New AP-Petside.com Poll: Pet Parents and Vet Visits
Published November 29, 2011
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A new AP-Petside.com poll looks at how many pet parents take their pet to the vet, and how much money the average pet owner spends at the vet!
Despite the economic downturn, most Americans have made it a priority to make sure their pets are taken care of in the health department. A new AP-Petside.com poll found that roughly 80 percent of pet owners took their furry friend to a vet in the past year, including 85 percent of dog owners and 79 percent of cat owners.
As all pet owners know, while trips to the vet are necessary, these trips are not necessarily cheap. The average pet owner spent approximately $500 last year on visits to the vet. In rare instances, the cost of vet visits exceeded the $500 average; about 13 percent of pet parents wound up spending $1,000 or more on vet bills.
The newly-released statistics demonstrate the level of devotion that we have for our pets; despite the increasing costs of pet medical care, most people make sure their furry friends get checked out by the vet.
The rising costs of animal medical care are, however, still a deterrent for some. Forty-one percent of those in households with incomes below $50,000 stated that they couldn’t really afford to take their pet to the vet.
Moreover, animal medical care may not be a number-one priority for everyone.
Of those who did not take their pets to the vet, over half said that they would take their pet to the vet only if the animal were really sick. In the eyes of these people, seemingly minor health issues don’t warrant a trip to the vet.
What group do you align with? Do you take your pet to the vet? If so, do you only take him when he is really sick, or do you make sure he has his annual wellness checks? Share your thoughts and vet visiting habits in a comment!
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Comments (6)
Polls like this have no reasonable expectation of accuracy.
They rely on the often faulty recollection of events moths or years in the past.
In real world conditions, it is often determined that up to 80% of patients who are reported to be "current" cannot produse any evidence of their pet ever seeing a veterinarian.
The very structure of this "survey" and others like it can determine sujective sentiments, but cannot reveal useable objective information.
When deciding to adopt our two dogs we knew that exceptional care was a must. So much so that we even added them to our Auto Owners insurance policy. Our pets go everywhere with us. This assures that in the unfortunate event that they need medical attention due to a car accident they'll get nothing but the best.
Within the past year my husband and I spent over $12,000 saving our young dog from a myriad of health problems. We have a very middle class income and were very fortunate in that when we needed the money we were able to find it. We made a committment to our dog that as long as he had the will to live and had every chance of a full recovery we wouldn't let finances dictate our choices. I empathize with anyone that is put in that position, but inviduals that have the money and aren't willing to spend it on the care of their pets, probably shouldn't have them.
May I suggest... STOP the Canine Allergy Itch Before IT Itches.
Here are my Thoughts
The Top 3 DOG Health Issues seen by DVMs = Allergy to Pollens, Dust Mites & Molds.
...
Allergy is a Mis-Wired Immune System & Progressive Cumulative Disease which ( at Birth) sets into motion a lifetime sequence of multi Skin & Ear Issues, compromised Quality of Life and Big $$ Vet Bills.
It is now possible to Sublingually GOO build Immune Tolerance / ReCaliberate Immune System to these offenidng Enviro Allergens via a Vet Dermatologist Formulated, 100% Natural GOO which is Peanut Butter Based making it a Tasty Treat for your Dog and FUN to Fight Enviro Allergies.
We have saved a lot of money on vet services simply by price shopping vet services and sticking with the vet clinic with both reasonable prices and 24 hour clinic hours.
Most vets charge a lot for after hours services, if they provide them at all, but the clinic we finally settled on actually changes the same regardless of the hour and is price competitive with the vet clinic we previously used that only worked 8 to 5 pm but was the cheapest convenient vet.