Many pet owners have only minutes to make a life-or-death treatment decision for their pet in the emergency room — and financial concerns can make it even more stressful.
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When a dog or cat needs emergency veterinary care, costs are often more than many owners expect, according to a new national survey. In fact, over eight in 10 pet owners are not fully financially prepared when their pet’s emergency strikes, according to Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital in the Denver metropolitan area of Colorado. The AAHA-accredited emergency and specialty animal hospital surveyed 1,004 American pet owners about their experiences getting emergency care for their pets.
The survey also found nearly 1 in 3 pet owners are still paying off debt from their pet’s emergency care. Additionally, 37% of owners set mental spending limits on emergency pet care, and 30% of pet owners delay getting emergency care for their pet because of cost concerns.
At the time of their pet’s emergency, 79% of owners had no pet insurance. The average cost of emergency veterinary treatment is $1,035, but that can vary widely depending on the emergency and location of the animal hospital.
Lea Pearlman, DVM, emergency veterinarian at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital, was not surprised by the results because she’s had so many conversations with pet owners about treatment costs. While she believes people always prioritize their pet and their pet’s quality of life, there’s a significant number of people who have to make challenging decisions about what they can afford to do.
“Cost of care is just really hard for many people to face, especially in an emergency setting,” she said. “I think so many pet owners just aren’t aware of the costs that come with veterinary care.”
The average cost of emergency veterinary treatment is $1,035, but that can vary widely depending on the emergency and location of the animal hospital.
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Time is often a compounding issue. In the survey, 39% of respondents had only minutes to make a life-or-death treatment decision for their pet.
“In many of those settings, part of what makes it so hard to decide is we’re recommending treatments right away as they come in the door to try to stabilize them,” she said. “So our questions aren’t often as detailed and the owners don’t have as much of an opportunity to really reflect on what’s best for them financially, emotionally and what they want for their pet, because we either need to do something or not.”
Dr. Pearlman’s “strongest recommendation” is to start saving for emergencies as soon as you bring home a pet.
“Keeping in mind that anything could happen at any point in time and trying to save or stockpile a little bit of cash so when these emergent situations come up, there’s a cushion that makes it not quite as stressful,” she said. “It's hard to say how much that amount should be because it's so variable, obviously, depending on the condition, but even small amounts can help where it at least lets us give some medications to stabilize or try to help them feel better, even if it's not the full gold standard of care. There's a lot of middle ranges that we can do in veterinary medicine.”
Start saving for emergencies as soon as you bring home a pet.
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She also recommends scheduling annual wellness exams for cats and dogs to catch any issues early, and considering pet insurance — though she noted policies come with monthly premiums that aren’t simply removed from a paycheck like a health insurance policy for humans. Additionally, pet insurance typically reimburses owners days or weeks after they pay for a veterinary treatment.
“Pet insurance is an incredible addition into our field to help support people in terms of allowing owners to feel more comfortable with those more expensive tests and treatment options, especially when we're talking about expensive surgeries and things like that,” she said. “It's not a benign takeaway from your paycheck every month, but it helps tremendously in that setting where you're talking about an $8,000 to $10,000 estimate and helps alleviate some of that burden in knowing that you aren't going to be responsible for all of it.”
When you do need to take your pet to an emergency animal hospital, communicate any financial concerns to your veterinary team, according to Dr. Pearlman.
“I think honesty from the get-go about where finances align with your abilities and goals with your veterinarian is really helpful,” she said. “I know it’s hard for a lot of pet owners to do. There’s never judgement from our side of things because — at least with all of the veterinary staff that I work with here at Wheat Ridge — everyone is very understanding that money doesn’t grow on trees. And our goal is just to work with people and what they have, to do what’s best by them and their pet.”
Be honest with your veterinarian about financial constraints when discussing treatment options.
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Ultimately, Dr. Pearlman loves helping cats and dogs. On the morning of a phone interview for this article, she saved the life of a dog with eclampsia.
Saving the life of a pet and getting to tell owners the good news is “the best,” she said.
“Even with financial limitations, something that I can treat and do — that is what brings me back every day,” she said. “Then there’s the opposite side of that where I can’t save every dog, but if I can do anything for any of them, even to help them feel more comfortable or alleviate their suffering, I’m just glad we’re here and able to do that.”
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