Vet care expenses biting into budgets
Financial stress grows on pet owners as some prices are up 60% in past decade
Jorge L. Ortiz
SAN FRANCISCO – When one of the family’s two cats suddenly stopped eating on a Thursday last month, Dave Lambert knew there was something wrong with 12-year-old Ender, a pet so perceptive as to recognize the sound of the Lamberts’ car and regularly greet them at the front door.
Dave and his wife, Rena, canceled a weekend trip to Denver for his mother’s 80th birthday and had Ender run through a series of tests, which determined he had cancer. By Sunday, when it became clear Ender couldn’t be saved, the veterinary bills had already added up to $6,500. An in-home euthanasia cost another $500.
Lambert, a finance professional in San Francisco, said he could tell there was an 80% to 90% chance the quickly mounting charges wouldn’t result in keeping the cat alive but felt they had to do everything reasonably possible for such a beloved member of the family.
“The surprising thing for both Rena and I was we just had no idea how attached we were to him, how hard it hit us,’’ he said.
As Americans of all income levels care for their cherished animals, they’re facing bigger vet bills that can substantially impact their finances and sometimes complicate already wrenching decisions.
Veterinarians are reporting a marked increase over the past several years – especially since the pandemic – in the cost of running a practice, which inevitably gets passed along to clients.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of urban veterinarian services rose by 7.9% from February 2023 to February 2024, more than 2 times higher than the average of all consumer items. Compared with two years ago, urban vet care is up 11%, and over the last decade it has soared by nearly 60%.
A survey by USA TODAY Blueprint earlier this year shows 91% of pet owners have endured some level of financial stress because of pet care costs. Last summer, a Forbes Advisor poll revealed 63% of dog and cat owners said inflation had made it harder to pay an unexpected vet expense, and 42% said they would go into debt if the bill was for $999 or less.
Micah and Angie Cacopardo spent $17,000 on surgeries and other treatment for their greyhound, Lenny, after it was attacked by a pit bull two years ago at a dog park in Raleigh, North Carolina, leaving their then-3-year-old pet with a large gash and severely torn skin.
The sudden expenditure put a significant dent in the budget of the young couple, who were saving to have their first child.
Dr. David Lee, an associate dean and professor at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, listed several reasons for the rising costs of veterinary care, among them a shortage of vets – some driven to retirement during the stressful pandemic years, others lured by specialty practices and emergency clinics – and a chronic dearth of technicians.