The vet school in the article , NC State is where I got my BA degree. They just opened a new vet hospital that cost around $70 mil. Around $30 mil of that came from a donation from 1 guy . It’s a top 5 vet school in the country, my son hopes to go there in 5 years. It’s very hard to get in.
They were one of the first in the nation to have a MRI and now they have a CAT scanner too.
What about the DOGs? 
My vet (or, I guess, my dog’s vet) lays heavy guilt on me every time I come in and refuse one of their services. Annual teeth cleaning and exploritory surgery are two of their favorites and they have dog health insurance that would cover it if only I would buy that. I am dreading my dog’s last days because they will be filled with heavy handed quilt trips from the vet.
I have three dogs. As harsh as it might sound, I would go into debt for only one of them. If I was told my little buddy could live another ten years if I pay for a 50K heart transplant, where do I sign? That animal means a lot to me and it would be well worth the cost. If they told me 25K would buy him a year; that would be a tough call. That is why I have insurance on my pets. I don’t want to be in the position of knowing they could be saved and having to weigh the cost of the procedure with their lives.
Now, annual teeth cleaning is good if you don’t keep up with regular brushing for your dog, or if your dog builds up tartar quickly for some reason. And even less regular tooth cleaning is good for spotting out tumors, abscesses, and keeping up with general good health.
Exploratory surgeries… I can see having an insurance that would cover that if your dog is a constant “eat it all and later get it stuck in the gut” types. One of my friends (veterinarian) had, at last count, done exploratory on a dog three times already because the dog kept eating towels and socks.
I work at a vet’s office, and I can tell you that more often than not, pet owners will put their dogs down when the dog is very sickly and the vet bill comes to more than, say, $1,000. A few owners have insurance, but it’s really a tiny percentage; I think the deductibles are too high for most owners. Our office participates in a vet discount program call Pet Assure, I have seen a number of customers come in with their little cards and request the discount, not sure exactly how that works but I’ve been seeing a lot of them lately!
This is pretty much what happened to me too. I had a 5-year-old Russian Blue with lymphoma a few years ago, and we paid quite a lot of money for chemo for her because we both adored her and couldn’t bear to let her go as long as her quality of life was good. She started going downhill at around 8 months post-diagnosis, and at that point we knew it was time to let her go. But those were 8 good months and I don’t regret spending the money.
I’m not sure I would do it again, though. I hope it’s not a decision I have to make again, especially not for such a young cat.
One of our dogs was diagnosed with Mast Cell Cancer a couple years ago. I spent btwn 3 and 5 thousand dollars for two surgery procedures, tests, chemo, etc. She was cured. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.