Q: Fiscal prudence when caring for a sick pet?

[rs999]

My dog hurt herself last night chasing a cat underneath my dad's car.

She now walks with a limp and can't put weight on her rear right leg.

I know this is going to be an expensive trip to the vet once they call me back to confirm my appointment.

So my question is this, how far should one go into vet bills before choosing to not continue? I know it sounds cold and calculating but is there some formula to this?

My dog is sometimes like a child to me and other times my best bud for the three years I have had her and I raised her from a pup.

But if I am facing 5, 10K USD in vet bills should I just go ahead and pay?

Thanks for anyone who has had experience in this.

[Atropine]

Give her a day or two and see if she feels better.

May have just sprained something and it may not be a big deal.

If she is in obvious agony...then its different.

Also, how old is the dog? They cope extremely well.

-Signed a Health Care Professional who works with humans

EDIT: My Father in law has a crazy dog that managed to get his foot run over by a combine track. He probably broke some bones in his foot. Well, he is fine now. Tail wags and he runs with a slight limp...but he is still a happy stupid dog. Not in any obvious pain.

[Ammonia]

I know it sucks ass, but even though I love my dog, I would put my financial security before it every time. Just a harsh reality.

Theres a point where I'll stop, I haven't run into it yet. It cost me $400 to get her broken leg fixed, but I don't think I'd be able to stomach a $1k+ bill, especially if there was no guarantee of results.

Like Atropine said, dogs are pretty resilient. Spraining her leg crawling under a car hardly seems like a $5000-$10000 bill

[rs999]

Originally Posted by Atropine

Give her a day or two and see if she feels better.

May have just sprained something and it may not be a big deal.

If she is in obvious agony...then its different.

Also, how old is the dog? They cope extremely well.

-Signed a Health Care Professional who works with humans

EDIT: My Father in law has a crazy dog that managed to get his foot run over by a combine track. He probably broke some bones in his foot. Well, he is fine now. Tail wags and he runs with a slight limp...but he is still a happy stupid dog. Not in any obvious pain.

She is three years old and I have had her since 8 weeks old. She does not look like she is in pain, she just tripod jumps around, and she jumped on and off the couch last night when I wasn't looking, so I know she has some mobility.

However, she cannot use stairs anymore so I have to carry her in and out of the house to use the bathroom.

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by rs999

She is three years old and I have had her since 8 weeks old. She does not look like she is in pain, she just tripod jumps around, and she jumped on and off the couch last night when I wasn't looking, so I know she has some mobility.

However, she cannot use stairs anymore so I have to carry her in and out of the house to use the bathroom.

Take her to the vet and give it some time.
My dog was attacked by another dog and suffered nerve damage, couldn't even move when I took him to the emergency vet. It took a couple of months but he can gimp along pretty well now. Well enough to go up stairs but it takes him a little longer.
That was much more severe. I'm going to assume your dog will probably be fine.

[f0rge]

That's always a tough emotional choice. Really depends on person to person.

That being said I don't think I could ever do $5k, maybe $1k but even that's a lot.

[headlikeahole]

It depends what your financial situation looks like. If you're loaded but you don't want to pay 5g to fix up your dog then I'd probably call you a prick. If you're making average income then thats a different story. Dogs are animals and sometimes you just need to let nature run it's course.

I have an acquaintance who spent thousands of dollars getting her dog chemo + surgery just so it can live an extra 2 years, only to die from a different cancer. Don't think she makes much more then minimum wage. Thats insane.

[rs999]

Originally Posted by headlikeahole

It depends what your financial situation looks like. If you're loaded but you don't want to pay 5g to fix up your dog then I'd probably call you a prick. If you're making average income then thats a different story. Dogs are animals and sometimes you just need to let nature run it's course.

I have an acquaintance who spent thousands of dollars getting her dog chemo + surgery just so it can live an extra 2 years, only to die from a different cancer. Don't think she makes much more then minimum wage. Thats insane.

She is at the vet now getting X-Rays. Nothing is broken according to the doctor so there may be a tear in something in that leg.

But I hear you on the 5K. I'm not loaded but I am middle class enough to buy a FR-S as a fun weekend car.

All I could hear as the doctor was talking to me was cash registers ringing. BTW, her X-Rays were $300 and I didn't even blink.

[King Tut]

I have had multiple dogs that would hurt a leg and then avoid putting pressure on it, but it normally heals just fine in a short period of time. I just spent a little over $1k on my 8 year old dog over the last 2 months when she went blind. Multiple vet and dog eye specialist trips, medications, eye drops, and surgery later, she is still blind. The diagnosis was glaucoma in both eyes which damaged both optical nerves and she got an injection in both eyes to stop the fluid build up and pressure. I didn't think she was in pain prior to going to the vet, so I was hessitant to spend any money also fearing a large bill. I had just accepted she was blind and still had a good quality of life, but my parents forced me to go. Supposedly glaucoma causes headaches in dogs, and after the surgery she has seemed a little more lively and seems to be getting around the house much better despite being blind. In the end, I know I would have spent whatever it took to give her the best quality of life even if it meant going into debt.

[Dadhawk]

Having grown up in a very rural area where we raised a lot of our own food (chickens/pigs/cows/etc), I probably have a skewed view from some but here goes.

I love my dogs, they are always family members and I always form a tight bond with them. That said, I will not spend more on treatment for them than I consider reasonable. That changes depending on my own financial situation, but right now it would be about $1,000 for any single incident, and maybe $100 or so for monthly treatment of "treatable and curable" disease.

I am not going to give a pet chemo treatments, insulin treatments (yes, I know someone that does that) or other extreme measures. Two reasons, it makes no financial sense, and it makes no sense to put the dog through that pain. It's a quality of life thing.

I'll be there for them at the end, and will cry when they are gone, I'll miss them, and then move on to the next pet to bring into the pack.

[pushrod]

Do you have children, or a family member in need? If so, the money spent on the dog is best spent there instead.

People >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> animals.

[rs999]

Originally Posted by pushrod

Do you have children, or a family member in need? If so, the money spent on the dog is best spent there instead.

People >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> animals.

I'm single at the moment, I got the dog 3 years ago for pet companionship.

The dog's X-rays have not comeback yet. But she was prescribed a painkiller, anti inflammatory, and 2 weeks of zero activity.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by rs999

...The dog's X-rays have not comeback yet. But she was prescribed a painkiller, anti inflammatory, and 2 weeks of zero activity.

It sounds like she will be fine with a little time and you'll avoid the hard decision or big bills (I know that is relative!).

Like @Atropine and @Ammonia said dogs are pretty resilient when it comes to injuries. They also adapt pretty quickly to any long term effects of injuries.

Best of luck to both of you!

[alan.chalkley]

Here in australia we buy medical insurance for our dogs and it pays for most of those unexpected treatments.