saving a dogs life

[potluck6]

read on my facebook page about a man who is spending 45,000 on his sick dog for surgery etc. he cashed out his 401 and used his savings for this. I loved my dog to more then my cats sorry kitties. I think it doesn't make sense. Just put the dog down out of its misery. The guy is young so he can build up his 401 you never know he may loose his job or get sick. think its the wrong idea what do you all think.

[stevensm4]

Well, I guess it boiled down to what he valued more. The life of his dog is invaluable to him and he can always make more money.

[braggin]

And I thought I was a big martyr spending $450 on an operation for my cat!

[1imaginarygirl]

Some things are more important than money. 

[DEBMZ6]

I read that the owner struggles with severe depression and bipolar disorder, and that Lola has been the reason he is still able to survive and thrive, knowing that I can understand why he is willing to cash out his 401K!   

[aflyingmonkey]

wow... that is a lot of money to have to pay for a dog's surgery, $45,000.   To each their own though, if the dog was helping him with severe depression & bipolar I can understand that the dog means a lot to him -- perhaps it was his only friend & gave him comfort. I hope his dog makes it.

[dsosnowski06]

I have spent thousands of dollars on both my dogs over a period of time due to ACL tears and other surgeries and sickness.  I knew going into the surgeries it was not a life threatening and they would live for years after them so it was worth to me.  However, now the oldest one (11 years old) has been diagnosed with liver cancer and the vet recommended surgery to try and cut out the cancer but there is no guarantee.  Our family has now agreed it is time to make him comfortable for the rest of his life so just using medication which is also expensive.  He shows no signs of giving up and until he does we will not consider putting him down but no more surgeries.

[dreamyxo]

Wow that's a lot of money.  I wonder if he had pet insurance.  My father's dog would have cost $3K for her operation and he didn't have the money since he was retired and on a fixed income so he put her down. 

[sdenimandlace1]

Their are dogs in my life that I would have spent a great deal of money on to safe. 

[Tresbn00]

It sounds like the money spent on allowing his dog to live longer was important to him, the dog gave him pleasure and ultimately provided happiness in his life. I would imagine that contributions are pouring in from dog lovers all over the world if this was a news article. I had an eight year old Golden retriever that passed away last summer leaving behind her ten year old sister. The survivor started getting depressed and appeared lonely so we picked Up an English Cream retriever and they oldie Goldie is like a puppy again. She was diagnosed with stage three cancer three weeks ago and we made the decision to prolong her life with Chemotherapy at six hundred dollars a month. It is a small price to pay for all of the unconditional love she has shared with us .

[ktheodos]

That seems like an awful lot of money for a surgery....what exactly does the dog need done?

That's a lot of money....a whole year's salary for some people! I understand the value of dogs

[nmbrown863]

I would spend whatever I had to save my dog. She is family.

[countrygirl12]

read on my facebook page about a man who is spending 45,000 on his sick dog for surgery etc. he cashed out his 401 and used his savings for this. I loved my dog to more then my cats sorry kitties. I think it doesn't make sense. Just put the dog down out of its misery. The guy is young so he can build up his 401 you never know he may loose his job or get sick. think its the wrong idea what do you all think.

I think it is none of any one's business.  It is his money.  I would not spend that much money on a dog.  And I wonder if he is being truthful.  I would need to see unaltered vet records to believe he spent almost $50,000 on vet bills for ONE surgery.  But if he wants to spend his money on that then no one else has a right to say anything about it.

[countrygirl12]

I have spent thousands of dollars on both my dogs over a period of time due to ACL tears and other surgeries and sickness.  I knew going into the surgeries it was not a life threatening and they would live for years after them so it was worth to me.  However, now the oldest one (11 years old) has been diagnosed with liver cancer and the vet recommended surgery to try and cut out the cancer but there is no guarantee.  Our family has now agreed it is time to make him comfortable for the rest of his life so just using medication which is also expensive.  He shows no signs of giving up and until he does we will not consider putting him down but no more surgeries.

If they thought they could get the cancer I would probably opt for the surgery.  But if the cancer is already in lymph nodes then surgery or chemo (which was suggested to me) is kind of a waste.  And at 11 the dog probably won't live over a couple more years.  I had a dog with cancer and something that I read and it did help my dog - you can get liver and fry it and give him a couple of pieces a day.  It helps to build their blood.  And that did extend the life of my dog.

[countrygirl12]

It sounds like the money spent on allowing his dog to live longer was important to him, the dog gave him pleasure and ultimately provided happiness in his life. I would imagine that contributions are pouring in from dog lovers all over the world if this was a news article. I had an eight year old Golden retriever that passed away last summer leaving behind her ten year old sister. The survivor started getting depressed and appeared lonely so we picked Up an English Cream retriever and they oldie Goldie is like a puppy again. She was diagnosed with stage three cancer three weeks ago and we made the decision to prolong her life with Chemotherapy at six hundred dollars a month. It is a small price to pay for all of the unconditional love she has shared with us .

But $600 a month is a lot of money.  And most people would not have that.  I don't really fault people either way.  I had someone get really upset with me for spending $1400 on a dog a couple years ago.  Even talked about it in here.  And most agreed it is my choice if I want to spend the money on the dog.  I could not afford $600 a month.  But if you can swing it then it is nothing to any body else what you spend your money on.