Decent health care costs big bucks. But treating four-legged, furry or feathered invalids doesn't come cheap either. Consider this Christmas fable -- a true story -- about Flash, an eight-year-old golden retriever currently living in Washington.
Two weeks ago, the dog suddenly collapsed and pitched down the stairs. His distraught owners, afraid to move their beloved pet themselves, called an animal ambulance (cost: $25). Minutes later the comatose canine had been placed on a stretcher and rushed off to the emergency room. There a veterinarian ordered up a battery of diagnostic tests and treatments, many of which would have been unobtainable...