Did you know it is the LAW?

well, i would imagine that it would be a law, considering that abuse and neglect are illegal....

it's so easy to find local vets who take pity on those who really are hard up and allow payment plans. people just need to stick to the plan that they agree to, and the vet will let them go on doing it forever.

my vet is like that- we've been going there about 15 years, and never pay in full at the visit... all that they care about is that we pay them before the next check up time- which with us is usually about 4 months, because we only bring in a few dogs at a time. it ends up that we just give them a little money every few weeks, and they're happy, because they know they will get paid eventually. it's all about developing a good relationship with them, so they know that the owner is good for their word, and then they are willing to help in any way they can.

i can't understand people like that- big cars and no vet care for their dogs.... i drive a 2008 Nissan Versa- (and a fleet of old trucks i've collected over the years) the Versa was the cheapest car i could find, allowing me more money to spend on caring for my dogs and children. one little sacrifice made life SO much easier. we also replace clothes when they NEED to be replaced, rather than shopping because we WANT new things (i'm a smaller size, so i get a lot of hand me downs from friends, too)

people need to step back and take a good hard look at their vanity.... they are so self absorbed that they sacrifice the well being of an animal so that they can buy STUFF.... which they don't need anyway.

it's sick.

God, I hope it becomes national, so we don't have all these idiots on Yahoo Answers trying to ask us what to do for their:

1. Dog's broken leg

2. Dog's puppy that has not been born in 2 days.

3. Dog having seizures

Why oh why, do you idiots can do something for your dying dog? Do you think Yahoo Answerers are magical, free veterinarians that can cure your dog through the monitor?

If you could not afford veterinary care for your dog, you should not have gotten one.

If you have fallen on hard times and regularly had taken your pets to a vet, most vets will work with you if you had a good history of payments before.

I work at a vet clinic, and right now a lot of our clients are having money troubles. If they were good clients we *will* try to help them out if we can. For all of those people that never bothered going to a vet in the first place and suddenly decided that the major emergency was the reason to go, well, you are less likely to get help.

You'll have to bite the bullet, and turn your pet over to a shelter where they can take care of it. Its called *responsibility*. Learn, it people.

For all you great dog owners out there, this above semi-rant does not apply to you.

Yes, it's the law.

Some of the questions here drive me crazy. Like the lady who put her dog down today because she couldn't afford to treat its pyometra and then was back a half hour later asking for help picking out a new dog! *headdesk* If she couldn't afford to pay for the first one's care... OR the lady last night with the puppy with a fractured leg who wouldn't go to the vet. Just two examples.

People really need to get it through their heads that owning a dog is a tremendous responsibility and it is expensive!

Thank you for posting this.

I did know it was the law, although I don't believe it is considered a felony in every state.

There are so many options out there for low income and struggling families. It is in my personal opinion that there are too many lazy people or people who don't care about their pet enough to research them.

When my husband and I were first married, we were both in our last year of college and had very little money after paying our bills. We knew we couldn't afford a dog (dogs eat more, nor did we have time) so we adopted 2 cats. One of the cats ended up being diagnosed with an intestinal disease, whose name I cannot remember. We struggled with paying her veterinary costs, but it never even crossed my mind to just let her suffer. We sold one of our cars to pay for one of her surgeries. It was a sacrifice to go down to owning only one car between two people, but it was worth it. Not many people are willing to sacrifice to care for their pets. I have seen people who are this way with their children too. It's a sad world we live in, with no empathy and everything is "Me! Me! Me!" even at the expense of others.

Yes, I did know that's a law, and thank the stars for it, too.

It also makes me mad when people claim they have no money for a vet, yet are sitting at a computer typing on the internet! They have enough money for that and the electricity it takes to run it, but not a vet? Huuummmm...

I've never had any luck enforcing the laws though. I've always been told that there's too much crime going on right then and that MY complaint was low priority.

Cheers!

im not answering your question i am hear to yell at you. I hate to tell you, but i have done the roll to my dogs and they see me as the leader. I don't know where you get your crap. Victoria does stuff like blowing a whistle and how well does that work? She has to come back on EVERY case because she sucks so badly! Cesars methods work in minutes. I dont care what you say because even if it "went out in the 80s" it still works.

I wish every person on this forum could read this! Brilliant. If more people knew the law then maybe less people would get dogs in the first place. I love watching those TV shows where the idiots who don't look after their dogs get hauled off - glad to know it actually happens.

No I didn't know this. They should make it a law, that way millions and millions of people won't just dump them in shelters or leave them neglected and homeless because they cannot afford their health care.

I believe that if you get a dog, you should know that there are costs and obligations associated with a dog and that a dog is not just a possession or accessory.

We need more laws like this.

It's the law here in Australia, our RSPCA will treat your pets for cheap/free/payment plan if you can't afford anything else, also my local pound and a couple of vets will too if the situation is critical.

It shouldn't have to be the law it should just be so!

Is it a national law, or is this area-specific? If it's national, well, cool. Now it just has to be enforced..

EDIT: Oooh, Sashazur, I'm glad you included those terms. I was pretty sure that federal would be appropriate to say in the place of national, but I wasn't sure, nor about "municipal."