Originally posted by: thepd7
Originally posted by: silverpig
My aunt has a friend with a dog. The dog was acting a little funny according to this friend, so she brought the dog to a vet. The vet said the dog was fine, yet the friend was convinced something was wrong, so she brought the dog to a pet shrink. The pet shrink said the dog was depressed, so they started the dog on a regiment of valium and prozac. Yeah.
But wait, it gets worse.
So the dog was still acting funny (ya think?) and of course the friend thought the dog had to have something. She found a vet that diagnosed the dog with some kind of cancer.
Now the dog is on antidepressants and chemo. Yes, a dog on chemo.
My aunt says her friend has a leaky roof she can't afford to fix because of the dog bills.
My aunt is not an active part in any of this, and I am in no way related to the crazy dog owner.
Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
So putting the life of a companion who will always be by your side, loyal and die for you with only minimal food and shelter in return is a bad thing?
I am glad I walk the happy medium between these 2. I love my dog very much and would do a lot for her, but I am not going to take her to 3 different vets and I'll be damned if I ever listened to a vet that diagnosed a dog with depression.
me and my family have all been the exact same way (the medium between the two extremes, it seems). We have loved our dogs, and really have always felt they were a part of the family. We have photos of them (not usually framed, just stored somewhere), we love them and always joke that they are our furry sister (we've had two female dogs in my life thus far, and I've never known myself without a dog for long, and the time I went without one was weird. first dog lived to be 17 before we put her down, current dog is a puppy). With that said, we'd do a lot to keep them going, but we've never looked into surgery. I don't know the cost of treating cancer in dogs, so I can't really say if I'd ever go that far. When I have children, raising them and making sure the family lives comfortably will always be priority 1, but I'll want to share it all with a dog. But, I'd never let any kind of treatment put my family into financial risk. Nor would I go to extremes with multiple surgeries.. it's just not acceptable. I mean, as much as I love dogs (I'll never do much for any kind of cat and hope any wife I have in the future does not want a cat either.

), my flesh and blood and their comfort comes first. I'll eventually replace any dog I may have to put down. Our 17 year old dog could have continued to live for a few more years with expensive treatments and possibly surgery, but her hips were going, kidneys will failing, her body was frail... there is only so far you can go before you realize its not humane for the dog. She didn't deserve that kind of miserable life. It was tough putting her down but she deserved the peace and comfort.