Max is recovering well from his surgery, which should offer him a couple more years of a good life. photo via The New York Times

An article by Roz Warren in today’s New York Times poses some hard questions that many dog owners face: how much are you willing to spend on your dog? and When is it time to let your pet go? In this case, the patient is a beautiful little bichon frisé named Max, who at 13 years old, he needs an expensive surgery:

A risky operation and an elderly dog. Not a promising combination. Even if the surgery was a success, there was a 30 percent chance of life-threatening post-op complications.

The article makes a case for why they chose to go through with the surgery, cost be damned, and it has a happy ending. However, it dodges one important question: how much is too much? Surely many dog owners simply could not afford the choice Warren and her family made.

How do you view these kinds of situations, which we will all ultimately face?

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