Lucy, a Shepard, is doing well after an essential surgery in November 2025. Her owner, Emma Gilmour, paid close to $5,000 for further testing and another $10,000 for the procedure itself.Emma Gilmour/The Canadian Press
As Lucy grew older, her blood work started to show some abnormal results.
By the time the 80-pound shepherd mix was turning 10, her owner Emma Gilmour wanted a diagnosis. Lucy’s veterinarian had mentioned Cushing’s disease as a possibility.
Gilmour paid close to $5,000 for further testing, including an ultrasound, CT scan and specialist consultations. Lucy had a mass on her liver close to a quarter of the organ’s size, and surgery was recommended to remove it. The mass was close to arteries and, if those arteries burst, Lucy could die.
The surgery was another $10,000.
“They required a deposit that was over eight grand before they would even do the surgery,” Gilmour said. “I had to put my credit card down and they took an authorization of over $8,000 that morning. They won’t take a dog into surgery unless you pay them in advance.
“So if you don’t have access to a line of credit, or if you don’t have eight grand sitting in your bank account, you literally can’t do it.”
Gilmour has no regrets about the costs, and Lucy has responded well since the surgery in November 2025. She used a mix of RRSP withdrawals, a line of credit, and balance transfer options to lower her interest. She hopes to pay it off by the end of this year.
“I’m the kind of person where I don’t regret the things that I do; I would regret the things that I didn’t do,” Gilmour said. “I’m just in a position that I’m fortunate, like I’m very lucky, that I have these things available to me, that I was able to do that.”
For those with aging pets, there are difficult decisions to be made about care late in life.
One of Gilmour’s friends decided against chemotherapy for an old rescue dog — not just because of the cost, but because the dog was deeply fearful of car rides and the vet office, and treatment would be lengthy and traumatizing.
Another friend of Gilmour’s decided to stop removing small tumours that had been popping up regularly all over their dog’s body, and the dog lived to be 16 years old anyway.
“If you don’t think you have it in you to be objective, I would try and ask a friend to help you (make decisions), because it can be really difficult, obviously, to disconnect yourself emotionally,” Gilmour said.
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Your veterinarian will also counsel you, and there is no judgment in these difficult conversations, said Lauralee Dorst, director of community animal welfare for the Toronto Humane Society, and a registered veterinary technician.
“One of the greatest misconceptions in veterinary medicine is that financial limitations reflect how much someone cares about their pet,” Dorst said in an email interview.
“End-of-life care should be guided by comfort, dignity, quality of life, and compassion — not shame.”
Vet costs can challenge people’s ability to pay their rent or mortgage, or care for their own children, Dorst pointed out. And costs can drag out for months or years for chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, dental disease and mobility issues.
“For many families, even a few hundred dollars can be difficult, and a bill of several thousand dollars can force painful decisions very quickly,” Dorst said.
With the advancement of veterinary medicine, pet owners discuss the merits of pet insurance versus an emergency savings fund. Some, like Dorst, argue for both.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Veterinary medicine has developed rapidly with unprecedented levels of treatment options, said Maggie Brown-Bury, a St John’s, N.L.-based veterinarian and president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
“The options have become better, more numerous,” she said. “There’s a lot more that we can do, whereas 20 to 30 years ago, there’s some illnesses where we would have had no options. But of course, those advancements come with the cost.
“I’ve been in the position myself as a pet owner where you almost wish that option wasn’t there because now it comes down to whether you can afford it, not whether or not you can logistically do it.”
Outside her professional practice, Brown-Bury speaks to her own friends candidly about these decisions. Just because you can, does it mean you should?
“The dog doesn’t understand why he’s getting poked so many times,” she said. “And often, people grapple with the decision: ‘Am I being selfish? Am I doing this because I don’t want to let go?’
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“And my advice always is, we never want the pet to suffer. We’re going to discuss the options that will alleviate or end suffering, which means sometimes euthanasia has to be discussed as a treatment option when we have a significant illness in an older pet.”
Some pet owners discuss the merits of pet insurance versus an emergency savings fund, but Dorst said that having both, if possible, is the safest option.
“Insurance is not a complete solution for end-of-life planning,” she said. “Policies may include deductibles, reimbursement limits, exclusions, waiting periods, and may not cover every aspect of palliative care, euthanasia, cremation, or memorial aftercare. Families should review policies carefully, so they understand what is and is not covered.”
Brown-Bury said some veterinarians are comfortable recommending pet insurance companies, and at least one option in Canada offers direct billing, so you don’t have to pay upfront.
It’s important to get a policy when the pet is young, but it’s also important to invest in your pet’s health early and regularly, Brown-Bury said.
“That old adage: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” she said. “Doing annual checkups when your pet is young, and forming that relationship with your veterinarian so they know what’s normal for your pet will really help save costs down the road.”
Lucy is doing great for her age, and Gilmour said her decision to pursue surgery might have been different if Lucy had been slowing down for years. Lucy’s life expectancy after this type of mass is roughly two years, according to the specialists.
“Lucy otherwise seems very healthy and was still very active, and so I just felt like she had a lot of life left in her,” she said. “So for me, it was worth it at that point, but it’s definitely a factor that I would absolutely have taken into consideration.
“Even if you have access to the money, you have to think about the dog and you have to think about what makes the most sense.”