I used to believe "if you can't afford the vet then you can't afford the pet," but I've watched the cost of vet care skyrocket over the past fifteen years to the point where only PMCs can afford it.
There are so many ways that animal friends can wriggle their way into your lives unexpectedly that I no longer believe in shaming anyone for having an animal companion. It's gross to suggest that people should exclude themselves from one of life's greatest joys because they belong to the wrong social class.
The vet clinic that I visit used to be owned and operated by this sweet old man who routinely undercharged his clients because he empathized with them and he was in it for the love of the animals. When he retired, the clinic turned into a corporate outlet in which all of the veterinarians were employees rather than owners. All the protocols were set by corporate. Prices skyrocketed. You had to sign a bunch of forms and pay up-front before they would even begin any treatments. I can't help but feel that this is a microcosm of what's been happening all over the country. Not just in vet care, but healthcare and education. Everything is becoming more consolidated, soulless, and greedy.
Oh, and the emergency vet clinics will now literally hold your animal hostage until you can pay.
The veterinarians hate it too. They go into the field because they love animals, and then they get sucked into this corporate debt slavery with student loan debts that rival medical school. I've heard from them directly that the billing is their least favorite part of the job. They have clients rushing to them in tears all the time, begging for them to save their baby even though they can't afford to pay, and they're forced to turn them away. It wreaks violence on the soul of the empathetic.
lol my credit is fucked because the first financial decision I had to make in my adult life was whether or not to take out a credit loan to pay the $3000 to have my best friend die in relative comfort or complete misery.
pop that on top of my community college debt and you have the recipe for why my shits all fucked
$3000 to have my best friend die in relative comfort
This is why PETA operates "kill shelters" that will euthanize surrendered animals without billing the owner, for which they get raked over the coals as monsters.
I'm not even a huge PETA fan, I just hate the way they get slandered for their good deeds to the point where every brainwashed redditor will chime in with kill statistics every time they're mentioned.
Just had to grind that axe for a minute. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Not to mention how beneficial pets can be to some people for emotional support, disability support, or just general companionship. To deprive someone of a friend and companion who will love you with their whole being, with no reservations or judgement, just because of medical costs is cruel and classicist
I'm friends with a lot of formerly of currently homeless people and for the most part they take better care of their pets than anyone. A lot of people in the street have had their dog be their only friend in town at times. They also give people a reason to get up and do shit and not let depression just totally overtake you in those sorts of situations. I don't think anyone is more attached to an animal than the average street dude is to their dog. The exceptions are an extreme opposite of abusive shitty people who will sell their dog for smack (how my roommate got his dog, of his H dealer at the time. Dealer made the trade so the dog would have a better place to live than with someone who would trade it for heroine. Dealer decided my dude was the best guy he knew to raise the dog, so he got a week's worth so he wouldn't get sick while getting to know and raising a pup and the dog lives with us still now and they are as close as two beings could be tonne another). Either way, rich people basically think of pers as furniture most of the time and deserve them less than most poor people who need fuzzy unconditional love cause they can't buy it.
I used to believe "if you can't afford the vet then you can't afford the pet," but I've watched the cost of vet care skyrocket over the past fifteen years to the point where only PMCs can afford it.
There are so many ways that animal friends can wriggle their way into your lives unexpectedly that I no longer believe in shaming anyone for having an animal companion. It's gross to suggest that people should exclude themselves from one of life's greatest joys because they belong to the wrong social class.
The vet clinic that I visit used to be owned and operated by this sweet old man who routinely undercharged his clients because he empathized with them and he was in it for the love of the animals. When he retired, the clinic turned into a corporate outlet in which all of the veterinarians were employees rather than owners. All the protocols were set by corporate. Prices skyrocketed. You had to sign a bunch of forms and pay up-front before they would even begin any treatments. I can't help but feel that this is a microcosm of what's been happening all over the country. Not just in vet care, but healthcare and education. Everything is becoming more consolidated, soulless, and greedy.
Oh, and the emergency vet clinics will now literally hold your animal hostage until you can pay.
The veterinarians hate it too. They go into the field because they love animals, and then they get sucked into this corporate debt slavery with student loan debts that rival medical school. I've heard from them directly that the billing is their least favorite part of the job. They have clients rushing to them in tears all the time, begging for them to save their baby even though they can't afford to pay, and they're forced to turn them away. It wreaks violence on the soul of the empathetic.
lol my credit is fucked because the first financial decision I had to make in my adult life was whether or not to take out a credit loan to pay the $3000 to have my best friend die in relative comfort or complete misery.
pop that on top of my community college debt and you have the recipe for why my shits all fucked
This is why PETA operates "kill shelters" that will euthanize surrendered animals without billing the owner, for which they get raked over the coals as monsters.
I'm not even a huge PETA fan, I just hate the way they get slandered for their good deeds to the point where every brainwashed redditor will chime in with kill statistics every time they're mentioned.
Just had to grind that axe for a minute. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Not to mention how beneficial pets can be to some people for emotional support, disability support, or just general companionship. To deprive someone of a friend and companion who will love you with their whole being, with no reservations or judgement, just because of medical costs is cruel and classicist
GOOD POST
I'm friends with a lot of formerly of currently homeless people and for the most part they take better care of their pets than anyone. A lot of people in the street have had their dog be their only friend in town at times. They also give people a reason to get up and do shit and not let depression just totally overtake you in those sorts of situations. I don't think anyone is more attached to an animal than the average street dude is to their dog. The exceptions are an extreme opposite of abusive shitty people who will sell their dog for smack (how my roommate got his dog, of his H dealer at the time. Dealer made the trade so the dog would have a better place to live than with someone who would trade it for heroine. Dealer decided my dude was the best guy he knew to raise the dog, so he got a week's worth so he wouldn't get sick while getting to know and raising a pup and the dog lives with us still now and they are as close as two beings could be tonne another). Either way, rich people basically think of pers as furniture most of the time and deserve them less than most poor people who need fuzzy unconditional love cause they can't buy it.