Letters to the Editor
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For us it wasn't really a choice.
We called him the most expensive bunny in the universe.
When we confessed to other people how much we had spent over the lifetime of our beloved rabbit (Radar was hand-raised by us and lived for 10 years), most would be amazed, some thought we were foolish. We didn't really feel like we had a choice.
I think the grand total was over $5,000.
The thing is that we could afford it. It wasn't going to make us miss a house payment or the power bill. Yeah, it tightened things up for us for a bit. We had to sacrifice. But we paid for the treatments willingly.
Once it was for an extended stay because we were feeding him incorrectly and almost shut his liver down. Then it was because his jaw was broken when he ran under a foot when it was coming down.
We certainly cared about his quality of life, and when the time came, we made the difficult decision to put him down.
We feel certain that the vet wasn't taking advantage of us -- they were known to discount procedures when dealing with people that couldn't afford the full price.
What is too much to pay? I can't answer that question. It obviously depends on the situation and the finances of the people involved.
Yeah, you can get a lot of rabbits for $5k. But you couldn't get this one. And he was the one we wanted.
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Misguided
As a veterinarian, I read your article with great interest. Although I appreciate the attempt at writing a thoughtful and balanced piece on this difficult topic, there are a few points that are simply incorrect.
A veterinarian's job is not, as you suggest, to "keep animals alive." Because euthanasia is available to veterinarians, we benefit from a luxury so far denied to our counterparts in human medicine -- we can focus on maintaining an animal's quality of life, rather than its duration. The power to end a life is not trivial, and many veterinarians -- myself included -- are extremely sensitive to its improper use. You suggest offering euthanasia as an option in your cat's case, but where is the line? Should I offer it as an option in a dog that needs a $600 procedure? Or $200?
The decision to treat an expensive problem needs to be made with respect for the owner's financial situation, and with an honest assessment of what stands to be gained by pursuing the problem. Spending $1300 on a cat that will then go on to lead a happy life is easier justified than spending $600 on an animal with a terrible prognosis. Part of a veterinarian's job is to counsel people through these extremely challenging decisions. The ability to provide such counseling depends absolutely on a trusting relationship with my clients. If you suspect your veterinarian is trying to guilt you out of money rather than make the appropriate decisions for you and your pet, you either need to sit down and talk, or find a new veterinarian.
You also suggest that there may be better ways to spend money "given the state of the world." This notion is flagrantly unfair. This could be said for anything that costs money. You like your new curtains? Couldn't that $50 have fed a hungry person? Did you enjoy that movie you saw last night? I'm sure cancer research could have used the $10.
Veterinarians graduate with massive amounts of debt, and a low salary ceiling compared to other comparably trained medical professionals. Nobody becomes a veterinarian with dollar signs in their eyes. I'm proud of the compassion that I can show to both my patients and their owners, and worry that your article paints a complex issue in a far-too simplistic light.
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Great Article
Congrats, you really managed to concoct a letter chock full of veterinary scenarios that should keep people debating the pros and cons for a good long while. And that is the point of a capitalistic business venture like Salon posting an article like that, right?
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cats dogs and love
I hope Ada Calhoun got another vet after the guilt trip he laid on her. Look, I love my dog and cat, but I wouldn't go into debt to save them. I got them both at the shelter and they are wonderful. They've brought me great joy. And I've given them a wonderful life (no $400 cat stollers though). It will be sad when they go, but I'll let nature take it's course. And you know what? I will find another dog or cat to love. There are literally millions of them out there who live in cages and need homes. Check out Cary Tennis's letter about a couple who are being terrorized by their cat. They refuse to euthenize him. Cary thinks that's cool and they should spend whatever it takes to send the cat to a behavior expert so they can live without guilt because they've done everything they can. OH MY GOD. That's utterly ridiculous. Euthenize the crazy cat, go to a shelter and find a cat that is lovable and sweet and is going to be killed because there is no more room at the shelter. Get real!
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Let's make a comparison here.
Of course a cat is not a kid. For a kid, you'd pay thousands in a heartbeat. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands if you had to.
But let's be serious. A couple grand in vet bills across let's say a ten-year lifespan of a house cat. People will tell you that you're crazy... but doesn't your cat provide enough love and companionship to be worth an extra $25 a month on the whole? Because that's what it comes down to. Not hundreds of thousands of dollars. You're talking about a creature for whom you pay less than a dollar a day to feed... if you're an ordinary middle-class person (and not someone for whom this decision is "food for my kids or surgery for my cat") then you can afford this.
In pets versus people, there is obviously no competition. My problem is with people for whom it is pets versus *stuff*. People who cringe because this surgery will mean they can't get a new TV. Or, as a previous poster mentioned, new carpet. Or a car, or whatever. And to me, yes, living things always trump stuff, always. I don't think you should be caring for any animal, no matter how small, unless you would be willing to give up an iPod or a new sofa for them.
Now, there are times I would absolutely not consent to my pet having expensive surgery, but those times have less to do with the expense than the likelihood that it would only lead to more pain, which I feel we inflict on *people* too much, much less cats and dogs. I don't agree at all with the idea of forcing an animal to live a few months longer so that the human beings can feel better about the loss. But in that cost/benefit equation, the cost isn't in dollars, it's in pain.