How much money should we spend to help our pets?

This question is prompted by two things, one of them a confessional I just read by a guy who spent $10,000 to treat his dog’s separation anxiety. The other is our family’s 16-year-old dog. The author of the Toronto Life article, writer

The vet we spoke to when we took our dog in for a checkup recently was great – very realistic about his health, which is OK. But it was made clear that if we wanted to have tests and procedures done to see what specifically was wrong, they’d be glad to accommodate. We bought some doggie arthritis pills for $50 and said we’d have to think about things. Do we really want to start a cycle of kidney tests and treatments for an occasionally incontinent dog who is really old?

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