I think this kind of question would vary case by case...

Being a young adult trying to start a life for myself money is often in short supply and things are almost always tight around here; if an emergency came up would I have an emergency fund for it? No, honestly I would not. Would that pet get immediate emergency care YES! There is nothing that would stop me from getting them taken care of. We are lucky here that we are in a smaller area and I am very close with the vets here; both will allow me in the event of an emergency to come on in with the dog/cat/bird and get it taken care of they know from us coming in over the past many years that we will always pay them in a timely manner; and it has never been a problem. Luckily though we've only had afew emergencies, so we are fortunate in that.

Our dogs aren't "spoiled rotten" they don't have hundreds of treats, or toys or collars for every occasion but they certainly never go without anything either, whatever they need they get. The animals come first; that's the way I was raised I can take care of myself they rely on me to take care of them. If you can't make a commit to them and properly take care of them you shouldn't have them. IMO