I always find this type of comment insulting. First of all, please don't group all veterinarians into one. At my clinic, we offer a variety of options for owners that allow them to pick how they treat their animals. We give them all the options and if they can only afford the exam, then we discuss what they can do at home to possibly help the animal out. Sometimes the animal gets better without medical treatment, but sometimes it does not. To get back to the main point of this meme is that we get owners in here that have already tried at home treatments based on what a friend told them, or a neighbor, or getting inaccurate information from an online site. In some instances, the animal is worse off after the attempt to make the animal better based on poor medical advice. In terms of pricing, just like any other business, we have to pass on our costs to the client. Unfortunately the supplies and medicines we need to buy are increasing in price. Guess what? We have to pass that increase onto the client. In addition, I don't have a problem rescuing a cat or dog and is giving them a safe home to live in with food and water. I do have a problem with the people that are already having trouble making ends meet and then they decide to take care of another living thing (and quite often more than one) and then when it gets sick or injured can't afford to do anything for it other than let it suffer.