Two years ago a FB friend posted a pic of a sweet puppy who was at a shelter and going to be put to sleep in the morning. We already had two dogs and did not want another, but I couldn't stand the thought of the puppy being put to sleep, so I took the day off of work and drove a couple hours to adopt him. I thought I could find another home for him but I was never able to find someone willing to take him.
He's a sweet dog, but because he's a big dog, he hasn't become as much a part of the family as our other two dogs. The other two sleep in our bed and are inside with us all the time. The other dog is in the yard most of the time and then sleeps in a crate in the house at night.
We just got back from going out of town and the dog sitter says he hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. On Thursday he threw up, but it was a bunch of grass and she didn't think anything of it. On Friday he only ate half of his food, then he only ate a little bit on Saturday and then nothing today. He is drinking plenty of water and peeing, but he is lethargic, looks skinny, and isn't eating. She offered him rice cooked in chicken broth and we have tried giving him other people food this evening, and he's not interested. Oh, and his lower stomach is tender. He cries when you push on it.
He's been known to chew things he shouldn't, so I feel pretty sure he has a bowel obstruction. Bowel obstruction = surgery. I'm hoping to God I'm wrong and it's just an upset stomach or something, but DH is asking me what our financial limit needs to be. FUCK. I want to say $1,000. Maybe $1,500. But, DAMN, he is a sweet dog and only a couple years old. From googling it looks like surgery would be $2,000+.
Might this just be an upset stomach? The fact that he chews on so many things he shouldn't is what makes me feel this is doubtful How the hell do you decide how much you are willing to spend on a pet's healthcare?
Post by fuckyourcouch on Jul 7, 2013 22:53:16 GMT -5
I'm really sorry you're dealing with this.
For us, there's not really a limit. We have pet insurance but even without I would easily spend several grand on what I consider family members. I don't think there is a right answer for everyone though.
Well, regardless, I'd take him to an emergency vet.
I'm of the opinion that you adopted him, you know he chews on things, you need to get him checked out/pay for it if it doesn't decrease his quality of life. If it was a case of a failure like kidney and his days were numbered, do what you must. But a simple, though costly surgery to fix something like a block? I'd spend the 2k and do it.
We keep pet insurance on our dog for reasons like this. We know we can't just willynilly shell out thousands, so for $40 a month, we pay doggy health insurance.
We are taking him to the vet first thing in the morning. I already called their answering service to leave a message for them to call us ASAP. We definitely aren't going to let him just stay in pain.
I feel horrible saying this, but part of my reluctance is that I don't feel like he's really a part of the family like our other dogs. He's sweet and a good dog, but he's not truly a family member like the other dogs. We only have him because I didn't want him to be needlessly put to sleep. I wouldn't hesitate to spend up to $1,000 on him because that's the amount that we can spend without really feeling it.
I really hope that I'm wrong and that he just has some sort of stomach bug.
ETA: We're not taking him to the emergency vet since he's drinking water. If he weren't drinking plenty of water, then we'd be heading to the emergency vet.
Hopefully Sue Sue is right and we're jumping the gun even thinking about this. For some reason I just have a really bad feeling. I really, really hope I'm wrong.
I'm team spend whatever it takes. We were in a position with our first pup where we had to fly with him to see a specialist and had a series of expensive procedures done. We tried a multitude of different meds and had many vet visits. In the end we lost him anyways but I don't regret that we did everything we possibly could do to save him.
It sounds like you have a huge heart and that's how you got him in the first place.
Take him to the vet. Find out what's wrong. What would you spend on your other dogs that are "part of the family?" That's what you should spend on this one because you are his owner.
I really hope he's ok and that it's an easy fix.
ETA: As much as it sucks, it sounds like it might be worth giving him up for adoption. If he doesn't fit in your family, there might be someone else out there who will really love him. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I just think it might make sense to take care of whatever this issue is and then attempt to find him a different home.
My hound mix had $4,000 hip surgery. He will need more surgery in about 2 years and we are looking at about $8,000 then. His is genetic and it's something we decided to take on when he was about 6mths old. I do think there is a limit, but if it was one of your other dogs would your limit be higher?
When I adopted my dog, I understood that I'd be responsible for her vet bills. When she was bit by a rattlesnake and needed THREE vials of antivenin at $600 a pop, I had to do it.
Like someone else said, if she was old and had low quality of lofe, I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars prolonging the pain. But a young dog with something unexpected and cureable, like snakebite, bowel obstruction, etc, there would be no limit for me, personally.
Is there any way you can give him pain meds tonight to make him more comfortable till he sees the vet? Poor guy. It's a hard decision to make. Personally I would have spent 3000 if it had kept our doodle living.
I hope, for your sake, that he is fine or it's a cheap fix.
But you adopted him to keep him from being put to sleep and now you have to choose if the cost is too high, will you just have him put down? Which completely cancels out why you adopted him. Even though you don't feel he is a part of the family, you still chose to get a 3rd dog because he was cute and you wanted to save him.
Take him in, get him checked, see what they say. If there is a problem, if it were me, I'd pay for it (like I said, if it was an actual fix and not just a bandaid for a bigger problem that will decrease his quality of life) and then actively seek out for someone to adopt him. If nothing is wrong, I'd still seek out for someone to adopt him.
I know this all reads as bitchy and it slightly is, but he is your responsibility because you wanted him.
I'd pay for it. our dogs are members of our family and as long as quality of life doesn't suffer, we'd spend whatever.
2 examples: my golden has hip dysplasia. he will need a hip replacement eventually. he was diagnosed when he was about 5 months old, so we took that cost on early.
my terrier was sick when we adopted her from the shelter. we thought it was kennel cough at first, so did our vet. however, she never got better, then started vomiting, not drinking, etc. we took her to the e-vet twice for sub-q fluids and medications. we probably spent $1500 on her, between vet bills and meds and special food (that I mixed with water or diluted gatorade, and force fed her with a syringe), and we owned her a week! but in our minds, we adopted her, therefore she is family, and that was that. she did get better after 9 days of being sick.
We spent around $30k on the dog who passed away last year (two ACL surgeries, cushings treatment and blood work for three years). We bought insurance for the other two, which I highly recommend because I would probably spend everything I have to keep them healthy. I honestly think the cost would have to be in the millions before I would even think twice, so realistically, there is no cost limit. I do think in this instance you have to suck it up . . . It doesn't sound like you can't afford it, just don't want to pay it, so I would side eye a decision not to.
Post by juliagoulia on Jul 7, 2013 23:23:06 GMT -5
I don't know that there is a precise dollar figure I can say, but there is a limit on what we will (really, what we can) spend on our animals. Really, it would depend on the issue, the cost (both any immediate cost & long-term costs because of treatment), the quality of life after treatment/procedure and my pet's age and overall health. The vet I used to work for, when he had discussions like this, would ask people to consider the situation as a whole and try not to look at it emotionally. I always appreciated he said that because sometimes the money isn't the significant part. For something like a blockage, depending on what it is, where and how severe- it may mean resectioning which may cause the need for a(n expensive) new diet, higher risk for another blockage which would incur the same cost again, lifelong medication, etc.
Don't get ahead of yourself- see the vet first, it could be something simple & I really hope it is! But if not, don't feel bad about having to consider your options.
I agree he's my responsibility. I have actively tried to find him a home and would LOVE to find him a home where he is a part of someone's family. He really is a very sweet dog. He's also been professionally trained (I bartered legal services with a dog trainer who kept him for a week and did intensive training) and would make someone a great pet. I didn't think it would be so hard to find him a good home.
Hopefully he's going to be fine and it's not a question that we will have to consider. I honestly don't even know what my answer would be for my other dogs who are more a part of the family. I'm not one who believes that you should spend whatever it takes for an animal but also don't know exactly how to draw the line. I've had a lot of pets, but fortunately most have died of old age.
He seems to be resting okay. He is just lethargic, but is enjoying getting his head scratched and does wag his tail some, so I think he's uncomfortable but not miserable. Hopefully our vet can see him first thing tomorrow.
Also, and you might not want to hear this, but I think you should take him into the e-vet tonight. He could have a twisted intestine and if not treated in time, it could be lethal. For me, I prefer to go by the "better safe than sorry" rule.
Yes. Drinking water doesn't mean he's fine. You're pressing on his stomach and he's in pain. There are so many stomach issues; twisted, blocked, bloat. All can kill a dog in a matter of hours.
This post just really frustrates me. I really just want to yell at you to do something before you end up with a suffering dog and possibly a dead one by morning.
We just spent $3000 and likely would have spent more to save our dog. I feel so bad for this dog. Why did he never become a part of your family? I know this post isn't about that, but I'm just confused as to why you wanted to save him and then he never became fully assimilated. Some dogs are just aloof, please don't think I'm judging you too much, I'm just curious.
If it was a fixable problem, I would pay whatever it took. My dog is like a child to me.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think when people decide to own a pet, they are taking on the responsibility of taking care of it, knowing very well that may be extremely pricey. Now it's one thing if the vet says it's an issue that can't be cured/fixed and surgery would simply put that off. I am not against putting dogs down when there is truly nothing else you can do to save them and they are in pain. That's the humane thing to do.
But if it's a totally fixable problem, the dog is otherwise healthy and will continue on to live a very full and happy life, I think it's cruel to say, "Nah, sorry, here is my limit for you and this surgery is above it, so, you get the needle" (not saying YOU have this mentality but some people do).
Like PPs have mentioned, there is pet insurance which can sometimes help with the cost of procedures. We also chose a vet that has an in-house credit program so should we have an emergency very expensive procedure, we can make payments on it. We looked into all these things before adopting our dog because we knew medical care would be a necessity and could be very pricey.
I really hope it is just an upset stomach and that your little guy is OK!
I'm so sorry your pup isn't feeling well. I hope it's nothing major. I urge you to take him to the vet, though. Stomach issues aren't something to wait around for.
As for me, I would spend whatever it takes. My dog is like my child. I thought we were going to spend at least a few grand a year or so ago on her luxating patellas, but they've luckily really improved with glucosamine. I'm sure it will happen eventually, though. And if there was some kind of emergency, I'm confident there would be no limit on what we'd spend. She's our baby.
We just spent $3000 and likely would have spent more to save our dog. I feel so bad for this dog. Why did he never become a part of your family? I know this post isn't about that, but I'm just confused as to why you wanted to save him and then he never became fully assimilated. Some dogs are just aloof, please don't think I'm judging you too much, I'm just curious.
I hope it's an easy fix for you.
I thought I could find a home for him, but that turned out to not be so easy.
I really hope you take him in tonight. I hate thinking that he's just laying there in pain. At least get him to the vet so he can have a chance. Maybe the vet can work with you and help you find a home for him as well.
We just spent that amount, 2k on Ginger, my bull dog. It was for different things, but it added up fast. Recently it's been one thing after another, UTI, skin infection, allergies...I do think about the money, but I always feel awful when she isn't healthy or in pain. I feel so responsible for her, that I can't *not* spend the money.
If you can afford it, you should. If you find out it's a one time surgery and your dog will be all better, spend the money
I would probably spend whatever it took. But it also depends on age and chance of recovery. I would do CareCredit for whatever I couldn't hand over in cash.
this is what we did, and we paid it back in the 6 month period before interest would be added.
Last summer we had to choose between a $7,500 surgery on H's 16 year old dog or putting her to sleep. The vet said that it wasn't likely to improve her quality of life at all and that she may not even make it through the surgery, so we chose to put her to sleep. Had she been much younger and would have had a good quality of life we would definitely have paid for her to have the surgery.
I honestly can't think of a limit for our cat that is still alive. She's only 6 and has never had any major health problems. I would hope if anything did happen that we would do the surgery regardless, but I can understand hearing the vet crunch large numbers for you and panic. I think we'd spend up to $10,000 if we knew it would save her and she could have a good quality of life.
Hoping the lack of response means she is. I once rushed of dog to the vet thinking she had chocked on a bone. She didn't and all was well. I can't imagine not taking my pet in when they are in distress. Not trying to be rude, but that dog needs an advocate, and that person is you. If it was yourself or a loved one you thought had a bowel obstruction, you wouldn't wait till morning.
Hoping the lack of response means she is. I once rushed of dog to the vet thinking she had chocked on a bone. She didn't and all was well. I can't imagine not taking my pet in when they are in distress. Not trying to be rude, but that dog needs an advocate, and that person is you. If it was yourself or a loved one you thought had a bowel obstruction, you wouldn't wait till morning.
I rushed my dog an hour or so away to an emergency vet at 3am.
She had a cold.
I had them do x-rays just to make sure and $200 later, I'm glad I took her. But I do have a pretty interesting CD that show her doggy insides.
Hoping the lack of response means she is. I once rushed of dog to the vet thinking she had chocked on a bone. She didn't and all was well. I can't imagine not taking my pet in when they are in distress. Not trying to be rude, but that dog needs an advocate, and that person is you. If it was yourself or a loved one you thought had a bowel obstruction, you wouldn't wait till morning.
I rushed my dog an hour or so away to an emergency vet at 3am.
She had a cold.
I had them do x-rays just to make sure and $200 later, I'm glad I took her. But I do have a pretty interesting CD that show her doggy insides.
I have some nice X-rays as well! I was sure the none she was chewing was lodged in her throat. Realized after that she was just making a strange cough, and found the bone once we got home.