I come at it from the angle that taking in a horse will costs you inordinate amounts of money upfront, and people are generally ok with it, and won't be crying

I come at it from the angle that taking in a horse will costs you inordinate amounts of money upfront, and people are generally ok with it, and won't be crying to get a poney when they're already struggling to pay a mortgage. If in practice owning a dog or cat will also cost 10k at times, it's only reasonable to take the same approach and consider owning a them as a pretty high luxury, until the costs effectively come down. Or every pet owner gets to your level of dedication and will assist their pet and the vet when tough times come and hard decisions need to be made. I personally wouldn't have the guts so I'll stick with my goldfishes.