Our kids have been begging us for a dog for quite awhile. So finally we get a dog, free, American Eskimo breed. This was on Monday. This dog is about a year old, housetrained, and seems really nice. Very calm and gentle. The original owner cared for the dog, but worked long hours and couldn't give her enough attention.
Monday night the SWMBO gives the dog a bath and notices a large lump on her abdomen. We take her to the vet on Tuesday and he thinks it might be a possible hernia, but has to explore to find out. Since he is going out of town in two weeks and doesn't seem overly concerned, we decide to keep an eye on things.
Friday night the lump is noticeably bigger. We take her to a 24hour vet clinic. They determine that the lump is infected and is an abcess requiring surgery. (About 2000 dollars worth of surgery). Now the dog has only been with us for a few days, but has bonded with the entire family. I was probably the most reluctant, but even i liked this dog. The surgery proceeds. We leave the vet at about 1AM and were planning on calling in the morning for an update. Vet calls us at 6:30AM and the surgery is over, but the dog is going into cardiac arrest and dying.
So a bit later my wife calls the original owners who offer to come pick up the dog and bury her on their property. The guy also says that he will pay the vet bill which ends up only being about 1000, because she didn't survive. The kids and us are upset most of the day, and they made a little shrine for the dog where her food and water dish used to be.
It's amazing how much of an impact an animal can make in a short time. Wish the dog would have made it, regardless of the cost.
Has anybody else been in a similar situation, willing to spend whatever it takes to keep your pet alive? I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be, if she had lived with us for a few years.
Monday night the SWMBO gives the dog a bath and notices a large lump on her abdomen. We take her to the vet on Tuesday and he thinks it might be a possible hernia, but has to explore to find out. Since he is going out of town in two weeks and doesn't seem overly concerned, we decide to keep an eye on things.
Friday night the lump is noticeably bigger. We take her to a 24hour vet clinic. They determine that the lump is infected and is an abcess requiring surgery. (About 2000 dollars worth of surgery). Now the dog has only been with us for a few days, but has bonded with the entire family. I was probably the most reluctant, but even i liked this dog. The surgery proceeds. We leave the vet at about 1AM and were planning on calling in the morning for an update. Vet calls us at 6:30AM and the surgery is over, but the dog is going into cardiac arrest and dying.
So a bit later my wife calls the original owners who offer to come pick up the dog and bury her on their property. The guy also says that he will pay the vet bill which ends up only being about 1000, because she didn't survive. The kids and us are upset most of the day, and they made a little shrine for the dog where her food and water dish used to be.
It's amazing how much of an impact an animal can make in a short time. Wish the dog would have made it, regardless of the cost.
Has anybody else been in a similar situation, willing to spend whatever it takes to keep your pet alive? I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be, if she had lived with us for a few years.