My dog needs a $9,000 operation. What would you do?

[ms_ann_thrope]

My cat needed a $6,000 procedure. I applied for Care Credit, which is basically a credit card for medical, and paid it down.

It was tough, though.

You know you could buy about 100 cats for that right?

 

[KUJACK]

I have a 7 year old full bred German Shepherd that was imported from Germany as a puppy.


He has a blown out disk in his spine and needs surgery by a dog neurosurgeon. I already had a consult and ran tests and X-rays which cost my $1,200. That is not part of the $9,000 estimate.

He's in good health otherwise. I would hate to have to put him down. He is 7 and could very well live to 12 or more.

If it is your dog, what do you do?

And no, I don't have 9 grand handy to get this done.

I have done this before, firstly check out discount vets, then weigh the decisions. I can't tell you what is the best, but you pet will always love you no matter what. Debt is bad. Choose to relieve your pet from misery, when it happens. Then put him down with grief.

 

[BettyPoop]

Put him to sleep and

go to the pound and rescue another dog.

 

[pointless]

You know you could buy about 100 cats for that right?

people pay for cats?

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

people pay for cats?

They usually make you get them shots. Yeah. It's a scam.

 

[pointless]

don't be silly. there's barely any meat on the fuckers. nothing good anyway.

 

[neptune7]

I'd just thought I would put my 2 cents in... In July, one of my huskies needed cataracts surgery and there was a small window of opportunity because the glaucoma was getting pretty bad. It was a choice to do it or wait to remove her eyes in a year. She's only 7 years with well controlled diabetes, so I decided to go ahead with surgery. In total it has cost about $7000 so far, but I don't regret it one bit. She is so happy and is like a new dog.

I really think the choice should be about quality of life of your pet. Its your dog and I'm sure you love it but this is a hard decision. If it's finacial concerns you have, you may want to look into gofundme.com to assist with some or maybe all of the costs.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

[sufisaint]

Its a heart breaking choice...either way...i know with hip replacement in shepards its a fifty percent chance of success..so i let my first shepard do her best..she lived to fourteen and the last month was rough so i had to put her down..so hard to do but best....i so sorry you got to choose.

 

[colddiesel]

This is a load of garbage. .

Even the smallest amount of reading will inform you that German Shepherds are notorious for spinal problems, largely caused by inbreeding the sloping back for show purposes.

The best solution for the animal's welfare is to kill it cleanly and efficiently. Tough decision, but keeping it alive would be a cruel self indulgence. Do it now because this is not going to get better.

 

[warrior queen]

Most places (at least in Australia) won't insure an animal once it hits the age of 7.

We were almost in this situation a month or so ago with our 7 year old Border Collie who collapsed one afternoon. They thought it was a snake bite and he'd end up needing about $12,000 worth of anti-venom and hospitalisation time to recover. Luckily they were wrong and his care was different and only around $3000 for 24 hours.

I feel for you and your decision, it is a truly difficult one to make and only you can really decide what is best for you and your dog.

Insurance should be bought when you first get your puppy or kitten.
You generally can only get Pet Insurance during the first year.
But having it, at a couple of $/week, would have solved the op's problems.... hence my advice for next time.

 

[colddiesel]

Most places (at least in Australia)

I feel for you and your decision, it is a truly difficult one to make and only you can really decide what is best for you and your dog.

My bolds.

Correction, what is best for your dog. "you" doesn't come into the equation.

 

[Paendragon]

You know you could buy about 100 cats for that right?

I haven't bought any of my cats. Two of them followed me home. I'm like the crazy cat lady. If she was male.

 

[Paendragon]

Only in the best restaurants.

Oh yes, I went there.

don't be silly. there's barely any meat on the fuckers. nothing good anyway.

Apparently you can eat them in Pennsylvania.

 

[Que]

I haven't bought any of my cats. Two of them followed me home. I'm like the crazy cat lady. If she was male.

I got my first cat because I thought it belonged to the lady I bought my first house from. I didn't want to shoo it away, was just sure it was scared and lost.

It was scared...but it had run away from the irresponsible house down the street that had like 20 black cats... the strong survive there and my cat (the wuss) had a chewed up tail.

When she hadn't scooped it up in a couple of days I called her about her cat. She was quite concerned. She laughed when I described her cat that i was now keeping indoors to protect it from further injury...(I didn't know the tail was the product of an internecine battle)

By then it was my cat.

I refused to buy a litter box and trained it to use the doggy door and the great outdoors.

I took him for a ride to meet the kittens that my fiance insisted on obtaining shortly before she was to move in. As soon as I opened the car door at her apt complex he ran away, never to be seen again.

I shoulda followed him farther down the railroad track, and we both shoulda both kept going.

 

[Paendragon]

I got my first cat because I thought it belonged to the lady I bought my first house from. I didn't want to shoo it away, was just sure it was scared and lost.

It was scared...but it had run away from the irresponsible house down the street that had like 20 black cats... the strong survive there and my cat (the wuss) had a chewed up tail.

When she hadn't scooped it up in a couple of days I called her about her cat. She was quite concerned. She laughed when I described her cat that i was now keeping indoors to protect it from further injury...(I didn't know the tail was the product of an internecine battle)

By then it was my cat.

I refused to buy a litter box and trained it to use the doggy door and the great outdoors.

I took him for a ride to meet the kittens that my fiance insisted on obtaining shortly before she was to move in. As soon as I opened the car door at her apt complex he ran away, never to be seen again.

I shoulda followed him farther down the railroad track, and we both shoulda both kept going.

Twenty cats is a lot, unless you're running some sort of rescue.

I have a black cat who was a stray. She was abused, and a bit nasty because if it. Showed up in the yard missing patches of fur and with the tip of her tail broken. I fed her, and she jumped in my lap. I thought she had to belong to someone. Or I could find a home for her.

Turns out she adopted me and only me. Anyone else got close to her she was furry fury.

Even I would get the occasional scratch. Took me over six months to rehabilitate her, and get her socialized . . . and by then she was my cat.

The other stray was also abused. Physically. If you move your hand too quickly he flinches and runs off. He's a work in progress.

All my cats are indoor only, though.

 

[CandiCame]

I don't know enough about canine spines to answer this question. I know a slipped disk hurts like a motherfucker on a human, but won't kill you, because my mom has several of them and hasn't had the surgeries because spinal surgery is super risky and she's weird about putting shit in her spine. She a hardcore druggie who went through multiple pregnancies with no epidural. And I don't have $9000 put back. So I would pretty much have the same questions everyone else does. Like will it affect his quality of life or can he just take a bunch of doggie narcotics- which have to be a thing, because they give them pain meds after surgery, and be fine in the same manner a human can? Because if he can get by without the surgery and the surgery is both expensive and dangerous, I'd be weary about it. I don't know how different they are where they're quadrapeds. I know very, very little about veterinary medicine of any kind... I'm not a good person to ask this question. Because generally with other people, and animals, I don't ask them to do things I wouldn't do myself. And I know that I wouldn't splurge $9,000 on a surgery I didn't really want. I'd be really reluctant to have a doctor do that to BiteSize. I mean, I'd at least drive her to Lexington, and I'm pretty sure the government would cover that, that's not even a price thing, that's a "I've seen way too many surgery fuck-ups to let you cut my baby's spine open- that's where she keeps her central nerves that branch out into her entire peripheral nervous system, and 1 out of 5 medical professionals is currently high as shit."

 

[John Doe]

I don't know enough about canine spines to answer this question. I know a slipped disk hurts like a motherfucker on a human, but won't kill you, because my mom has several of them and hasn't had the surgeries because spinal surgery is super risky and she's weird about putting shit in her spine. She a hardcore druggie who went through multiple pregnancies with no epidural.

And I don't have $9000 put back. So I would pretty much have the same questions everyone else does. Like will it affect his quality of life or can he just take a bunch of doggie narcotics- which have to be a thing, because they give them pain meds after surgery, and be fine in the same manner a human can? Because if he can get by without the surgery and the surgery is both expensive and dangerous, I'd be weary about it. I don't know how different they are where they're quadrapeds. I know very, very little about veterinary medicine of any kind...

I'm not a good person to ask this question. Because generally with other people, and animals, I don't ask them to do things I wouldn't do myself. And I know that I wouldn't splurge $9,000 on a surgery I didn't really want. I'd be really reluctant to have a doctor do that to BiteSize. I mean, I'd at least drive her to Lexington, and I'm pretty sure the government would cover that, that's not even a price thing, that's a "I've seen way too many surgery fuck-ups to let you cut my baby's spine open- that's where she keeps her central nerves that branch out into her entire peripheral nervous system, and 1 out of 5 medical professionals is currently high as shit."

I'm fairly sure veterinarians already know what a spine is.

Also, you're welcome again.

 

[marshalt]

I haven't bought any of my cats. Two of them followed me home. I'm like the crazy cat lady. If she was male.

All my cats die.

 

[CandiCame]

I'm fairly sure veterinarians already know what a spine is.

Also, you're welcome again.

I'm sure a human doctor does too and we have specialists. For just humans. Spines aren't something you let a general practitioner fuck around with so I know I wouldn't trust a single vet's opinion, which isn't what the OP did either so I'm not entirely sure what you meant by that. I can't believe that anyone would just trust a vet, not a specialist, with a spinal injury. And sure as hell not a $9000 one.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

It's your critter - they always are.


I just can't see making my life harder to save theirs.


I tell the cats sometimes, "don't get anything too serious, because you won't survive it."


They look at me like I've lost my mind.

 

[Que]

Twenty cats is a lot, unless you're running some sort of rescue.

I have a black cat who was a stray. She was abused, and a bit nasty because if it. Showed up in the yard missing patches of fur and with the tip of her tail broken. I fed her, and she jumped in my lap. I thought she had to belong to someone. Or I could find a home for her.

Turns out she adopted me and only me. Anyone else got close to her she was furry fury.

Even I would get the occasional scratch. Took me over six months to rehabilitate her, and get her socialized . . . and by then she was my cat.

The other stray was also abused. Physically. If you move your hand too quickly he flinches and runs off. He's a work in progress.

All my cats are indoor only, though.

The neighbors didn't spay or neuter and just put pans of food out nightly and let the cats fight over the food. Most of the cats were black.

I have never met a black cat I didn't like. I have a theory about that. Since people are superstitious, only those able to ingratiate themselves get homes. Also, like your cat, rotten people act fearful around or abuse black cats so they appreciate kindness.

Mine was named cat, because he started answering to it before I knew he was my cat, and I didn't know that his name was. I taught him the way I would a dog. He would come, sit, and the best trick I ever taught a cat: Go away.

 

[NickiC]

Twenty cats is a lot, unless you're running some sort of rescue.

I have a black cat who was a stray. She was abused, and a bit nasty because if it. Showed up in the yard missing patches of fur and with the tip of her tail broken. I fed her, and she jumped in my lap. I thought she had to belong to someone. Or I could find a home for her.

Turns out she adopted me and only me. Anyone else got close to her she was furry fury.

Even I would get the occasional scratch. Took me over six months to rehabilitate her, and get her socialized . . . and by then she was my cat.

The other stray was also abused. Physically. If you move your hand too quickly he flinches and runs off. He's a work in progress.

All my cats are indoor only, though.

Mine too. My little rescue died this year from something she ate that I don't know. She escaped back to the streets and she came home unable to eat. I have not been able to get another cat because my heart was broken. She was a clown who learned to open doors and cabinets. But to the OP if it costs that much I would say No. It is not about the money but the amount says a lot.

 

[Laurel]

Whenever I've taken on a pet, I made the same commitment I made when I added a child.

That's always been my view of it. But then again, I don't have human children. My pet is my child.

It's your critter - they always are.

It all depends on your value system and how you view pets. Some people see them as "just animals" - living things you keep as a hobby. Other people (a group which includes myself) feel that animals have rich internal lives and dreams/feelings, that they are special and important - even if they aren't as "smart" as us. They are a responsibility which shouldn't be thrown away when they become boring/a burden/expensive/etc.

The health of my human family is always top priority. My furry family is a very close second top priority. Below all that is stuff. I wouldn't sacrifice Manu's health for my cat's, but I would happily sacrifice stuff, pull the belt tighter financially.

I worked with a man who put his dog down in similar situations - only he had the cash to pay for the surgery. The cash was money he was saving to buy a pair of jetskis for him and his wife. Personally, I was pretty horrified by his decision, but I kept it to myself because it was his decision to make. I still liked and respected him. He was who he was.

So to answer your explicit question: I would pay for the operation. I would take out a loan if I had to, or put it on a credit card or two, or work out a payment plan with the vet. That's what I would do in your situation.

To answer your implicit question: I think you need to make a decision you can live with forever. And realize there's a difference between "I can't make it work financially" and "making it work financially would be mean putting off a vacation/jetskis/adding to my credit card debt/etc. and I don't really want to do that." And it's fine if you don't - just be aware of what choice your making - because once you've made it, you can't unmake it.

I'll like you just as much either way.

Sorry you're in such a situation.

 

[Laurel]

All my cats die.

Pretty sure all cats do.

 

[richard_daily]

Can you look into financing?