Crowdsourcing for Vet Bills

[njac]

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I was asking my vet roommate about this the other day.

I am a member of multiple Corgi-related groups on Facebook. It seems like on a nearly daily basis someone is begging for money for vet bills. Sometimes it's a beloved pet's ACL-repair, sometimes it's heroics on a rescue found injured by the side of a highway.

How do you guys feel about that, and is it changing any practices? Are people agreeing to Emergency heroics and then freaking out when they can't pay after?

I just put down a dog that I did go the extra mile for (I don't know that I hit the "heroics" category, but by some definitions, maybe I did), and about 5 years ago put down another geriatric Corgi after a lengthy chronic illness. Maybe I'm just a little "WTF?" because my mint.com account is more than happy to let me know how many thousands of dollars I spent on my dog in his last year, but isn't that part of the responsibility of owning an animal? Part of why I haven't gotten another horse is knowing that I couldn't afford another pasture ornament if it got injured.

 

[DVMDream]

I was asking my vet roommate about this the other day.

I am a member of multiple Corgi-related groups on Facebook. It seems like on a nearly daily basis someone is begging for money for vet bills. Sometimes it's a beloved pet's ACL-repair, sometimes it's heroics on a rescue found injured by the side of a highway.

How do you guys feel about that, and is it changing any practices? Are people agreeing to Emergency heroics and then freaking out when they can't pay after?

I just put down a dog that I did go the extra mile for (I don't know that I hit the "heroics" category, but by some definitions, maybe I did), and about 5 years ago put down another geriatric Corgi after a lengthy chronic illness. Maybe I'm just a little "WTF?" because my mint.com account is more than happy to let me know how many thousands of dollars I spent on my dog in his last year, but isn't that part of the responsibility of owning an animal? Part of why I haven't gotten another horse is knowing that I couldn't afford another pasture ornament if it got injured.

The bolded above happens quite often. An emergency occurs, people are stuck in a state of shock and tell you to "do everything you can" then they freak when they realize how expensive "everything" can be.

As far as people asking for donations, I guess if that is what they want to do I don't have a problem with it personally. I do think you have a responsibility when you adopt a pet and you should realize that pets can and do have medical bills (and you should not have to resort to donations from strangers), but it becomes tricky with animals. Some people would pull out a second mortgage on their pet, some people want to do as much as they can but realize they do have a budget, and then you have those who may just not care. You also have people that think of pets in various different ways... some people a pet is equal to child while others a dog is "just a dog", especially when you talk to people that grew up on a farm where the family dog never went to the vet and you "treat" some wounds/ailments on your own at home. I can't say if people asking for donations is changing any practices or not, I never noticed it while I was working as a tech. Probably would never know if a client went off and asked for donations, to be honest, unless they were discussing it with us.

There are so many grades within society as to the value placed on animals, that it is difficult to tell someone they are "wrong" for choosing how "far" they want to take vet care on their pet. Obviously, ignoring neglect and zero veterinary care because that is illegal.

 

[dyachei]

I dont have a problem with crowd-sourcing to pay veterinary bills because often it gives the pet the best chance. I'm talking mostly about curable disease though

 

[CalliopeDVM]

How do you guys feel about that, and is it changing any practices? Are people agreeing to Emergency heroics and then freaking out when they can't pay after?

........... but isn't that part of the responsibility of owning an animal? Part of why I haven't gotten another horse is knowing that I couldn't afford another pasture ornament if it got injured.

As a vet, I don't care where people get the money they use to pay for vet care - if they can convince strangers to donate money to them, that's between them and those strangers. I'd never recommend someone ask other people to help them pay for care (whether those other people are friends, family, or strangers on the internet), but if the owner comes up with the idea on their own, it's up to them.

Do people agree to care (emergency heroics or otherwise) then freak out when they can't pay? Absolutely! And they did that long before the idea of crowdsourcing crossed anyone's mind. That's especially true in emergency work because of the high emotions involved at the time - those circumstances don't lend themselves to practical and sober thinking.

As for finances being part of the responsibility of owning an animal......yes, but an awful lot of people aren't good at planning for future financial responsibilities. They don't do it for themselves or their children, so I'm not surprised they don't do it for their animals. Especially for emergencies.

 

[Minnerbelle]

As an ER doc, I do suggest people borrow money from friends/family if it comes to life/death for the animal. Better they borrow from someone they know than from me! I don't ever recommend strangers in the Internet. Some people do it and are successful, and good for them. Some ask us to "hold off on payment" because they're going to solicit donations, and the answer is nope.

 

[quantized]

I was asking my vet roommate about this the other day.

I am a member of multiple Corgi-related groups on Facebook. It seems like on a nearly daily basis someone is begging for money for vet bills. Sometimes it's a beloved pet's ACL-repair, sometimes it's heroics on a rescue found injured by the side of a highway.

How do you guys feel about that, and is it changing any practices? Are people agreeing to Emergency heroics and then freaking out when they can't pay after?

I just put down a dog that I did go the extra mile for (I don't know that I hit the "heroics" category, but by some definitions, maybe I did), and about 5 years ago put down another geriatric Corgi after a lengthy chronic illness. Maybe I'm just a little "WTF?" because my mint.com account is more than happy to let me know how many thousands of dollars I spent on my dog in his last year, but isn't that part of the responsibility of owning an animal? Part of why I haven't gotten another horse is knowing that I couldn't afford another pasture ornament if it got injured.

You treated that dog better than most people treat their kids. You even took him to meet Corgnelius! He was a hell of a lucky dog.

Someday we'll have horses again. Someday.

I try to not judge people who crowdsource. It helps that animal. I do have that little voice in my head that goes "why did you buy that animal if you can't afford basic care..." but people are going to get pets whether or not they have the money. The personality test at this point is whether they blame me or themselves when they can't afford care.

I'll admit that when a classmate held a luau for their dog's total hip replacement while my cat was trying to die in the hospital with a $6k bill, I was a bit bitter. Maybe I should have been more enterprising.

 

[bunnity]

People also get pets and then over the course of that pet's 10-15 year lifespan, things change - someone loses a job, gets sick, economy crashes. I am all for planning ahead but very few people are so secure that they are immune from bad luck. And at least around here (PA) most people get their cats because the cat showed up at the door one day hungry. They didn't sit down and make a plan to get a cat, they just did the right thing. And when down the road they can't afford expensive (non-routine) care for their cat I don't judge them one bit.