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Old 11-03-2013, 08:22 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924

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I think the reason some people spend so much money to try to save their pet is because they have psychological issues of letting go of things. Often times, they are probably hoarders too.


Yes, I love my dogs, and previous dogs, etc. But I will never pay medical costs over a grand for a dog who is 5 years or older.

Why? Because I simply can't afford that, and it would most likely just push the issue aside for a few months or a year until he does die.

The humane thing, (HUMAN e) is to let the dog go, mod cut

If it costs 4000 to save your 9 year old dogs life, don't do it. Put him to sleep, and then buy a new dog within the next month.[/quote]







Wtf?

You have an effin' crystal ball?

Our 10 (almost11) year old dog got suddenly severely sick on a weekend, only the ER vet was open...cost us $3000+ to diagnose and treat...everyone thought she'd pull through...then she nosedived. We were all shocked.

But to imagine NOT treating her to begin with? A previously healthy, playful dog? A family member for over a decade? You are nuts.
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Old 11-03-2013, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
36,499 posts, read 53,933,224 times
Reputation: 47917
Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
I think the reason some people spend so much money to try to save their pet is because they have psychological issues of letting go of things. Often times, they are probably hoarders too.


Yes, I love my dogs, and previous dogs, etc. But I will never pay medical costs over a grand for a dog who is 5 years or older.

Why? Because I simply can't afford that, and it would most likely just push the issue aside for a few months or a year until he does die.

The humane thing, (HUMAN e) is to let the dog go, mod cut

If it costs 4000 to save your 9 year old dogs life, don't do it. Put him to sleep, and then buy a new dog within the next month.

Stan- the way your response prints out it looks like you are the one who made such a ridiculous statement "I think the reason why...." I was shocked cause i didn't think you would say such a thing. It was Weirdman (fitting name) who made such a callous remark.


When Oscar the 9 year old cat got sick I spent almost $2K on him. Today he is 11 yeasrs old and in great shape. Of course I didn't know how expensive it would be when we started out looking for the cause of his illness but I had not reached my threshold of money or energy to get him better. Best 2K$ I ever spent.

To tell somebody to put a pet to sleep when it reaches a certain age and certain cost is totally sick. That may be his criteria but it certainly isn't for most pet owners.
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Old 11-03-2013, 08:51 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,223,092 times
Reputation: 73924
Quote:
Originally Posted by no kudzu View Post
Stan- the way your response prints out it looks like you are the one who made such a ridiculous statement "I think the reason why...." I was shocked cause i didn't think you would say such a thing. It was Weirdman (fitting name) who made such a callous remark.


When Oscar the 9 year old cat got sick I spent almost $2K on him. Today he is 11 yeasrs old and in great shape. Of course I didn't know how expensive it would be when we started out looking for the cause of his illness but I had not reached my threshold of money or energy to get him better. Best 2K$ I ever spent.

To tell somebody to put a pet to sleep when it reaches a certain age and certain cost is totally sick. That may be his criteria but it certainly isn't for most pet owners.
I know, but it got all screwed up and it was hard to fix on stupid iPad.

Anyone who knows me on this forum knows I woulda paid $100k to get that dog back healthy and happy.
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
36,499 posts, read 53,933,224 times
Reputation: 47917
My point exactly. We get to know each other pretty well here and I knew this was not your sentiment.
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:48 AM
 
Location: Northern CA
12,770 posts, read 11,543,579 times
Reputation: 4262
Quote:
Originally Posted by kansas sky View Post
mod cut If you own a pet, their care is your responsibility and no one else's. Why should the vet and her staff pay to treat your dog?
That is the answer. Because they are viewed as property and maintaining your property is your responsibility. If you shirk your responsibility, they can take that property from you, or you can transfer ownership.
In this case, there is CareCredit or another form of credit card, for emergencies such as these.

Unless we change their status, these are the only remedies available.
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Northern CA
12,770 posts, read 11,543,579 times
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If you can't afford expensive, prolonged treatments that will likely fail and cause the dog more suffering - you can always elect to humanely euthanize and put the animal out of it's misery. Sometimes that is the compassionate solution with minimum financial harship.
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Old 11-03-2013, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado
544 posts, read 1,437,624 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaMcG View Post
I'm so sorry to hear about Chewie, Meekocat That's a lot for the both of you to go through. Did I read that right, you adopted him when he was 12 or 13 years old? It really warms my heart to read that. Rest in peace, Chewie.
Yes he was a senior dog. The rescue thinks he was dumped due to some of his medical issues and was not taken care of at all before he was dumped. He was a beautiful bi-blue sheltie. Deaf as a doornail and also severely arthritic because when he was found his claws had grown long and curled into his pads. But despite all of that I wanted him. We got him on St. Patrick's Day when we lived in Denver. We moved to Cape Coral, Florida in July. His arthritis immediately improved and he would actually follow me everywhere sheltie-style when in Denver all he could do was lay on his bed. My other sheltie was also a rescue but he was 1 year old when we got him, he's now 12. The same age but 3 times more active. I am a sheltie lover through and through! We adopted Chewie knowing our time with him could be very short and it was, but I know his last months on this earth, he was loved and cared for as he had never been not only by my husband and I but also our cats who loved to walk past him and curl their tails around his neck and rub him. I miss him terribly. I forgot to add that the Vet thinks he had a blood clot go to his lungs, very hard to diagnose except for the symptoms and how fast he went downhill. I've put in an application to foster shelties here, I'm not quite ready to adopt another one but very willing to take one until his forever home can be found.
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Old 11-03-2013, 04:36 PM
 
3,339 posts, read 9,324,740 times
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You're good people, Meekocat. Very good karma is headed your way.
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Old 11-04-2013, 06:56 AM
 
10,599 posts, read 17,847,063 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meekocat View Post
My 13 year old rescue sheltie became ill at the end of September. He already had major medical issues when I adopted him, but I don't think the vet the rescue used really did comprehensive testing last year when they first got him because they wanted to keep their costs down.

Fast forward to end of August when it became obvious he needed to have a dental done. My vet said that due to his heart murmur I would have to take him to a vet specialist and have an echo done and an ultrasound as he had a mass in his abdomen. Had both tests done which cost $650.00 as well as an exam. He had an enlarged heart (4 out of 6 on the scale), partially collapsed trachea, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney disease, and a few other things wrong. The vet said there was no way we could do the dental because of his heart and also said I would have to watch for congestive heart failure. A couple of weeks after the testing he start coughing in a different way. Took him back to the specialist as they were also the ER, after 7 pm. The Vet on duty decided he was in congestive heart failure, put him on oxygen, and started treating him with a diuretic to get the fluid away from his heart. This would impact his kidney disease, and I was quoted $1,000 for a night of treatment which I paid for.

His regular vet came in the next morning, called me, and we kept treating him for the congestive heart failure for another couple of hours as well as keeping him on oxygen. She took him off the drugs and then they carried him outside to see if he could urinate. He collapsed as soon as they put him down and was unable to get up. We had already discussed whether or not I would have to put him to sleep as I'm not rich and couldn't afford a huge vet bill to treat him just because of all of his other health issues.

She called me with an update and told me she took another xray and after the fact it didn't look like there was any fluid around his heart and probably wasn't any the night before, so the diuretic was not necessary (not that she said that mind you). She asked about keeping him on oxygen for another few days but said in the end she'd be surprised if he wasn't back a couple of days after being off the oxygen. It was then that I had to make the very painful decision to put him to sleep. My little guy was only with me for 7 months and his foster mom for 8 months before I adopted him and had suffered enough in his life. Looking back now, I think before I adopt another rescue I will have my vet do the exam instead of theirs so that I can have better health information. I loved Chewie with all my heart and knew that I would have medical expenses with him but not to this degree. And I think the ER Vet should have at least deducted the cost of the diuretic all night since their diagnosis was wrong. X-rays can't be that hard to read. All in all after everything is said, it cost over $2700 to take care of Chewie including putting him to sleep and his cremation. I miss him like crazy.
Emergency rooms are a high cost complex operation.

Your dog had congestive heart failure. All pets with CHF have an enlarged heart. You are assuming he didn't need diuretics why, exactly? I think you don't even understand the nature of CHF. THAT COUGHING IS THE NUMBER ONE SYMPTOM OF CHF. Your dog SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN ON DIURETICS BEFORE THE ER, FOR THE CHF.

He needed OXYGEN because his heart was FAILING to pump enough. Even the second vet told you that - it was CHF!

Quote:
The primary goals of treating congestive heart failure are to reduce this buildup of fluid and to increase the amount of blood being pumped by the heart to the lungs and the rest of the body. These outcomes are meant to improve the quality and length of a pet's life

Diuretics are another group of drugs that cause fluid in the body to be taken up by the kidneys and excreted as urine. These are very effective in treating congestive heart failure, since they remove the excess fluid that has built up. . Your veterinarian will choose the most appropriate diuretic based on each individual animal.
.
Treatments for Pets with Heart Disease: Congestive Heart Failure — Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

I think it's VERY unfair to accuse the ER of lying and assume it's just your grief talking. You wouldn't be the first person to get mad at the ER for their expense after the dog fails to survive.

You did NOT STATE that she showed you xrays and lied about seeing fluid. You stated she started diuretics to keep the fluid away from his heart, which was EXACTLY what she SHOULD HAVE DONE, even WITHOUT fluid showing up on xrays.

OBVIOUSLY, he NEEDED the support the ER was giving him, he COLLAPSED when taken OFF the support. Either your second vet was WRONG to infer the ER doc was "incompetent" or "lying" or YOU misunderstood the entire thing or made assumptions that were wrong.

YOU KNEW your dog was at the end of his life, before the ER. Your vet had already told you he was in end stage-ish congestive heart failure. Nobody would have promised you anything by admitting him to the ER except they would do their best and they DID.

You had the option to euth him that night. What did you think you were buying? Another week or two? IMO you should be THANKING that ER vet for preventing a painful fluid filled lung suffocating death there that night.

Last edited by runswithscissors; 11-04-2013 at 07:24 AM..
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Old 11-04-2013, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Northern CA
12,770 posts, read 11,543,579 times
Reputation: 4262
A word of warning, don't do what I did.
I had a dog that was diagnosed with cushings disease, or a tumor on a gland, they weren't quite sure as I recall but he was given drugs including prednisone. The disease progressed and this cocker spaniel blew up to the point he could barely walk and his breathing was labored. On a Sunday I took him to the ER to have him euthanized and put out of his misery. It was not an easy decision that got me there that day, but I didn't want to prolong his suffering.
Not having his records, they put him in a chamber while running all kinds of tests, to the tune of $700 before they confirmed that he should be put down.
The problem I encountered this day was not returning to my regular vet. The ER didn't know my dog, so they wanted to confirm for themselves that it was hopeless. I think they should have seen his distress and taken my word for it, but they chose not to. That exploded the costs and caused my dog to suffer all the more before he was finally put to rest.
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