It's pointless to say "They shouldn't have pets if they can't afford it", as people need contact with animals. Why should only wealthy people get to have pets? That isn't fair. It also isn't fair to the animals if they don't get the care they need.
What is the solution?|||Many vets will treat animals on a 'payment plan' basis if you discuss it with them, and demonstrate you are a responsible pet owner just short of funds. I have done this very successfully in the past.
Nowadays, there are also several 'pet health fund' schemes which you can pay a monthly amount into and then, if your pet does require major treatment, most of the cost is covered.
Another option is that the RSPCA (in Australia) and some universities will offer various treatments performed by students for a much lesser rate.
The students are not 'beginners' but final year and new graduates, and are overseen by trained professionals, BUT there is always a risk.
Organisations such as the Cat protection Society (NSW) also offer subsidised veterinary care.
Recent newspaper articles have suggested that with increased apartment living and less 'leash free' open space available, many people are opting not to have pets these days, which is a real shame, as animals can be tremendously beneficial to people's health and mental wellbeing.
Perhaps local pounds could also offer some treatment 'clinics' or certain nights when discount treatment for simple matters could be offered?
I'll look forward to hearing other suggestions!
Cheers :-)|||Very few people truley cannot afford the vet care.
Most people do have some extra spending money.. they could find a way to afford vet care, they just dont want to. To many people, its "just an animal". They would rather have their money free to spend on cigarettes, beer, dining out, going to movies etc and find some cheap way to fix up the animal.|||There's several solutions...
First of all, many communities already have low cost shot clinics and altering for low income people.
Another option is to be careful in selecting a pet. I adopt adult animals that are clearly devoid of hereditary problems. I never adopt or buy a puppy or a kitten. I also only adopt already vetted animals, already neutered/spayed, heartworm checked and up to date. That way, most of the expensive stuff is already done.
Even with taking precautions like that, things can still go wrong. That is why those on a low fixed income should limit their pets to only one or two cats or dogs and maybe a couple lower maintenance pets like tarantulas or fish.
I am barely above the poverty line and can still manage to provide emergency care for my pets because I do not get more then I can afford. I also don't get purebred animals or young animals. I feed a high quality food which still works out to cost less then the lowest end junk at dollar general because I buy it in bulk. Because I feed high quality food, my cats don't have urinary crystals and my dogs don't have allergic reactions.That saves me a lot of money too.
Anyone can afford vet care if they plan in advance and get the right pet.|||I disagree with your statement that "people need contact with animals". Prove that premise.
Unless the Federal Government passes laws that give relief to "animal lovers", there is no recourse for those who have to take their animals to a "vet", and pay out of their own resources.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a bill addressing this issue go before the House of Representatives and Senate. After all, I am paying for the births and education of illegal immigrants!|||There are ways to have great animal contact without the responsiblity of owning an animal. All it takes is a little work. You can volunteer with a local shelter, offer to walk a neighbor's dog, donate to a rescue, etc. Set up a nice natural environment in your neighborhood for birds and wildlife...whatever! Money doesn't dictate the degree to which someone can impact the world of animals around them!
The solution is that the owners who can afford to do so spay and neuter their pets (which should be everyone...one shouldn't take on a pet if they can't). That way there isn't an expansive pet population that can't be cared for.|||Most everyone can afford knowledge. Research,research,research.
50% of vet bills are unnecessary. Puppies are getting way too many vaccinations, and it has been proven that they are causing severe health problems as a dog ages.
(Advocates please research before you all freak out)
Spaying/neutering is extremely important, and will actually save money and heartache in the long run. Every town has programs with low cost spay neuter clinics. Use them!
Research the life cycle of the heartworm (for all of you who spend many $$ on this a month) Ask yourselves why it is required every month for protection, when the life cycle is every 3 months.
Here's one to get you all hoppin!! Check out and research different brands of dog food. Some brands are terrible,, you buy a 15 lb bag for 4.00,,, but have to feed 3 times as much. Do the math, you're better financially spending 8.00 for the same amount of a good brand since you feed 1/3 as much.
Heres another to get me jumped on. Ol Roy is not as nasty as people with money want you to believe. It has improved vastly. I checked ingredients the other night compared to Iams Eucanuba, and guess what? They are nearly the same, and as compared to Purina? the high performance is actually better (Before you people freak,,, go check out the ingredients) The wheat and corn are way down in the list now.(I haven't tried it yet, but am seriously considering it now that I checked)
If you can't gain money,gain knowledge so you will know what to spend your hard earned money on.
We, like many people do not have money to burn. My dogs are all healthy, no heartworms, and the pets are spayed/neutered. The adults no longer get a yearly 6 in 1 shot, as it is not necessary. They get rabies every 3 yrs. They get Advantix monthly for fleas,ticks and mosquitos,ordered online for much less than the cost at a vets office. They get heartguard every 3 months. I buy the over 50 lb. size and split it between them saving lots of money without compromising their safety and health. (each are about 25 lbs)
Again,,, learn,research, make decisions based on knowledge rather than what 'Fred' in the three story mansion across the road does.|||We still have the Blue Cross here where you can get treatment for pets free if you really had no money or else you pay what you think that you can afford as most do (and some pay more than private costs to subsidise the poor).
That is how it should be everywhere - just as we still have the NHS still (just) providing free healthcare for people and funded through taxation.
I just pray to God that these servicies survive the mad rush towards privatisation by our American inspired New Labour right wing government.
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/Abo鈥?/a>
http://www.tuc.org.uk/publicsector/tuc-1鈥?/a>|||But it's fair for the animal not to get the proper care it needs because it's owned by someone who can't afford it?
Animals are not there for our amusement. Tough if people 'need' contact with animals. If you can't afford support yourself, or you only barely can, how on Earth can you justify taking on a dependent? It's like those people who can't afford to support themselves but still think it's OK to churn out babies. Never mind, the state will look after my kids/animals, why should I have to!
So you think it isn't fair if animals don't get the care they need. You're right. So they shouldn't be going to people who can't care for them. They ARE systems in place to make sure animals get the care they need if their owners fall on hard times financially. But these systems are grossly abused by people who can't afford pets in the first place, but think they'll get them anyway - "I can't afford an animal but I'll get one anyway, someone else can pay for it!!"
Makes me sick frankly. I see people all the time who even can afford to get their pets neutered, but if the Cats Protection are doing a month of free neutering, those owners will take full advantage of it - "ooh, a free spay, how lovely!" Yes, very lovely for the charity that relies on donations to have to fork out for it because you're too tight and/or bone idle.
Believe me when I say I could go on. Email me if you want me to.
Chalice|||many people don't provide vet care because they don't care, most cities have humane societies that will provide free or really low cost vet care and yet it goes unused by uncaring people, and people don't need contact that is why most abused animals are the ones people claimed they needed now it's tied outback covered in fleas.
Many people are elderly and need help with thier health as well as there pets, but most people can afford vet care they just don't want to, think about it if you had 100 dollars in the bank and your dog had fleas would you want to spend half of it on the dog, well you should but alot of people won't
Oh my solution is this =for parents to teach their children responsiblity and passion and show it by example .|||Hi Zucchi, I know some Vets around Perth will accept part payments to pay off the total bill (Which are usually large). I have never done this but have seen people that do while I have taken my dogs for injections. I would hate to think that animals suffer simply because their owners have not picked up a phone and asked the Vet if they can pay off the bill. Another way is to ask for a small overdraft from the Bank. Most banks will come to the Party with this and take a bit out of your wage each Payday. Hope this helps.
Teenytin, You are correct. But there a lot of people who look after their pets and will go without so their pets can have a consultation with the Vet.|||People who cannot aford to pay vast amounts for basic vaccines can buy them at feed stores or online and vaccinate the pet themselves. The exception is rabies vaccines .. MUST be done by a licensed vet. I'm surprised by the number of people who don't know they can buy the same types of vaccines from an online supplier for $15, or pay $100 at the vet.
HW pills can be purchased online at a better rate than what many vets charge. And I agree with the statement about giving the dosage monthly. I know people who show their dogs and only give HW pills every 6 weeks. Being that we live in a very warm area, and the mosquito population doesn't seem to die off, I am kind of wary of going too long without dosing.
I wholeheartedly feel that spaying/neutering is outrageously overpriced. There is a vet in my area that charges about $250 for the procedure, because they "feel that laser surgery is best" ... my c-section wasn't laser surgery! If a scalpel is good enough for me, it is good enough for the numerous unspayed pets out there! And if vets would offer spaying/neutering for a reasonable fee, say something like $25, a lot more people would rush to the vet to have it done, and we'd cut down our shelter overpopulation.
I also agree with the statement about over vaccination of pets. I was discussing this with a breeder/exhibitor one day. I mean, our kids get a series of boosters and then they are done. Puppies get a series of boosters throughout early puppyhood. Why would they need a booster yearly thereafter? This is something I want to do a lot more reaserch on, to determine if our pets really need that bordetella vaccine every 12 months, especially for inside pets that don't travel and are thus not exposed to kennel cough (just as an example).
As for a solution, IDK. We have too many kids in this country who can't afford healthcare ... I don't see the pets getting a break anytime soon, either.|||The "shouldn't have pets if you can't afford it" argument is still pretty valid when you think about how pet shops stay in business by relying on impulse buyers not making well thought out decisions. So often as soon as the pet gets in the way of life and can't be afforded anymore, the poor thing gets dumped at the shelter. The shelters put down nearly 200,000 unwanted pets a year in Australia. I'm all for mandatory desexing and banning pet shops.
If people really need a pet in their life, they can rescue one that's already desexed, microchipped and vaccinated from a shelter for a reasonable price. When you apply to adopt, shelter staff will usually have a good chat with you too so you understand what you could be getting yourself into financially one day.
I'm facing some pretty hefty vet bills over the next few months. I'll just postpone my dental, put it on the credit card and try not to think about the cost. I'm looking into pet insurance too.
If a person has a pet who is sick and suffering but don't have the funds, if they really care they will either find a way or just surrender it to a shelter.|||Which is your greatest concern here? Humans who can't care for their pets, or the care of humans who can't care for themselves? What really should be our highest moral obligation here? If contact with animals is a necessity for humans, it would seem the necessity of humans has greater importance. We don't generally have the moral impetus to fully fund the care of impoverished children, and we should now be distracted with the concern of animals instead? Are you willing to recognize that the pets of the wealthy are a class with greater opportunities than poor children? What exactly are you asking for?
Shingoshi Dao
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