Okay, so we’ve all read those nice stories about pet-owners who will do anything for their beloved animal companions. Chances are you have a pampered cat or dog of your own, and though you may grumble about vet bills, you would gladly pay them rather than see Spot suffer. Here’s a question, though. If your pet goldfish needed costly life-saving surgery, would you pay to save him or just let him go to the Great Aquarium In The Sky? A man in Norfolk, England paid $460 for an operation to relieve his goldfish’s constipation. The complicated operation was necessary, said veterinarian Faye Bethell, because the goldfish “had a lump blocking his bottom, rather than because of his diet or any other reason.” So the owner shouldn’t feel guilty that the fish food he was dropping into the goldfish bowl didn’t have enough fiber.
According to the BBC, the surgery took over an hour and required the assistance of two nurses, one of whom was there to pipe in “anaesthetised water” to keep the fish sedated. “At the end of the day they’re all pets and everybody does have a commitment to their pet,” Dr. Bethell said, who added “Obviously, we discussed all the options [with its owner] and he made the decision to go for surgery.” I assume that “all the options” included “Take a moment to say goodbye, and then we’ll go ahead and flush it down the toilet.”
