[Rachael1983]

The blanket statement "If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford a pet" seems a little true to me, however this doesn't apply to every one. I think when you're going to add a pet to your household, you do need to evaluate your finances to ensure that you're able to at least manage the standard vaccines, spay/neuter, food, etc costs. Not everyone is able to save money but at least having the means (a job or a hustle) that would allow you to take care of the unexpected if it did come up. I think its also realistic for people to establish what type of financial boundry they will be able to set for their vet in the event of something tragic.

I had two cocker spaniels that were hit by a car. One died instantly the other required a costly surgery. I opted to put her down because of the quality of life she would have later and the cost of more than 5 months rent. Just wasn't a smart decision to go forward with something like that.

There are low costs clinics now, for people that love their pets and want to take care of them. So in my opinion the statement can't necessarily be applied to each indivualized situation.