Bummer and a big decision...

[Dude]

Well, our little dachsund hurt her back somehow yesterday, so I had to take her to the vet today. Well, 400 dollars later, she is now on steroids and has to be in solitary confinement for 6 weeks in her kennel and can't move.

The alternative is a 3000 dollar surgery that involves an MRI.

If that route has to be taken, well, she's an 8 year old dog. I'll never spend that. Honestly, I was pretty reluctant spending the 400 today to tell the truth. But, unfortunately it is my wife's B-day today, and to put down her little Dixie would have been heartbreaking.

I cannot believe I just spent 5 hunge on a dog, I really can't. Hopefully this does the trick, because the next step is well, you know.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Crap...really sorry to hear that. To be honest, it was relatively recent in life that I even realized people spent that kind of money on pets (even cats!). Where I'm from you always got a broken leg or something fixed, but you'd have been committed if you were to take a pet in for cancer treatment.

Still, people get more than attached to their pets and I understand that.

 

[Cheesefood]

When you purchase a pet, you purchase a small tragedy in the making. My wife is psychotic about our dog, and I know that when Cookie's day comes, my wife will have to be put on anti-depressants. I mean, I'll probably cry too, but my wife won't be able to handle it.

Good luck with your pooch and let's hope she gets better.

 

[Dude]

I have to be honest here, I saw enough animal death growing up, that it wouldn't hurt me to do the job myself. The thought of it sucks, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay more money for the final deed. Now I'm certain that SWMBO will over-rule that decision, but.....

I look at it this way, it is a DOG. The dog is getting old, and it can be replaced. Am I f'ed up thinking that?

 

[SBN]

Bad day, Dude. Dachshund's are prone to back issues, as I recall, but it's a tough decision nonetheless. I went through a similar situation a couple of years back with a 14 yo cocker spaniel - it wasn't until the dog couldn't stand on his own that my wife would accept things. Sort of tough for me, too, but I don't want to see an animal suffer. I grew up on a farm, she didn't, but it's a little different when it's a pet.

Make certain the dog isn't in pain when this treatment is finished - the decision can be emotional, but knowing the dog is suffering will help with the Mrs. buy-in.

Sorry if this sound a little harsh, but there are so many pets abandoned or in shelters today, waiting for homes, that I'm just not a big fan of taking extraordinary measures. Anyone's definition of extraordinary will vary....

Skol....

 

[Cheesefood]

I'm a pet lover, but I understand the distance you put between humans and pets. There are a lot of people who love their dogs, but don't quite equate them as members of the family.

Do the deed yourself then, just don't let her find out. Ever.

 

[SwAMi75]

Damn, that sucks. She really has to be locked in her kennel for 6 weeks? That's rough. I know what you mean about it being Leslie's birthday and all, but Dixie's getting up there in years.

Let's hope she gets better!

 

[SwAMi75]

As for doing it yourself......I think I'd let the vet do it.

 

[timdsmith72]

I look at it this way, it is a DOG. The dog is getting old, and it can be replaced. Am I f'ed up thinking that?

No. There was a poll on some TV station the other day asking if your pet was very ill, how much you'd spend to try to save it. SWMBO looks at me and says, "If it were Milo, (her dog) I guess I'd spend about $3,000 to $4,000 if they'd let me finance it. What about you??" I said, "New cat costs $50." I would never, ever spend that much money on a pet.

 

[david_42]

Understand, my doxie ruptured a disk when he was about 6. I opted for the surgery. I had the money and I was already on anti-depressants. Dogs are certainly replacable, I replaced him 7 years later when his health degenerated. I had to put my godlie-mix down about six months earlier. Bad year, very bad.

I would not have had the surgery done if the prognosis had been bad, but I got him to the vet less than 12 hours after the injury and the surgery had a 90% chance of a full recovery.

 

[Ize]

I'm sorry to hear it. With Dakota, (the black shepherd in the gallery) he dropped dead on us one day a year and a half ago out of the clear blue at the ripe old age of 7... It sucked because it caught us so off guard. He had been having problems with one of his legs and the vet had thought it was a stroke but never said anything. Turned out he was right.

When you purchase a pet, you purchase a small tragedy in the making. My wife is psychotic about our dog, and I know that when Cookie's day comes, my wife will have to be put on anti-depressants. I mean, I'll probably cry too, but my wife won't be able to handle it.

I hear you on this. That's how it is (and going to be) with our other dog Sadie. Siberian/Australian mix. She's 14, blind from diabetes and gets two shots of insulin twice a day. She SOMEHOW keeps going tho. SWMBO has had her since she was a pup. The day Sadie goes is going to be bad, bad, bad. even tho we both know it's coming soon...

IMHO, whatever you do, try to make sure to minimize any suffering. If they're suffering it's more cruel.

Good luck. I'll be keeping you guys in my thoughts.


Ize

 

[the_bird]

Given that it's a dachsund, which do have a tendancy to have bad backs, I would really hesistate to take extraordinary measures. You have to figure the odds of it pulling through and fully recovering are not all that great, that there's still a good chance of him remaining in pain. Add to that the long recovery (I couldn't imagine having to confine my pup to a kennel, he would be miserable), and I don't think I'd do the surgury.

If it comes to that, though, that's a job for the vet. We had to put down my wife's cat a few years ago, and the cost was going to be pretty minor in the grand scheme of things (for better or worse, he passed away right after we called the vet to let them know we had made our decision). But even if you can do it yourself, and I'm not making any judgments about you in any way - you've got to consider how your wife would feel about that. If I had put down my wife's cat myself, even though we had already decided together that it was his time, I'd be divorced today. I don't know your wife, but is she going to look at you differently if she knows that you are the one who did the deed?

This isn't a rational process, and my opinion it's well worth a relatively token amount to the vet so that she is comforted in knowing the process was humane and that your hands are clean.

 

[Regicider]

You have my sympathies, Dude. Good luck.

 

[user 574]

The alternative is a 3000 dollar surgery that involves an MRI.
...
I cannot believe I just spent 5 hunge on a dog,

It's always tough but I'm with you on once the bill starts going over 500+. I hear of people doing that with pets to give them another 1-2 years of a ****ty life. Its BS. I'm a pet lover (2 dogs and a cat) but I'm not dishing thousands for any animal.

I swear sometimes vets PISS ME OFF. They charge outrageous amounts for their services; and sometimes the equivalent human procedure costs the same or less after Ins companies do their usual & customary. My wife years ago slammed the front door shut while our cat was between the screen & inner door. Cat tried to get out and was just a bit slow. She nipped 4-5" of the tail. Bla, bla, cry, cry she takes the cat to the vet. Calls me and it's $450 to cut it clean and sew it up. I started in on the phone to bring her home and I'd do it myself with a knife, thread and styptic pencil :cross:. She hung up on me and had it done. I don't think my friggen vasectomy was much more than that.

 

[Cheesefood]

Yeah, but it's only money. Pets offer love and companionship and plenty of great memories That's worth more than a few hundred bucks.

 

[the_bird]

By chance, did your wife perform the vasectomy on you herself after you pissed her off like that?

 

[user 574]

By chance, did your wife perform the vasectomy on you herself after you pissed her off like that?

No but she may have slid the Dr some $ to make sure I got an infection from the procedure .

 

[andre the giant]

I don't envy your situation. We've got two dogs and we've seen the results of people who hang on to theirs too long, and people who dispose of their pets at the slightest inconvienience. If one of my dogs was suffering moderate to severe pain, and there was no reasonable treatment, ($500 is the upper limit) I think I'd have the dog put down. And this is coming from an absolute dog fanatic. I'd probably take it harder than I would if my best friend died. (lesson to be learned... don't be Andre's best friend...) But they're dogs. The tend to live 7-15 years, then they die. Why spend $3k on a dog that's going to have a diminishing quality of life? Let it go... That's what I would say.

But my perspective may be a bit different. Our dogs were strays, we found them, took them to the pound, then adopted them. There was no way... no way that anyone would have adopted them. They were emiciated, they had heartworms and other diseases... they looked like something you'd see on that ASPCA show on Animal Planet. In fact, they looked worse. They have already lived much longer than they would have otherwise. And they seem to appreciate the fact, and reward us by being the best dogs I've ever owned.

I don't even like talking about it... it bums me out thinking about my dogs and their inevitable "last visit to the vet."

 

[the_bird]

No but she may have slid the Dr some $ to make sure I got an infection from the procedure .

We need an emiticon for "cringing"...

 

[Bernie Brewer]

What is it about dogs?? When I go hunting I've got no problem shooting feral cats, but dogs? No way. When my dad died 16 years ago I didn't shed a tear, but when my first dog died I sat down on the step and bawled like a little baby. the bond between man and his best friend is just incredible. I'm not trying to offer advice or anything here, I'm just making an observation.

 

[AaronA]

Dude, we've had to put down two weiner dogs. Our first was 8 years old when she had to be put to sleep, and the second was only 6 yrs old. Both for the same reasons as you're experiencing. We had our first dog on rimadyl (sp?) which is the canine equivalent to ibuprofen I think. That worked good for a few years. Our 2nd dachshund went completely paralyzed.

We also heard about the expensive surgery and, like you, opted for kennelling her for a while and using the rimadyl. That worked great for years. FYI, in case they want to go with using rimadyl or some other similar drug that they'll want to do liver/kidney tests at least once a year before they'll renew a prescription (at least that's what our vet did)....and that was around $150 for those tests.

--Aaron

 

[RichBrewer]

Dude,
Sorry to hear about your dog. The timing is so bad. You don't want to make the wife's B-day a bad one. Good luck and I hope she pulls through.

This is the very reason I don't want a cat or dog. I'm not willing to spend that kind of money on a pet. Once everyone gets attached it is so rough when something happens. It is just easier and better not to have pets.

 

[rod]

i too have spent way too much on my animals over the years.
my "free" kitten , after being neutered, front declawed( too stupid to leave furniture alone), and hit by a car was over 1,000.00 before it was 2 years old.
we all love our pets(swmbo especially) but sometimes have to bow to the inevitable when they get too sick that their quality of life suffers.
dude - do not do the euthenasia yourself, your wife will always remember it.

 

[alemonkey]

I did the job on our cat when he had to be put down. Once I explained to my wife that it was going to be just as quick and painless as a trip to the vet she was fine with it. In fact, I think she was more comfortable with me doing it rather than a stranger.

It didn't bother me doing it, but I grew up on a farm, so it's not the first animal I've had to put down. I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

Now, my 2 year old daughter has started asking for a puppy. I don't want another animal - not because of having to put them down some day, but because I know I'll be the only one who feeds it and cleans up after it, just like our cat.

 

[Beer Snob]

I've spent $100...... on a Hamster. No seriously..... yup. No really... my wife is dead serious when you buy a pet. You buy a pet... gets sick... you take it to the VET..... seems the smaller they get the more the cost..... I felt bad about him you know... but $100..... you could tell he was in pain..... then I mailed him to her mother's house to be put in thier pet area of the yard that stuff is buried (next day air).

 

[SwAMi75]

then I mailed him to her mother's house to be put in thier pet area of the yard that stuff is buried (next day air).

Not to detract from the tone of the thread, but let me get this straight.....

You sent a dead hamster through the mail, and sprung for next day air, no less? LOL

 

[Beer Snob]

Not to detract from the tone of the thread, but let me get this straight.....

You sent a dead hamster through the mail, and sprung for next day air, no less? LOL

yup Packed it with ice packs and all. The mother told me I did a great job... still frozen solid when she got it. I'm telling ya man... she gets all mushy and all with pets..... Last one had cancer... VET did nothing more the put it to sleep.... think it was $25..... The postal person told me he's mailed worst.... did not want to know exactly what he meant though.

 

[Beer Snob]

Hey does Thunder count as bucks to be spent on an animal..... he's valued at ... ohhh... about $20,000 now..... this is not including the money I personally sprung like food, toys, VET....

Can you dig it... I'm walking around with a 20K dog.... hmmm.... people all the time go... wow.. he is so well behaved.... well... you know... he should be

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

There was a story in the news a year or two ago around here about a guy living at the Outer Banks with a black lab. The dog went into epileptic fits and his vet out there got her stable, but she wasn't going to last long. He found out someone at the vet school at NC State in Raleigh could probably help out, but the dog wouldn't survive a 5-6hr drive in a car. The owner, a man of means, rented a helicopter and had the dog airlifted to the Raleigh where the veterinarians were able to get her on some medication to save her life.

 

[The Happy Mug]

Yeah, but it's only money. Pets offer love and companionship and plenty of great memories That's worth more than a few hundred bucks.

This is so worth repeating. Thank you cheese.

I love my dog. I will spend money I don't have on him, and fill it in later.

But I will not allow him to live in pain.

It is better to love with all your heart, and let death take its course, than make one you love live with pain because you can't let go.

It's too bad we can't do the same with our human loved ones. I have terrible memories of my grandmother's last days, kept alive by machines as she begged for help with her pain. I can give my best friend rest from his pain, but I cannot give my grandmother rest from hers?

I apologize my friends, I didn't want to start something new. It is just something I need to get off my chest.

Damnit if I haven't choked myself up here. When my grandmother lived, she gave me, my girlfriend, and my brother $50. That was a lot for her, she lived on social security and the like, barely getting by. We kept the money because we wanted to find something to remind of us her. It was hard to find something to spend money on that meant something. We saved that money for over a year.

Eventually, we decided on a dog. The last of the money we spent on our puppy was what our grandma gave us. We spent her money on love - something that would love us in return. The final payment I made on our puppy was the money she gave us. He's two years old now and he's like my son to me.

Damn, it's been a long time since I cried. I guess I've never resolved this issue with myself. Some things you just can't seem to put in place. Other things never seem to be resolved.