BCSnob
Knoxville, MD
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2002
View Profile
 Offline
|
chuckster11 wrote:This goes far beyond "people in glass houses" arguments to an area where perhaps many of us fear to tread--how can we, as "responsible" pet owners find the gumption to criticize other pet owners we think are "careless" when so many pets are put down because of the cost of veterinary care? Whoa! There are plenty of vets out there that ARE NOT charging too much for their services. The problem is not with the cost of vet care (which is going up, in some cases fairly and some not); it's with the owners getting a pet they really cannot afford or view as disposable.
Mark
|
chuckster11
Idaho
Senior Member
Joined: 04/30/2004
View Profile
|
BCSnob wrote:chuckster11 wrote:This goes far beyond "people in glass houses" arguments to an area where perhaps many of us fear to tread--how can we, as "responsible" pet owners find the gumption to criticize other pet owners we think are "careless" when so many pets are put down because of the cost of veterinary care? Whoa! There are plenty of vets out there that ARE NOT charging too much for their services. The problem is not with the cost of vet care (which is going up, in some cases fairly and some not); it's with the owners getting a pet they really cannot afford or view as disposable.
Mark
I didn't say a word about vets charging "too much" for their services. The British study certainly implied as much, comparing the difference in the rise of all services at 4.4% to an average of 12% for veterinary services.
My point is entirely that there is so much fretting and stewing here on the forum about careless and ignorant owners and the pain and agony they cause their pets and to a certain extent that is justified. However, the implication of British information is clear--veterinarian costs are causing owners to destroy dogs and cats that might be saved--many dogs and cats.
I know my costs for vet bills have increased dramatically in recent years--across the board, for all services. Moreover, I have had some conversations that I find less than professional concerning some of these services. For instance, in spaying my last *****, I was asked "What level of service do you want for the spay?" "Beg your pardon?" "Well, for $120.00 we can give you the basic spay but for $180.00 you get our complete service." "What's the difference?" "Oh, our best service is much less painful for your dog--we use more sedatives, both during and following the procedure."
"Really?" "You are telling me that I have to choose whether this procedure is more or less comfortable/painful for my dog by offering me 'levels' of treatment--in other words, if I am a cheap skate, my dog suffers?" "Well....?"
"Do the job the best way you are capable, make my dog comfortable, and never, ever again suggest to me that I must choose between my dog's comfort and my billfold!" I was hotter than an three dollar pistol over this bit of bait and switch at the hands of the clinic.
I am sure this does not go on in every clinic but I also know that "maximizing" clinic profitability by offering different levels of service--custom treatment, is probably one of the "newest" trends in Veterinary medicine these days.
It would be interesting to know how much everyone that posts to this particular forum spends, out of pocket, for vet bills as compared to their own medical treatments. I know for the last five years, or more, I spent far more money on my dogs for medical treatment than for my and my wife's medical treatment. I'll bet I'm not unusual in that respect.
Perhaps someone would like to do a little research and see what the average increase of Vet services has actually been in the United States in the last ten years.
I am sure many people who started out being able to afford the costs of owning a pet have found themselves unable to foot the bill as the dog or cat aged--they were unwittingly caught in an awful position of having to choose between their pet's health and their own financial well being.
But, that is only a discussion point since we all seem to be so very concerned with the safety and well being of our pets and in so doing, are so easily able to point our fingers at the other guy.
|
dturm
Munster, IN
Moderator
Joined: 01/29/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
We're getting pretty far off the original topic. While I have some opinions on veterinary fees  , start another thread if you want to discuss it.
Doug, DVM
|
chuckster11
Idaho
Senior Member
Joined: 04/30/2004
View Profile
|
dturm wrote:We're getting pretty far off the original topic. While I have some opinions on veterinary fees , start another thread if you want to discuss it.
Doug, DVM
With all due respect Doug, I think this part of discussion is right on money. We are discussing the safety of our pets and clearly comparing the numbers and seriousness of accidents involving dog injuries by carrying them in the back of pickup trucks to other causes of dog injuries and dog deaths--precisely the point of the OP's concern.
The cost of care is merely another of those "causes" that give us some perspective as pet owners about other matters that are deadly to our pets.
|
quabillion
Fulltime Native Texan
Senior Member
Joined: 08/20/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
chuckster11 wrote: We are discussing the safety of our pets and clearly comparing the numbers and seriousness of accidents involving dog injuries by carrying them in the back of pickup trucks to other causes of dog injuries and dog deaths--precisely the point of the OP's concern.
Yes chuckster11, this IS a concern, but my primary reason behind this thread was to find out if this (dog in the back while towing) is just a "horse people" thing or do other "RVers" do it also.
I knew this thread was gonna be a tough one to keep positive, but thankfully it has gone well thus far.
Im asking because *all* of the times that I have seen the dog in bed while towing, the trailer being towed was a horse trailer.
Perhaps "horse people" expect their highly trained and expensive dogs to know how to "hold on" while ridding in the back.
Soooo, do any RVers do this too??
Or is it just a "Texas" thing?
Or "horse people" thing?
1442 watts of solar on the roof. 600AH AGM battery bank. Prosine 2kw inverter. 6KVA diesel gen with auto start. 100% off grid since 6-1-03
34f Skyline
03 F250 5.4
If you can read this thank a teacher, and since it's in English, thank a soldier.
Battery FAQ
|
|
|
chuckster11
Idaho
Senior Member
Joined: 04/30/2004
View Profile
|
quabillion wrote:chuckster11 wrote: We are discussing the safety of our pets and clearly comparing the numbers and seriousness of accidents involving dog injuries by carrying them in the back of pickup trucks to other causes of dog injuries and dog deaths--precisely the point of the OP's concern.
Yes chuckster11, this IS a concern, but my primary reason behind this thread was to find out if this (dog in the back while towing) is just a "horse people" thing or do other "RVers" do it also.
I knew this thread was gonna be a tough one to keep positive, but thankfully it has gone well thus far.
Im asking because *all* of the times that I have seen the dog in bed while towing, the trailer being towed was a horse trailer.
Perhaps "horse people" expect their highly trained and expensive dogs to know how to "hold on" while ridding in the back.
Soooo, do any RVers do this too??
Or is it just a "Texas" thing?
Or "horse people" thing?
What you have observed makes sense to me. Out here the stockmen move from herd to herd with their horses and trailers and many use dogs to help move the cattle so the dogs would naturally be in the bed of the truck (I haven't ever seen any in the horse trailer but I am sure some do ride there).
We were camped near a river recently and watched a stockman move a small herd with three Aussies across a river--I was interesting to see how much riding the dogs saved the lone cowboy.
As someone mentioned, these dogs are tools of the trade for these guys but I certainly wouldn't assume that just because they were hard working little cusses that they didn't get excellent care from their owners--and love. Every one of these types of situations I have witnessed, the dog(s) just piled on the pick up when the owner got in--it is just automatic with these dogs--they go where the boss goes because they are generally needed where the boss is. See them all the time at the feed and seed stores.
It is a cattle man "thing" more than a horse thing in my experience.
|
rockhillmanor
On the Road
Senior Member
Joined: 12/06/2003
View Profile
|
Horse people, farm, cattle, grain farmers, chickens and hogs.
Lump'em how ever you want to. Their dogs run free from sunrise
to sunset from the minute they are born out back in the barn. I've even seen them run with the combines darting in front and back of them while the farmer just kept it full throttle for gosh sakes!
I've seen some of my horse owners dogs bobbing and weaving between the legs of gaited horses in my own horse arena. My Great Dane went into the pasture with my gelding ONCE and Only once when he got kicked and I saw 170 lbs.flying thru the air from the kitchen window. Till the day he passed away he stood at the door of the arena 'watching' the horses and never attempted to get a closer look after that.
These farm dogs get real smart real quick or they don't survive.
Our pets are not exposed to that from the day they are born like
farm dogs, henceforth ours most likely wouldn't survive one day on a farm.
And somehow these farm dogs manage to get by and live to a ripe ole age. The farms around me all had dogs that were 'well' into their
teens. You'd find the old timers taking in the sun laying up against a barn all day, probably thinking they lived one hellofa life free on the farm
I'm traveling down in the deep south right now and I can throw this thread an even better one than the dog in the back of the truck video.
Saw a couple of trucks coming out of a horse farm all hauling horse trailers AND one of the trucks had the dog on the ROOF of his truck as they bounced down the dirt road out!!! Darn mutt stuck like glue on the roof. (I gotta start keeping my camera up front with me while driving the MH, the stuff I'm seeing down here is a stitch.)
31 ft Four Winds
Chevy Tracker 4x4 Blue Ox
We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
|
MadMav
Colorado Springs, CO
Senior Member
Joined: 03/12/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
chuckster11 wrote:
I am, I feel, a responsible dog owner but I don't lose sight of what I am doting on--it is an animal, it does animal things, it thinks like an animal, behaves like an animal. That I value it, care for it, enjoy it, and talk to it does not delude me into believing that the dog is anything other than a dog.
Ok, I did belabor it.
chuckster11 you are my hero. This is how it needs to be. This fur-kid stuff needs to stop. It only hurts the dogs by teaching them to be something they are not. Feed it, pet it, love it, weep for it when it dies, but don't fool yourself into thinking it's anything more than an a pet.
If my dogs weren't so dumb and spoiled by the Mrs. they would be in the back of the bed while traveling. This is her choice, but she knows they are just pets. Just pets with benifits.
Mav
Maverick
'08 Dodge 3500 SLT Mega Cab Dually, 6.7l/6 speed. Oh yeah!
'08 Winners Circle 36SRV-H5
1 wife, 2 kids, 3 dogs, 1 cat
|
Artie322
New Jersey
Full Member
Joined: 06/22/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
Just can't resist putting in my 2 cents.
1) Forget about the dog for a moment. Any unsecured object of significant size, be it living or inanimate, in an open pickup, on a flatbed, etc., poses a possible hazard to other drivers. If that object, as a result of a quick avoidance maneuver, sudden stop, etc., flies off of the vehicle it may cause other drivers to swerve to avoid the object.
In my area, there have been several instances where teenagers came up with an exciting new game of "toss an object from an overpass onto the highway below." Bricks, rocks and turkeys were among the objects dropped. There were actually severe injuries, and even deaths, to the drivers of the vehicles that were hit by these assorted objects when they crashed through the windshield of vehicles traveling under the overpass. A 3 ft long 2x4 or a 30 lb dog can become lethal projectiles. Do you think your insurance company would happy to pay for your negligence?
2) Again, forget about the dog for a moment. Any unsecured object of significant size, be it living or inanimate, INSIDE a vehicle can become a deadly projectile in an accident. A very dear friend of mine was driving with his bird dog loose in the back of his station wagon (this goes back many years, long before suvs and minivans). He had to slam on the brakes and the dog flew all the way from the rear and hit him in the back of the head. The dog fared much better than my friend who wound up with serious neck injuries as a result of the impact of the dog.
If you are not concerned about what might happen to the animal itself, you might want to consider the consequences to others.
Reggie
|
quabillion
Fulltime Native Texan
Senior Member
Joined: 08/20/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
Artie322 brings up some very good points.
This is the reason my toolboxes are bolted down.
|
|
|
|
