[celstu1]

Keep in mind, vet bills can pile up from accidents, not just genetics. My moms dog got attacked by another dog. The vet bills for 2 weeks in the hospital, surgery and then 2 months of physical therapy were roughly $7,000. Her dog is healthy, happy with no genetic diseases (the dog was also just given to her so it cost nothing). My friend came home from work one day and something was wrong with her cat (another friend had this same thing happen with his dog). They both took their pets to the vet ($90 emergency visit) to find out the animal needed emergency surgery to untangle string it swallowed that wrapped around its intestines. This surgery was $1400 for the cat and almost $2000 for the dog. I had a dog growing up that got a piece of stick stuck under his tounge, and in trying to get it out it dug in deeper and pierced his esophagus. Emergency surgery was about $500.

These types of things could happen to anyone at any time. I always tell everyone I know, if you are going to buy a dog, save $1,000 more than you need, keep it in the bank, forget you have it, until the time you need it for the pet. This could go a long ways towards bills for pets. I know it may not seem fair to some for someone else to say to have money in the bank... but I remember having a $400 vet bill for my 2 boys just for vacs and checkups. Nuetering also cost me $350 for one of my boys. I felt that the responsible thing to do before buying a pet was making sure my first year medical expenses were covered cash. It stinks because you may have to wait longer, but it does give you peace of mind to know that you are not stranded should something occur.