Doggo Thread

[audioserf]

It depends on the situation and their expected quality of life. If it will give them another year or two with good quality of life, then I don't see why not. But if they're just gonna be miserable for that year or two instead, then no, because that's just being a selfish dick.

I will pay anything for a pet with years of life in them, if it will address whatever ails them. So long as there is a pain free solution I'll do it. If their quality of life starts to suffer, that's where I draw the line.

I think that's the responsibility of anyone who owns a pet.

Strongly agree with both.

[peam]

Strongly agree with both.

Same. That's part of the contract. Pets aren't objects to be discarded when it becomes inconvenient.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

LOL, My wife just screamed upstairs... I go running up... turns out a cat had come in our doggy door and was in the kitchen eating dog food.

We don't have a cat.

I'm reviewing the video and if it captures the cat I'm going to die laughing.

[audioserf]

My dog Smitty acts like the wild dickhead to any cat he's ever seen - except when he goes to get groomed. Our groomer grooms pets out of her home, and she apparently has a little black kitten now. I saw the cat one time when picking him up, and I was like, "Uh oh, was Smitty a jerk to your cat?" Apparently they're bros! I know your dirty secret now, doggo!

Here is our boy Smitty. He's 12 (we think). We adopted him in 2011. He's the fuckin best. Shihtzu Poodle near as we can tell, ended up caught as a stray and taken in by ASPCA, where we got him. 20lbs of salty fury.

smitty1.jpg smitty2.jpg

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

So I reviewed our cams, it's a big cat, I'm guessing a Maine coon. Was in our kitchen (we have 3 dogs) like he was the boss for 30 minutes.

I put out some food for him outside, I feel bad for cats that their owners just let them run wild... those cats are for sure getting run over at some point.

[Tisket]

I will pay anything for a pet with years of life in them, if it will address whatever ails them. So long as there is a pain free solution I'll do it. If their quality of life starts to suffer, that's where I draw the line.

I think that's the responsibility of anyone who owns a pet.

I agree to an extent. It becomes a complex issue though when we are talking about a person on a fixed income or a family that has to come first economically. And while it's glib to say that people who can't afford expensive vet visits should not have pets, well, I'd never tell an elderly person that they shouldn't have the comfort of a pet because one day in the future they might face exorbitant emergency vet costs; nor would I criticize them for choosing to euthanize their cat or dog instead. Nor would I encourage someone with marginal income to take out a high interest line of credit to pay for vet care for their dog so that it will live a little longer. My husband and I are supporting aging parents and have children with upcoming college expenses. Although we could still afford it, we won't pay thousands of dollars for a vet. That money is staying in the bank. So while I respect people who spare no expense to save their pets, sometimes the decision has to be economic and not sentimental.

We come from families that hunt and trap and/or farm though. We aren't sentimental types.

[Astray]

I mostly refer to animals that are in their later years.

They had a good, long, hopefully happy dozen or so years. It's wild when I see people putting down younger animals because of surgery requirements. Cancer or something else completely inoperable is where I would draw the line. And I'd feel like a dick.

Oh man, what a bummer. This thread is now about puppies with cancer.

[Tisket]

Oh man, what a bummer. This thread is now about puppies with cancer.

lol

[Parkbandit]

Am I the only one here who won't spend significant money on vets for anything other than routine care, vaccinations and maintenance?

We love our pets and we take good care of them, but I'm not lining a vet's pocketbook just so one of them will live another year or two.

We have a couple great vets around here that are non-profits. A $50 visit to one of them would have cost me $400 at my previous vet.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I agree to an extent. It becomes a complex issue though when we are talking about a person on a fixed income or a family that has to come first economically. And while it's glib to say that people who can't afford expensive vet visits should not have pets, well, I'd never tell an elderly person that they shouldn't have the comfort of a pet because one day in the future they might face exorbitant emergency vet costs; nor would I criticize them for choosing to euthanize their cat or dog instead. Nor would I encourage someone with marginal income to take out a high interest line of credit to pay for vet care for their dog so that it will live a little longer. My husband and I are supporting aging parents and have children with upcoming college expenses. Although we could still afford it, we won't pay thousands of dollars for a vet. That money is staying in the bank. So while I respect people who spare no expense to save their pets, sometimes the decision has to be economic and not sentimental.

We come from families that hunt and trap and/or farm though. We aren't sentimental types.

I hunt, have a family that traps and farms. I don't disagree with anything you said. My family has working dogs who tend the herd, they live in a barn. I have no dreamkillers or germ donkeys, so I can afford to take care of my dogs in a different way than people with kids. If your kid needed a lens removed, I'm sure you'd pay for it. I feel the same about my kids, our dogs.