A dog gets hit by a car.
A cat develops kidney failure.
A puppy is diagnosed with parvovirus.
The owner posts on Facebook.
“Please help. We don’t have money.”
Within hours, strangers begin sending donations.
The comments fill with sympathy.
The shares increase.
The likes multiply.
And sometimes, the money comes in.
On the surface, it feels like a beautiful display of compassion.
But there is a difficult conversation that the veterinary profession needs to have.
Because while kindness is admirable, dependence is dangerous.
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The New Normal
More and more pet owners are turning to online fundraising whenever faced with veterinary expenses.
Not after exhausting all options.
Not after saving.
Not after planning.
But immediately.
The moment a veterinary bill appears.
The expectation has quietly shifted.
Someone else will pay.
Someone online will help.
Someone will rescue me from the consequences of being financially unprepared.
And that should concern all of us.
Pets Are Not Free
One of the greatest misconceptions in pet ownership is believing that love alone is enough.
Love is important.
But love does not pay for diagnostics.
Love does not buy medications.
Love does not fund surgery.
Love does not cover emergency hospitalization.
A pet is not just an emotional commitment.
It is a financial commitment.
The day you bring a dog or cat home is the day you accept responsibility for its future needs.
Including the expensive ones.
Especially the expensive ones.
The Unfair Burden
What many people fail to realize is that every online appeal indirectly creates pressure elsewhere.
Pressure on veterinary clinics.
Pressure on veterinarians.
Pressure on staff.
Suddenly the conversation changes from:
“How do we save this patient?”
to
“Can you lower the bill?”
“Can you make it free?”
“Can you wait for donations?”
“Can you help us go viral first?”
Meanwhile, the clinic still has:
- Rent
- Staff salaries
- Electricity
- Medical supplies
- Equipment loans
- Laboratory expenses
Veterinarians are expected to perform miracles while absorbing financial losses.
No other profession faces this expectation at the same scale.
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Compassion Has Limits
Veterinarians are compassionate by nature.
Many of us have discounted bills.
Many of us have extended payment terms.
Many of us have donated services.
Many of us have quietly helped patients without posting about it online.
But compassion cannot become an unlimited business model.
A clinic that continuously absorbs losses eventually stops helping everyone.
Because it closes.
And a closed clinic saves no animals.
A Better Conversation
Instead of normalizing online limos, perhaps we should normalize responsible pet ownership.
- Emergency funds
- Pet insurance
- Savings accounts for pets
- Preventive medicine
- Financial preparedness
These conversations are less emotional.
Less viral.
Less dramatic.
But they save more animals in the long run.
The Hard Truth
The goal should never be to shame pet owners who genuinely fall on hard times.
Life happens.
Emergencies happen.
Unexpected situations happen.
The goal is to remind society that owning a pet comes with responsibilities that extend beyond affection.
Because the best way to help animals is not to become better at asking strangers for money.
It is to become better prepared before the emergency arrives.
The truth is simple.
A pet deserves more than love.
A pet deserves a plan.
Dr. Geoff Carullo is a Fellow and the current President of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners.
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