Should we have a law that mandates veterinarian care for your pets?

I 100% agree with you.

On here, I absolutely HATE reading all these questions saying "my pet is sick/hurt but i have no money for the vet"

Why don't they just say it how it is?

"My pet is sick/hurt, but I can't take it to the vet because I was so stupid that I actually got a pet that I knew I couldn't afford vet bills for. I never thought this animal would get sick/hurt! So anyways, I was completely idiotic, got a pet I can't afford, and therefore (s)he is now going to live out life in pain and suffering..."

Like seriously. It pisses me off so much. If you're going to have a pet, try taking care of it, hey? If you had a sick child, would you say "oh, sorry, mommy has no money for the doctor, so too bad for you!"

yes, I agree full heartily that regular vet care should be mandatory by law.

Good news! Most areas DO have laws against animal neglect/cruelty. Had someone known she was keeping a sick cat and reported her, they would likely have forced her to seek veterinary attention and seized the cat if she refused. There are limits though. They generally require rabies vaccines but other things like annual exams or other core vaccines are not required. But if an animal is suffering and the proper authorities are aware of the situation, they will force care or take the animal. If you hear of similar situations in the future, please report them to animal control or the police if your area doesn't have animal control. Generally you can report anonymously so you don't even have to identify yourself..

It should be mandatory because they got the pet they should have to take it to the vet or not own it.

Perhaps she didn't have the money. For many people, animals are a luxury. I agree, had she realized he was so sick, she should have taken him to the vet. If she couldn't afford his care, she should have paid to get him put down.

And, no, it should NOT be mandated. That's bogus. Our anti abuse laws cover some of that... but animals die, it happens. They're animals, not people. In fact, doctor's visits aren't even mandatory for CHILDREN in most places.

It's sad that it had to happen... but veterinary care is expensive, and we can't all afford it.

Yes there should. My sister (who is 14) had a guinea pig for 6 years, and only played with it the first month she got him (could you imagine his misery??). She wouldn't let anybody hold him, would constantly let him starve or go without water for days (on purpose) unless I told her too (at least a hundred times) until it got to where I had to do it (might I add I didn't live with her yet me and my boyfriend had to drive to her house every damn day to take care of this poor critter). In the last year of his life, (my boyfriend HATED the way she treated her guinea pig) he asked if he could have it, and, of course, being the loving animal owner she was, said NO, and locked the guinea pig away in her room. Because she never cleaned his cage (we did it) and with him out of reach, his cage went uncleaned for 3 weeks until he got a NASTY infection in his penis from peed-on litter getting too soft and stuck inside it. He must have had the infection for at least a month before it was noticed. How was it noticed? His cage hadn't been cleaned in 6 weeks and my mom (who also didn't care about him) demanded my sister clean it, and she noticed tons and tons of yellow and red (bloody) liquid leaking from his bum and was also covering ALL of the litter. Me and my boyfriend were FURIOUS when we heard, and the guinea pig died in my boyfriend's arms. I will NEVER forgive her for what she did to that animal, no living animal on this earth deserves that misery. She was lazy, uncaring, and purposely tried to starve him to kill him off faster. Despite her being my sister, I hope there's a special place in hell for people like her. And what does this have to do with your question? There was a cure for his infection that cost about 15 dollars that you could buy at just about any pet store. I found out about this after he died from my mom who said "she didn't feel like driving down the road to Petsmart and wasting 15 bucks on some guinea pig". The Petsmart was, literally, about 4 mniutes away from her house. When I asked why she didn't ask me to buy it, she just shrugged it off and said "I forgot."

People who abuse animals or are too lazy to go out of their way to treat them are awful vermin who I hope pay for their actions in some way. It makes me cry when I think about it.

Me and my boyfriend buried the guinea pig. The next day my sister got *sigh* a hamster. Thank God, she actually takes care of it every day. The day she stops, me and my boyfriend swore we'd TAKE it from her.

we have laws protecting animals already , all you have to do is call the police and report it.