Owning a dog is expensive - with owners spending between £4,600 and £30,800 on their pet over their lifetime. But one owner has been shamed by his in-laws after spending more than £5,000 when booking his dog in for a teeth cleaning.
Explaining how his 12-year-old dog had to be sedated for the procedure, the man told Reddit : "When they sedated him for the procedure he 'lost colour' so they had to stop. After that he went through several tests to determine if he was healthy enough to attempt to put him under again.
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"These tests included cardiac screenings and blood work. They gave us the green light and directed us to a local specialist to do the work.
"By this time, it was determined he needed to have several teeth extracted, a growth removed and sent in for a biopsy to make sure it's not cancerous, and before they started the extractions they also did an X-ray of his mouth."
At this point, before having any teeth removed, the man's overall bill was nearing a whopping £5,500 - but he was happy to pay it because he wanted to make sure his pet was as happy and healthy as possible.
He added: "My parents never took our dogs to the vet because they didn't have the money, and my wife's parent's didn't because they had a vet in the family.
"This vet was a farm vet I guess, so I think it was a little different. They didn't do the kind of things we are willing to do for our pet.
"We are just trying to do what's best for our dog and fortunately we have the means to afford this kind of work (this is still substantial money to us).
"However, it does make me question our decision when someone tells me we just wasted £5k and that they never take their dogs to the vet and they have always been fine."
While most users shared their shock over the dog's 'hidden costs' brought on by a teeth cleaning, others claimed £5,500 is a reasonable price considering the checks and treatments the dog underwent.
One user said: "You are an angel for caring so much for your dog and are lucky enough to have the means to pay for his care.
"Do not let uncompassionate comments from your parents or anyone get to you - they just will never understand and will only try to make you feel stupid for trying to save your best friend."
Another user added: "Providing your dog with necessary medical care is not a scam.
"Let your parents know though that you will consider if they are being scammed with their own medical care when they are older though, and that you might choose the cheaper options, as that is what they would have wanted."
A third user said: "People don’t get into vet medicine because they wanna be rich. They do it because they are passionate about animals. It’s also really hard to get into vet school.
"I will say that corporate vet practices are more aggressive with pricing and upselling and that they are becoming more prevalent (most of the private practices in my area have been bought out)."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
