DULUTH, Ga. — Thousands of dollars in bills, wait lists months-long for care and now, people in Georgia are putting their pets to sleep because they can't afford to take care of them.
It's called economic euthanasia, and it's happened as veterinary care costs soar.
It's one that the Harris family doesn't want to consider. This little pup has a big place in her family.
"She thinks she's the baby sometimes," said Shaunise Harris.
The 8-year-old, 8 pound dog plays big.
"She's very playful, she's a good protector," Harris said.
What is economic euthanasia?
When Sofia was diagnosed with a bacterial infection months ago, her family felt like they couldn't protect her.
"It was a very tough situation. My daughter was crying, I told her, 'I don't know, Mama is sorry,'" she said.
Five different vet clinics quoted Harris thousands of dollars to save Sofia's life. She knew she couldn't afford it, but she couldn’t stand to say goodbye to Sofia. The choice was between economic euthanasia or paying for Sofia's care.
"It's like they're bullying you to pay their price, and you have to make a choice; it's a choice you don't want to make," Harris said. "It's really hard to make it when you're struggling. You're trying to keep a roof over your head; you got kids."
If caring for a pet seems more expensive, that's because it is. Over the past decade, the cost of vet care has gone up 60%. In the past year alone, it's gone up 2.5 times the rate of everyday items like food or gas, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Vet costs are skyrocketing just like human medical costs," said Planned PEThood CEO CJ Bentley.
She says pet food, medication, and supply costs have all gone up and private equity firms have started buying up independent veterinary practices. The for-profit model means more pet owners have to make hard decisions to afford care.
"If something happened to one of them and I couldn't afford to provide care, what would I do? What would I do?" she said.
Bentley says sadly, people are choosing to euthanize pets if they can't afford care or surrender them to already overcrowded shelters.
"There's this stigma about people who relinquish pets to shelters, and they're not all jerks. They're nice, decent people who are trying to do what's best for their animal," said Bentley.
Bentley says the solution is preventative care at low-cost clinics, like Planned PEThood in Duluth.
"We could solve it as a community before the animals get to the shelter. Let's stop overcrowding by keeping pets with the families that love them and not making costs to vet care a barrier," she said.
Planned PEThood depends on grants and donations to keep their costs low and families together.
"Animals need people to love them and care for them. So when you have to choose between your expenses and saving the life of your animal, it's crazy. It's really crazy," said Harris.
The Harris family is not alone. A survey from USA Today found that 91% of animal owners have felt stressed out by the cost of veterinary care in the past year.
For a glimpse of help available to pets and their families, such as veterinary care, visit PlannedPEThood's resource page.