The Vets Complain that Foreclosures Have Made Many Pet Owners Economize on Pet Care
July 23rd, 2009
Many vets are complaining that foreclosures have made many pet owners economize on pet care. Cathy Roncskevitz is a veterinarian. A female dog had been vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. She advised blood tests and X-rays that would have run up a bill of $450. But the owner decided on a less expensive course of administering fluids and antibiotics that cost $100.
The pet owner is the hapless victim of the foreclosure crisis, economy of the country that is drowning under foreclosures for sale, unemployment and credit-freeze. Pet owners of Long Island, like many others in the rest of the country are caught in the horns of the dilemma – providing affordable health care. The owners are struggling with priorities and trying to choose between giving the pet’s food or medicine. Many owners are opting for out -patient treatment that is easier on the pocket.
Pet owners are adopting the “bare bones approach” to the problem of health care because of their slim pockets said the vets of Long Island. Roncskevitz said, “Where once they might have gone for the gold standard in pet care, now it’s often a lot, lot less.”
But there is a danger in this approach. Avoiding tests often misses out potential warning signals. She added, “Animals not seen regularly are not getting the proper medication and treatment for disease prevention.”
Other pet doctors like her are reporting a drop in their number of appointments. It has gone down by 10%. Many of the pet owners are delaying treatment and quite a few are taking advice over the phone on how to treat the animals in the house. Dr. David Hensen and his wife Dr. Deirdre Hensen are both attached to Paumaunok Veterinary Hospital in Patchogue. They complained that the owners could hardly feed the pets let alone attend to their medical requirements.
The Little Shelter Animal Rescue & Adoption Center in Huntington is full to capacity with 400 cats and 35 dogs. It is one of the rare outlets in Long Island that operates a pet food pantry. About 1,000 pounds of pet food is doled out every month to nearly 100 pet owners. But the donations to the pantry have gone down by half. The requests for food have increased by 20%.
Pat Green who has been with Kent Animal Shelter for the last 24 years echoes similar sentiments and said that the people just do not have the money to feed the pets.
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