Demand spikes at pet food banks, discount vets

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC/AP

Diana Bardsley wiped tears from her eyes as she recalled taking food off her plate to feed her beloved spaniel Hunter and two Siamese cats.

Her greatest fear: that she could be forced to surrender the animals as she struggled to stretch her food stamps and Social Security income to meet the escalating cost of living.

Some hope was restored after she visited a local food pantry, which has started offering free pet food to help owners keep their animals out of shelters.

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The rising costs of fuel, food and housing — and the rising tide of foreclosures — have generated a surge in requests for pet food from traditional food pantries and prompted some pet owners to give up their animals. Others are trying to save money by forgoing veterinary care.





Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24936402 /

[alstephenson]

1. Beloved pets. Another victim of the housing bubble.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Not just the damn housing bubble but the damn inflation

of gas, food, heating oil and every other damn cost in our lives. I make a decent wage and at one point was considering getting a 2nd dog. Not now, with having to pay for gas and heating oil this winter. Cost would just be too much.

[AtLiberty]

3. Only pet lovers would understand...

My parents would have have ZERO sympathy for anyone needing assistance to feed a dog or cat.

[tpsbmam]

4. Thank goodness there are those who get it.....

Including Meals on Wheels, which has recognized the need to help feed the pets of their clients. They realized the clients were giving at least a portion of their meals to their pets.

I remember when I was 18. I had the first dog I got as an adult (he was a great, great dog -- lived until I was 35!) I was a college student, rented a crappy apartment (around the corner from a great park) and worked part-time. I was always broke near the end of the month! I always made sure I had enough to feed my beloved buddy, even if I had to go without food for 3 days (which happened sometimes). He never once went without -- I did almost every month at least for a day. I totally understand those who will do what they need to in order to keep and feed their furry family members.

[superconnected]

14. How sad. I hope your parents develop real compassion even in old age.

It's not a bad thing to gain from time being on earth.

[Critters2]

5. Pet food banks. What a great idea! nt

[mrs_p]

6. pet food banks

yes, i totally agree!! i'm in a vet program and will mention this in the upcoming year.

[KoKo]

7. Kick! I remember years ago when our grocery stores had bins for folks to donate food to pets...

somewhere along the Bush years here in my area of NC the bins got "closed down" and now the vets charge you "double" for the simplist of treatments if you don't buy into their "Pet Insurance."

My local vet group changed from a "family/pet friendly" cautionary animal treatment center to something that now pushes expensive meds on my vets without even doing lab cultures for the simplist problems with my cats.

The cost for taking my kitten in to be altered was $247.00...and she caught "Kennel Cough" while she stayed overnight for the surgery and my other elderly cat caught the Kennel Cough from her...and we had him to emergency vets twice on weekend and back to my regular vet during week hours...and NONE took a "culture" to see what they had. I ended up with over $600.00 in Vet and Prescription drugs cost in one week when I took a WELL KITTY in for ALTERING and both came down SICK and the Vets refused to tell me it was Kennel Cough (I had to search on the internet to find out what they were suffering from) while they prescribed "cough medicine," "anti-nausia," "Clavomox" and gave IV Fluids. It was a NIGHTMARE!

And this was a vet group I've been dealing with for 15 years who has gone to Insurance where there are "codes" for "payment" like I have with my crap "human insurance" and you are "coded" into some damned system where those with "insurance" pay less than those of us without pet insurance.

Anyone who doesn't have any money will have to allow their pet to die...because they can't afford these expensive (and in my experience, unnecessary treatments...and what's worse is that this all happened because my kitten who had the spaying operation caught a Kennel Cough from that very Vet Practice who then "overmedicated" both my kitties when it was their fault that both came down sick.

We need to help those who can't afford things. And, we need to give more "home remedies" that can get our pets through a crisis so that these vet prescriptions the pets can't take or are "overkill" that get thrown out as the pet dies...or has medication reaction can be monitored more closely.

We had to put our kitties in the bathroom with shower running for steam to help congestion and feed them "home made Chicken Broth" from a syringe before they came around. Days on medication had made them so sick they could barely function.

I will say the "Reglen Syrup" the Emergency vet gave my one kitty thinking he was nausious because of his congestion...kind of pulled us through when my older one stopped eating and force feeding was too hard. But...I spent a couple hundred on some red cough syrum..kitties gagged up and Clavomox that made them even sicker plus four vet emergency visits between the both kitties.

All because I had my healthy kitten spayed at the appropriate time. WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PET OWNERS WHO CANNOT AFFORD ANY OF THIS!

[Maraya1969]

11. The Publix down here has a bin to drop off food and other animal

items but I think it is a personal agreement from the Animal Welfare League because when I went to another Publix and couldn't find the bin I went inside and they didn't know what I was talking about.

It's not hard to make. Just a big box or bin and a sign for where the food is going to go. I bet more grocery stores would be receptive to the idea.

[lonestarnot]

18. I'm askin' my grocer for one next time I go.

[Merlot]

20. I'm doing everything possible to keep them healthy

I've never had the bad experience you had but there have been to many times where they try to over-prescribe and over test. All those medicines are not good for animals. A lot of the medicines the prescribe are exactly the same as human meds, just labeled differently (my friend was a vet tech and told me this).

I'm saddened by how profit driven the vetrinary business has become at the expense of our animals.

[northernlights]

8. safe home remedies

This vet clinic's web site has safe home remedies and when to take you dog or cat to the vet. http://www.marvistavet.com/index.html

I did all my own vax this year except rabies, which requires a vet certificate. Luckily for me I was trained to give IMs and sub-cues years ago by a couple vets. Saved myself a few hundred dollars that way. http://www.heartlandvetsupply.com /

Although I fully understand the need for the rabies cert, I wish I could do those myself as well. My farm call was almost $300 for 3 rabies and 1 w. nile!!!!

I also found a vet supply house in Canada for heartguard and will be using them next year. Apparently they don't require a prescription for heartgard up there (but do require prescriptions for vaccinations), so I can save a bundle that way too.

[mrs_p]

10. west nile?

for a cat?? that seems very weird to me. but please keep in mind that your vet is not trying to trick you out of money. unlike human medicine, the vet field is not built on the insurance industry. vet students pay about as much as med students for their education, but will never make enough to pay back their school loans (unfortunately for my family, that is where my life insurance is going). the profession truly is a love of labor. but i digress...

in most cities, there is a free or sliding fee scale clinic where vets volunteer their time and meds are donated. you may be able to find one by googling or checking with your local vet.

[northernlights]

12. w. nile

wasn't for a cat. it was a farm call. the w. nile was for a horse.

[mrs_p]

15. makes much more sense

[tblue37]

21. Cats do get west nile, though. But it just gives them a few

days of what seem like cold symptoms.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. you can get vet meds from Canada ??????

but we can't get human meds from Canada.....


sheesh...

Fortunately, I discovered online animal stores, which sell
antibiotics cheap...same strength as human ones. No script needed.

I will try the Canadian stores for the new Advantage, treats heartworms, fleas, all in same liquid application. At half cost of separate items.

Any links to reliable Canadian sources????????
( you may PM if you wish)

gotta keep my pal here healthy....

[brentspeak]

9. Hurray for the neo-liberal economy! Aren't we all just so much better off?

[lonestarnot]

13. Fucking A RIGHT ON! I think we need to have a food bank for animals too.

K & R

[Runcible Spoon]

16. yeah, perhaps coordinating with local shelters?

I think that the ability to keep and care for a pet keeps a lot of people going even when their situations seem so bleak and hopeless. At least if they can keep their pets, they have a reason to keep trying, someone to take care of, not to mention that pet ownership has tremendous benefits to mental health.

[lonestarnot]

17. absolutely