This is such a tough question, i guess if my pet is old anyway and the chances of survival is also not in its favor then why prolong the inevitable, yikes, i sound so heartless but I'm just considering both sides here, if i can barely afford the surgery fees and there's no guarantee it will be successful and let's just say my pet is old, then i wouldn't want it to suffer any longer. I'd rather give my pet some peace instead of suffering because of my own selfish reasons.
I would choose expensive surgery, but there was one time where my mom overruled my decision. It was a very sad moment, as our mildly blind dog, who was blinded by mace from a bicyclist, got hit by a car. Anyway, I think the decision was made because it was thought that keeping the dog around would endanger kids - since it was sort of a wild dog. Oh, by the way, euthanasia is probably cheaper, but it causes too much heartache, to be frank.
If I had the money, or if I could borrow the money from somewhere, then I would do my best to keep my pet alive. It would also have to depend on the quality of life afterwards and the age of the pet. If all it will do is keep the pet alive but it will lose its quality of life, then it would be better to put it to sleep. If the pet is too old, you have to consider if the pet will survive the operation. Also, any aftercare that would be needed too. I would take these things into consideration before putting any of my pets to sleep.
I would go for euthanasia instead of expensive surgery where the chances of survival is 50-50. Here are my reasons: Even though your pet is the member of the family, it is just an animal. There are people dying in absence of proper medication due to poverty, and your pet is just an animal. Since the survival chance is slim, why waste money. Euthanasia will give me painless death.
You can still give surgery a shot by trying to ask help via crowdfunding. You can make a page at gofund and show pictures and videos of your pet. People will be willing to fund the your pet's surgery. I have a 3 legged cat and crowd funding helped me buy prosthesis to my cat. My cat is now very happy and healthy.
My dogs have all lived until they were very old so I have never had to make the decision on whether to have surgery. As they were all insured it was never about the cost but about not prolonging their suffering. I always knew when it was time for them to go, heartbreaking though it was, and would never had put them through surgery at such a late age. They all left a paw print on my heart and I never felt bad about having them euthanised because I knew it was time.
This is a tough call for pet owners who consider pets as part of the family. The decision will depend on factors such as the chances for surviving the operation, the quality of life after the surgery, and the age of the dog. When I was a teen, our family took in a mixed breed pup from a relative. We quickly fell in love with the little guy although we noticed that he would sometimes shake for one or two minutes like he was having seizures or epileptic attacks. He'd also howl several times. The whole family took him to a vet who told us that a virus had attacked his brain and that he'll deteriorate even further. He suggested euthanasia to end the dog's suffering. Right then and there, the vet gave the fatal shot that immediately put him to eternal sleep. My siblings and I cried uncontrollably at the clinic. We never expected to be confronted with the word euthanasia. We thought we were going to the vet to have the dog treated. It was traumatic.
I think that in this case, the issue is not essentially the money that is going to be spent... But rather the importance that is given to life, and in my opinion, life has no value (whether of a person or an animal ) .
I would go with the surgery and take that chance, especially if I can afford it, but not until I consult a psychic, and I will ask more than one to ensure the feasibility of the outcome. If they advise me to just put down my pet since it won't survive, then I would do it.
Having been in this situation twice in my lifetime, I would like to say Euthanasia, but I am not. I paid for risky surgeries for both of our family pets. In one case, it allowed us another year with our dog. At the time, I could afford the surgery and I just couldn't put her down. In the case of our second pet, I was unemployed and definitely could not afford the surgery, but Care Credit was available. It didn't buy us much time with her seeing as how the cancer had spread. I did indeed euthanize her about 2 months after surgery. I could not bear to see her suffer. Do I regret paying for the surgery? Not one bit!
