Hit with large vet bill...would this be wise?

[asafko]

So our precious little schnoodle had to be admitted suddenly yesterday to the animal hospital. He has always been very healthy (he is 11) and we have never needed anything but normal/yearly check ups. He was diagnosed with diabetes, severe pancreatitis and ketoacidosis. We had to make the decision rather quickly whether or not to proceed with treatment and after hearing the doctor say his prognosis is good should he respond to treatment, we agreed to proceed. While in the big picture we can afford this, with my husband being in education, the summer months are always "leaner". We are considering opening an amex card (with no annual fee) that will allow for a balance transfer at 0% for 15 months - which we would pay off earlier than that. We have excellent credit so it won't be an issue getting the card. Just looking for opinions regarding if this would be wise or if there are other options out there. Thanks so much.

 

[DLgal]

I do balance transfers all the time. There is really no downside, IMO. However, look at what the fee is for doing the transfer (most charge between 3 and 5%). I might suggest looking for a "no balance transfer fee" balance transfer card if the AMEX one charges a fee. This fee is different than an annual fee.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

I've never used it so I don't know the finer details but I have family that used CareCredit to finance a situation like this and they love it because they never had to pay any interest on the medical expenses so long as they made the minimum payments.

 

[mrsstats]

No opinion on the credit card but just wanted to let you know we have that same decision to make about 3 years ago. Cost us $7,000 for the hospital stay etc. He is still with us - 15 years old. Does fine for the most part with the diabetes. He has now lost his sight which is a by product of the diabetes. I know he could have surgery for the cataracts but vet doesn't recommend and I don't want to put him thru that. Good luck with your pup.

 

[asafko]

Thanks for the responses. The Amex is a no fee transfer but we are looking at the Care Credit as well. It is so hard to have to make a decision so quickly - now that I know there are options I feel better.

 

[SharonZ]

Do the Care Credit application online, you get a quick response. It's also good for a lot of options other than just Vet care, and also may come in handy in the future.

 

[ImDMous]

We have a CareCredit that we applied for at the vet when we needed it. If you pay it off in 6 months, it's no interest so we like that option.

 

[OpieDoodle]

Personally, I would do CareCredit. That way the temptation of spending anything else on the card wouldn't be there and you can always then have it for emergencies in the future (works for more than just vet bills!)

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

no suggestions, just sympathy. My son's big puppy ate a towel, which of course got stuck somewhere it can't work it's way out of. He's at the vet right now seeing if he will have to have surgery to remove it. No idea how we are going to pay for it, but we'll figure something out.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I just wanted to say I hope your little guy responds to the treatments well. It's so tough when you can't explain to them what is going on. Best wishes to you and your family.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

First of all, hope your pup responds well to treatment! My husband and I have both worked as vet techs in the past and while diabetes and pancreatitis are scary at first, your boy can have a long, healthy life still. My mom's cat has been living with diabetes for 6 years now and you'd never know anything was wrong.

Also, I'm another one for trying CareCredit. We actually initially got CareCredit for my husband to have laser eye surgery, but we used it in December for my cat's dental surgery. It's also often able to be used at dental offices for humans too. And depending on the amount charged you can usually get 6-12 months of 0% APR.

 

[MrsPete]

I do balance transfers all the time. There is really no downside, IMO. However, look at what the fee is for doing the transfer (most charge between 3 and 5%). I might suggest looking for a "no balance transfer fee" balance transfer card if the AMEX one charges a fee. This fee is different than an annual fee.

Well, yeah, a downside does exist: If you're not careful /if you don't jump through all the hoops /if you miss the dates, they'll hit you with interest or fees. If you proceed this direction, read all the fine print and KNOW what you're doing.

They don't offer these options to be kind -- they're trying to drag you unwittingly into their world of debt. If you play the game, you must be careful.

 

[asafko]

Thanks again. We have decided on Care Credit - I feel more comfortable with that option. Since I posted - our little guy developed fluid in the lungs which required further procedures (first lasix and when that didn't help, they did a chest aspiration). Which of course has raised the bill not only for the procedures but also for the longer stay. We had to have a talk with our kids about him possibly not making it through this which was so hard but we all went to visit last night and he actually wagged his tail an slowly walked over to them (I have visited multiple times due to me being an at home mom and he hasn't responded much to me - trying not to get my feelings hurt about that!!!). Anyway, I really appreciate the recommendations for care credit, I feel a lot better making the choice hearing from so many of you.

 

[DLgal]

Well, yeah, a downside does exist: If you're not careful /if you don't jump through all the hoops /if you miss the dates, they'll hit you with interest or fees. If you proceed this direction, read all the fine print and KNOW what you're doing.

They don't offer these options to be kind -- they're trying to drag you unwittingly into their world of debt. If you play the game, you must be careful.

Well, yeah, you should always understand the terms. I have been using balance transfers as low interest loans, basically, for years. I have never paid the prevailing interest rate on a credit card in over 20 years of having them in my name. In the times I couldn't pay off my charges at the end of the month in full, I transferred the balances, paid a one time fee (sometimes no fee at all), and always paid in full during the 0% interest period.

 

[SharonZ]

I've used balance transfers a lot in the past. I just set up auto-pay for the due date, and I've never had any issues.

 

[Donaldswife]

Andy update on how the doggy is doing?

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Check your petmeds at sams club, they were so much cheaper than my vet... dont be afraid to shop around.

 

[cedricandsophie]

The things we do for our furry children,

Our 10 year old corgi was fine on a Friday but wouldn’t or couldn’t move Saturday morning, I rushed her to our vet who is only open from 8 to noon on sat. They took her immediately and said they thought she might have eaten something, would give her some liquids, etc, and would call later. One of the vets on duty called late morning and said I think you should come in. My husband and I both went in. Because she wasn’t responding at all, he did an ultra sound and believed that she had a slow leaking tumor on her heart that had eventually caused so much blood to fill the sac around her heart and that’s why she was barely breathing and unable to walk. We had three choices. Take her home and she would die that weekend. Move her to our local ER clinic which provides 24/7 care that our vet does not, the clinic might be able to drain the blood out and make her more comfortable but did not have a heart specialist on staff. Or drive to a specialty clinic in Chicago that had 24/7 care plus a variety of specialists. Knowing that option would be very expensive, we decided to do it, because we didn’t want to regret not having done all we could.

We put her in the car, while our vet called ahead, and rushed her there, the clinic was waiting for her and immediately took her into ER even though there were probably 20 people ahead of us, long story short, they drained her heart and she was a little better but there was no cardiologist on duty until Monday morning. She spent the weekend in the acute care unit on oxygen. We came in early Monday morning to wait for the cardiologist to make his rounds and look at her tests. We finally saw him late morning and he confirmed the original diagnosis, a tumor on her heart, inoperable. The bleeding had stopped but could start again at any time. We asked him what was best for her and he ultimately said that while she could live a few more weeks, perhaps, her quality of life would not be good. So we made the painful decision to put her to sleep as peacefully as possible. It was a very expensive weekend but one that we don’t regret as we wanted to give her every chance. She was a sweet little girl, who could hear a food wrapper a block away and everyone she met was her new best friend. She will be missed forever

 

[asafko]

OP here...sadly this did not end the way we had hoped. Our little Buddy's pancreas was too far gone (and getting worse) and we had to make the awful decision to have him put to sleep. It has been a horrible time for all of us - he was one of the family. We did Carecredit to help pay off the bill. I do not regret for one minute spending the money - we had to give him every chance. Thanks all for your advice and for caring.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

OP here...sadly this did not end the way we had hoped. Our little Buddy's pancreas was too far gone (and getting worse) and we had to make the awful decision to have him put to sleep. It has been a horrible time for all of us - he was one of the family. We did Carecredit to help pay off the bill. I do not regret for one minute spending the money - we had to give him every chance. Thanks all for your advice and for caring.

Very sad to hear - I'm so sorry for your loss. Although I didn't post - I had followed this thread to see how your pup was. You're not alone, just know that. Hugs to you from Houston....