I’ve followed this comic strip for some years now; I always liked Sally’s work guidelines, they were sometimes very funny. This past year, though, there have been some changes in the strip–her selfish boss lost his job (which really was long overdue), and recently the family cat had disappeared.
When Kitty disappeared, I started to get an awful feeling. Sure enough, they finally found her, still alive, and took her to the vet. This past week, the strip has followed the scenes at the vet’s office. Kitty has some sort of intestinal blockage, and the vet told Sally Forth it would cost $3,400.00 for an operation!! I don’t think the Forth’s are going to come up with the money, so Kitty will probably be euthanized. Today (Saturday), their daughter is begging them to save Kitty and pay for the operation. Gah, what a way to show a child’s first experience with death, though. What’s most disturbing to me is that the author of the strip made the cost of the operation so high! $3400.00 is quite a bit of money… and probably most people wouldn’t be able to come up with it, even for a very beloved pet. Can vet care really be all that expensive? Heh, I know, it’s just a comic strip, but it’s one I’ve read for years now, just like “For Better or For Worse.” Any others have thoughts on this, if they read “Sally Forth?”
I’ve been meaning to stop reading this comic for months now. Recently, the creators seemed to finally move the story ahead somewhat. Sally’s ineffectual boss getting was a good start. Now with the current storyline, I’m going to stick it out a little more. After today’s strip, it may actually mature a little bit. I think Kitty is toast. I experienced a similar, if less tragic, incident last year when I spent over $800 on one of my stepdaughter’s cats. Of course by the time that figure came about, the vet had already done $300 in tests, so I figured I’d spent that much… If it had been $3400, though…
Maybe they’re taking a cue from 9 Chickweed Lane and figuring out it’s okay for comic strip characters to age and experience real life.
You’ve failed to connect what’s been happening the previous couple weeks.
Sally & Ted have money ahead they were going to use for a romantic vacation for the two of them to France. Then, the daughter thinks they plan to take her, they reconsider & now are planning to.
I betcha they do have $3400 but it’ll mean cancelling the trip. Are they gonna let Kitty croak so they can jaunt off to France? Sure- if they want their kid & much of their readers to hate them.
RE the a-hole boss. After Ralph was canned, the main manager proved to be just as much of one, but at least more effective. Then he seemed to dangle Ralph’s job in front of Sally, but then appointed a friend of his who seems like a nice & effective guy. But I still wanna see Main Manager get hoisted.
I haven’t even been reading SF lately but I guarantee they will save Kitty with the $$ they saved up for France. I can just hear Hilary now…“I don’t wanna go to France, I wanna save Kitty!!! Waaaahhh!!”
Sally Forth is okay, but did you know the guy who does it also has an online comic? Check out Medium Large. It regularly bakes my noodle when I consider these two comics come from the same pen.
I thought that one of the motives for this story line might be a protest at the higher prices for veterinary services these days. Thirty years ago, when I first began paying for services for my pets, our vet would have recommended euthansia right off the bat in such a case. Proposing a $3,400 bill for a cat would have been preposterous. I suspect that if our vet had been pressured, he would have admitted that expensive surgery might save the cat, though. Nowadays vets always offer everything that medical technology has to offer.
My daughter works as a veterinary technician, and she’s been keeping up with this story line. She says the price tag seems too high for our area, the southeast US. She thinks her vets would charge in the neighborhood of $1,500 for this type of surgery.
Still, the price seems to be high for a pet. I know how attached we become to our pets - I’m no stranger to that. If I think about subjecting a cat to extensive abdominal surgery and the recovery period if the surgery is successful, I wonder if the aminal’s suffering is worth the cost (not the monetary cost) of the suffering. Am I spending the money for the cat or for my feelings? What is the cost to the cat in pain and suffering? Who can say?
Then, when I think of how many cats and dogs are euthanized at our local animal shelters, it makes me cringe. How many other animals could that $1,500 or $3,400 help? Would I be selfish to spend it on my pet? Could I let my cat rest in peace? If I let my cat go, then maybe when I was ready I could rescue another cat from the shelter . . .
My parents once spent about three grand on an operation to save our dog when his stomach turned over. And the vet was pretty certain he wouldn’t survive the operation, anyway. He did, though, and lived for another four or five years. Money well spent, as far as I’m concerned. He was a helluva dog.
Today (Saturday), their daughter is begging them to save Kitty and pay for the operation. Gah, what a way to show a child’s first experience with death, though. What’s most disturbing to me is that the author of the strip made the cost of the operation so high! $3400.00 is quite a bit of money… and probably most people wouldn’t be able to come up with it, even for a very beloved pet. Can vet care really be all that expensive? Heh, I know, it’s just a comic strip, but it’s one I’ve read for years now, just like “For Better or For Worse.” Any others have thoughts on this, if they read “Sally Forth?”
