I wont do it. I ask before each sit, is your credit card set up with your vet and if not, can you please make sure it is. I know how expensive veterinaries are, being a pet owner. I always make sure my sitters understand its my responsibility and we have it all in place.
Someone on this forum mentioned a 20K bill. I’m not paying a cent of that for any host.
Thats not entirely true. You HOPE they will reimburse you asap.
If you need hope, you failed to build trust with the HO. Sorry, but something has gone wrong ahead of the sit.
Also, I stand by this - I expect the sitter to take care of my animals as if they were theirs. That naturally includes laying out money for the vet, if necessary. Your solution proposals don’t work for everybody or everybody’s vet.
@elmi4711
I didn’t insure my dogs until they were 10 years old. How many insurance companies have you tried?
Then I dont take that sit.
Thanks for implying I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Honestly - I have cats, not dogs, things are different. So perhaps all this discussion is about is expensive dogs (I’ve never heard of a multi-k$ bill for cat stuff).
Also, in Germany (and I believe in Austria too) I was told you always have to insure dogs from day one, mostly because they can cause damage to other people’s stuff.
Gabba: Perfect!
If you can’t make me feel at ease, you’re the wrong sitter for me.
@elmi4711
No need to be flippant, here in the UK, you can insure cats of any age.
As expected though, its more expensive
I tried, they all had a cut off age around 9. Also, it seems dogs are just so much more expensive that it makes sense to insure them (against…what exactly anyway).
@elmi4711
Maybe its just the UK where you can insure cats of any age, it does seem a very strange policy by insurance companies in your country.
Never heard of it before
If you can’t pay your own vet bills, you’re the wrong host for me. 
Stuff like cancer can be particularly expensive. It also depends on each country how much costs can run and what type of insurance is available. Sitters will tend to have more experience, since more of us take care of pets in various locations.
With one dog I sat — elderly and already sickly — her cost of just getting admitted was $250 USD. And then to get treatment overnight and get diagnosed, if possible, was in the thousands. Then it turned out she had to be put down, which was an additional cost.
My current hosts had a previous dog operated on for cancer and it turned out the vets couldn’t save him. I’m now sitting an elderly dog for them and they said they wouldn’t spend a lot now, because she’s so old. Glad they told me ahead of time.
I never said or stated I can’t pay my vet bills. But since I’m not there, the sitter has to step in until I can take action.
There is NO WAY this can be taken up on the back of the pets.
@elmi4711
First one i tried for spanish insurance
" Any Breed or Age Accepted
All cats and dogs over 8 weeks can be covered. Older pets can be covered for the same price"
Abbeygate Insurance, take a look.
Happy to help 
Will do, thanks!
(Does of course not solve anything discussed here)
@elmi4711
It was the first one i found, I’m sure there will be others.
I’m just glad i managed to help you out
@Maggie8K
Our insurance for one dog was £125 per month, roughly the same price as his heart medication.
This was back in 2014, I’m sure it will be a lot more expensive now.
Any operations will probably be thousands!
yes I agree, hence I always ask if the host’s credit card or an account set up in their name is current with their nominated vet.
I’m not paying the bill then chasing the host for money. I don’t understand why you can’t understand that. BUT be assured, I take my role seriously and I am an excellent sitter and host.
Yes. Operations easily run in the thousands.
For folks who sit for many months, the risk is greater for care expenses.
An aside: Our rescue dog had more expensive dental care than I have! And we had to wait list for months for the veterinary dental surgeon to operate on him, because the surgeon was specialized and would make rounds among four U.S. states. You had to wait till he came around again.
2 weeks ago my dog Alan had dental surgery and it was very expensive. There’s a photo of his beautiful smile on the tongues out Tuesdays post