F....Animal Vets

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Agreed. I do love dogs, though. Other people's dogs. I've seen what puppies do to your home. If I came home and found my leather couch/chair shredding by a freaking dog, well....

My closest friend has two labs, one chocolate, one golden. Great dogs, a lot of fun, but his house is always a mess because of those animals. And last week the chocolate lab was diagnosed with torn ligaments in one of his hind legs. $3200 surgery. EFFFFFFFFF that. I'll be damned if I ever spend that much of my hard earned money on a pet.

I get it that there's this bond between man and dog and they're great companions, ra ra ra. And maybe I'm being a jerk, but the juice ain't worth that kind of squeeze.

My wife and I have an indoor cat (it's hers really, I don't particularly care), but she knows if we ever run into that kind of vet bill, it's sayonara kitty.

Easy to say but we will see what happens when that day comes because it will come.

My dad said the prices have gone through the roof, growing up we had dogs and it was no where near this. Plus they can do so much more now that they get you with that.

If you truly love your pet and it is ill and someone says I have a magic wand to fix it at this cost, it is hard to say no.

The best way to go about is basically do what you can afford and that way you know you have done everything you can for your pet when and if it dies. As a pet owner you take on this responsibility. What fustrates me about Vets is I don't really know pet medience so if the say do A I really can't dispute it. Where as if my car mechanic says you need a new sunroof with your brake job I can be like "yeah right".

For those saying pets are waste because of these bills or they mess up the house, I am sorry you missed out on one of life's greatest pleasures, IMO.

Pets are a great gateway drug to kids IMO, if you don't picture yourself being able to care for a dog and it's expenses, god help you when the little one comes around, they make dogs look cheap and clean.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Easy to say but we will see what happens when that day comes because it will come.

My dad said the prices have gone through the roof, growing up we had dogs and it was no where near this. Plus they can do so much more now that they get you with that.

If you truly love your pet and it is ill and someone says I have a magic wand to fix it at this cost, it is hard to say no.

The best way to go about is basically do what you can afford and that way you know you have done everything you can for your pet when and if it dies. As a pet owner you take on this responsibility. What fustrates me about Vets is I don't really know pet medience so if the say do A I really can't dispute it. Where as if my car mechanic says you need a new sunroof with your brake job I can be like "yeah right".

For those saying pets are waste because of these bills or they mess up the house, I am sorry you missed out on one of life's greatest pleasures, IMO.

Pets are a great gateway drug to kids IMO, if you don't picture yourself being able to care for a dog and it's expenses, god help you when the little one comes around, they make dogs look cheap and clean .

Throughout my college years and the first year after I moved back to DC from Florida in '07, I lived with and help care for/raise dogs. No, I didn't pay for or name those particular dogs, and yes, I did find quite a bit of pleasure living with those dogs (pit bull, dalmation, lab to name a few). But I also had plenty of belongings ripped to shit by those dogs, and lost countless hours of sleep.

I've spent plenty of time living with and without dogs. I'll take the latter 7 days a week.

Comparing having dogs to having kids is apples and oranges. Kids are humans and your own flesh and blood. Of course they are going to cost you lots of money, time, and frustration. But they are your CHILDREN. Dealing with the cost/messiness/time that pets bring may be good prep for kids, but not wanting to deal with those pets has nothing to do with your ability to deal with kids IMO.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Throughout my college years and the first year after I moved back to DC from Florida in '07, I lived with and help care for/raise dogs. No, I didn't pay for or name those particular dogs, and yes, I did find quite a bit of pleasure living with those dogs (pit bull, dalmation, lab to name a few). But I also had plenty of belongings ripped to shit by those dogs, and lost countless hours of sleep.

I've spent plenty of time living with and without dogs. I'll take the latter 7 days a week.

Comparing having dogs to having kids is apples and oranges. Kids are humans and your own flesh and blood. Of course they are going to cost you lots of money, time, and frustration. But they are your CHILDREN. Dealing with the cost/messiness/time that pets bring may be good prep for kids, but not wanting to deal with those pets has nothing to do with your ability to deal with kids IMO.

I got both. I had dogs first and IMO it help prepare me for raising kids. To some, not me, kids and pets are on the same level. I am not saying a petless family will not be able to raise a child I am just saying it may help prepare you for child raising, there are many similarities, especially when comparing a newborn to a dog.

To be clear I was not singling you out, I was just expressing my opinion.

On a totally joking side it was funny how you had to give your dog history, you kind of sound like a homophobic saying "I have gays friends, really I do."

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by mredskins

[/B]I got both. I had dogs first and IMO it help prepare me for raising kids. To some, not me, kids and pets are on the same level. I am not saying a petless family will not be able to raise a child I am just saying it may help prepare you for child raising, there are many similarities, especially when comparing a newborn to a dog.

To be clear I was not singling you out, I was just expressing my opinion.

On a totally joking side it was funny how you had to give your dog history, you kind of sound like a homophobic saying "I have gays friends, really I do."

haha. Well, I wanted to emphasize the fact that I want no part of owning dogs and that's speaking from first-hand experience.