OT -EEEK! Had to stop by the vet

Kelly - I use Pets Megastore in Australia (http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/) for all my pets flea meds.

Did you try Walmart for the insulin?

Didn't even occur to me to see if it would be cheaper there than from my vet.  Duh.  I bet it would, huh?

I spend $75 per month for the pain and anti-inflammatory meds for Khan (my Chow with the hip dysplasia), $30 per month for food, and... here's the real killer... $50 a month for Denta Stix, dog biscuits, and rawhide chew sticks!  Then there is the $310 each year for shots for both of them, another $40 per year for their licenses, about $100 apiece each year for Heartguard, $26 every couple of months to have Khan's nails trimmed by the vet, $40 every 3 months for Max (a Scottie) to get groomed, abotu $45 per year far Advantix for Max (Chows don't get fleas, so Khan doesnt need it... apparently it is just too much work for the fleas to find their way through all that hair, LOL!), plus the occasional toy or vitamin purchase... and THEN the costs for any medical issues that arise and boarding costs if we go on vacation!

Geez... No wonder I am always broke, LOL!  I dearly love both of my boys, though.

Lora

I knew I liked you!

I worked for my vet all through high school and one year of college. After seeing people dump or euthanize their pets over a $50 vet bill and then they drove away in new cars, I promised myself I wouldn't have a pet if I couldn't commit to it.

Rio had Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) to fix his knees. He tore the cruciate ligament in his knee (both within 4 months of each other) and because he is so big, only a board certified orthopedic surgeon could perform the surgery. $3200, per knee. Fortunately my employer includes the option for Pet Insurance in our group benefits!

Now, it looks like I have 2 new dogs. A lady found a big Lab and a little long haired dachshund last week, I am waiting 2 weeks (3 total) to give the owners a chance to see the fliers / craigslist /radio ads, and then I will have to find a way to add those guys to my insurance plan!


edited to say: Not trying to say folks who can't pay $6k for a dog shouldn't have one (I live alone, no family, no real debt, etc).... more trying to say everyone should care for their pets to the utmost of their ability, because that is what your pet does for you.

 Yes, yes, yes.  I too have three kitties and my one cat is diabetic also!  Tommy has heart disease and is on lasix also.  He was at the vet for check-up a few weeks ago, and they drew blood and his sugars
are 87!  So we have really kept it under control.  Of course like you, the costs knock us over every time, but hey it's ok. We love our babies and it's our responsibilty to take care of all their needs.  My brother who lived in Springfield said fleas back there were a problem.  Where we live, we still do the flea prevention but don't seem to have problems.  I wonder if it's because we are dry out here versus Ohio which has more greenery and humidity.  

 Ouch, but they ur babies. 

I have a 7 year old cat who tore his ACL (CCL, actually...in cats.)  I've had him since he was a tiny thing and I hated seeing him hurtin.

We tried keeping him in an extra large dog crate for 8 weeks to limit his movement & see if it would improve.  No dice.  In January, he had surgery.  Turns out, he'd completely ruptured the ligament.  No amount of laying about would have fixed that.

He's doing much better now, though.  Total cost?  $350 for the initial emergency vet visit/x-rays/etc, $95 for the giant dog crate and $1750~ for the surgery.  I was quoted a lot more for the surgery locally but a friend of mine from high school works for a vet up in MA so I carted the poor cat 170 miles north to save some cash.

This is in addition to his normal routine vet visits and his Innova food ($42/15 lbs).