The cost of veterinarian services rose 7.6% from May 2023 to May 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Julie Baxter just faced the most agonizing decision a person with pets can face: whether to euthanize an ailing animal in the face of the overwhelming desire to keep a beloved companion alive.
Baxter’s pain was made all the more acute as she and her partner wrestled with wanting to do all they could for their dog Roscoe, while realizing there was a limit to how much they could spend on tests and hospital stays. The 50-pound mixed breed lived with them for eight years after his rescue off the streets as a puppy.
“My partner and I had a kind of rule that $1,000 is where we’re going to stop on vet bills,” said Baxter, who lives in Broomfield, Colorado. “It was really trying to take that pragmatic approach to how much can we spend. It stinks.”
They ended up paying $2,400 for medications, tests and trips to the emergency room, but decided against further treatment that could have been as much as $8,000. Roscoe, diagnosed with pneumonia, died in early June.
Baxter wonders if she should have bought pet insurance at some point.
“I don’t know that it would have changed the outcome, but it certainly would have saved me at least part of the $2,400 in vet bills,” Baxter said. “It’s something I wish I would’ve looked into because I feel like I wouldn’t have been quite so backed into a corner.”
Rising costs of veterinary care are helping drive an increase in the number of people who are opting for pet insurance, according to the personal finance company NerdWallet. The company reported that more than 5.
