Many people would do anything for their pets — and rightfully so, since they are more than just animals, and are often seen as members of the family. So, it makes sense that pet owners are willing to spend thousands of dollars in surgeries to help save their cats or dogs.

However, when a pet fish unexpectedly starts looking ill, many might just wait for it to go belly up and hold a funeral over the toilet before giving it a flush. This was not the case for one woman when she noticed her pet goldfish was choking underwater.

Australian Emma Marsh, 21, did what any animal lover would do if they saw their pet in danger: rush it to the vet. Only, in Marsh's case, the pet in question was her goldfish named Conquer.

Marsh had noticed that Conquer took a mighty big bite when trying to get a mouthful of food and accidentally swallowed a large pebble that was in his tank. The dark pebble was visible through the goldfish's scales.

The goldfish began to choke and could not get the 8 to 9 mm-long (0.35 inches) pebble back up, no matter how hard he tried, since it got stuck in his tiny mouth.

So, his owner took Conquer to the Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Services, where the veterinarian, Dr. Emma McMillan, was able to save his life.

The doc started by putting the goldfish to sleep by dripping anesthetic into his water dish. Once Conquer was knocked out, Dr. McMillan used forceps and titled his mouth to the side just slightly out of the water to remove the pebble from the goldfish that is 13 g (0.4 oz) and just 5 cm (1.9 inches) long.

There was no question that the procedure had to be done so that Conquer would not starve to death. However, the life of the goldfish came at a price.

While it only cost AU$12 ($9) to purchase the pet fish, the emergency vet bill cost Marsh about AU$500 ($375). Part of the reason for the hefty bill was to cover the expenses of having the goldfish spend the night to wake up and then recover for his traumatic experience. That included the AU$65 emergency consultation, along with anesthetic and overnight monitoring for about AU$300 to AU$400.

To Marsh, his life was priceless. In fact, saving the life of her pet fish was worth every penny.

Source: Courier Mail

Photo: Benson Kua | Flickr