your furkid or your taxes?

[hyphenate]

Poll question: your furkid or your taxes?

My SIL, though I love her dearly, is faced with a vet bill of $1100. She's got the money earmarked to pay for her back taxes, which she says is going to run about $10K. She had to put $600 up front for the vet to do the surgery on the dog, because evidently he tore some ligaments or tissue in his back leg, and was crying with pain.

Now, I know that all of us have different priorities, but I would NEVER not pay for one of my furkids if I could in some way pay for it. As a matter of fact, I had to borrow from a friend when I had to bring Jean-Luc in, in January. And JL didn't make it, but I could never have let him suffer if there looked to be a way to help him.

So I'm just wondering: who would let the furkid be put down, while they paid their taxes, or hell and be damned know that a living creature would never be ignored if there was a way to help them out.

Obviously, I've skewed the topic that would make even Scrooge look good to someone who took their finances to that extreme. But the purpose is NOT whether you could afford it or not--obviously if you couldn't afford the vet bill, it's a whole different ballgame, and I've been in that position as well.

So, SPEAK! Good boy! (and girl!)

[xchrom]

1. my 'animal' is my family. nt

[undeterred]

2. My dog has health insurance and I don't.

And the reason I made sure he has it is so I never have to be in a position of having him put to sleep because I can't afford emergency treatment. Its a horrible choice.

It costs me $35/month, covers lots of routine expenses, and so far I am breaking even and he's getting excellent care.

[walkaway]

3. Same with me for years and for the same reason.

I finally managed to insure myself about a year ago. They still have better insurance.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. I've been hit with big vet bills before. Gotta provide health care for the pets

[flvegan]

5. furkid. n/t

[eyesroll]

6. How old is the dog and how is his health otherwise?

The answer to that might determine what I'd do. We have a 15-year-old cat with a lung tumor, and we probably would not pay $1,100 for leg surgery. (Or lung surgery. The vet said the tumor may be operable, but the surgery itself can be risky and may or may not extend her life or improve its quality. The only guarantee would be a big bill. So, we're medicating her other problems and keeping her comfortable.)

Another variable: What is the consequence for not paying the tax bill? If the consequence is interest and penalties, I might pay for the surgery on an otherwise healthy animal. If the consequence is a lien foreclosure on my home, then I might not (I suspect it would be much more traumatic for my family, especially my 6-year-old stepdaughter, to lose our home than lose our pet).

These situations can be more complex than the facts you've given.

[Mz Pip]

9. Good points

I've been faced with large vet bills. A few years ago I could have run up a large bill to keep my cat alive for another couple of months. He wasn't that old but had pancreatic cancer. The vet gave me 'options' for treatment but the bottom line was that the cat was going to die is the not too distant future no matter what I did.

I opted to let it go and when he no longer wanted his treats I took him in and gave him lots of hugs and pets as the vet did his thing. He didn't suffer.

It might be worthwhile to check out a local vet school if there is one around. Maybe he can get treatment for not so large a cost.

[tuckessee]

7. Pets first.

They count on us and it's our obligation. No ifs, ands or buts.

[SPedigrees]

8. My 2 dogs, cat and pony all had dental work

in the last two years, total cost about $1200. Me, I'm still putting off a root canal.

I spend a grand or two annually for routine vet care, and I do much of it myself, vaccinations and such.

[mwooldri]

10. Pay the vet bill. but...

... totally depends on things.

With taxes, unless you're already way behind you can pay late; you just have penalties and interest.

With pets, unless the vet gets paid the animal may well die.

If the vet bill is huge and the vet will help with pay over time then that could be an option but I don't know many vets who do pay over time.

Mark.