Pet Insurance?

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Do you have a health plan or insurance for your pet? How much would you be willing to spend on emergency medical services for your dog? Many years ago, I had a dog that I had for about 6 years. The dog got really sick and could not use the bathroom. I rushed him to the vet after I figured out that he had a problem. Once he was evaluated I was told that he needed emergency surgery to save his life and also once the surgery was done he would need to be on a medically prescribed type of dog food and would have to take some other medicines for the duration of his life. The surgery was going to cost 1700 dollars many years ago and no calculation on the cost of food and meds, but was told by the doctor that feeding alone would increase by at least 50 percent. I did not have much in my savings account at the time but basically that would have wiped me out and payment had to be made upfront. This was a really hard choice for me. I contacted several non profits to see if i could get some assistance to no avail. The veterinarian said that I had one other option. Banfield (the hospital) would do the surgery at no cost to me, but there was one drawback. That was that I would basically have to give up all rights to the hospital and sign him over to them. Once the dog was back to good health they would adopt it to a family. In the end I decided that the best thing for both my dog and myself was to sign him over to the hospital since I would not be able to afford his maintenace care either. What would you have done in this situation? For me at this point I did have to think of him as just a dog or animal in order to cope with the decision. Because it basically meant his survival or mine. I am interested in your opinion