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You Have A Duty Of Care !

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MJG

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Getting a little worried by reading all the threads saying "I can't afford to get my guys to the vets,especially on a Sunday"

Did you not think that before you bought an animal that it would get sick? It's nature , things get sick , people get sick and if you have pets you have a DUTY to provide veterinary treatment ! How can you leave an animal in obvious pain and or discomfort ? Why buy an animal if you can't provide the care it needs?

I am by no means rich ( I work in retail on a very low salary) I also have a house , a car and other pets to provide for too ....
BUT before I even bought my animals I thought about how I would pay for bills , I took out an insurance policy. Because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford a huge vet bill , I took out insurance becuase I have a duty of care to look after my boys . It's less than a takeaway ! And gives you peace of mind
You wouldn't deny a child medical care so why deny an animal ? They can't tell you what's wrong either

Please if you are unable to give your animal the care it deserves then surrender them to a rescue where they will get medical care , or ask friends or family to help pay .
 
I total agree with you MJG, I have put a comment on the piggy with the sore butt. If you are going to take a piggy on you have to pay for it, if they are ill. I don't understand how these people can see their animal in pain yet leave it till they can afford vet care. We are on a very low income, just Benifits as I am disabled, but I would rather rehome my guys than let them suffer. Check that thread out & see what you think.
 
@Tiamolly123 i just can't comprehend it ! Exactly I agree 100% in a heartbeat I would rehome my two if I couldn't afford to keep them anymore ! It baffles me ! Oh I've seen it or when people say "I'm very busy and can't see a vet" are you crazy?! If your bum was red raw and blistering I'm sure you'd be at A and E in a heartbeat !
 
I total agree with you MJG, I have put a comment on the piggy with the sore butt. If you are going to take a piggy on you have to pay for it, if they are ill. I don't understand how these people can see their animal in pain yet leave it till they can afford vet care. We are on a very low income, just Benifits as I am disabled, but I would rather rehome my guys than let them suffer. Check that thread out & see what you think.

That person doesn't actually own that guinea pig, so the whole "responsible owner" thing doesn't directly apply here. They've agreed to look after it, but we have no idea what their schedule is like, what they work as, how frequently, or anything.

I dislike the fact that pig isn't being taken directly to the vet either, but don't sit and bang on about a duty of care that they don't actually have. Blaming them won't help.
 
If I was looking after someone's animal I would take it to the vet , not blaming anyone just saying that if I saw an animal in pain regardless if it was mine or not I would take it to the vet.
And it wasn't directed at just one post , I've seen numerous posts on here regarding care.
 
@Lorcan totally right also though if you agree to care for someone's animal in their absence the responsibility does become yours somewhat. I think the fact it is someone else's baby also makes me want to see a vet more if anything is up
 
There's only one insurance company that I'm aware of that insures guinea pigs. And I have heard that they're very difficult to get money out of.

Plus they have strict requirements on whether they would cover your pig.

Personally I put aside what I can from my wages each month to cover vet bills, and I make sure I don't adopt more pigs than I can safely spend money on vet bills for.

I always recommend putting aside money every week or month for any pet you have.
 
Completely agree. I've seen that a lot, that people can't afford emergency treatment and the poor pig dies.

I've spent over £5k on my two in the less than 2 years I've head them, and I've had to make quite a few out of hours visits. I am on minimum wage and have had my hours cut so I fully understand how difficult it can be. I have to use overdrafts, credit cards, borrow money wherever I can, work 50 hours a week sometimes when I can, just to afford their medication and treatment.

But when an animal is in serious pain and needs urgent medical help or even to be PTS due to a painful illness then there really isn't any excuse at all. I can't even imagine how horrifying it must be for them to be convulsing in pain and no one can/will do anything to get them help. If it really is an emergency then vets are duty bound to help.

If anyone is unable to afford the general costs, including the odd emergency vet bills then it would be in the animals best interest to be rehomed to someone who can.

I think part of the problem is that guinea pigs are sold as "easy" pets. They're definitely not, in my experience.
 
And they already have done before to get them antibiotics for something else. The fact is that they can't - at this time -. It doesn't make it right, but the fact is we don't know the exact circumstances here. We don't know if they were left funds to cover multiple vet trips or even one, we don't know schedules, we just know we have a sick pig and the person looking after it can't currently get it to the vet.

I'm really not sure what having a go at anyone in that position is supposed to do, aside from likely antagonising them. The sad fact is that we can't always just drop everything and run to the vet, even on a Sunday, and who knows if there's even available vet care at this stage? We can only do so much, reinforce the risks of not going, and work with what we're given to work with. That goes for everything in life, not just the people or the pigs involved with this forum.

I'd also like to point out that the person in the thread in question is also American, so British insurance companies and vets aren't appropriate for the situation either.
 
@Jaycey
All I was asked was age , breed and if they were in good health? I hope we're not talking about the same company lol
 
@Jaycey
All I was asked was age , breed and if they were in good health? I hope we're not talking about the same company lol

It was quite a few years ago that I looked into insurance and the only one I could find was exotics direct.

I could only get one of three covered so I opted to putting money into my savings instead.

I would imagine that if your pig has been healthy then there's no reason why they can't pay out. One of mine was too old to be covered and the other had seen the vet for a medical issue already so couldn't be included.
 
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I'd also like to point out that the person in the thread in question is also American, so British insurance companies and vets aren't appropriate for the situation either.

America is pretty brutal when it comes to healthcare, so I am not surprised to hear people cant afford vet bills. Last time I was there, actual stuff is often quite expensive too, and a large amount of people there are much poorer than in the UK. I believe Trump has just cancelled a load of social care programmes too, and I know the food stamps got cut recently as well.
Also its so big, you never know if the person who cant/wont go to the vets is because the vet is 5 hours drive away or something. You never know if the person who owns the guinea pig got it from difficult circumstances, like you see your neighbor throwing it out and so you offer to take the guinea pig cause a life with you is better than death but you hadnt planned on getting a pet or anything so no funds. And I think most of america is a bit behind the times in regards to pet welfare.
When I was there, we looked around a petco and they had cats displayed in glass boxes like fish! I also saw (did not go in) a puppy store, which had puppies much too young in those glass boxes in the window. I mean thats the sort of stuff I remember from the early 90s, and when I was in China I saw them display animals like that but then its China, you expect it there.
Its very sad, I think most animals in the world suffer actually, very few live a nice life, but you can't save them all.
 
All mine are insured with exotic direct who are part of petplan - it's £15 per month per pig - I have had shed loads of claims over the past 7 years and they pay out no problem within a couple of days - they have paid for x-rays scans operations - CT scan - teeth filing - acupuncture and chiropractor treatment to name just a few.
 
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