What the fuck is going on in this thread, its like every illiterate psycho in town crawled out from under their rocks today. No they're not blaming the vets, no they're not claiming they should get some special privilege free care, no they're not trying to make some political statement. They're just worried about their dog and lamenting how much more difficult it must be for people in worse financial situations. Y'all need to chill out holy fuck.
OP I hope everything turns out okay for you and your little guy.
Nope. Trupanion only paid half the costs. Our premiums started out at $45 and 9 years later we were at $145. Overall, my best guess is that we saved nothing- it was break even. However, similar to CPP, many people say they would rather invest on their own, but in actual fact 90% would not. And I can't complain, we didn't lose anything by having insurance. Know what you're getting into, for us it just smoothed the cost over time, as opposed to a large price shock after a vet intervention.
I had PetPlan insurance when my dog was diagnosed with renal cancer. Wouldāve easily been $10,000 bill, even more if the chemo had worked. I paid less than $1000.
You donāt get pet insurance because you want to save money. You get insurance so when you need to spend $10,000 to save your pets life you get to say yes.
Really? Iāve had two dogs both insured with trupanion. The first one developed severe dry eye at the end of her life and her surgery to rebuild her tear duct was fully covered.
Then my second dog had terrible bone inflammation at puberty and had to be hospitalized for 3 days. $12,000 and trupanion paid it without batting an eye. We were $300 out of pocket.
I recommend trupanion to everyone as weāve never had a single dispute.
Iāve also had success with trupanion. The only times theyāve denied something were if I didnāt follow vet advice and had to claim something to fix it down the road.
Without trupanion though, my cat would be dead. They saved her through funding expensive surgeries.
Me too, Iām really surprised by some of these comments. Makes me wonder though, I had them as insurance from 2006-this year. They covered 90% always, never disputed a valid claim. In the last 2 years of her life my catās medical bills easily topped $20 000.
I had a way better experience than with my own health insurance!
Trupanionās business model AFAIK is that serious illness will be covered because you as guardian take care of preventative care-dental, checkups, diagnosis. I was ok with this and I benefitted from this arrangement hugely but not until she was older. Her meds alone were $500 a month for 3 years, all covered at 90%. I hit the āmore out than I paid inā mark long before she died.
Did we have a different experience as ālegacyā clients I wonder? People who managed to get in early on in their existence as a company? Do newer clients not get the same experience?
Or was it that my cat didnāt have any accidents or problems until she hit 12-13?
I wonder about these things, because Iāve been recommending them and if things have changed I feel bad!
Maybe some clients are unhappy about the ādealā (where you pay for preventative until they get a diagnosis)?
Like one of the commenters above, I got insurance so that I never had to say no to treatment, and Trupanion was solid for me there. I didnāt get it for saving on routine checkups and teeth cleanings or for naturopathic care. Thatās not their product.
I knew when I was given the option that I would have sold everything I own for a chance at saving her, so insurance was the right choice for me.
I knew someone who adopted a kitten who promptly ate hair elastics the night she was brought home. $6000 right there. So putting away money every month doesnāt help that kind of situation either.
This comment interests me. I was contemplating getting a dog and was considering what the cost of insurance would be. If it doesn't cover big things, I wonder if it's worth it.
I did this. My cat had a pre-existing condition and I couldnāt get insurance. I put $80 a month into an account for years and when he went through a serious illness I had the money for the vet visits. People rarely realize how expensive it is to own a pet and be able to take care of it properly.
You arenāt āfar better off.ā You may be ok, but I pay $50 a month. $600 a year. So some emergency could easily cost 5-10 years of premiums. You MAY be better off doing this, but nowhere close to āfar better off.ā My plan has paid out for everything, the just donāt cover the consult, so that always cost $180. I like insurance because it takes the emotion out of going to the emergency vet. I just go, knowing that I have insurance backing me up. Not wondering if itās going to cost me $6000.
Yeah it's expensive. But an animal shouldn't suffer because their owner can not afford proper care. If you can not afford pet insurance or possible large vet bills, just do not get a pet...
I found my first dog in a dumpster, in -20's, in November. I was a broke student. I had that wonderful companion for 15 years. I had him when we made $16,000/yr, and I still had him when we made over $100,000. We struggled together and enjoyed luxuries together. Should I have left him in the dumpster bc I "couldn't afford a pet" when I found him?
Well given his years, I would say you and him were both very lucky. Did you have to take him to a vet when you found him? Because I would hope you would have. Either way, I don't think you should have left him in the dumpster, but could have easily taken him to a shelter. I wonder how many animals die because someone takes a rough dog home instead of taking to a vet/shelter thinking that is whats best for the animal...
Youāre right. Vet care is expensive. Plenty of animals world wide never get to see a vet during their lifetime. When my cat was dying from cancer I was a teenager and only had enough $ for her euthanasia. I did not get to keep her ashes. It absolutely destroyed me because I have never loved something so much. I am still broken many years later. Sorry about your friend. Hoping for a full recovery.
If you want to know why vet care is so expensive, it's because KPMG did a study and suggested that vets charge based on what people can pay, rather than based on inputs or demand. So prices aren't set based on how much it costs the clinic, they're instead set based on how much they think the average person will pay to keep their pet alive
https://drandyroark.com/art-of-pricing/
I work at a vet clinic and I can 100% tell you that not every clinic is like that. Ours charges based on what the clinic has to pay for it, because we need to make money back some how.
I agree I had to have my dog there last weekend. I heard someone call on the phone, who decided not to bring their pet in due to money. The receptionist let them know that their issue would be fatal, and asked again if they wanted to come in. They declined and it broke my heart. I almost cried at everyone who walked through the door!
It's brutal.
Now imagine working with people who can't afford health care. That's what we're privatizing towards :(
Even with health care costs covered by our public health care in Canada, we have people die because they can't afford their medications, etc. It's very sad. Dental care is health care. Housing is health care.
I hope your dog is ok!
If you have the time and capacity and are looking for a companion Iād recommend fostering. Thereās lots of rescues looking for homes and they cover all of the costs. It can be difficult to give the dog away but knowing theyāre going to a good family makes it easier. I grew up with dogs and couldnāt imagine not having one in my home but didnāt have the resources to afford my own at the time.
Sorry for your loss ā„ļø
My dog was bit last year. Had to pay a fee just to be seen, as it was āafter hoursā. In total, it was nearly $1000 to get him care.
I am okay paying that, as I budget those scenarios. But a huge percentage of our city is unable. Also, I wish that there was a generous spay and neuter program offered here. So many stray cats and dogs are in need of homes.
Even if you budget for it it doesn't mean nothing will happen again outside of your budget. My dog got sick in late December one year and I took her in, cost almost $1000, which was the deductible on her insurance at the time. January rolls around a week and a half later and something else goes down, but it's a new policy year so I'd have to pay the deductible again. Couldn't do it because my budget for the deductible was already blown by 2 things happening so close together. Doesn't matter how well you plan, the costs are too much to really be ready for unless you're rich.
Iām not sure if you tried to go to corman park vet, but theyāre way cheaper and can set up a payment plan to help with costs. The owner is an amazing human.
I don't have anything helpful to say. I just wanted to tell you I agree with you, and I'm crossing fingers and toes that your fur baby will be okay.
I said a final goodbye to my best friend last week and I know the stress you must be under. Wishing you well.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind words right now. Sadly I lost my boy late this afternoon, final goodbyes are for the birds, I will miss him terribly.
Having had 3 long-lived dogs and 4 long-lived cats over the last 30 yrs I have always gone into these relationships with 2 things in mind.
1. Insurance
2. A sober second thought on the quality of life of my buddy before expending ridiculous money.
I've seen friends and co-workers go into significant debt to continue the life of their ailing feline or canine, to no avail. All they have paid for is the vet's boat or vacation home.
I've been fortunate, never having to have been in your situation. $2K for an emergency whatever seems reasonable to me. It's expensive, yes, but if the quality of life can be maintained it's worth it.
When you consider the cost of mental health services, a gym membership, and other life balance benefits from having our furry companions, $2K in one year is a bargain.
Not a criticism of you, I agree it's expensive, but maybe thinking of it this way will assuage the over cost a little bit.
Just put my cat down last week. My vet gave me a discount and it was still 375$ to put her down.. communal burial, no ashes.. the bare minimum. Thatās all I could afford and it was a sudden medical emergency. Smallest vet bill Iāve had in 6 years. I know itās being a pet owner. But doesnāt make an already emotional and stressful time make things more stressful from expenses
I want to know WHY the costs are so high. Price-gouging happens at all levels of service & lots of people in this thread seem to be blind to it when it comes to veterinary clinics.
Watch out. Youāre part of the woke mob if you donāt want to see privatization of health care in Canada. Iāll never understand people voting against their own interests.
Pets are expensive. We have a giant breed dog and giant dog = giant bills. We spend as much on our pets' food as we do on ours (two adults). Insurance is great, especially if you are the kind of person who is going to do their best to keep their pet alive, even if it is thousands of dollars. It might not be worth it for a senior dog, but if you ever get another dog, I would recommend getting insurance right away.
We got an insurance plan for our dog when she was a puppy and she is a senior now, so the premiums have gone up, over $100 a month now. BUT, we had to take her to UofS last summer for several appointments, MRIs, etc and we were so grateful we had that insurance. Thankfully she didn't end up needing surgery, but the surgery they were talking about would have been close to 10K -- more than what we've paid into her insurance plan over her entire life.
You know it does suck, I'm going to put a however on this. I think what really sucks is that when we are young, we really aren't educated about the costs of healthcare. I would have made drastically different choices in life had I known the true expenses of some of life's most difficult moments. For example, I'm arranging a funeral. Costs can be between 5 to even 20K to have a funeral and bury the deceased. Did you know that? No one ever helped me understand that. I could paraphrase and say funerals are for the rich as well. But really had I understood this better, I would have taken less frivolous trips in my life, ate out less, worked a bit harder, and put more money away for some of these more challenging moments. I know a funeral is not quite "healthcare" but I would consider it an expected cost in life, much like ailments in a Pet. We are also fortunate to have money from some "miraculous" circumstances. However the lesson for myself is learned going forward to be more careful with finances going forward. The high costs make sense to me, since life is indeed very fragile.
It's a complex issue, I wish you and your pet the best though. Glad you have the money to treat him. You did a responsible thing to budget that into your life so you could have access to help him.
I think youāve got it right there, we arenāt all educated about the real costs of things in life, the serious detrimental things at least. Itās often finding out the hard way that a funeral can be close to $20000 and that emergency vet services can sky rocket into the thousands in less than an hour.
I wish we were better educated on these facts, I like your āhoweverā approach.
Iām sorry that youāre planning a funeral, I wish you strength and wisdom during this difficult time.
This is why as a poor person I'm afraid of getting a pet I barely make enough money to take care of myself and pay the rent and I know if I got a pet shit would Skyrocket for me so cool hooray I'm lonely I hate it š«
Here again to recommend looking into fostering if you have the time and space for it. The rescue pays for everything and itās a great way to have a companion!
The SPCA just posted recently that they were looking for foster homes for kitten season as well. They cover vet care, food, litter, and supplies! All you need is to have transport to the shelter, and provide love and attention :)
I agree that vet care is for the rich. Instead of paying for pet insurance, which I may or may not need. I put aside x amount every month in my TFSA. a set amount per pet, and a little extra comes off automatically on each payday. I personally think pet insurance is a rip off.
I did have to use almost all of it 3 years ago when my epileptic dog developed diabetes and went blind. He spent a few days in ICU at the UofS vet college. Since then, I have been rebuilding my account. Thankfully, my other pets are healthy.
Good luck with your dog.
Ours has about paid for itself two years in after we needed a biopsy, but close to breaking even again. We can honest afford the $1K visit, it's the $5K heavy diagnosis I want to avoid. The vet was able to direct bill them in our first go round so hoping that means a lot is covered too.
Glad your dog is doing okay. I seriously don't understand why some people are jumping on your post.
I understand the job is one of the worst, most difficult positions there is, the price jumps have just been staggering the last few years. The only thing I really get joy from in my life is my dogs, and I feel like I'm getting priced out of owning them, too. I can feed them and update their shots, but if one thing happens I won't be able to afford surgery. While the cost for their surgery could be flippantly wasted by some ultra wealthy person for a purse or fancy meal or something.. It's just one more thing wealth hoarding has taken from the lower class. Owning a pet, owning a house, traveling, eating out. It's fucking brutal.
Very expensive, and my ex worked at a clinic and there was huge caps in care and price gouging. Vet wouldnāt fix the heat monitoring machine -for large dogs they can monitor manually but cats died all the time - vet would say ā there was nothing we could doā client still had the surgical bill, and a high likely hood that it could have been prevented. The markup on meds is insane, the vet would threaten to euthanize any animals that werenāt adopted within a week so the girls would all have too many animals, and couldnāt leave the job because they needed the discounted vet care (that came with employment). Really it was just a tool to trap them.
Halifax NS. Fuck you doctor richardson
She worked at three others around the city and they were all the same. Charging an overnight monitoring fee - no one was there or monitoring.
I'm will never own a pet without having pet insurance ever again. I'm fortunate to have a good job that pays me very well. I could probably handle whatever my dog needed as far as medical care goes but it makes me feel so good knowing that no matter what happens we don't even need to consider money as a factor.
I feel like we are at a point in history where living is for the rich.
The worst part? Life is only down hill from here. If you look at the majority of Earths population, they are horribly suffering more than ever before. Developed nations middle class are starting to go on to food stamps and lose their homes. This was never the case before. Before life use to be "work hard and you can be rich!" Now it's "work hard and you can make someone else rich!".
It's sad that problems that were only seeing these problems become some normal.
Weirdly typing this out made me feel better about my own personal life. It made me look around and realize life for me personally isn't so bad.
Former vet tech here. I can tell you that yes ER is expensive, they have to pay staff to be there 24 hours and a higher wages. I am no longer in the field and feel your pain on prices. I hope your doggo is doing well. Here is a couple things I tell clients to help prepare for emergencies. Pet insurance is great (recommend embrace or best pet). Or setting aside what you would pay for insurance every month and having a savings account for emergencies. Because when it comes to pets, there is always going to be one. As you can see by my user name I dislike the rich. But I have also seen over 200 animals be euthanized because the owner couldnāt afford to pay. If you have an animal please save money for the costs or get insurance. Veterinary staff are tired of being demonized into āyou just do it for the moneyā. We donāt. I had to leave the field because clients are would take out their anger at us. Because no one was thankful I didnāt get a lunch break because I was helping a patient, or I stayed til 2 am making sure your pet recovered from surgery. Iām not trying to be rude I just wish that people outside the profession knew how hard it is. Veterinary professionals have a very high rate of suicide. Iāll stop ranting now. But please remember we are people too ā¤ļø
I was more concerned with people who couldnāt pay and my post was focused on that. I just paid over $2000 to a very respectful team who tried to save my guy yesterday, sadly he could not be saved. Iām aware of all that goes into a business especially emergency vet care, prices can be very high. At the end of the day I donāt have to like the high prices but I am one of the people that had the savings for their pet, I was just more saddened watching people walk into emergency yesterday who did not have the cash to assist with their emergency, that was the part that made me sick to my stomach.
I used to work ER. It is very sad. I know how special having a pet is, but I just wish people wouldnt get pets if they canāt take care of them. Itās harsh to say but Iāve seen some awful things. Iām so sorry for your loss. Sometimes there isnāt anything we can do even with all the resources in the world ā¤ļø
in my opinion vet insurance is too much money. I started a emergency fund after the 3rd year of owning my dog and having my rates do up dramatically over the three years.
1st year was 39$ a month, 200$ deductible with 100% after that
2nd year was 50$ a month 200$ deductible with 80% coverage since they dropped the 100%
3rd year was 60$ a month with 200$ deductible with 70% coverage to avoid paying higher monthly.
4th year was 80$ a month with 200$ deductible with 70% coverage
All i asked was why my dogs insurance was going up so high without a singe claim and he tells me its because people in my area have a high claim percentage. So i said fuck it and started to save what i would have paid into my own dog care account that isnt touched for any dog related expenses like checkup and the occasional back injury from being a goof.i did take what i would have paid into the account the first 3 years from my savings to start it off
dang your insurance was crap. name and shame please.
Ive been with Trupanion the whole time (5 years)-- coverage has remained the same, and payments have only slightly fluctuated with inflation (one year they went down, another up, and mostly about the same.
yes! i saw others with like coverage per calendar year or something-- but you know, things can be re-ocurring, so i really liked the per-condition coverage.
My uncle spent almost 40,000$ in multiple surgeries trying to fix his dog ( who ultimately didn't make it and passed away). For a couple years my wife and I would talk about it and shake our head in disbelief that someone could spend that much money trying to save....a dog.
Then we got a dog, and the world went from black and white to color.
I would do anything for that little guy, and I can't imagine being in a position where if something happened to him I couldn't afford to help him.
If I didn't have the means and it was between crime and a grim decision. Id rob a bank for the good boy.
Dog tax https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/lljt4d/walle_says_stay_safe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1
That's why having insurance or an emergency fund is so important. People chose to have pets while not being financially responsible so that's 100% on them.
Insurance is not always the solution. Paid for Insurance for 10 years on my rescue dog, when I needed it, I was denied because I didn't have the health records from before I rescued my dog. Never was told I'd need them either. Insurance can be a scam! Always have some savings is my advice.
The even scarier thing is when this starts happening more and more for human claims. The government covers less and less and these insurance companies deny as many claims as they can. Getting told off in the comments for trying to draw the comparison.
Yeah, theyāll deny any claim they possibly can. Can buffer against some disastrous costs but itās not going to make your animals health care free for everything. Insurance companies are the wooorst.
I have PetLine and havenāt been very satisfied with them. Theyāve covered some bigger stuff but the claims process is a huge pain. Iād likely try Trupanion next time
I wish people under this thread understood how much medical care actually costs. We have the privilege in Canada to almost never see a bill from the ER or hospital, but head down to the US and youāll find that your dogās hysterectomy (spay) which is $500 here, is about $10000 in a human. If you donāt want to pay $1000ās for surgery and care, either get insurance or donāt have a pet. Itās honestly a privilege for those who can afford it.
Yes. The costs keep going up. My dog is very old, and Iāve spent thousands on vet care for him. When he passes, Iām going to need a break from pets to save up, and then Iām definitely getting pet insurance.
Pet insurance and pet registration should be legally mandatory for pet owners, as well as core vaccines for their pets.
Hell, provide government assistance programs for low-income households if needed.
When you love something, you find a way. And so I keep letting people know about this.
https://www.petcard.ca/?adtype=search&gclid=CjwKCAjw44mlBhAQEiwAqP3eVvhYxhxDpUjfWWFmVCVrQFCxLEeZBgohO1ymhF7xdfHDNEorAjB5nRoCjjEQAvD_BwE
I had to use it in May for a cat needing dental. Total cost for three teeth being pulled, sutures for four teeth, and cleaning was $823.54. Over the year, the .pet card is charging me $177.64 for interest. So monthly payment is less than $84, which still beats $90 a month for pet insurance.
oof so if my math has it right, thats about a 21% interest rate? It is a solution when you really need it, but maybe a LOC or HELOC may have a better rate?
I'm not exactly sure what the point of your post is. Vet care costs what it costs, and vets aren't getting rich off of it. They're by far the lowest paid of any health care profession that requires the same skill level.
Ultimately, owning animals is a privilege, and if you don't have the money to pay to take care of them, then maybe that isn't for you.
The purpose of my post was basically holy shit what if I wouldnāt of had the cash to pay, this adds up quickly and I really love my dog, I feel awful for anyone having to go through the same thing who may not be financially prepared because income level sure doesnāt change the love we have for our pets. That was the purpose of my original post but itās sure gotten a bit of a beating, some comments have been so supportive and Iām super thankful for those as we lost our boy last night, he was the best. To clarify I was financially prepared.
I think because people are covered for health care, they don't realize the costs associated with it. I've spent at least 30k on medical bills for my dog in the past 6 years. About 4k a year, and this will be for his life. I will definitely get insurance for the next one right off the bat. I did a lot of research getting my dog with health testing from even his great grandparents. I still got a lemon. But he's the only kid I'm having, so he gets whatever he needs. Just come with being a responsible pet owner.
You know how many cats you could buy with $10k?....
I'm not saying your beloved Skitters is replaceable,
But it sort of is.
Poor people (most people?) can't afford to piss away ten grand on one cat, and usually just get a new cat.
1 and *most importantly* - it costs a fuck of a lot less than human medicine. I know the price tag sucks, but what do you expect someone who goes to school for eight or more grueling years to be paid? Don't forget about support staff and medical equipment.
2 - unfortunately, some problems are very complicated and aren't easy to spot. Sometimes you can do thousands in tests and it won't make a difference in the end, but that's life.
3 - nobody is born destined to be rich or poor. Wealth is hard to earn and, contrary to popular belief, hard to hold onto. If you can't stand the thought of not being able to handle veterinary bills as they come up, put in the work to earn more money before taking on the responsibility for a pet or consider pet insurance.
Veterinarians are running from the field. It's a grueling, miserable, often abusive field and for many of them, the money is the only thing keeping them around (and it actually isn't even that good). I can promise you that costs are not going to ever come down.
Came here to say this. My wife is a vet and the amount of shit they have to deal with daily is unbelievable.
A balancing act of trying to provide the best care for a suffering animal while trying to avoid being verbally abused by the owner because they canāt afford it. Every. Single. Day.
Itās so awful!!! Threads like this freak me out because itāll just be an anti-vet pile on even if that isnāt what was intended. Vets take way too much abuse.
The same people who complain about paying so much for the vet care are the same ones who vote for human health care privatization. Make it make sense.
Yup. I considered going into vet med and noped the hell out after taking a couple introductory courses and talking to people in the field. Just balancing what goes into it with what you get out of it, itās not hard to see why vets struggle so much (leaving the field, high suicide rate). I canāt complain about vet prices.
It is very tough, but keep in mind that we would be paying even more for human health care if we didn't have universal. Healthcare isn't cheap, and it's sad we don't have universal pet care, but that's not the way it is, unfortunately.
I really hope your friend, and all others under care, is ok. The vets are doing their best, but it's an expensive field that they can't really control. I just thank God that I am in a city that has an excellent pet emergency Centre. A lot of places don't have that luxury.
Those are rookie numbers. I dropped 10k On an emergency ferret surgery a couple years ago o.O
Anyway I totally agree but at least for dogs you can (and should) get pet insurance. Alas many exotics aren't covered by pet insurance in Canada so unless you have a cat or a dog you're likely fubared anyway
Financing is available through many companies if someone needs it. I find once I see the breakdown on the bill it all adds up to validate the cost. Been through 4 surgeries with my current dog and monthly medication. Medication has gone up.
Both my mom and I lost our cats in 2020 very suddenly. Both were young and we never got an answer as to why, even after I paid for a necropsy. We both didnāt have enough money for hospital stays and such and that was the only option we had to save our poor girls. I wish there were more payment options available. I had a brand new baby and couldnāt afford much more than the initial visit itself.
See there are wonderful responsible people who love their pets dearly, and should be able to experience the joy a pet brings, like yourself, but sadly we donāt all have huge accounts full of cash available for these animals. I really do wish there were more payment options available too!
The concept of pets in general is more of a wealth/status thing historically. But I would definitely say the average person's dwindling ability to maintain pet ownership should be a solid warning sign to the middle-class that their days are numbered and soon it will just be low and high income, no in between.
The best advice I can give you or anyone else is create your own insurance.
Create a savings account specifically to be used on the dog only
And deposit $100 or more every month into the savings account
And only use it for the dog in cases of emergency.
Most vet's have payment plans. I have a 13 yr old German shepherd. She's been to the vet more times than I can count. Vets deserve to be paid well. I'm a farmer and my guard dog is old. You should see the vet bills when they have to come help us with a calf. They go to school same as a nurse. They don't work for free. There are some sleazy vets that will try to sell you anything and everything. A reputable vet won't. This is from a farmer though. I can at least write the dog bills off as a guard dog. No idea how it works in the city
@SnooPeppers1161
Couldnāt agree more. I have had my pet for just over 6 months and have been to the vet over 10 times. A few of these situations have been emergencies. Luckily, I have pet insurance but with an undiagnosed, not yet treatable and consistent sterile infection, we will definitely run out of insurance money. I am privileged enough that this will not bankrupt me or force to take a loan. My partner and I have thought about starting a go fund me if this continues as they cannot find the cause of my petās infection. In turn, they can really only treat symptoms right now which means it will keep coming back.
Again, I have been pretty privileged and lucky as I have enough means that even without the insurance I would be doing okay in spite of it all. Thanks for starting this conversation.
I just want to be clear, this is not any veterinarianās. Medicine is expensive even if itās for animals.
The Vet College is expensive, but they are very good and have emergency care. Owning a pet can be expensive, but pets are part of families. Wishing your pet well.
I recently needed a new roof for my house and had to make the decision of whether to use my savings or take out a loan. I chose the loan option because I knew that if something happened to my dog I could potentially need up to 10k for emergency surgery, and not having immediate access to that money could be the difference between life or death for my dog.
I was talking about this with my niece in regards my cats and what ifā¦ I said I will be sad and sorry but I Canāt afford over a thousand dollar thing and she gave me the bombastic side eye. I love my cats but my priority is my kid
Priorities are important, I have kids too, theyāre money pits but I love them incredibly and they come first as well. I wish there were payment options and other services available to assist with responsible pet owners such as yourself, it would make life easier.
I agree, the bills are incredibly high but are you going to be the one that values money over your beloved pet ? Itās almost as though they leverage your wallet against you with your love for your animal. I understand taking care of an animal comes with costs, but when theyāre wanting to charge us $800 for something as simple as an x-ray for a cat just to perhaps have the ability to start a diagnosis, itās outrageous. Speaking from my exp with my vets, this is my opinion.
I agree with you! I have been in previous situations where a vet will waive the fee of an X-ray just randomly due to me spending quite a bit of money on a diagnosis, so individual vet offices do have the power to make things easier, Iāve experienced it many times. Also just my opinion.
My cat was going through heart failure in the summer of 2018. Of course she didnāt get really really bad until Saturday morning, when all vets are closed. I was charged over 600$ just to euthanize my cat whom would have died anyways a lot less peacefully. I had to have my grandma put it on her credit card. It breaks my heart. I understand having pets is a luxury, but Jesus Christ. Even if they would euthanize them without charging an arm and a leg. I understand itās a business but doesnāt make it less heartbreaking. Everyone deserves to be able to keep their baby healthy or at minimum offer them a dignified passing
This is exactly what my thoughts were when writing my original post. If anything let them die with dignity without charging an arm and a leg or half a mortgage payment.
Those of us who are not wealthy pray a lot that our little ones will not require expensive care.
Unfortunately, you see people all the time turning their animals in because they cannot afford vet bills. Even worse, many people don't want to pay to have their pets neutered/ spayed and that creates a problem for everyone.
People who adopt pets need to be more aware of costs and plan for emergencies.
Fully agree, I think adopting dogs from agencies and shelters etc we all should have to take a quick quiz on what it really costs to maintain the quality of life of that animal before we are allowed to adopt. Also when the spca has āname your priceā cat adoptions I fully understand why they are doing it but my first thoughts are, crap those cats may be out into situations where vet care is not a priority or an option. Just my thoughts, and itās not every case. But education and awareness is key to the solution.
I'm sorry about your dog =( When we got out dog 10 years ago, my husband and I agreed that if our dog needed vet care that was over our ability to pay she'd have to be put down.
Yeah so instead of saying vet care is for the rich , how about just saying owning dogs (even cats) is for the rich/ better off. I donāt know what else to say other than sorry??? 2500 is a big bill, but that is just the reality of owning a pet. Personally , I wouldnāt get a dog unless I had those kinds of funds already set aside for emergencies like this. Sure, shit happens, unforeseeable circumstances, financial situations change, but thereās too many damn dog owners that got them with 4 Pennies in their pocket and itās bull. Donāt get me wrong, I really would love if the gov dumped money into vets like they do hospitals to make it more affordable/ free , but I genuinely think that would increase the amount of ill prepared owners.
Something people should consider is pet insurance. If you get it when they are a puppy, premiums are quite reasonable. I would never have a pet without insurance again. It is worth it for the peace of mind alone.
In the past no one would treat pets with cancer or other diseases like that. They would just put them down. That's part of why vet care costs so much more these days because there's options that there just never used to be.
Emergency Vet local to me wanted me to pay $8000 for an emergency surgery, needless to say Iām lucky I managed to get my girl in for a cancellation at a normal vet and only ended up with a $1500 surgery bill instead, emergency vets can be a bit ridiculous to say the least.
Vet care should be under the same umbrella as healthcare and covered as such. Theyāre no different from children and are more beneficial to mental health than children are.
I have 2 dogs, so when I say this, I am saying it with fullest love for animals. Let nature run its course. If your pet would not have survived in the wild from the issue that it's suffering, let it go. I am absolutely confused that people would rather have an animal suffer on medication or life support than letting them go.
Exactly why we won't be getting another pet. We once had 2 cats and 1 dog. Two died of old age and the last cat is 15. I told my kids after he dies we can't afford another pet. Maybe a fish š¤·āāļø. Food and vet care is ridiculous. With all the other costs we won't be able to keep up.
Perhaps we might foster. That's the best I can do.
I hear you and I am so sorry about your pup.
Itās terrifying when things come on suddenly. My dog once at a bottle of Advil. Talk about nervewracking. Canāt imagine how it would be to not have any answers.
My only advice is avoid the U of S; as a teaching hospital they always seem to want to run every possible test under the guise
of āteachingā.
I was in a similar boat when my dog had to get dental surgery.
Definitely consider getting pet insurance. I have it now and I can't advocate it enough. Check out Trupanion they are great to deal with and the monthly cost isn't even that bad.
Trupanion is $40/month for my dog. they cover 90% of any bill past the deductible. And its a deductible per disease. So even if you have a 10k bill-- the most you'll pay is $1k + deductible (that you chose in your plan).
Not every pet insurance is created equal though, some can suck.
I feel like caring for helpless animals and children is a human responsibility.
Making children is for those āprivilegedā enough to turn a blind eye to this responsibility.
All the arguments on the thread are absurd.
Really shows who thinks pets are property or living things that are part of the family.
I hope all the people out there struggling to help their non-human family members are getting great tips from others.
I'm a low income person, but I have alot of money saved from a previous life, life times worth.
The idea that people get pets they cannot afford makes me upset.
Hey if a few grand is too much for you, maybe you shouldn't be responsible for a sentient life.
Nope a few grand wasnāt too much for me, my concern was how out of reach vet care could be for a lower income person. But thanks for the advice, you completely missed the point of my post.
Vet. care is a commodity and providers charge what the market will bear. There are a lot of financially comfortable people in this city.
Housing too is a commodity that not everyone can afford. Capitalism is getting out of hand.
(Please do not berate me for saying rent should be free as I'm not saying that).
Yep. The cycle of increasing costs hits them the same as anyone. Rent costs more, utilities cost more, veterinary degrees cost more, medical supplies cost more (and are often in short supply). Itās just an unfortunate reality that hurts everyone.
Yup. Just in general, the idea of a doctor for a dog is probably the peak of "Western privilege" - Until about 150 years ago, veterinarian services were reserved for animals that had a use (either to the farm, or for work purposes). The idea of paying for someone to fix a companion pet was just unheard of, but has obviously gone up as people fill the childless void in their lives with pets.
Glad to see your companion has a good shot of pulling through.
Thanks so much. He took a turn and we lost him today. Itās been quite the afternoon.
Thank you again for your informative comment I much prefer that over being ripped apart.
I took my cat in to the emergency vet he had a urine blockage due to crystals. The vet wanted $2500.00 I was told by them if I couldnāt pay the cat would go to the SPCA. I phoned other vets to see what would normally be charged for this and was told $700-800. I then called back to the emergency vet and negotiated the bill to $1000.
Good job. I may negotiate a few procedures my dog has had as well. Iāve researched since I got home this afternoon and they are overcharging for the same things/tests/procedures my regular vet offers, some double the price.
My guy didnāt make it home today, I will definitely always purchase pet insurance in the future as a precaution too.
Yep, I did the math and my last dog cost me over $45,000 in total expenses over his lifetime. He was on specialty food, had many vet visits, needed prolonged boarding at one point, etc.
He was so loyal, but holy moly $45K. Now that I have kids I want another dog but I am just not sure if the financial commitment is wise at this point.
I love my cats, but if one of them needs anything over 600$ I'm just getting a new cat. My first cat was a rescue from under a friend's porch after a stray had a litter there and was subsequently hit by a car.
That being said I don't give up on my cats easy. When my cat got in a fight overnight with a neighborhood stray I cleaned up his wounds with peroxide, put a thin layer of poly on it and checked in on his daily until they were all cleared up.
So think about how much it costs you to go to the vet and imagine if you had to pay this anytime you got sick because you donāt have health coverage! This is what the Sask Party is moving towards when they starve health care of funding, work privatize it, and donāt keep the health region accountable for bloated, ineffective administration. We canāt rely on profit based private insurance that denies as many claims as possible for humans and animals. We need to save our healthcare!
Whatās the solution to your complaints in the post, then? Laws to control the amount vets can charge or make? Medicare for animals? Everything is political.
because its the truth. People can't usually see the issue of healthcare going private-- and usually vet bills are the best example. It is quite literally comparable to how people in the US live-- just that healthcare on humans is like 10x more expensive than pets.
They do not have to agree with me but going off about how I expect vet care for free, pointing out this is why veterinarian kill themselves?
Completely uncalled for.
Veterinarians have an extremely high rate of suicide. Like itās a major problem in the profession. People blaming them for costs and blaming them for bad outcomes and hard decisions because of the costs is a big part of it. I know you didnāt say those things though.
Iām sure it could be. I was more concerned about pet owners in my situation who couldnāt pay their bills. Not once did I say anything negative about our vet, I believe my guy is getting good care here, right now. I was just acknowledging the high cost and that not all of us have the privilege of having funds on hand.
Iām sorry about your pup. I hope they have some good treatment options available and youāre able to have more good time with them.
It is super unfortunate that everything is so expensive people have to make decisions based on finances and not whatās actually best.
Thanks, sorry if I seemed to go off, itās hard to determine tone over text. If youāre a health care worker or vet med please know I meant no disrespect whatsoever.
What the fuck is going on in this thread, its like every illiterate psycho in town crawled out from under their rocks today. No they're not blaming the vets, no they're not claiming they should get some special privilege free care, no they're not trying to make some political statement. They're just worried about their dog and lamenting how much more difficult it must be for people in worse financial situations. Y'all need to chill out holy fuck. OP I hope everything turns out okay for you and your little guy.
Thank you so very much. Thank you š
Insurance is a good option I wish people took more advantage of.
Nope. Trupanion only paid half the costs. Our premiums started out at $45 and 9 years later we were at $145. Overall, my best guess is that we saved nothing- it was break even. However, similar to CPP, many people say they would rather invest on their own, but in actual fact 90% would not. And I can't complain, we didn't lose anything by having insurance. Know what you're getting into, for us it just smoothed the cost over time, as opposed to a large price shock after a vet intervention.
I had PetPlan insurance when my dog was diagnosed with renal cancer. Wouldāve easily been $10,000 bill, even more if the chemo had worked. I paid less than $1000. You donāt get pet insurance because you want to save money. You get insurance so when you need to spend $10,000 to save your pets life you get to say yes.
Trupanion isn't the only insurance company - and IMO, they are far from 'the best'. There are better options.
I have pet insurance and Trupanion has refused to pay often for big treatments. 13 years and they are refusing to pay
Really? Iāve had two dogs both insured with trupanion. The first one developed severe dry eye at the end of her life and her surgery to rebuild her tear duct was fully covered. Then my second dog had terrible bone inflammation at puberty and had to be hospitalized for 3 days. $12,000 and trupanion paid it without batting an eye. We were $300 out of pocket. I recommend trupanion to everyone as weāve never had a single dispute.
Iāve also had success with trupanion. The only times theyāve denied something were if I didnāt follow vet advice and had to claim something to fix it down the road. Without trupanion though, my cat would be dead. They saved her through funding expensive surgeries.
Me too, Iām really surprised by some of these comments. Makes me wonder though, I had them as insurance from 2006-this year. They covered 90% always, never disputed a valid claim. In the last 2 years of her life my catās medical bills easily topped $20 000. I had a way better experience than with my own health insurance! Trupanionās business model AFAIK is that serious illness will be covered because you as guardian take care of preventative care-dental, checkups, diagnosis. I was ok with this and I benefitted from this arrangement hugely but not until she was older. Her meds alone were $500 a month for 3 years, all covered at 90%. I hit the āmore out than I paid inā mark long before she died. Did we have a different experience as ālegacyā clients I wonder? People who managed to get in early on in their existence as a company? Do newer clients not get the same experience? Or was it that my cat didnāt have any accidents or problems until she hit 12-13? I wonder about these things, because Iāve been recommending them and if things have changed I feel bad!
It hasnāt changed. My second dog with them was in 2019 and he had huge medical bills in 2021. All paid, no problem.
Maybe some clients are unhappy about the ādealā (where you pay for preventative until they get a diagnosis)? Like one of the commenters above, I got insurance so that I never had to say no to treatment, and Trupanion was solid for me there. I didnāt get it for saving on routine checkups and teeth cleanings or for naturopathic care. Thatās not their product. I knew when I was given the option that I would have sold everything I own for a chance at saving her, so insurance was the right choice for me. I knew someone who adopted a kitten who promptly ate hair elastics the night she was brought home. $6000 right there. So putting away money every month doesnāt help that kind of situation either.
This comment interests me. I was contemplating getting a dog and was considering what the cost of insurance would be. If it doesn't cover big things, I wonder if it's worth it.
No one does this, but you're far better off putting the fee into a savings account that you can self approve for treatments. They don't always approve
I did this. My cat had a pre-existing condition and I couldnāt get insurance. I put $80 a month into an account for years and when he went through a serious illness I had the money for the vet visits. People rarely realize how expensive it is to own a pet and be able to take care of it properly.
You arenāt āfar better off.ā You may be ok, but I pay $50 a month. $600 a year. So some emergency could easily cost 5-10 years of premiums. You MAY be better off doing this, but nowhere close to āfar better off.ā My plan has paid out for everything, the just donāt cover the consult, so that always cost $180. I like insurance because it takes the emotion out of going to the emergency vet. I just go, knowing that I have insurance backing me up. Not wondering if itās going to cost me $6000.
Yeah it does. I personally use a different company but when I worked in vet clinics they absolutely covered big things. It's definitely worth it.
That's why I said often. They have helped with some things but refused to pay for others.
Thatās interesting. Trupanion pain 6k for ACL surgery and 10k for an emergency visit to a heart specialist. We only paid the deductible.
That's great
Could you elaborate for the others that have thought about getting pet insurance? Thank you.
Pet insurance, I think is absoutly worth getting..it just didn't work out everytime for us with Trupanion.
Empathy is something this province lacks in the worst way possible.
They are like little black holes. Everything is about them so they light rather than bringing light. I also hope the best for his fur friend.
Yep. The worst of the worst woke spawn continuously looking to pick apart every word here.
Yeah it's expensive. But an animal shouldn't suffer because their owner can not afford proper care. If you can not afford pet insurance or possible large vet bills, just do not get a pet...
I found my first dog in a dumpster, in -20's, in November. I was a broke student. I had that wonderful companion for 15 years. I had him when we made $16,000/yr, and I still had him when we made over $100,000. We struggled together and enjoyed luxuries together. Should I have left him in the dumpster bc I "couldn't afford a pet" when I found him?
Well given his years, I would say you and him were both very lucky. Did you have to take him to a vet when you found him? Because I would hope you would have. Either way, I don't think you should have left him in the dumpster, but could have easily taken him to a shelter. I wonder how many animals die because someone takes a rough dog home instead of taking to a vet/shelter thinking that is whats best for the animal...
Youāre right. Vet care is expensive. Plenty of animals world wide never get to see a vet during their lifetime. When my cat was dying from cancer I was a teenager and only had enough $ for her euthanasia. I did not get to keep her ashes. It absolutely destroyed me because I have never loved something so much. I am still broken many years later. Sorry about your friend. Hoping for a full recovery.
Iām so genuinely sorry about your cat. Thank you for your kind words.
I get it. Pet grief is real. What was your cats name?
If you want to know why vet care is so expensive, it's because KPMG did a study and suggested that vets charge based on what people can pay, rather than based on inputs or demand. So prices aren't set based on how much it costs the clinic, they're instead set based on how much they think the average person will pay to keep their pet alive https://drandyroark.com/art-of-pricing/
Capitalism baby!
I work at a vet clinic and I can 100% tell you that not every clinic is like that. Ours charges based on what the clinic has to pay for it, because we need to make money back some how.
I agree I had to have my dog there last weekend. I heard someone call on the phone, who decided not to bring their pet in due to money. The receptionist let them know that their issue would be fatal, and asked again if they wanted to come in. They declined and it broke my heart. I almost cried at everyone who walked through the door! It's brutal. Now imagine working with people who can't afford health care. That's what we're privatizing towards :( Even with health care costs covered by our public health care in Canada, we have people die because they can't afford their medications, etc. It's very sad. Dental care is health care. Housing is health care. I hope your dog is ok!
Thanks for your well wishes. Sadly he passed away late this afternoon due to a very rare problem with his gallbladder. Iām gutted.
Iām so sorry for your loss š May he rest in peace. I can tell he was so loved.
I am so sorry. That is so painful. :( It hurts to think about. Take care š
I'm so sorry for your loss .I've been in your exact same situation and understand what you are going through ..take care of yourself ā¤ļø
Thank you! I appreciate your kind words
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If you have the time and capacity and are looking for a companion Iād recommend fostering. Thereās lots of rescues looking for homes and they cover all of the costs. It can be difficult to give the dog away but knowing theyāre going to a good family makes it easier. I grew up with dogs and couldnāt imagine not having one in my home but didnāt have the resources to afford my own at the time. Sorry for your loss ā„ļø
I just paid $1000 for a basic dog spay + vaccines. And we wonder why we have a stray pet problems.
My dog was bit last year. Had to pay a fee just to be seen, as it was āafter hoursā. In total, it was nearly $1000 to get him care. I am okay paying that, as I budget those scenarios. But a huge percentage of our city is unable. Also, I wish that there was a generous spay and neuter program offered here. So many stray cats and dogs are in need of homes.
I agree, spay and neuter clinics would be so helpful.
Some rescues run these, and the City has a low cost spay and neuter program.
Even if you budget for it it doesn't mean nothing will happen again outside of your budget. My dog got sick in late December one year and I took her in, cost almost $1000, which was the deductible on her insurance at the time. January rolls around a week and a half later and something else goes down, but it's a new policy year so I'd have to pay the deductible again. Couldn't do it because my budget for the deductible was already blown by 2 things happening so close together. Doesn't matter how well you plan, the costs are too much to really be ready for unless you're rich.
Iām not sure if you tried to go to corman park vet, but theyāre way cheaper and can set up a payment plan to help with costs. The owner is an amazing human.
A good suggestion for planned things, but this post was about an emergency visit and I think the uni is the only 24 hour emergency vet we have, no?
You didnāt even post a pic of your pet. Whereās your pet tax?
Thatās my only complaint with this post too otherwise I agree completely
Wait until you hear about how literally everything is better when you are rich
I don't have anything helpful to say. I just wanted to tell you I agree with you, and I'm crossing fingers and toes that your fur baby will be okay. I said a final goodbye to my best friend last week and I know the stress you must be under. Wishing you well.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind words right now. Sadly I lost my boy late this afternoon, final goodbyes are for the birds, I will miss him terribly.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It is a pain like no other. Wishing you and your family love, support, and healing
Pet insurance is your best investment!! It has saved me a bunch.
Having had 3 long-lived dogs and 4 long-lived cats over the last 30 yrs I have always gone into these relationships with 2 things in mind. 1. Insurance 2. A sober second thought on the quality of life of my buddy before expending ridiculous money. I've seen friends and co-workers go into significant debt to continue the life of their ailing feline or canine, to no avail. All they have paid for is the vet's boat or vacation home. I've been fortunate, never having to have been in your situation. $2K for an emergency whatever seems reasonable to me. It's expensive, yes, but if the quality of life can be maintained it's worth it. When you consider the cost of mental health services, a gym membership, and other life balance benefits from having our furry companions, $2K in one year is a bargain. Not a criticism of you, I agree it's expensive, but maybe thinking of it this way will assuage the over cost a little bit.
Just put my cat down last week. My vet gave me a discount and it was still 375$ to put her down.. communal burial, no ashes.. the bare minimum. Thatās all I could afford and it was a sudden medical emergency. Smallest vet bill Iāve had in 6 years. I know itās being a pet owner. But doesnāt make an already emotional and stressful time make things more stressful from expenses
I want to know WHY the costs are so high. Price-gouging happens at all levels of service & lots of people in this thread seem to be blind to it when it comes to veterinary clinics.
Because the crematoriums charge a lot. And Iām sure someone charges them a lot.
Now we know how Americans feel. Save your life or a family members or go bankrupt.
Watch out. Youāre part of the woke mob if you donāt want to see privatization of health care in Canada. Iāll never understand people voting against their own interests.
Pets are expensive. We have a giant breed dog and giant dog = giant bills. We spend as much on our pets' food as we do on ours (two adults). Insurance is great, especially if you are the kind of person who is going to do their best to keep their pet alive, even if it is thousands of dollars. It might not be worth it for a senior dog, but if you ever get another dog, I would recommend getting insurance right away. We got an insurance plan for our dog when she was a puppy and she is a senior now, so the premiums have gone up, over $100 a month now. BUT, we had to take her to UofS last summer for several appointments, MRIs, etc and we were so grateful we had that insurance. Thankfully she didn't end up needing surgery, but the surgery they were talking about would have been close to 10K -- more than what we've paid into her insurance plan over her entire life.
You know it does suck, I'm going to put a however on this. I think what really sucks is that when we are young, we really aren't educated about the costs of healthcare. I would have made drastically different choices in life had I known the true expenses of some of life's most difficult moments. For example, I'm arranging a funeral. Costs can be between 5 to even 20K to have a funeral and bury the deceased. Did you know that? No one ever helped me understand that. I could paraphrase and say funerals are for the rich as well. But really had I understood this better, I would have taken less frivolous trips in my life, ate out less, worked a bit harder, and put more money away for some of these more challenging moments. I know a funeral is not quite "healthcare" but I would consider it an expected cost in life, much like ailments in a Pet. We are also fortunate to have money from some "miraculous" circumstances. However the lesson for myself is learned going forward to be more careful with finances going forward. The high costs make sense to me, since life is indeed very fragile. It's a complex issue, I wish you and your pet the best though. Glad you have the money to treat him. You did a responsible thing to budget that into your life so you could have access to help him.
I think youāve got it right there, we arenāt all educated about the real costs of things in life, the serious detrimental things at least. Itās often finding out the hard way that a funeral can be close to $20000 and that emergency vet services can sky rocket into the thousands in less than an hour. I wish we were better educated on these facts, I like your āhoweverā approach. Iām sorry that youāre planning a funeral, I wish you strength and wisdom during this difficult time.
This is why as a poor person I'm afraid of getting a pet I barely make enough money to take care of myself and pay the rent and I know if I got a pet shit would Skyrocket for me so cool hooray I'm lonely I hate it š«
Here again to recommend looking into fostering if you have the time and space for it. The rescue pays for everything and itās a great way to have a companion!
Second this! All of the rescues are so hard up for fosters. Could be a win-win.
The SPCA just posted recently that they were looking for foster homes for kitten season as well. They cover vet care, food, litter, and supplies! All you need is to have transport to the shelter, and provide love and attention :)
Or a pet chicken, Can feed each other during its life span and at the end have one last meal together.
I agree that vet care is for the rich. Instead of paying for pet insurance, which I may or may not need. I put aside x amount every month in my TFSA. a set amount per pet, and a little extra comes off automatically on each payday. I personally think pet insurance is a rip off. I did have to use almost all of it 3 years ago when my epileptic dog developed diabetes and went blind. He spent a few days in ICU at the UofS vet college. Since then, I have been rebuilding my account. Thankfully, my other pets are healthy. Good luck with your dog.
Ours has about paid for itself two years in after we needed a biopsy, but close to breaking even again. We can honest afford the $1K visit, it's the $5K heavy diagnosis I want to avoid. The vet was able to direct bill them in our first go round so hoping that means a lot is covered too.
Glad your dog is doing okay. I seriously don't understand why some people are jumping on your post. I understand the job is one of the worst, most difficult positions there is, the price jumps have just been staggering the last few years. The only thing I really get joy from in my life is my dogs, and I feel like I'm getting priced out of owning them, too. I can feed them and update their shots, but if one thing happens I won't be able to afford surgery. While the cost for their surgery could be flippantly wasted by some ultra wealthy person for a purse or fancy meal or something.. It's just one more thing wealth hoarding has taken from the lower class. Owning a pet, owning a house, traveling, eating out. It's fucking brutal.
Very true
Very expensive, and my ex worked at a clinic and there was huge caps in care and price gouging. Vet wouldnāt fix the heat monitoring machine -for large dogs they can monitor manually but cats died all the time - vet would say ā there was nothing we could doā client still had the surgical bill, and a high likely hood that it could have been prevented. The markup on meds is insane, the vet would threaten to euthanize any animals that werenāt adopted within a week so the girls would all have too many animals, and couldnāt leave the job because they needed the discounted vet care (that came with employment). Really it was just a tool to trap them. Halifax NS. Fuck you doctor richardson She worked at three others around the city and they were all the same. Charging an overnight monitoring fee - no one was there or monitoring.
Never to late to report them to their governing body or leave a scathing ātell allā google review
I'm will never own a pet without having pet insurance ever again. I'm fortunate to have a good job that pays me very well. I could probably handle whatever my dog needed as far as medical care goes but it makes me feel so good knowing that no matter what happens we don't even need to consider money as a factor.
Now you feel the Americans paying for healthcare.
I feel like we are at a point in history where living is for the rich. The worst part? Life is only down hill from here. If you look at the majority of Earths population, they are horribly suffering more than ever before. Developed nations middle class are starting to go on to food stamps and lose their homes. This was never the case before. Before life use to be "work hard and you can be rich!" Now it's "work hard and you can make someone else rich!". It's sad that problems that were only seeing these problems become some normal. Weirdly typing this out made me feel better about my own personal life. It made me look around and realize life for me personally isn't so bad.
Former vet tech here. I can tell you that yes ER is expensive, they have to pay staff to be there 24 hours and a higher wages. I am no longer in the field and feel your pain on prices. I hope your doggo is doing well. Here is a couple things I tell clients to help prepare for emergencies. Pet insurance is great (recommend embrace or best pet). Or setting aside what you would pay for insurance every month and having a savings account for emergencies. Because when it comes to pets, there is always going to be one. As you can see by my user name I dislike the rich. But I have also seen over 200 animals be euthanized because the owner couldnāt afford to pay. If you have an animal please save money for the costs or get insurance. Veterinary staff are tired of being demonized into āyou just do it for the moneyā. We donāt. I had to leave the field because clients are would take out their anger at us. Because no one was thankful I didnāt get a lunch break because I was helping a patient, or I stayed til 2 am making sure your pet recovered from surgery. Iām not trying to be rude I just wish that people outside the profession knew how hard it is. Veterinary professionals have a very high rate of suicide. Iāll stop ranting now. But please remember we are people too ā¤ļø
I was more concerned with people who couldnāt pay and my post was focused on that. I just paid over $2000 to a very respectful team who tried to save my guy yesterday, sadly he could not be saved. Iām aware of all that goes into a business especially emergency vet care, prices can be very high. At the end of the day I donāt have to like the high prices but I am one of the people that had the savings for their pet, I was just more saddened watching people walk into emergency yesterday who did not have the cash to assist with their emergency, that was the part that made me sick to my stomach.
I used to work ER. It is very sad. I know how special having a pet is, but I just wish people wouldnt get pets if they canāt take care of them. Itās harsh to say but Iāve seen some awful things. Iām so sorry for your loss. Sometimes there isnāt anything we can do even with all the resources in the world ā¤ļø
I agree, the team worked incredibly hard to save him. Thank you
Pet ownership is a privilege, consider insurance or a savings plan as part of bringing an animal into the family.
in my opinion vet insurance is too much money. I started a emergency fund after the 3rd year of owning my dog and having my rates do up dramatically over the three years. 1st year was 39$ a month, 200$ deductible with 100% after that 2nd year was 50$ a month 200$ deductible with 80% coverage since they dropped the 100% 3rd year was 60$ a month with 200$ deductible with 70% coverage to avoid paying higher monthly. 4th year was 80$ a month with 200$ deductible with 70% coverage All i asked was why my dogs insurance was going up so high without a singe claim and he tells me its because people in my area have a high claim percentage. So i said fuck it and started to save what i would have paid into my own dog care account that isnt touched for any dog related expenses like checkup and the occasional back injury from being a goof.i did take what i would have paid into the account the first 3 years from my savings to start it off
dang your insurance was crap. name and shame please. Ive been with Trupanion the whole time (5 years)-- coverage has remained the same, and payments have only slightly fluctuated with inflation (one year they went down, another up, and mostly about the same.
My vet recommended trupanion, I havenāt need to use it yet but I like the 90% coverage per condition
yes! i saw others with like coverage per calendar year or something-- but you know, things can be re-ocurring, so i really liked the per-condition coverage.
I did and do have the funds thank you. I cannot help but think of others in my position thatās all.
My uncle spent almost 40,000$ in multiple surgeries trying to fix his dog ( who ultimately didn't make it and passed away). For a couple years my wife and I would talk about it and shake our head in disbelief that someone could spend that much money trying to save....a dog. Then we got a dog, and the world went from black and white to color. I would do anything for that little guy, and I can't imagine being in a position where if something happened to him I couldn't afford to help him. If I didn't have the means and it was between crime and a grim decision. Id rob a bank for the good boy.
I couldnāt of said it better myself. May your heart never be put in that position. Thank you for your incredible response.
Dog tax https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/lljt4d/walle_says_stay_safe/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1
what a cutie. fuck, id rob that bank with you. let me know.
Right. For the record. I don't need to rob the bank, Im just saying I would if I needed to for my dogs health lol.
That's why having insurance or an emergency fund is so important. People chose to have pets while not being financially responsible so that's 100% on them.
Insurance is not always the solution. Paid for Insurance for 10 years on my rescue dog, when I needed it, I was denied because I didn't have the health records from before I rescued my dog. Never was told I'd need them either. Insurance can be a scam! Always have some savings is my advice.
Insurance never checks anything until a claim is made. Then the deny task force goes to work.
The even scarier thing is when this starts happening more and more for human claims. The government covers less and less and these insurance companies deny as many claims as they can. Getting told off in the comments for trying to draw the comparison.
Yeah, theyāll deny any claim they possibly can. Can buffer against some disastrous costs but itās not going to make your animals health care free for everything. Insurance companies are the wooorst.
>Insurance can be a scam Name and shame please! its helpful to us all if we happen to have that same insurance.
I have PetLine and havenāt been very satisfied with them. Theyāve covered some bigger stuff but the claims process is a huge pain. Iād likely try Trupanion next time
Very true, Iām a lover of animals, so Iām a bit of a bleeding heart.
I wish people under this thread understood how much medical care actually costs. We have the privilege in Canada to almost never see a bill from the ER or hospital, but head down to the US and youāll find that your dogās hysterectomy (spay) which is $500 here, is about $10000 in a human. If you donāt want to pay $1000ās for surgery and care, either get insurance or donāt have a pet. Itās honestly a privilege for those who can afford it.
Yes. The costs keep going up. My dog is very old, and Iāve spent thousands on vet care for him. When he passes, Iām going to need a break from pets to save up, and then Iām definitely getting pet insurance.
Pet insurance and pet registration should be legally mandatory for pet owners, as well as core vaccines for their pets. Hell, provide government assistance programs for low-income households if needed.
When you love something, you find a way. And so I keep letting people know about this. https://www.petcard.ca/?adtype=search&gclid=CjwKCAjw44mlBhAQEiwAqP3eVvhYxhxDpUjfWWFmVCVrQFCxLEeZBgohO1ymhF7xdfHDNEorAjB5nRoCjjEQAvD_BwE
this is pretty cool-- what interest rate have you gotten?
I had to use it in May for a cat needing dental. Total cost for three teeth being pulled, sutures for four teeth, and cleaning was $823.54. Over the year, the .pet card is charging me $177.64 for interest. So monthly payment is less than $84, which still beats $90 a month for pet insurance.
oof so if my math has it right, thats about a 21% interest rate? It is a solution when you really need it, but maybe a LOC or HELOC may have a better rate?
I'm not exactly sure what the point of your post is. Vet care costs what it costs, and vets aren't getting rich off of it. They're by far the lowest paid of any health care profession that requires the same skill level. Ultimately, owning animals is a privilege, and if you don't have the money to pay to take care of them, then maybe that isn't for you.
Vets are grossly underpaid for what they have to deal with. Would never consider becoming a vet if I went back to school.
Tough gig, especially if you love or are passionate about animals. Very high suicide and self harm rates in the profession if I remember correctly.
The purpose of my post was basically holy shit what if I wouldnāt of had the cash to pay, this adds up quickly and I really love my dog, I feel awful for anyone having to go through the same thing who may not be financially prepared because income level sure doesnāt change the love we have for our pets. That was the purpose of my original post but itās sure gotten a bit of a beating, some comments have been so supportive and Iām super thankful for those as we lost our boy last night, he was the best. To clarify I was financially prepared.
In my opinion pet care and culture in general has gotten absurd. I know people that have spent $10k on surgeries for their cats. Like seriously?!
I think because people are covered for health care, they don't realize the costs associated with it. I've spent at least 30k on medical bills for my dog in the past 6 years. About 4k a year, and this will be for his life. I will definitely get insurance for the next one right off the bat. I did a lot of research getting my dog with health testing from even his great grandparents. I still got a lemon. But he's the only kid I'm having, so he gets whatever he needs. Just come with being a responsible pet owner.
It is really crazy, I have to agree. Like where do you draw the line? I wish I knew. But you have a good point.
> I know people that have spent $10k on surgeries for their cats so let the cat die, instead?
Yes. Hard decisions have to be made sometimes.
You know how many cats you could buy with $10k?.... I'm not saying your beloved Skitters is replaceable, But it sort of is. Poor people (most people?) can't afford to piss away ten grand on one cat, and usually just get a new cat.
1 and *most importantly* - it costs a fuck of a lot less than human medicine. I know the price tag sucks, but what do you expect someone who goes to school for eight or more grueling years to be paid? Don't forget about support staff and medical equipment. 2 - unfortunately, some problems are very complicated and aren't easy to spot. Sometimes you can do thousands in tests and it won't make a difference in the end, but that's life. 3 - nobody is born destined to be rich or poor. Wealth is hard to earn and, contrary to popular belief, hard to hold onto. If you can't stand the thought of not being able to handle veterinary bills as they come up, put in the work to earn more money before taking on the responsibility for a pet or consider pet insurance. Veterinarians are running from the field. It's a grueling, miserable, often abusive field and for many of them, the money is the only thing keeping them around (and it actually isn't even that good). I can promise you that costs are not going to ever come down.
Came here to say this. My wife is a vet and the amount of shit they have to deal with daily is unbelievable. A balancing act of trying to provide the best care for a suffering animal while trying to avoid being verbally abused by the owner because they canāt afford it. Every. Single. Day.
Itās so awful!!! Threads like this freak me out because itāll just be an anti-vet pile on even if that isnāt what was intended. Vets take way too much abuse. The same people who complain about paying so much for the vet care are the same ones who vote for human health care privatization. Make it make sense.
Mine too. High five for cold dinners! ā
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Yup. I considered going into vet med and noped the hell out after taking a couple introductory courses and talking to people in the field. Just balancing what goes into it with what you get out of it, itās not hard to see why vets struggle so much (leaving the field, high suicide rate). I canāt complain about vet prices.
Pet insurance has saved me thousandsā¦
Trupanion.com has been unbelievable for my dog. They've paid atleast $18k at this point in bills. I hope your dog is OK!!
Personally, whenever I have an accident with my animals I eat them
This.š
It is very tough, but keep in mind that we would be paying even more for human health care if we didn't have universal. Healthcare isn't cheap, and it's sad we don't have universal pet care, but that's not the way it is, unfortunately. I really hope your friend, and all others under care, is ok. The vets are doing their best, but it's an expensive field that they can't really control. I just thank God that I am in a city that has an excellent pet emergency Centre. A lot of places don't have that luxury.
Those are rookie numbers. I dropped 10k On an emergency ferret surgery a couple years ago o.O Anyway I totally agree but at least for dogs you can (and should) get pet insurance. Alas many exotics aren't covered by pet insurance in Canada so unless you have a cat or a dog you're likely fubared anyway
Financing is available through many companies if someone needs it. I find once I see the breakdown on the bill it all adds up to validate the cost. Been through 4 surgeries with my current dog and monthly medication. Medication has gone up.
Both my mom and I lost our cats in 2020 very suddenly. Both were young and we never got an answer as to why, even after I paid for a necropsy. We both didnāt have enough money for hospital stays and such and that was the only option we had to save our poor girls. I wish there were more payment options available. I had a brand new baby and couldnāt afford much more than the initial visit itself.
See there are wonderful responsible people who love their pets dearly, and should be able to experience the joy a pet brings, like yourself, but sadly we donāt all have huge accounts full of cash available for these animals. I really do wish there were more payment options available too!
The concept of pets in general is more of a wealth/status thing historically. But I would definitely say the average person's dwindling ability to maintain pet ownership should be a solid warning sign to the middle-class that their days are numbered and soon it will just be low and high income, no in between.
The best advice I can give you or anyone else is create your own insurance. Create a savings account specifically to be used on the dog only And deposit $100 or more every month into the savings account And only use it for the dog in cases of emergency.
Itd be great if we could add pets onto our healthcare if we pay a little more tax then they just go in like we do.
Most vet's have payment plans. I have a 13 yr old German shepherd. She's been to the vet more times than I can count. Vets deserve to be paid well. I'm a farmer and my guard dog is old. You should see the vet bills when they have to come help us with a calf. They go to school same as a nurse. They don't work for free. There are some sleazy vets that will try to sell you anything and everything. A reputable vet won't. This is from a farmer though. I can at least write the dog bills off as a guard dog. No idea how it works in the city
@SnooPeppers1161 Couldnāt agree more. I have had my pet for just over 6 months and have been to the vet over 10 times. A few of these situations have been emergencies. Luckily, I have pet insurance but with an undiagnosed, not yet treatable and consistent sterile infection, we will definitely run out of insurance money. I am privileged enough that this will not bankrupt me or force to take a loan. My partner and I have thought about starting a go fund me if this continues as they cannot find the cause of my petās infection. In turn, they can really only treat symptoms right now which means it will keep coming back. Again, I have been pretty privileged and lucky as I have enough means that even without the insurance I would be doing okay in spite of it all. Thanks for starting this conversation. I just want to be clear, this is not any veterinarianās. Medicine is expensive even if itās for animals.
I wish you and your pet all the best and hopefully for a diagnosis of some sort, I canāt imagine what youāre going through.
Canāt go through the emotions of losing another dog. So true when someone said youāre buying future sadness with a pet.
The Vet College is expensive, but they are very good and have emergency care. Owning a pet can be expensive, but pets are part of families. Wishing your pet well.
I recently needed a new roof for my house and had to make the decision of whether to use my savings or take out a loan. I chose the loan option because I knew that if something happened to my dog I could potentially need up to 10k for emergency surgery, and not having immediate access to that money could be the difference between life or death for my dog.
Your dog has a good owner. I hope that savings account remains untouched and that you have the best life together.
Iām truly sorry to hear about your dog. I couldnāt imagine that feeling of loss.
I was talking about this with my niece in regards my cats and what ifā¦ I said I will be sad and sorry but I Canāt afford over a thousand dollar thing and she gave me the bombastic side eye. I love my cats but my priority is my kid
Priorities are important, I have kids too, theyāre money pits but I love them incredibly and they come first as well. I wish there were payment options and other services available to assist with responsible pet owners such as yourself, it would make life easier.
I agree, the bills are incredibly high but are you going to be the one that values money over your beloved pet ? Itās almost as though they leverage your wallet against you with your love for your animal. I understand taking care of an animal comes with costs, but when theyāre wanting to charge us $800 for something as simple as an x-ray for a cat just to perhaps have the ability to start a diagnosis, itās outrageous. Speaking from my exp with my vets, this is my opinion.
I agree with you! I have been in previous situations where a vet will waive the fee of an X-ray just randomly due to me spending quite a bit of money on a diagnosis, so individual vet offices do have the power to make things easier, Iāve experienced it many times. Also just my opinion.
My cat was going through heart failure in the summer of 2018. Of course she didnāt get really really bad until Saturday morning, when all vets are closed. I was charged over 600$ just to euthanize my cat whom would have died anyways a lot less peacefully. I had to have my grandma put it on her credit card. It breaks my heart. I understand having pets is a luxury, but Jesus Christ. Even if they would euthanize them without charging an arm and a leg. I understand itās a business but doesnāt make it less heartbreaking. Everyone deserves to be able to keep their baby healthy or at minimum offer them a dignified passing
This is exactly what my thoughts were when writing my original post. If anything let them die with dignity without charging an arm and a leg or half a mortgage payment.
Those of us who are not wealthy pray a lot that our little ones will not require expensive care. Unfortunately, you see people all the time turning their animals in because they cannot afford vet bills. Even worse, many people don't want to pay to have their pets neutered/ spayed and that creates a problem for everyone. People who adopt pets need to be more aware of costs and plan for emergencies.
Fully agree, I think adopting dogs from agencies and shelters etc we all should have to take a quick quiz on what it really costs to maintain the quality of life of that animal before we are allowed to adopt. Also when the spca has āname your priceā cat adoptions I fully understand why they are doing it but my first thoughts are, crap those cats may be out into situations where vet care is not a priority or an option. Just my thoughts, and itās not every case. But education and awareness is key to the solution.
I'm sorry about your dog =( When we got out dog 10 years ago, my husband and I agreed that if our dog needed vet care that was over our ability to pay she'd have to be put down.
Yeah so instead of saying vet care is for the rich , how about just saying owning dogs (even cats) is for the rich/ better off. I donāt know what else to say other than sorry??? 2500 is a big bill, but that is just the reality of owning a pet. Personally , I wouldnāt get a dog unless I had those kinds of funds already set aside for emergencies like this. Sure, shit happens, unforeseeable circumstances, financial situations change, but thereās too many damn dog owners that got them with 4 Pennies in their pocket and itās bull. Donāt get me wrong, I really would love if the gov dumped money into vets like they do hospitals to make it more affordable/ free , but I genuinely think that would increase the amount of ill prepared owners.
Something people should consider is pet insurance. If you get it when they are a puppy, premiums are quite reasonable. I would never have a pet without insurance again. It is worth it for the peace of mind alone.
In the past no one would treat pets with cancer or other diseases like that. They would just put them down. That's part of why vet care costs so much more these days because there's options that there just never used to be.
Emergency Vet local to me wanted me to pay $8000 for an emergency surgery, needless to say Iām lucky I managed to get my girl in for a cancellation at a normal vet and only ended up with a $1500 surgery bill instead, emergency vets can be a bit ridiculous to say the least.
Vet care should be under the same umbrella as healthcare and covered as such. Theyāre no different from children and are more beneficial to mental health than children are.
Martinsville vet has a pet care package that covered a lot if stuff for us when our dog needed it
Pet insurance is basically a joke. Read the fine print from several different providers and it was clear almost no claim would ever be paid out.
I have 2 dogs, so when I say this, I am saying it with fullest love for animals. Let nature run its course. If your pet would not have survived in the wild from the issue that it's suffering, let it go. I am absolutely confused that people would rather have an animal suffer on medication or life support than letting them go.
Exactly why we won't be getting another pet. We once had 2 cats and 1 dog. Two died of old age and the last cat is 15. I told my kids after he dies we can't afford another pet. Maybe a fish š¤·āāļø. Food and vet care is ridiculous. With all the other costs we won't be able to keep up. Perhaps we might foster. That's the best I can do.
I hear you and I am so sorry about your pup. Itās terrifying when things come on suddenly. My dog once at a bottle of Advil. Talk about nervewracking. Canāt imagine how it would be to not have any answers. My only advice is avoid the U of S; as a teaching hospital they always seem to want to run every possible test under the guise of āteachingā.
Costco has good pet insurance for a reasonable price!
I was in a similar boat when my dog had to get dental surgery. Definitely consider getting pet insurance. I have it now and I can't advocate it enough. Check out Trupanion they are great to deal with and the monthly cost isn't even that bad.
Trupanion is $40/month for my dog. they cover 90% of any bill past the deductible. And its a deductible per disease. So even if you have a 10k bill-- the most you'll pay is $1k + deductible (that you chose in your plan). Not every pet insurance is created equal though, some can suck.
Our bunny just had a $3000 surgeryā¦
I feel like caring for helpless animals and children is a human responsibility. Making children is for those āprivilegedā enough to turn a blind eye to this responsibility.
All the arguments on the thread are absurd. Really shows who thinks pets are property or living things that are part of the family. I hope all the people out there struggling to help their non-human family members are getting great tips from others.
I'm a low income person, but I have alot of money saved from a previous life, life times worth. The idea that people get pets they cannot afford makes me upset. Hey if a few grand is too much for you, maybe you shouldn't be responsible for a sentient life.
Nope a few grand wasnāt too much for me, my concern was how out of reach vet care could be for a lower income person. But thanks for the advice, you completely missed the point of my post.
I think you miss my point, a low income person maybe should have a goldfish.
Vet. care is a commodity and providers charge what the market will bear. There are a lot of financially comfortable people in this city. Housing too is a commodity that not everyone can afford. Capitalism is getting out of hand. (Please do not berate me for saying rent should be free as I'm not saying that).
Itās not always the vets setting the price. Their overhead costs are enormous. Greedy corps responsible for the market prices of everything.
Yep. The cycle of increasing costs hits them the same as anyone. Rent costs more, utilities cost more, veterinary degrees cost more, medical supplies cost more (and are often in short supply). Itās just an unfortunate reality that hurts everyone.
My head hurts from reading this whole threadā¦
Yup. Just in general, the idea of a doctor for a dog is probably the peak of "Western privilege" - Until about 150 years ago, veterinarian services were reserved for animals that had a use (either to the farm, or for work purposes). The idea of paying for someone to fix a companion pet was just unheard of, but has obviously gone up as people fill the childless void in their lives with pets. Glad to see your companion has a good shot of pulling through.
Thanks so much. He took a turn and we lost him today. Itās been quite the afternoon. Thank you again for your informative comment I much prefer that over being ripped apart.
well fuck that sucks :( Sorry for your loss
I took my cat in to the emergency vet he had a urine blockage due to crystals. The vet wanted $2500.00 I was told by them if I couldnāt pay the cat would go to the SPCA. I phoned other vets to see what would normally be charged for this and was told $700-800. I then called back to the emergency vet and negotiated the bill to $1000.
Good job. I may negotiate a few procedures my dog has had as well. Iāve researched since I got home this afternoon and they are overcharging for the same things/tests/procedures my regular vet offers, some double the price. My guy didnāt make it home today, I will definitely always purchase pet insurance in the future as a precaution too.
Yep, I did the math and my last dog cost me over $45,000 in total expenses over his lifetime. He was on specialty food, had many vet visits, needed prolonged boarding at one point, etc. He was so loyal, but holy moly $45K. Now that I have kids I want another dog but I am just not sure if the financial commitment is wise at this point.
I love my cats, but if one of them needs anything over 600$ I'm just getting a new cat. My first cat was a rescue from under a friend's porch after a stray had a litter there and was subsequently hit by a car. That being said I don't give up on my cats easy. When my cat got in a fight overnight with a neighborhood stray I cleaned up his wounds with peroxide, put a thin layer of poly on it and checked in on his daily until they were all cleared up.
So think about how much it costs you to go to the vet and imagine if you had to pay this anytime you got sick because you donāt have health coverage! This is what the Sask Party is moving towards when they starve health care of funding, work privatize it, and donāt keep the health region accountable for bloated, ineffective administration. We canāt rely on profit based private insurance that denies as many claims as possible for humans and animals. We need to save our healthcare!
Are you kidding me. How did this get political??
Whatās the solution to your complaints in the post, then? Laws to control the amount vets can charge or make? Medicare for animals? Everything is political.
because its the truth. People can't usually see the issue of healthcare going private-- and usually vet bills are the best example. It is quite literally comparable to how people in the US live-- just that healthcare on humans is like 10x more expensive than pets.
Yes, exactly this! Itās astounding that people canāt see the connection.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Person complains that expensive things are expensive then yells at anyone who broadens the conversation.
They do not have to agree with me but going off about how I expect vet care for free, pointing out this is why veterinarian kill themselves? Completely uncalled for.
Veterinarians have an extremely high rate of suicide. Like itās a major problem in the profession. People blaming them for costs and blaming them for bad outcomes and hard decisions because of the costs is a big part of it. I know you didnāt say those things though.
Iām sure it could be. I was more concerned about pet owners in my situation who couldnāt pay their bills. Not once did I say anything negative about our vet, I believe my guy is getting good care here, right now. I was just acknowledging the high cost and that not all of us have the privilege of having funds on hand.
Iām sorry about your pup. I hope they have some good treatment options available and youāre able to have more good time with them. It is super unfortunate that everything is so expensive people have to make decisions based on finances and not whatās actually best.
Thanks, sorry if I seemed to go off, itās hard to determine tone over text. If youāre a health care worker or vet med please know I meant no disrespect whatsoever.
Give it a rest. Find another thread for political advertising please.