so frustrating for me--I will now stop my rant

i totally agree with you

LOL, well you do make a good point Cookie!
Dogs are like kids. A HUGE responsibiltie, and it shouldn´t really be an impulsive decision to get a dog unless you know for a fact, that you are finacial secure, and will be for the next several years. Not to mention it is best to research the breed/s of the dog, and be commited to giving it the excersise, attention, training, stimulation and so on.
And what is with dogs getting sick/injured and stuff near or on Christmas?!?!?

I don´t know about other countries but here we have the PDSA...People´s Dispensary For Sick Animals and if you are hmmmmmm how do I word this one.......below the bread line/in receipt of state benefits then you can take your sick/injured pet there and they receive the best of medical/vetinarian assistance FREE/NO CHARGE and all that is asked is, if you can afford it then please leave a donation.These places also double as out of hour vets for daytime vetinary practises after hours. So if Baybie or Sadie took ill between 6pm and 9am this is where we would go and we are charged an arm and a leg because it is out of hours. I hear what you are saying cookie but it´s not just poor people that neglect their dogs, some rich buy a dog on a whim and then neglect it. As for some members on here, they take the time to photograph the dog and then put the picture on here so I´d surmise they do love their pet however some of the living conditions I have seen have not been to my taste. I wouldn´t like to condemm anyone via a picture on a website but there is a particular picture on here and if it was on a website regarding cruelty to animals we´d all be up in arms BUT we pat this dog.........what does that say about us? I have now said enough and I am shutting up

I agree up to a point. A person should not go seek out a pet if they know they can´t afford one. However, if that person has rescued an animal off the street and given them a warm home and regular meals when before all they had to look forward to was an early death, I would cut them a little slack.

BrodyC-I understand your point but still these animals deserve to not suffer--saying that it is better than the life they would have had simply is not acceptable to me. For the record I should also say that all six of mine (plus three cats) are rescues and have the best care that I can find for them.

Baybie--I wish we had that here!! It sounds awesome! I do agree thought that rich people abuse/neglect their pets also. I am simply tired of people asking for advice and sympathy and then when we say "Go to the vet" or "That sounds serious--you should see a vet" they say "oh we don´t have the money."

PuppyLove--I guess I´m guilty of not researching before I get them but, in my defense they are rescues so usually it´s a choice of availability--plus I´m always ready to deal with whatever may come along lol.
I swear though--it´s like Bear sees the Christmas tree and thinks "Well what can I do to force Mommy to take me to the emergency vet this year?" I think he´s getting more creative each year--next year I´m tying him to the couch until the holidays are over!!

You better hope then this year that Bear doesn´t want to be the fairy on top of that tree

I agree with Cookie8091 & Baybie on this subject and have also seen some sad looking animals in conditions not to my liking and heres the dilemma: do I pat the dog by doing rewarding the owner or ignore it & make a statement by doing so but then I feel SORRY for the dog and give him a pat and sometimes a prezzy I guess there are just different KINDS OF LOVE - I suppose if they are taking photographs they care and there are so many dogs/animals out there that are being abused inso many diffrent kinds of ways - I also think that VETS bills are seriously high and ridiculous luckily my dogs have never needed more than their injections and I hope they never get seriously ill or I will be living "without" for a long time perhaps vets exhorbitent bills should be scrutinized a bit as I dont want it to be FREE but FAIR!!!!!

Well, if you rescue a dog and dont have much time to look into the dog, I think I could cut you little slack lol, I got Fray the day after I saw she was at the shelter!
lol, yeah..I think i´ll tie my dogs up too! At the very least I wont let them even go for a pee without a leash!

The link below is to another website of an organisation based in UK. Although I do understand where cookie is coming from life isn´t really that ´black and white´.
Cinamon Trust
Val

well i have written in here about not being able to afford an opperation for prince a while back, but does anyone know anyone with a newborn child who can afford over a thousand pounds sterling straight up ,if so i want their job . luckily he didnt need it in the end up. in the end up i had to get insurance . i try to give my dogs the best life , ive done without to provide for my pets , it was my decision to have them so its my responceibility to provide . i agree on the fact if someone cant afford normal pet bills , or a few hundred on vets bills they shouldnt have a pet as it would be the 1 to suffer. but circumstances change everyday and a lot is out of our control. i should hope im not one of the owners labled unfit by this thread.

As I understand it the gripe is mainly about proving basic care, which would include at least a visit to a vet if the dog was sick, and not about spending thousands of dollars on treatments. I spent over $2000 on my cat before she died, and they were asking for $3000 more to keep her another 3 days and try some more aggressive treatment which still might not have worked and most certainly would have caused her more suffering. I didn´t have the $3000 (I didn´t have the original $2000, I had to apply for some credit card they offered and am still paying this off) but even if I had it I still think I would have opted to stop her suffering.

Jaay--it wasn´t provoked by you.

ValC--I´m not sure I understand that link although I think it is a great program. Most of the people I am referring to aren´t elderly--just irresponsible.

I guess I should explain in greater depth.
I read a post about a dog (not a new rescue--not a rescue at all actually) complaining about not being able to afford care for their dog for a basic skin condition. The dog has open, irritated sores that are not being cared for because they claim they can´t afford it--then I read a post regarding their new puppy! If you can´t afford to care for the dog you have then DON´T GET A NEW ONE! It just made me so mad that I had to vent and I knew that some people on here would agree with me.
I too have had a situation where I thought I couldn´t afford care for an injury.

I have had Millie for almost 3 years now and now I have Maggie her daughter and I´m quite comforable in looking after the day to day life and the up keep for them. If something serious was to happen i´d be scratching to get it payed for and it would probley be over a bill on time, weather at the vets or on a card. I have just done this, as Millie needed a c-section with the litter she just had. The bill was just under 1300.00 for the c-section and spaying. I knew this might happen going into having the litter before we made the choice of getting Millie bread. I was prepared but unseen things happen all the time and some things are out of our control weather we have money in the bank or we don´t at that time,but everyone should be aware when taking a dog/cat/or any pet under their wing,that they are our sole responsabilitiy.
I know for me that 2 dogs will be my limit even tho i´d like more, The two I now have -I know will be taken care of to the best of my ability and if not i´d find a new and loving home. the loving care comes first in my book.

i totally agree. i am not rich by any means, but i make it work! if they ever need anything, they get it no matter what. IF U DONT HAVE THE MONEY ISNT THAT WHAT CREDIT CARDS ARE FOR??? lol. but seriously, once u make that commitment to get a pet, u owe it to them to give them everything they need. also can i add that if u can afford about 20 to 30 bucks a month or so, then get PET INSURANCE. believe me, u will thank me later

I struggle with bills every month, as do many of us. I waited six years before getting Cracker and immediately signed up for health insurance simply because of the fact I never want to have to make a medical decision based solely on finances. I am lucky, my vet is the one I worked for for 8 years and he cuts me a break in emergencies and also lets me pay by installment. Regardless of this I made sure before I got her that I could afford decent food, training and all basic and minor veterinary care. I also studied up on first aid and can treat a lot of minor things at home.

Cookies point is correct though..if you cannot afford care for one animal for doggsake don´t get a second one!!!

I agree Cookie, Ive seen this too on this site, today in fact, and it really doesn´t seem fair.I do have insurance for Wallace but if I didn´t I´d beg borrow or steal to get him to a vet if he was ill.

Pet insurance? I´ve never heard of it before. Can some-one fill me in on it? What does it cover? And were do you get it? Is it only available in the usa?
I use to have animal insurance when I use to live on the farm but that was if they caused a accident on the farm or roads and if others got hurt.

I have pet insurance. Different insurance companies cover all sorts of different ailments so here in the UK it´s best to shop around as almost everyone now does pet insurance and they are all competing for our business.

Unfortunately for us 2 Debbiedo it does not cover a C section lol

our pet insurance costs us 28 pound per month and we get up to 6000 per condition. its not bad im not covered for anythin to do with breeding tho. i get half price checkups and half price vaccinations

debbiedo pet insurance is for vets bills , you can insure your pets incase the worst happens and you need to pay out more than you can afford to . here we have loads of insurance companies offering different plans . so its best to look around . it is a good buy i think as its better than the alternative. i never thought id need it but out of the blue i could have ..