4 ms·

The cost of preserving life, human or otherwise, has skyrocketed. When I was a kid, it cost $25 for a vet visit and something like $100 for a minor surgical pro

The cost of preserving life, human or otherwise, has skyrocketed. When I was a kid, it cost $25 for a vet visit and something like $100 for a minor surgical procedure. Adjusted for inflation those are probably about the same today, the difference being there were no major surgical procedures available for pets. Also, the vet did not carry $150k in student loan debt. A decade ago I had a kitten with heart arrhythmia. The vet suggested we go to a cat cardiologist. To me that seemed insane, it was going to be $1000 just to get inspected. The cat is alive and well today with no cardiologist visit. What is the value of the kitten’s life when it was a rescue and there are thousands more to pick from if it passed?The reality is that creating life is cheap and plentiful on planet earth. The resources to preserve life are not. If you are privileged you can afford to pay for your pet’s care. That is a sentimental choice for most people, not a practical one. The equation is different for human life, but only by degree. Insurance is only going to do so much, there is a real cost to medical treatment.

hotnfresh 3y ago
> Adjusted for inflation those are probably about the same today, the difference being there were no major surgical procedures available for pets. Also, the vet did not carry $150k in student loan debt. Yeah, I remember it being "the dog has cancer? That sucks, let's give them some cheap drugs to keep them comfortable as it gets worse, and plan to put them down when that stops working." Not "let's do chemo". Dog-surgery or otherwise expensive human-like care for pets was like a Beverly Hills rich person thing for celebrities with risible relationships with their pets, not something normal people did. You'd maybe get a broken leg or whatever dealt with, but that was about it, and even that kind of thing would be a lot lower-tech than these days.

hotnfresh 3y ago

> Adjusted for inflation those are probably about the same today, the difference being there were no major surgical procedures available for pets. Also, the vet did not carry $150k in student loan debt. Yeah, I remember it being "the dog has cancer? That sucks, let's give them some cheap drugs to keep them comfortable as it gets worse, and plan to put them down when that stops working." Not "let's do chemo". Dog-surgery or otherwise expensive human-like care for pets was like a Beverly Hills rich person thing for celebrities with risible relationships with their pets, not something normal people did. You'd maybe get a broken leg or whatever dealt with, but that was about it, and even that kind of thing would be a lot lower-tech than these days.