Dog help- bandaid on a gunshot wound

OK, let the flaming begin....

Man, I guess some folks on here got some fat bankrolls. To "not bat an eye" at a $2400 vet bill, you must have some heavy cash on hand. $7,000 last year alone? I'm not bashing you if you spend the cash - good for you if can do it and are willing to do it. My guess is most of us can't. Maybe I'm wrong.

I just got a relatively simple procedure done on MY OWN lousy toe for Christ's sake and I'm scrambling to come up with the cash to pay for it.

Look, I get that we all love our dogs and would do "almost" anything for them. The guys who are posting that you shouldn't have a pet if you can't spend "whatever it takes" on them to get them fixed are way out of line IMHO. So only rich folks who can spend $3,000 at a moments notice should have dogs? Please......

Dogs are NOT kids. They're pets. Yes, they are a very special and big part of our lives but they are not humans. If my dog gets sick (and he has and will again - he's 15 yo now, thanks to my awesome care for him) I will not bankrupt myself to give him a few months or even years to live, especially if it means he'll be limping around or in pain the whole time. That's not how dogs are supposed to exist.

Dogs are happy when they are prowling around the perimeter, making sure the coast is clear, playing with you and the kids, guarding the house at night, etc. Laying around lame is not what they want.

As an adult, I've put down a dog and it was an emotional, traumatic experience. I wept for him as he slipped away in my arms. I did it because it was necessary (mortal) and/or financial (way too expensive to try to fix). Either way, I felt it was the right thing to do at the time.

As a pet owner you have to put things into perspective, even if it's hard as hell to do at the time. OP, make your decision based on what you think is right for you, your family and your dog. Don't be "guilted" into doing something you think isn't right for for you and your family.

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Originally Posted by GilpinGuy

OK, let the flaming begin....

Man, I guess some folks on here got some fat bankrolls. To "not bat an eye" at a $2400 vet bill, you must have some heavy cash on hand. $7,000 last year alone? I'm not bashing you if you spend the cash - good for you if can do it and are willing to do it. My guess is most of us can't. Maybe I'm wrong.

I just got a relatively simple procedure done on MY OWN lousy toe for Christ's sake and I'm scrambling to come up with the cash to pay for it.

Look, I get that we all love our dogs and would do "almost" anything for them. The guys who are posting that you shouldn't have a pet if you can't spend "whatever it takes" on them to get them fixed are way out of line IMHO. So only rich folks who can spend $3,000 at a moments notice should have dogs? Please......

Dogs are NOT kids. They're pets. Yes, they are a very special and big part of our lives but they are not humans. If my dog gets sick (and he has and will again - he's 15 yo now, thanks to my awesome care for him) I will not bankrupt myself to give him a few months or even years to live, especially if it means he'll be limping around or in pain the whole time. That's not how dogs are supposed to exist.

Dogs are happy when they are prowling around the perimeter, making sure the coast is clear, playing with you and the kids, guarding the house at night, etc. Laying around lame is not what they want.

As an adult, I've put down a dog and it was an emotional, traumatic experience. I wept for him as he slipped away in my arms. I did it because it was necessary (mortal) and/or financial (way too expensive to try to fix). Either way, I felt it was the right thing to do at the time.

As a pet owner you have to put things into perspective, even if it's hard as hell to do at the time. OP, make your decision based on what you think is right for you, your family and your dog. Don't be "guilted" into doing something you think isn't right for for you and your family.

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I agree. A lot of the above is the reason I didn't want a dog (or cat). Of course, I got veto'd by the wife on the dog, and dread the day when he has problems that an older dog inevitably has. She is EXTREMELY attached to him, and it would devastate her to lose him.

I dealt with the pain of losing a long term pet as a kid and decided it wasn't for me. I adopted my parrot about 4 or 5 years ago. With any luck, she will out live me.

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?

comparing your grandma to a dog is a stupid argument

There is a vet at "The Max Fund", named Dr. Uhmloff (Not sure of the spelling)

He is an ACL expert- he'd give you good/honest feedback

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Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?

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I guess that'd just depend on your family now wouldn't it. My wife would sell her parents to drug experimentation trials just to get funds for a new toy for our dog. And today I'd wipe out my bank account to pay for the dog I had to put to sleep a year ago yesterday.

But there are limits to what you can spend based on how much money you have. That's just life, and that's Ronin's question. So here's my answer. Honestly look at how much you could afford to spend, and then get a second opinion on both treatment and cost. I've noticed that prices vary a lot between one vet and another. Dogs and people have gotten hurt for millions of years without surgery, and it may be manageable with just meds and making sure to take it easy.

Either way, you will feel bad. If you spend all the $ on the surgery, you'll feel bad for spending it. If you don't, you'll feel guilty. There isn't an easy answer here, just do the best you can afford to do, and no matter what, make his remaining time as good as possible no matter the decision.

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Originally Posted by hatidua

I wouldn't bat an eye at paying $2400 for a fix like that. I spent over $7K at the vet last year alone on far less significant issues for two dogs that are over ten years old. Dogs can get costly as they age. If a person can't afford to take care of children, they shouldn't have them....and that should apply to pets as well.

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Absolutely agree!!!

ps, ask a vet not a bunch of gun enthusiasts on the fucking internet

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Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?

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IF my grandmother OR ANY FAMILY member was terminal AND euthanasia was Legal. We'd weight the quality of life vs the level of pain and do as necessary. There comes a time as i mentioned before. You must do what's right for your companion vs. what you feel is right for you. How much pain and suffering do you want any one or animal to go through, just to satisfy your own issues?

In another post a board member complained about the "cost' to deal with their dog's UTI and other issues. He felt the animal shelter and foster home could have done more or caught thses issues earlier.
YET he acknowledges the pet was not taken to a vet for 6 months after adoption! ! ! Everyone else is at fault? ?

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Originally Posted by jim

IF my grandmother OR ANY FAMILY member was terminal AND euthanasia was Legal. We'd weight the quality of life vs the level of pain and do as necessary. There comes a time as i mentioned before. You must do what's right for your companion vs. what you feel is right for you. How much pain and suffering do you want any one or animal to go through, just to satisfy your own issues?

In another post a board member complained about the "cost' to deal with their dog's UTI and other issues. He felt the animal shelter and foster home could have done more or caught thses issues earlier.
YET he acknowledges the pet was not taken to a vet for 6 months after adoption! ! ! Everyone else is at fault? ?

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Exactly!

Pre-diabetic symptoms are easily identified during REGULAR wellness exams and blood work.

And hell yes, euthanasia should be an option for the terminal.

Trust me, you are not burning any bridges by treating it conservatively and waiting. If he is suffering three months from now your decision will be easy. He is still in the inflammatory stages of healing. Two to three months from now you will know how bad the tear is and how it affects him and your family. Remember, Most Vets and MD are salesman/business men also. They have to make a living as well. The more surgeries they do the more money they make. Maybe spending $4000 is not necessary. I sell implants that go into people and most screws are $12 bucks. But the hospitals mark them up 300 to 400%. And you wonder why healthcare is out of control. The greasy hospitals that are building new hospitals like crazy. But it's the $12 screws fault.

Get a prescription for Carprofen. It's like ibuprofen fr dogs. Give it regular for the first couple weeks, then just as needed when he starts gimping around. He usually doesn't need it unless we are camping or he is swimming and splashing around the river and walking on uneven rocks. He will be good as new in a month or two. The first two weeks suck. We where second guessing ourselves. But we waited and all is good.