How much would you spend on your pet? - Page 2

Dacubs2 · 07-21-2025, 07:35 PM

about 10 years ago, my son got a baby red ear slider from chinatown. an few months later it developed an abscess/growth on the side of it's head and could not pull his head on any more. We called a vet and they said it would need to go to a specialist and have anesthesia to fix it. Mind you, this was a $10 turtle.

I sat my son down and we talked about it, and how we would not be going to a specialist, but if we don't fix it, turtle could die. I could try to remove the calcification in the abcess, but again, I don't know what I'm doing, so he could die.

My son understood and just asked theat if turtle died, could he keep the shell.

I ended up holding the turtle's neck with a chopstick and piercing the abscess witha needle and getting some firm gunk out. He went back into the tank and is still alive to this day. Turtle still dives into the water when he sees me though, so I think he remembers that I didn't use any anesthesia and it was probably painful

swerve · 07-21-2025, 08:08 PM

I think, for me, it is all about the circumstances. $22k would be a tough pill to swallow but if my dog still had several years of a good life ahead, I feel like I owe it to them.

My wife and I had a similar situation to the OP about 10 years ago. Took our dog to the emergency vet, spent over $2k and there was really nothing they could do. Took her home to spend some last bit of time with her, then spent more $ to have her put to sleep because it was the right thing to do.

Onepocketj · 07-21-2025, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sticks33

Really sorry to hear this. You must be wrecked. You sound like a great dog person.

When my partner’s dog died, it was so difficult. The only thing I could really say was to encourage her that she was an amazing owner and that Scout was the luckiest dog in the world to have her.

From your story, you fit that mold too.

Thanks. That's kind of you.
Someone sent this to me a while back when I lost my first dog and I think it helped my wife a little.

07-21-2025, 08:08 PM	#27
swerve Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: AUSTIN, TX Posts: 5,006 0023	I think, for me, it is all about the circumstances. $22k would be a tough pill to swallow but if my dog still had several years of a good life ahead, I feel like I owe it to them. My wife and I had a similar situation to the OP about 10 years ago. Took our dog to the emergency vet, spent over $2k and there was really nothing they could do. Took her home to spend some last bit of time with her, then spent more $ to have her put to sleep because it was the right thing to do. __________________ checkoutmycards.com/users/0023 Last edited by swerve; 07-21-2025 at 08:13 PM.

07-21-2025, 07:35 PM	#26
Dacubs2 Member Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 791 pharmkid97 pharmkid97	about 10 years ago, my son got a baby red ear slider from chinatown. an few months later it developed an abscess/growth on the side of it's head and could not pull his head on any more. We called a vet and they said it would need to go to a specialist and have anesthesia to fix it. Mind you, this was a $10 turtle. I sat my son down and we talked about it, and how we would not be going to a specialist, but if we don't fix it, turtle could die. I could try to remove the calcification in the abcess, but again, I don't know what I'm doing, so he could die. My son understood and just asked theat if turtle died, could he keep the shell. I ended up holding the turtle's neck with a chopstick and piercing the abscess witha needle and getting some firm gunk out. He went back into the tank and is still alive to this day. Turtle still dives into the water when he sees me though, so I think he remembers that I didn't use any anesthesia and it was probably painful