Many people consider their pets family, so when a pet gets sick, they will often will go to great lengths to treat their furry friends, sometimes racking up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. LA Times reporter Deborah Vankin wrote about the skyrocketing cost of veterinary care in California and joined Lisa McRee on "LA Times Today."

Vankin explained why veterinary costs are rising across the state.

“The cost of vet care has gone up astoundingly 60% over the last decade. With inflation, the cost of vaccines and medicine is more expensive. Of course, the costs of running a vet office is more expensive rent and utilities, staffing and equipment, and that drives up the costs of visits. As technology increases, there are more tests and more treatments for our animals, which is a good thing… But that is really expensive like it is for humans. One of the biggest reasons that costs are rising is the ongoing corporatization of small vet practices,” Vankin said.

Vankin asked LA Times readers to share their experiences with high vet bills and shared whether any of them saw the bills as too high a cost to keep their pet alive. 

“Of the people I talked to and the responses we received were all on the ‘I’ll spend whatever I need to’ end of the spectrum. I think there was one person that said it had gotten to be too much and had to put an end to it. But at least the people we heard from who cared enough or were angry enough to respond to the survey, who were emptying their pockets at the vet, all felt that there was no limit to what they would spend their pets, for their family members,” Vankin said.  

Vankin also shared the vets’ perspectives on the issue. 

“The vets were saying, 'We feel terrible about this, but running a vet practices is expensive. We have exorbitant student loans to pay off. We need to make a living also.' And their own practices are being bought up by big companies,” she said.

Watch the full interview above.

Watch "LA Times Today" at 8 and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app.