Giving up animals due to the economy
Posted by mirrya1 on Dec 23, 2008 · Member since Jan 2006 · 2210 posts
I don't know how I feel about this article. On hand I feel bad for the families but on the other hand it pisses me off. The article doesn't say wether these people canceled their cable, internet service, cell phones or other unnessesary (sp?) splurges before deciding that their pets were too expensive and had to go. I can think of tons of things I could do without in order to keep all my pets. Also, I think the amount of money they give as being the average cost to have an animal per year seems high. I've never spent $1000 on/for my cat in a year.
P.S. not sure if that link will work....I'm not sure exactly how to post one in a message.
I've never spent $1000 on/for my cat in a year.
P.S. not sure if that link will work....I'm not sure exactly how to post one in a message.
You did it right (although I didn't click on it; I know the article you're referring to).
I have probably spent that much if my dog was very sick or something, including food, toys, blah blah, but not typically. AND, I'd spend it anyway.
I appreciate your point that you could cancel other things over giving your pet up. My pet is a family member.
Particularly people who do a "midnight flit" to avoid the rent; they take their stuff, but leave Fluffy or Fido behind because "the landlord will come and find it and take care of it." Except the landlord won't show up for a couple of weeks at least.
I don't know how common "flitting" is in the US but it's very common on the continent.
My pet is a family member.
My point exactly!
My Lacey is my best friend...who else could put up with me in the morning? Seriously though it can be a problem because not all people think of pets as their companions....just as pets. I use to work with feral cats and found that a lot of them were once pets. With the large student population here there are always a bunch of abandoned cats when the school lets out. Some idiots think that a cat can just fend for itself if they can't take care of it or it is time to move on. It is so very irresponisble....and cold
My pet is a family member.
My point exactly!
And how!!
Bella is my baby and I would do anything for her. And have already....just recently finished paying off her vet bills from when she almost died, but didn't! From what?? Great veterinary care! I get that the economy is crap right now, but I've been below poverty level before (both with my mother and on my own) and we've always done without to make sure our furry family member were taken care of. It's all about your choices.
Ummm...you guys? This isn't new! How the hell do you think I ended up with so many cats? People just leave them with the house!
I know, but I guess it's just being noticed more since the economy is going down the drain. I watched enough Animal Cops (haha!) and worked with rescue long enough to know that people just leave their animals for no reason. We got my yellow lab, J.D., because his owners couldn't afford his phenobarb meds for his epilepsy (it was seriously less than $10/mo) and then after we changed his diet to good food and he was able to have a yard to exercise in, he has been medication and seizure free for almost three years.
Go figure.
I'm not sure that had anything to do with whatever, except I agree with MDV. Yeah.
This whole topic saddens me greatly. Time and time again I hear about people wanting to get rid of their cats that they've had for years and have seemingly no remorse about it. My sister works with an animal rescue organization in Richmond, VA and she's always telling me stories about this very issue. Like MDvegan, I got 4 of my cats from taking care of them as strays. The last one I adopted had even been fixed. As much as I love winter and snow, I do think about all the feral cats out there trying to find warmth and food and it depresses me. Very sad indeed.
It is unimaginable to me that anyone would even think of giving their pet up. Though I know it happens.
Unthinkable. My partner just rescued a kitten she found outside a few weeks ago and found her a home. She lost part of her ear to frostbite. It was literally 20 below when she found her. 38 below with windchill. Here she is...a little fluffy Himalayan, I think. We had here for approximately 1 hour.
<a href="http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b210/ellibear/?action=view¤t=DSC... target="_blank"><img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b210/ellibear/DSC03476.jpg" border="0" alt="cold kitteh"></a>
We have 3 animals and I think would probably have 3 more if we didn't rent.
I used to work for a vet & had many experiences there that will haunt me forever. We had a client with two cats. One was probably 3 & the other one was not quite 1 year old. She was moving and could only take one cat to her new residence. So, she brought the older cat in and had him killed, I mean euthanized. This women is not unlike the ads I see in the paper on a weekly basis, from people giving away their 10 year old dogs cause they are moving. My 18 year old dog passed away in October :'(. When I saw a family member over the holiday, she asked me if I had replaced her yet? Like she was a broken toaster or something…. :(
I could go on and on about this – but I think it just comes down to the simple fact that most humans see all other animals as possessions for their enjoyment. If that possession becomes inconvenient, out of date, or develops problems, & is no longer enjoyable than it’s time to throw it away. So, it is no surprise why people would dump their companions off at the shelters when they become inconvenient because money is tight. Sorry, I’m ranting – this shit makes me so mad.
My 18 year old dog passed away in October :'(. When I saw a family member over the holiday, she asked me if I had replaced her yet? Like she was a broken toaster or something…. :(
Maybe your relative didn't mean it to sound like that. My dog passed away in May, and I had the most horrible time getting over her. I would cry anytime I thought about her or just considered getting close to another animal. She was my baby!
Finally I told Josh I need something to fill in that hole in my heart, we've got to get an animal so that I can channel that love into something positive. That's where Pounce came in. He's not a "replacement" for Molly, but he's another baby that I can give all that unconditional love to without being sad. Molly will always have a place in my heart, but if I didn't have another animal in my life, I would still be crying.
Maybe your relative meant something like that, but just didn't know how to get it into words without being too mushy? Personally, I'm just a mushy kind of girl.
This was a really good thread for me to read. My cat died just a few weeks ago (the day after the election), and everyone's been asking me when we're going to get another, but I felt like she was too important a person to just "replace" right away. Now my husband's saying that with the economy situation, the shelters are more full than ever, and we should get another cat just to help out. I've been stubborn about this "I don't want a new cat, I want her" stuff, but now I'm rethinking it...
This was a really good thread for me to read. My cat died just a few weeks ago (the day after the election), and everyone's been asking me when we're going to get another, but I felt like she was too important a person to just "replace" right away. Now my husband's saying that with the economy situation, the shelters are more full than ever, and we should get another cat just to help out. I've been stubborn about this "I don't want a new cat, I want her" stuff, but now I'm rethinking it...
I know what you mean. I had a cat several years ago that I raised from her birth including the whole bottle routine, etc. She died at 7 and a half due to kidney disease. It was about 4 years before I felt ready enough to get another cat. I go Misty Dawn about a year and a half ago because she was found with her brothers abandoned at a college in MI. Just a few weeks ago I got Atilla the Hunee because she was found abandoned too. Now I can't imagine life without them.
I agree with everyone here! I grew up in a family who soon found themselves with animals and giving them up.
It haunts me when I think about their poor faces behind bars! wondering what's going on.
My family was messed up mentally at that time and luckily it didn't last long..
That's part of the reason why I don't want any pets-- at least just yet.
I look at animals pretty much the same way I look at children... If I can't afford them forever, I can't have them.
I would loooove to have a house with a big yard and just adopt every single one I could and let them roam it free.
This happened to a girl I know. Economic downturn meant loads of people at her company got laid off including her. She had to move in with someone else and she couldn't find anywhere that would let her have a pet so her rescue spaniel had to go back to RSPCA.
It would be a total disservice to her to imply that she found that decision easy to make. If you're hit hard like that you do the maths and you make it so that you can live. When she got her dog there was no reason that she would not be able to give him a good home forever but times change and ultimately she needed a cheaper place to live pronto and there were no options at that time other than to give him up. I know that there are people who treat their pets like commodities and don't seem to care, but let's not generalise too far. For every callous person who goes, "I can only take one cat with me, whatever, we'll have the other one put down," there are those who cry all the way home from the shelter. It's not always exclusively about the money side of it.
I love my pets. They are like family. Just like family, I won't boot them out when things become a little tight. Some people don't think much of pets. If seems like an inconvience they get rid of them. Met too many people like that. It really bothers me.
BTW, we just adopted a kitten that was dumped. She is the sweetest thing. Every night she lays next to my head and purrs, as if to say, "Thank you".
I've been dealing with the burden of whether or not I sh/could rehome one of my cats.....not because I don't love him, but because he has now become special needs....and I just had to go to court yesterday to prevent eviction, due to me not being able to make rent this month....in the past six months, with all the tests, vet visits, prescriptions, etc.....I can safely say I've spent AT LEAST $1500 on his care alone. So it really has become an issue for me as to whether or not I can afford to give him the care he needs and deserves. ALL my possible accounts are overdrawn, the only reason I have electricity is thanks to a gov't subsidized charity.....And I'm only able to make rent thanks to the generosity of friends.
Please tell me, what should I do??? There are NO places near me that offer low cost general vet care (ie outside of spay/neuter clinics) for low income people. If I were homeless, I may have a shot at it....but I don't want that to happen, and again, that isn't in the best interest of my baby boy.
can't u get pet insurance or no?
It wouldn't help.....even if I bought it before he was diagnosed with cancer....it would have been considered a 'pre-existing condition' that wouldn't be covered anyway.
ugh... i'm sorry :'(
I've been dealing with the burden of whether or not I sh/could rehome one of my cats.....not because I don't love him, but because he has now become special needs....and I just had to go to court yesterday to prevent eviction, due to me not being able to make rent this month....in the past six months, with all the tests, vet visits, prescriptions, etc.....I can safely say I've spent AT LEAST $1500 on his care alone. So it really has become an issue for me as to whether or not I can afford to give him the care he needs and deserves. ALL my possible accounts are overdrawn, the only reason I have electricity is thanks to a gov't subsidized charity.....And I'm only able to make rent thanks to the generosity of friends.
Please tell me, what should I do??? There are NO places near me that offer low cost general vet care (ie outside of spay/neuter clinics) for low income people. If I were homeless, I may have a shot at it....but I don't want that to happen, and again, that isn't in the best interest of my baby boy.
We had a dog that had a large tumor and cancer. We could have payed for an expensive surgery. The outcome was 50/50. Our family decided the best thing for her was to put her down. It was hard, but she had lived a good long life - lived to be 15. That's not abandoning her. It was doing what was best. I hope all works out for you. It is so hard when a pet has such a diagnosis.
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