Mann, who is unemployed, managed to get Dugly the surgery he needed after arranging a low-interest payment plan with CareCredit and Twin Maples Animal Hospital.
He said it took a year to pay the hospital back, and he has not yet finished re-paying the health care credit agency.
Mann decided to pay for his dog’s surgery, but a recent poll by the Associated Press-Petside suggests many pet owners would not have done the same thing in his shoes.
The survey found that 62 percent of pet owner respondents said they would likely pay for their pets’ crucial medical care if the cost was $500. But when the price of care rose to $2,000, only 35 percent said they would likely foot the bills.
With modern veterinary clinics offering animals nearly as many medical treatments as hospitals do humans, people whose pets become sick or injured face many tough financial and emotional decisions.
Animal advocates say pet owners have a responsibility to provide their animals basic needs, but paying for their medical bills when they fall on tough times is a much more personal decision in which economics often play a big role.
In many cases, pet owners decide they are unable to afford the medical costs and choose to euthanize their pets.
In 2009, 175 cats and 360 dogs were brought in by their owners to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center to be euthanized, primarily because of sickness or injury, said Mark Kumpf, the center’s director.
“We get a lot of animals for medical and economic reasons, where their owners come in and say, ‘I took my dog to the vet, it’s got XYZ, and I can’t afford to pay for it,’ ” Kumpf said.
But other pet owners decide to get their pets the best medical care their money can buy.
Pet owners spent $12 billion on veterinary care and $10.4 billion on supplies and over-the-counter medicine for their pets in 2009, according to the American Pet Products Association.
But even paying for the most advanced medical treatments does not guarantee the pet will survive.
Jenet Mullins, 61, of Dayton, began spending almost $600 annually to purchase health insurance for her Rottweiler, Dirk, when he was a puppy and ate rocks, which led to $800 in medical bills.
Mullins said her decision paid off this year when Dirk needed expensive stomach surgery because of his unusual consumption habits. But even with the insurance company covering 60 percent of the $6,000 to $8,000 in bills, Mullins still had to pitch in thousands of dollars.
And the surgery did not solve of all of Dirk’s medical troubles. During the operation, medical staff discovered the 8-year-old dog also has an aggressive form of cancer.
The experience has not been easy on Mullins, but she said it was all a part of being a pet owner.
“You know when you get an animal, just like when you have children, you could be facing this,” Mullins said. “There are small costs that start becoming regular costs that you fit into your budget. We can put another $200 in our budget for Dirk, but could we put another $1,000 a month for Dirk? No, but it would be the worst decision we’d ever have to make to have him put down.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0749 or cfrolik@DaytonDaily News.com.
About the Author
