How Much is Your Pet's Health Worth?

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All pet owners hate to think about it, but when the family pet gets sick, money matters. New results of the AP-Petside.com poll reveal just how much.All pet owners hate to think about it, but when the family pet gets sick, money matters.

For Nancy Gates, whose dog, Arabella needed a $500 heart surgery, the only option was to put her dog down.

"It was pretty straight forward because I had four young children to feed. The vet said surgery was my only option. I did not want my dog to suffer," said Gates, 41, who lives in Cotati, about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Money is something to consider for the majority of pet owners dealing with animal health care, according to a new AP-Petside poll.

Most pet owners, 62%, say they would be likely to get vet treatment if the bill exceeded $500. But for a bill of $1,000, that figure drops to 42%. If the cost is $2,000, 35% would pay, and if the cost reaches $5,000, 22% would foot the bill.

Surprisingly, people earning below $50K answered about the same way as those earning $50K and up.

But even with examples like Nancy and Arabela, only 20% of pet owners say they worry a lot about being unable to afford the vet. Dog owners, women and low-income pet parents are among the biggest worriers. However, 95% of pet owners lack pet insurance.

When asked if they thought pet insurance was a good way to save money on vet bills, 27% did say it was a good idea: That's five times the number of people who actually have it.

Petside Team

Petside is run by pet lovers just like you, and is here to help you be the best pet parents you…

Filed Under: Budgeting, Health & Home, Medication
Tags: animals, care, cost, health, insurance, news, polls, vet bills, worry

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Comments (10)

Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 08-17-2011 03:22pm

I have an 8 year old German Shepherd who has had epilepsy since age 2. I have spent well over $15,000 in the past 6 years on vets, meds, treatments, tests, special diet, etc. I love this dog and the meds the neurologist give him make his life FAIRLY normal. Yes, he still has seizures and some other minor issues, but has had a good life. I have had to make the full time commitment to medicate twice daily, treat him after seizures, and be a full time nurse/mom to my dog, but I chose to accept that responsibility. He is now having other issues that I knew would occcur. and he would not have a normal lifespan. Now that his end will be fairly soon, I am sure I have given him a GOOD life, and he has given me years of love and companionship. I was lucky I could afford to keep him. As a prior post noted: if you cannot afford NORMAL treatment (not this!) DO NOT get a cat or dog!

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Sophia

Added 06-14-2011 12:10am

Well pets aren't human but I think I am one who would spent almost any amount on my pet ferrets. Call me crazy but I even went into debt with the IRS one year so I could pay my ferrets vet bills. Regards, Sophia

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Erica Fischer (Unverified)

Added 01-05-2011 06:41pm

I agree with Karen. To me, it feels like a horrendous waste of money to keep a suffering animal alive when there are starving, homeless human children in the world. Pets were domesticated by humans - domesticated. If they were sickly or injured in the wild, they would die. That's the harsh reality, and I will not put myself or my family in a financial bind over an animal. I love my pets, I take care of my pets, I have pet insurance, I feed my pets high quality food and exercise them, but I do have a financial limit. In my opinion, any human being who passes judgment on another person for choosing to not pay outrageous vet bills is not only disillusioned on the reality of our planet, but also quite silly for believing that your pet is so special that it can provide a type of comfort that no other pet can provide you. They have value and "personality" because WE, human beings, created that. Value and personality are things that we created in our mind. I don't care if you choose to spend all your money on an animal that will treat most people who feed them the same way they treat you, but don't throw stones at those who decide to make different choices with their hard-earned money. And don't dare say whether someone should or should not be pet owners...that's akin to saying who should or should not be parents and everyone knows that regardless of one's opinion, no one is in any position of might to make that judgment call.

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Shaun DMello (Unverified)

Added 06-11-2012 04:48am

"keep a suffering animal alive when there are starving, homeless human children in the world" - Really!!!! You think us humans don't suffer a lot? What do you think the quality of life would be like for a starving, homeless baby born with AIDS even if it were kept alive? You think it would suffer less than the pets, whose suffering you seem to have some psychic insight into? Your self righteous drivel sickens me. If you do believe that life is precious you would respect all life equally and accept that there are some things you don't completely understand. If we were to extend your warped twisted sense of compassion to mankind we would need to abandon all treatment for epileptics, cancer patients, victims of paralysis and so on. Or do you believe it is okay to prolong the suffering of humans? Or do you believe you have some special insight that enables you to measure the amount of suffering an animal or human can endure, and can even weigh this suffering against the general quality of life to decide whether treatment makes sense or not? Putting down an animal may be one of the hardest things to do, but I agree that at times it is necessary, however your words seem to betray your true sentiment - putting down a pet is not really dependent on the prospects of the animal, but on the extent to which costs of treatment would inconvenience you.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 06-13-2012 03:37pm

"your self righteous drivel 'sickens' me". ??? Yikes...Not exactly d most mello spirit demonstrated here. But, in the end, I think I get the point you're trying to make. And, it rings true. (Still...you might consider applying just a little less 'hostile outrage'...Just a suggestion:0)

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 06-07-2012 04:23pm

Dear Erica...A little defensive aren't you? Lol...But, then, it usually is the one going all ‘soap box’, implying that others “dare to make judgments” that ends up being the one who evidences themselves as the most judgmental and illogically 'lathered up' on a subject ;0) Your financial limit regarding what you will/can spend toward your pets health care is just that -'yours'. However, dear, you don't get to make those decisions for other pet owners. And, spare us your self righteous indignation because pet owners choose to get their pets the care they need and deserve -irrespective of cost. That’s not any of your business… Based on what you share above, it appears that you are resentful that people have the financial ability/means to make these healthcare decisions regarding their pets. One more thing, dear. Don't pretend you're enlightening the masses regarding 'humanity' with your 'suffering animal' argument. Here's the huge hole in that argument: Your statement regarding "suffering animals" assumes (and you know what they say about assumptions, Erica ;0) that responsible pet owners don't know whether their pet is 'suffering needlessly'. Here's the thing: Just like you, the rest of us are capable, as well as likely to choose good vets and follow the advisement of these medical professionals on the subject of 'pain and suffering'. Lol….it’s as though you believe 'every' pet needing a costly surgery or maintenanced health care in form of diet or meds is ‘most certainly’ a pet that has NO quality of life. How arrogant and misguided you appear to be. You don't have the ability to determine 'suffering point' for other people pets. Tip: take care of your own pets the way you see fit... and leave others to do the same. Erica, dear....You ought to be thankful, rather than jealous, critical and judging that pet owners choose to act in responsible support of their pets. Instead of that, you offer silly, baseless arguments about why people should allow their pets to 'suffer and die, as they would in the wild'....on the grounds that there are starving children in the world. Good Grief! Next thing you know, you’ll be making judgments that only ‘certain dogs’ are worthy of costly vet care…