Pet Lovers

[Shanus]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

It's sad but i think this is why so many people dump old dogs.  The dogs develop conditions of old age and many families cant afford the high vet bills to maintain them.  The poor dog ends up at animal control confused and scared, wondering what he did to have his family abandon him.

The collie rescue group, with which I've volunteered since 2003, will take any dog in any condition.  Some that come to our attention are very old and all we can do it provide vet care and a comfy, loving home where he can live out his days.

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@Kachina624. That’s so sad, but true. How did I know you’d be the type of woman to be concerned for these collies? 😍

[NickNack]

@Shanus  That's wonderful that Sadie has done so well with her Cushings!  I'll tell my sister.  Her dog has had it for about a year.  She's 14 years old.  I think they caught hers early, too.  As soon as she started needing to go outside more often she took her to the Vet and was diagnosed.

[Shanus]

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@NickNack wrote:

@Shanus  That's wonderful that Sadie has done so well with her Cushings!  I'll tell my sister.  Her dog has had it for about a year.  She's 14 years old.  I think they caught hers early, too.  As soon as she started needing to go outside more often she took her to the Vet and was diagnosed.

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@NickNack  Yes. Sadie began going to the water dish very often and drinking a lot. It was difficult to judge how much, because she & Molly share a dish and a big bowl outside. Within days, she had a few accidents (floods) in the kitchen. She was in at the vet within days. It’s great that your sister was aware of her dog’s potty habits...1st clue. 

[SXMGirl]

Veterinary care can be extremely expensive as our pets get older.  We see so many of them dumped at the shelters for just that reason.  This is why we always take in seniors from the shelters.  It is my little part in paying back and I wish that I could do more.  The ones that I get are too old for pet insurance and we are very lucky to have funds to pay for treatments.  I do wonder how long that will continue as we get older.

[Abrowneyegirl]

We elected to self insure our dogs, and so far we may have broke even on what the insurance/deductible and uncovered expenses.  The non-covered expenses list was too long for our opinion.

We have 2 female dogs and yes both were in the $600 range to be fixed.

Pre-op blood work was NOT optional.  So we timed the surgeries with their scheduled blood work.

Our one surgeon was trained in laser surgery so our one dog was fixed using laser surgery, it cost more and supposedly was to have faster healing.  (???)

When it was time for our second girl that surgeon was not available so she was done the "conventional way"  it saved about $120 and I did not notice any difference in the outcomes.

(Other than my wallet.)

[missy1]

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@Citrine1 wrote:

I'm not typically one to keep unnecessary papers and things of that nature, but for some reason I still have all of my pet records.  

My husband and I got our first dog three weeks after we married in 1983.  When we had her spayed, the vet bill was -- you won't believe it -- $35!

My current female puppy is to be spayed in 2 weeks.  I was given an estimate with a low of $450 to a high of $620.  Isn't that ridiculous?  And that doesn't include the $120 I spent the other day on "pre-op" tests.  I remember when "pre-op" tests weren't done on animals.  It's a racket.  But what can you do?

Do you have a low cost clinic? Here they do spaying/neutering cheap ($75- $150-highest weight of a dog) and have shot clinics once a month.

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[candys mine]

I would do a spay clinic only if I had to.  Personally I like to know who is going to be cutting open my companion and where my pet will be once she or he has been turned over.  Some places keep them overnight because they have shipped them off to another clinic for an assembly line surgery.  If I needed to do that I would but luckily not yet. 

[NickNack]

I wouldn't do a spay and neuter clinic, because the surgery is in an assembly line.  My Vet told me if I would ever see it done I wouldn't allow it on one of my pets.  She said the sutures often come apart, and they aren't given enough (if any) pain meds.  I would never do it.  I doubt that the best anesthesia is used either.

[SeaMaiden]

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@Shanus wrote:

Sadie, who’s 14, went for her regular senior checkup. She goes every 6 months for full checkup and in between for blood work since she takes meds for Cushing. Last week her visit cost $350! Of course, we want her to have excellent care, but then add the meds and separate lab tests...whew!!!! 

Sure glad we have pet insurance!!

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@Shanus    And it does not have to be senior dogs either .  You know my golden who is just 4 had a pacemaker put in him two weeks ago... cost JUST FOR THE SURGERY.... $6000.  The other tests after surgery and prior plus all the medications add another couple thousand dollars...

Pet insurance paid  90% of everything as I had a 10% deductible.  What a relief!  I never thought anything like this life saving surgery would happen to my younger dog!

[GingerPeach]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

It's sad but i think this is why so many people dump old dogs.  The dogs develop conditions of old age and many families cant afford the high vet bills to maintain them.  The poor dog ends up at animal control confused and scared, wondering what he did to have his family abandon him.

The collie rescue group, with which I've volunteered since 2003, will take any dog in any condition.  Some that come to our attention are very old and all we can do it provide vet care and a comfy, loving home where he can live out his days.

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And some of us deliberately only adopt older ones.  I can say I've done that six times and never regretted a single one, even when one dog's care led me to seek a higher paying job (successfully).  They are worth it.  For those who think their vet bills are high, try living in the SF Bay Area.

ETA:  Older dogs are typically not eligible for pet insurance.  None of mine were.