Vet Bills?

[strollingbones]

i have two dogs, thor the dobie, jake the mix, and two fixed male cats, clark the good one,...roland the evil one. Here is my year. Jake gets an ocular ulcer, my vet grids it twice,(eye) makes a blood serum from jakes blood for high drops. used human eye drops...

did you know there are canine opthomoligist?
She is a very nice lady. She grids the eye more aggressively....heals....

how much so far around 900 bucks. I am not rich. I had to do payments etc.

thor gashes the inside of his thigh....er vet to boone.....to clean the wound and make it bigger....the wound had began to heal. ( o yea i feel proud that we didnt notice it for two days but it was up at his groin and it wasnt till he turned over ....man i feel bad enough alright?)

this set me back 291.20 what the hell the 20 cents was I have no clue.

now added on to normal shots, worming, flea treatments...well I just can not afford another free dog or cat lol.....so what is your worse story of stupid vet bill.

and how far will you go to save your pet? one of my dobermans was thought to maybe have bone cancer, i researched it....before the test came back so I knew I would not do the treatment but let him go. (the treatment would have been total amputation of his hip and leg) giving him maybe 3 months to a year.

 

[AllieBaba]

You go as far as you have money to pay.
When you can't afford it, time to thin the population.

I've been lucky in that I've always been able to afford my pets, but I'm ruthless when it comes to not having more than I can afford. I have horses, so we're talking $$ and time and trouble. I've kept horses when I couldn't really afford them, was lucky enough to have a mother to supplement my habit (she's a horse person too) but finally said enough is enough let's sell the lot, and I vowed not to have any more until I could afford them myself, without depending on others, and without praying they wouldn't get injured or ill.

I've never kept more than a couple of house pets...when the older boys were growing up I had one that was always bringing animals home so we had to deal with that. But finally when he grew up I made it real clear to him, you leave that dog here and it WILL be gone when you come back, so he doesn't do that anymore.

My mom always kept more animals than we could accomodate when I was growing up. Made a lasting impression on me, and it's something I won't do. Now we have one dog, thankfully a Russell who doesn't tolerate cats (or any other animal) so I don't have to worry about any other house pets. She keeps the kids busy and they keep her busy, she keeps pests out of my yard and my home (at least I assume so, I don't have any. And the skunk only came once, thank goodness, she sleeps with me and/or the kids in our beds. Under our covers.)

I can treat almost anything myself, including infections, if I can lay hands on the antibiotics which you used to be able to in the feed store. I don't know if you still can or not, it's been so long since I've had to treat anything. Horses I have the vet out if there's infection, otherwise, I haven't known many vets that can tell me much more than I know myself. EXCEPT in the case of illnesses that need to be tested for. Or stitch jobs.

The eye thing, I don't konw I'd spend much more on it myself, but that's just because I couldn't afford it. I'd probably opt for having the eye removed if it was a chronic and/or painful problem. A domestic dog can function fine with one eye.

The leg thing, just one of those things. I think if it was beginning to heal I probably wouldn't have taken him to the vet, but you never know, it sort of depends on how bad it looked and whether it was badly infected or not. I've treated infections with hot compresses before and had pretty good luck (no antibiotics, either, on the one I'm thinking of...an abcessed dog bite). But I'm not anti-vet, either. If I don't feel comfortable with something, it's to the vet we go and damn the torpedoes. Or, to my house the vet comes, damn the torpedoes, the time of day or night, and whether or not it's a holiday....

 

[strollingbones]

i guess i am a sucker. if more showed up i would take them in...and work on getting them better. i just dont mind doing without....i would never removed the eye of a dog if it could be saved.

as for the bills i dont owe anyone any vet bills...*knock on wood* and pay my bills. when i said I make payments....i mean to credit card if I have too.

the leg wound was not going to heal well...right in the inner thight.....next to the groin....I would rather spend the money than have a beat up looking dog.

 

[silverdakota]

I took Savannah for a booster on her rabies shot (she already had the one year 4 months before) because she got within 20 feet of a rabid groundhog. They charged me $90 for a rabies booster and a "psychological" screen, the vet was new. Savannah's perfect, except for being possessed by the Tasmanian Devil.....but come on, $90????

 

[strollingbones]

you paid what for a what? lol....i have to wonder who is mental now?

 

[Shattered]

I spent almost $3000 to save a $600 cat that ended up having to be put to sleep anyway.

 

[Otter_Creek]

I took Savannah for a booster on her rabies shot (she already had the one year 4 months before) because she got within 20 feet of a rabid groundhog. They charged me $90 for a rabies booster and a "psychological" screen, the vet was new. Savannah's perfect, except for being possessed by the Tasmanian Devil.....but come on, $90????

That does seem pretty high for rabies booster.If you have more than one vet near you, you should call and shop their prices before you take in your pet.

 

[silverdakota]

It was actually about $15 for the shot, the rest was for the "pshychological screen". Translation: the vet had a short schedule that week and a car payment coming up.

 

[Otter_Creek]

"pshychological screen"

Okedokie

 

[strollingbones]

It was actually about $15 for the shot, the rest was for the "pshychological screen". Translation: the vet had a short schedule that week and a car payment coming up.

i will bite....what the hell is pshychological screening for a dog? scare them and make them pee...what?

 

[silverdakota]

She just handled Savannah, moved her back legs. I thought she was checking to see if she thought Savannah was a candidate for displacia. Actually, she was seeing what Savannah would do, how she would respond to being handled. Savannah is such a happy dog, she didn't care. Just don't try to clip her nails! But, it blew my mind to be charged so much extra for that.

 

[silverdakota]

Holy crapholy. I just realized this afternoon that my vet charged my $75 to see if Savannah would freak out when she handled her back legs. Good Dog, indeed.

 

[strollingbones]

wouldnt that type of thing be included in the examine fee? and why didnt you question this when you paid? i would have...(admits to spending 132 bucks on two worm pills) man i wished i had noticed that one.

 

[Gem]

My dobie, Sam, cost my husband and I $3000 because he got bloat and almost died. We got two more years with him - some of the best money we ever spent.

I agree, if you can't afford it - you have to remember it is a dog and that you and your family are more important.

But if you can afford it...and you're like me...I'd gladly go without dinners out or new clothes for quite awhile in order to have my dogs safe and with me for as long as possible.

 

[silverdakota]

I feel this way, I WILL afford it where my girls are concerned. I've been pretty fortunate with their health so far. The baby caught parvo at the end of August and I took all my sick days to stay home and nurse her back to health. My vets were very supportive, they sold me a bottle of glucose and showed me how to inject it under her hide to help support her with fluids. But, I thought the "psychological" was a little ridiculous, especially $75 worth of "Let's see what Savannah will do".

 

[OohRah Mama]

When ya take on a responsibility, you voluntarily take on the expense...whether it's a spouse, child or companion - human or animal. JMOHO. But sometimes, it isn't financially possible. It broke my heart to have to pass on an operation for our dog in the early 80's. She had PAD. It is rare, the op would have been experimental, and they offered a discount. But the surgery was going to still be over 2K, and as a young couple with kids dealing with asthma, we simply couldn't swing it.

Curlygirl lived seven more years than they expected her to. Yet I still can barely forgive myself for not being able to try it.


We love our animals, and I'm sure we all do the best we possibly can...

 

[DavidS]

i have two dogs, thor the dobie, jake the mix, and two fixed male cats, clark the good one,...roland the evil one. Here is my year. Jake gets an ocular ulcer, my vet grids it twice,(eye) makes a blood serum from jakes blood for high drops. used human eye drops...

did you know there are canine opthomoligist?
She is a very nice lady. She grids the eye more aggressively....heals....

how much so far around 900 bucks. I am not rich. I had to do payments etc.

thor gashes the inside of his thigh....er vet to boone.....to clean the wound and make it bigger....the wound had began to heal. ( o yea i feel proud that we didnt notice it for two days but it was up at his groin and it wasnt till he turned over ....man i feel bad enough alright?)

this set me back 291.20 what the hell the 20 cents was I have no clue.

now added on to normal shots, worming, flea treatments...well I just can not afford another free dog or cat lol.....so what is your worse story of stupid vet bill.

and how far will you go to save your pet? one of my dobermans was thought to maybe have bone cancer, i researched it....before the test came back so I knew I would not do the treatment but let him go. (the treatment would have been total amputation of his hip and leg) giving him maybe 3 months to a year.

I go to the city shelter in Harlem and adopt a 2 and a half month old pitbull/lab/chow mix. Day 2 after we brought him home he starts vomitting horribly and has terrible dihaeria. Bring him to the vet... exam, blood test, fecal test, etc. $250. He's still vommitting, still sick, acting very ill. Get a call from the vet.. it's parvo virus. Medication after medication later, he finally gets better after 2 weeks. Total cost? $2500.

Two months later... same thing happens again. Can't be parvo again, can it? Nope! My girlfriend at the time wanted him on organic sweet potato and fish dog food that costs $50 for a 8 lb. bag. Guess what? He's allergic to it. In fact, he's allergic to all of that organic crap. What's he not allergic to? Iams lamb and rice. Total cost to find that out? $500.

A year later, he gets into a fight with a dog. Dog bites a hole in his ear, needs to have the ear cleaned out and he needs to get shots. Total cost? $350.

A month later, he starts developing a fungus on his ear. Total anti-fungal treatment, $250.

In between then, he's gotten a stick caught in the roof of his mouth, he's had two splinters, he cut his paw pretty badly on a shard of glass that required stitches, he's became allergic to the Iams dog food, he's had to have his anal glands worked on several times.... In all, this dog has probably cost me nearly $7500. And no, I'm not rich.

So, if I was given the opportunity to adopt this dog again, would I? ABSOLUTELY. He is hilarious. He LOVES to play and catch the frisbee (he's an expert at it), he has a giant stuffed animal that he de-stuffs that I re-stuff just so he can de-stuff again, he plays indoor frisbee and then puts his frisbee down on top of his food bowl and gets angry at the frisbee for blocking his food, he barks at bulldozers, is petrified of the Swiffer wet-jet and cats, he hates horses, he LOVES rolling on his back and throwing his paws up in the air, he LOVES children, he LOVES people... he is an AMAZING boy.

Oh yeah. He just turned 4.



I love him with all of my heart and would do anything for him.

 

[strollingbones]

lol@him being allergic....i use lamb and rice by purina for the "blue" damn doberman...seems their hair falls out easy...very easy and once it falls out...it may grow back or it may not. they have cda due to their being a dilution of the black and tan. during the pet food crisis...i used the organic foods too...way too expensive...and the animals did not go for the 1/2 cup the same as a cup and half theary.

tip on parvo: next time you bring a pup home...dont let in out in the yard....keep it inside and make it use papers for a while...for some reason that will lessen the parvo risk.

i adopted a dog ...small...that turned out to be..."mentally retarded" i swear... the part of the brain over the brain stem never fully developed....leaned to its left and always ran in left handed circles. My husband spend a summer teaching it to go down steps. Never could house break it..had a yellow spot on its chest from urinating on its own chest....i still miss that stupid ass dog.

 

[editec]

I had a cat since kittenhood for over 17 years.

She was incontinent for about two years.

Neither my wife nor myself could bring outselves to put her down, and her vet bills exceeded the money we spend for our health care every year.

At least half the reason I haven't sold my home (while the market was still good, I mean) and found something cheaper is because I have a cat and dog and doubt I can find anyplace suited to their needs.

I am convinced, if I am good, and the Hindus are right, that in my next life I will come back as one of my own pets.

Techically impossible, I know, but hey! We're talking about religion, now, aren't we?

Normal rules of logic need not apply.

 

[strollingbones]

o honey hush....i had a cat..got him during gulf war 1....named him saddam who kitty...
at the end when i took him to the 5th vet and had records from the last 3...the vet was very gentle but firm ...my cat had a mass in his stomach...i had been bagging fluids for him...for months...he was to the point that he hated the stuff....the vet looked at the inches of vet files and reports and told me it was over. Sometimes you have to accept that we keep them alive long after nature would have let go.