Woman pays $500 for surgery on pet goldfish

Saturday, September 24, 2016 by: Samantha Debbie
Tags: pet health, goldfish, surgery

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(NaturalNews) It's no secret that Americans absolutely adore their pets and are willing to go to great lengths and high costs for them. However, based on a recent and interesting news report, the trend is not isolated to western nations.

A woman from Australia resorted to what some would consider extreme measures to save her pet goldfish, and yes, you read that correctly: her goldfish.

Veterinarians working at the Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Services (BBEVS) report that a woman spent $500 on a surgical operation for her pet goldfish, after it choked on a small rock while swimming in its tank.

Luckily for the fish, its owner noticed it was in trouble and rushed it to the nearest veterinarian where professionals operated on the little fellow.

Pet goldfish requires surgery after owner witnesses it eat and choke on a pebble

"Just last week we had a client with a fishy problem! Conquer the Ranchu Goldfish had accidentally eaten a pebble from his tank and got it stuck in his tiny mouth," the veterinarians wrote on their Facebook page. "Our vets had to give him some help in removing it."

The Epoch Times reports that the veterinarians used anesthetics, gloves and a teeny tiny tool in order to dislodge the rock from the fish's mouth. They were able to confirm the choking through a physical exam, said the technicians.

"A physical exam revealed that Conquer had a black pebble stuck in the back of his throat," the Facebook post stated.

Other reports say that if the owner hadn't noticed the pet's distress, it likely would have starved to death. Fortunately, the $500 operation went smoothly, and saved the pet goldfish's life.

Spending money on tiny pets like goldfish isn't that uncommon

"While there has been quite a lot of fuss made over the cost of the procedure, we are really just focussed [sic] on getting a great outcome for the pet, and their worried owner," a spokesman with Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Services told CBS News.

"Most people wouldn't bat an eyelid spending this money on a dog, cat or child, so why would we value our beautiful exotic pets any less?"

The move is not unprecedented, either. Two years ago, another goldfish owner was reported to have spent $200 on George, his pet fish. George needed an operation to have a tumor on its head removed.

Sources:

TheEpochTimes.com