You may cut back on vacation, clothes, or eating out. But it seems Tulsans draws a line in this tight economy with the family pet. We decided to check with some vets in the area and find out if they were seeing fewer patients. For the most part the answer was no. Dr. Rodney Robards is in charge at the Southern Hills Veterinary hospital, we visited with him near the clinic holding area. "Routine things, preventative care, people may be putting those off for a few months, they're still getting them but they may wait a few months" he said above the barks and meows. 

Listen to the entire interview with Dr. Robards here.

Dr. Robards told me that in the end, most of his clients will pick other places to save. "People may be travelling less, they be doing less things, they're still taking care of their pets, that's part of the family" he noted."

I found a young lady standing at the front desk with a cute little mixed puppy named Roscoe. She told me the economy had most definitely impacted her pet care. "I had to cut back on their flea and tick treatments" she began. "Little things like that, not being able to afford as much as I used to be able to afford for em." By the way, Roscoe was headed back to be neutered so I patted the little guy on the head and wished him the best before going on.

Click here to listen as people talk about caring for their pets in this economy.

While there are those who are scaling back their animal care there are others who would rather suffer themselves. "It has affected me at all" another lady told me. “I will feed the same dog food and I may go without so my dogs will have good food" she chuckled. "My dogs come first" she finished.