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I've had Friederik for just over 4 months now, and I've spent over $3,000. I had to pay a vet bill when I rescued him because it wasn't in his "rescuer's" budget to take him in for emergency veterinary care and surgery after he got attacked by a Doberman the night before we picked him up. That came to $971. Just over this past holiday weekend, I spent over $2,000 at an emergency, specialty vet to find out that he had Addison's Disease and to keep him from going into an Addisonian Crisis. Then here have been other smaller vet bills, totally probably $200 or $300. I'm now looking at probably close to $100 a month in medications for him for the rest of his life (he's now 3 to 4 years old).
When you were posting over this past week and I thought about how he had to go to ER before you even got to bring him home after adopting him. As awful as last weeks experience was, your ER deserves props for catching it so quickly as Addison’s is often very difficult to diagnose and often goes undiagnosed for years. When I was trying to save My dog who was diagnosed with pancreatitis but we could not bring him back over the course of two months, the vet actually said he wanted to look for a zebra, and tested for Addison’s.
When you were posting over this past week and I thought about how he had to go to ER before you even got to bring him home after adopting him. As awful as last weeks experience was, your ER deserves props for catching it so quickly as Addison’s is often very difficult to diagnose and often goes undiagnosed for years. When I was trying to save My dog who was diagnosed with pancreatitis but we could not bring him back over the course of two months, the vet actually said he wanted to look for a zebra, and tested for Addison’s.
You referred to your dog as "him," and mine is also a male. Since roughly 70% of dogs with Addison's are female, it kind of stands to reason that it's not the first thing that would come to a vet's mind when dealing with a male dog, particularly with one that has symptoms as vague as mine did. I have heard Addison's referred to as "the great pretender" and "the great imitator" so I'm really grateful that we had the ER doc we did. And I have so much faith in my regular vet that I think we may be able to plan on a long, happy life.
I'd tell you but you wouldn't believe me. lol We've had dogs and cats for years and years but had a two year break in 2001. Over the next three or four years we found ourselves with four dogs and fostering several dogs as well. Like another poster said, most of our expenses have come near the end of their lives.
My French Bulldog easily cost us over $20,000 the last four years of his life. He had arthritis most of his life. Arthroscopic surgery on both elbows, then he broke an elbow four years ago and then again just a month after. Ugh. All that was very expensive. And we'd do it all over again. He died last July.
We also lost our Lab mix the same month and now have two Boston Terrier gals ages almost 14 and 13. The oldest has had multiple surgeries for bump/lump removal...all were cancerous but for now she's doing well. The 13 year old is good too.
All four dogs had dentals last year...that was almost $4000 right there. I'm thankful we've been able to afford caring for our pets. They are definitely worth it. I've told my husband he can't retire. lol
4k for dentals! Seriously thats almost a thousand for cleaning teeth and what not.
I had to put down my 13 year old dog a few years ago because I couldn't afford the 6000 dollar surgery bill
I will spend whatever I can in small bits and pieces here and have a CareCredit card account just for vet emergencies which has helped immensely in the past. Everyone has a limit on what they can spend, and it can be sad, but the same is true for people.
OH LOL! At the dentals! I had one vet saying my dog needed SERIOUSLY expensive teeth cleaning (like 1,000 dollars) and then another vet saying that was ridiculous and didn't need it. Hmmmm
Aquarius37I had to put down my 13 year old dog a few years ago because I couldn't afford the 6000 dollar surgery bill
I will spend whatever I can in small bits and pieces here and have a CareCredit card account just for vet emergencies which has helped immensely in the past. Everyone has a limit on what they can spend, and it can be sad, but the same is true for people.
I have always said "I will spend my last dime to save my pup, but will not spend a penny to watch him suffer"....people have thier limits, as do I....both Dollars and quality of life comes into play.....how much quality after surgery for a 13 y/o ?. We even sold our Townhouse, and moved into a rental to finance a pups health. It later lead to where we are today, in a new house, different state with better jobs and a brighter future....things happen for a reason.
I was spending tons. Was getting all the vaccines at regular vet visits. My dog is susceptible to ear infections and it felt like we were constantly in that first two years. Finally found a great vet who gave me a huge supply of the ear antibiotics and that cut down several hundred in visits a year. He occasionally has stomach issues which cost a bunch at the start but I've learned how to work around it. I consider his grooming part of vet care as he needs it for health, especially ears, and I'm not able to do it myself. In all I guess I spend at least several hundred a year just for vet care. I also use a higher quality food which I think has helped keep vet costs down this year.
In the course of the last 20 years (4 labs all gone and a young Springer) $20K-$25K. Some Big things at the end in each case which were very expensive (and didn't buy us much other than piece of mind), plus a couple ACL surgeries mixed in there.
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