[BalishBun]

I thought of an interesting question for everyone: As far as giving birth or someone you know giving birth to a child with special needs (its not an option, sometimes defects and health obsticles) are not preventable. But upon looking at "pet finder" for adoptable pets, some of them were marked with a green heart icon. It stood for "special needs". I clicked on a few of them finding some adoptable pets with a kidney difficiancy, or an aids positive kitty, etc. Adopting a pet is optional, but would any of you consider adopting a pet that was born into special needs? Its an option, of course, you didn't give birth to the pet so would you go out there and even consider one that needed constant monitoring, extra tlc, many medications, etc? First off if you could afford an animal that needed shots every other day (as an example) would you?

[Perna]

Often our own pets develop medical conditions, especially as they get older. Some people spend a lot of money to keep the pet healthy and happy and others are not able to at that time. I think that's similar. My last cat was sick for a year and I had to give him daily pills, etc.

I might take a special needs pet, but it would depend on the needs. My husband is not so keen on affording paying for a pet's medical bills, especially since there's no insurance or anything.

I can't see keeping an animal alive that no one is already connected and committed to as a pet; that would be a little like going out and trying to rescue wildlife. Animals/pets are good companions, teachers, etc. but not human and I don't know that anthropomorphisizing them and keeping them alive for our purposes does them any good.

[sarahlilianne]

You are right Perna. As much as I love animals, I think that it is cruel to prolong their misery if we can't afford veterinary care for them .
Lily

[Lenny]

An understanding is created with any animal that becomes part of my family...

When they can no longer enjoy being who God intended them to be,,I will love them enough and respect their just deserve of dignity to help them move on to the next place.

They would do the same for me...

Our membership here has an intimate knowledge of suffering...it is cruel to allow no escape from it for the powerless...there is no greater gift than mercy.

IMHO.

Lenny

[Perna]

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Lenny said:
They would do the same for me...

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I don't know, Lenny, I have a cat that I think would tease me a bit unmercifully first for awhile, payback time

I don't know; if I knew of (rather than had to look for) a special needs pet; say a elderly relative's or friend's who could no longer care for it, that I was able to afford to give a home to where it would be loved and comforted and cared for, I would have a hard time saying, "no, put it to sleep". Right now though I'm in a tiny townhouse with two cats so couldn't even afford to care for a goldfish much less even a healthy dog/cat, etc. but feel bad since any moral "choice" is already kind of taken from me by that fact. What I say is cheap since I can't afford it at the moment so don't have to back my words with action.

[TaintedGoth1]

I don't see animals as any different than humans so I'd say yes. I would do it...I wouldn't care about the costs or anything. I would love them as much as I'd love anyone. No questions asked.

<font color="purple"> It depends on their needs.
We already had to put down one of our kitties because he lost his bladder control. Personaly, I think having to take all diffreent kind of medication daily just to live to be any quality of life for a pet.

Although, I think I do my part by giving the stray cats around here a porch to sleep on and a bowl of food to eat every night. We even adopted a stray kitty who was abandoned and was on her way to starving to death (but very affectionate!) </font>

[salukigirl]

my last cat was a pecial needs cat. he was homeless and we found im in downtown dayton. neighborhood kids would throw rocks at him and torture him so we took him in. it turned out that he had FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). this meant that he couldnt eat anything but a special prescription. he had to have basically kitty prozac shots every couple months, pills everyday, steroids etc... he was a maine coon which will weigh at least 20 lbs. when we found him he was 5 lbs. i got him up to a normal weight and eventually i had to put him down. he was mentally gone and was scared all the time and attacked me. i went through and added up that in a year we spent 2,000 dollars on him. but there was no way i could let him live that life anymore. vets kept saying "youll be lucky if he lasts another 6 weeks". well we had him about a year and he was such an awesome cat. i love him and miss him so much. i treat my pets like my children.

this situation was different because we found him on the street. i dont know that i would adopt one now because im poor lol. but i definately would if i had the means. seems like the ones with problems like that are so much more appreciative. it was like he knew what we did for him and was so loving. aw, now im gonna cry

[BalishBun]

salukigurl, the only cat i had that didnt live past 18 was my main coon. We too spent thousands of dollars on her because of an autoimmune disorder she developed from excess shots, and soon she was getting steroids every week, and if we were able to keep her healthy all the time we would have done so, but she got so bad it wasnt worth it to let her go through the pain she was going through. She was fine at first then developed this.

The FIV virus, I would gladly take in a cat with that disease, except for the fact i have 1 cat we are taking with us to our new house, and the other two are staying with my parents, but they say if you adoped a cat with FIV, that they should be the only cat. I would love love love to give a cat with FIV a fighting chance and the love they deserve, but i dont want to put my other cat at risk

I would so adopt a cat with one eye!!!!

[PasDeDeux]

I have adopted special needs cats and a dog once...they lived many years on meds the people who owned them before me could not or...would not pay for. So yes and yes You have diabetic dogs and cats..some with kidney issues that needs meds and fluids...food that may cost more...heart patients...even epileptic pets ..these are not dying anymore than we are..they just need meds and some care to keep them well. One dog had a leg missing...big deal he got a nice home and was a good dog

[iamtwilight]

Anytime.

I had an epileptic beagle for 6 years. I knew it was time when he couldn't recognize me anymore, didn't pay attention to anything, was just pacing around and getting seizures all the time. Sigh... He was my best friend.

My current dog is a stray from Russia, was severely malnourished and afraid of everything when we got her in January 2007. Now she's happy and energetic - though a bit cautious when approaching new people. I love to watch her sleep on my bed and enjoy it 100% because I bet that back in Russia she never had the chance to do that. Most people think of dogs differently there. Some love them the way we do, and for some they are food.

[BalishBun]

I like to watch the show on animal planet "Animal Cops: Detroit". I see all these skinny bone showing animals and I would love to have one to show it a new life.

Sure. You know for example, cats with FIV (Feline AIDS) can live along time. You could not have other cats, but you could have that the one cat for along time.

I rescued a kitten with FIP which is an infectious disease that can be deadly. He lived for along time.

I adopted a three-legged cat named Tripod. He was hysterical and it did not even bother him that he had three-legs.

My current one dog was adopted from a shelter that was going to kill her. She had behavioral problems. She is a great dog now.

BUT....

...I believe if you own a pet, you are required to do everything you can for the health and well-being of the animal. Not getting the pet medical attention, not paying for its medications, etc is abuse.
People should not have pets if they cannot care for and AFFORD them.

That is the same with special-needs animals.

[salukigirl]

riptide - thats extremely easy to say when you have the means to care for them. i have 3 cats and a dog. right now, theyre healthy. but if one of them were to ever get sick, id be screwed. im a college student mostly living off scholarships and loans. but theyre my babies. right now, im counting on them staying healthy for a while and really wouldnt be able to afford medications if they needed them. i would find a way but still. just because right this moment i cant afford it doesnt mean im going to give them up.

[crazybones]

i had a pet once a dog becuz of my mom i had to give him away i miss him so much golden retrever but i will be getting another one soon enough yeah if you cant take care of the pets medical needs an such probably not the greatest to get one at tht time

[youOme]

You have a good heart taking "not so perfect" pets in.

When I lived on a ranch in Arizona we took a special needs mare in. She was messed up from a bad birth experience, they had to cut her open and whoever stitched her up did a %#@&#! poor job. She ended up getting a bad infection and having chunks of her gut rot off. Miraculously she survived.

At first she was unridable but me and a few other girls took her in as our personal project and by the end of the year she was our best barrel horse. I learned a lot about hope from Coca that year, she was my miracle mare.

[Razzleberry]

I took care of a kitten that had infections, until he was old enough and well enough to be adopted out. We just couldn't handle him after that...but I miss that kitty!

Our dog is a rescue from the shelter - he was found locked up in a dog kennel, family had moved - their house was foreclosed but they just left him there. He had a tumor on his neck, and they think the family just couldn't afford the medical bills. By the time we got him he was healthy. But he does still have abandonment issues. We can't leave him alone or he freaks out. He actually chewed thru our french patio doors, then just sat on the front porch waiting for us.

But he's a sweet dog, we love him. If he got sick we'd do what we could, but if we couldn't help him we'd put him down.

I agree that it's animal abuse not to take care of pets - but if you can't afford it, try the humane society or at least put them out of their misery. Not just let them suffer. But I know some things can be really expensive.

[Rhapsody]

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BalishBun said:
so would you go out there and even consider one that needed constant monitoring, extra tlc, many medications, etc?

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If I had the financial means to give the animal all the medical care they needed I would consider it....... as a pet gives back so much more.

I would not because at this time, I don't have the financial or time-related means to take care of a special needs pet.

At this time I have three parrots who take up a lot of time and money. I love them more than anything.

When I go to the bird store, I often see special needs birds (and I'm not just referring to physical special needs-- with birds, a lot of people give them up because of their behavioral problems). I would love to give a home to one of these birds someday, but right now I would never do it because it would just not be fair to the bird or my existing birds. I have just enough time to spend with them and care for them and I wish it was more.

[cheetah]

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TaintedGoth1 said:
I don't see animals as any different than humans so I'd say yes. I would do it...I wouldn't care about the costs or anything. I would love them as much as I'd love anyone. No questions asked.

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I'm completely with TaintedGoth on this one. I often experience differences of opinion with others because of my high regard for animals. I think I would be a wonderful 'mom' to any animal regardless of special needs, and I would be honored to have the job.

[TaintedGoth1]

Thank you, cheetah!!!!

Personally it offends me when people think animals are beneath us.

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salukigirl said:
riptide - thats extremely easy to say when you have the means to care for them. i have 3 cats and a dog. right now, theyre healthy. but if one of them were to ever get sick, id be screwed. im a college student mostly living off scholarships and loans. but theyre my babies. right now, im counting on them staying healthy for a while and really wouldnt be able to afford medications if they needed them. i would find a way but still. just because right this moment i cant afford it doesnt mean im going to give them up.

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Not providing the necessary health care for your pets is against the law. It is neglect and animal abuse. It can be prosecuted by the law.

I stated my opinion, but it is also a law in the United States.