I have a dog that needs surgery for a torn ligament/dislocated hip.... there are three choices of surgery none of which are under $1100..the most expensive being $3000... Does anyone know of any dog rescue/welfare places that would help pay the cost??? I really cannot afford it, but don't want to give her up.

4/13/2007 10:23:58 AM

Call up the surgeon and explain your financial situation and that you're a student and want to help but it's really out of your financial means. Many surgeons, veterinary or not, take on pro bono each year and you might get lucky.

Some might do it for the cost of the hospital supplies.

4/13/2007 10:27:46 AM

see if your vet accepts carecredit, or any other type of payment plan.

4/13/2007 10:30:20 AM

That sucks. We had to get surgery on both knees of one of our dogs. It was $1700. Luckily we had the money saved and could afford it though.

Vets often perform free surgery on animals that are up for adoption. This is always an option but you'd have to give your dog up. You could try to have someone you know adopt the dog and give them back to you but you would be taking a chance that someone else may get to them first.

4/13/2007 10:34:50 AM

4/13/2007 10:36:56 AM

have you contacted the vet school?

4/13/2007 10:38:59 AM

care credit ftw, mayfair animal hospital takes it

4/13/2007 10:43:15 AM

I am going to see about that carecredit thing, that might work out... I'll also call the vet school to see what they can do too... thanks!

4/13/2007 10:55:34 AM

There isn't really all that much that a vet cna do to cut costs. The costs of anesthesia alone are significant (because they have to pay the same for it as human medicine, which is inflated from insurance and such).

Pet insurance really is something people should start considering.

4/13/2007 11:13:37 AM

Yeah I have pet insurance...it's $12.95 per month, $10.00 annual fee. But god forbid she ever get hurt, swallows or eats something she shouldn't, or has a disease she's covered. i got it as soon as i adopted her and it covered a great deal of her initial treatment for round worms and mites.

4/13/2007 11:22:43 AM

Quote :

"Yeah I have pet insurance...it's $12.95 per month, $10.00 annual fee. But god forbid she ever get hurt, swallows or eats something she shouldn't, or has a disease she's covered. i got it as soon as i adopted her and it covered a great deal of her initial treatment for round worms and mites."

what does the insurance cover? do you have a co-pay? i was thinking about getting pet insurance for my dog...he needs his teeth cleaned (badly!), would the insurance cover that? does insurance cover vaccinations and heartworm preventatives?

4/13/2007 1:48:51 PM

i have insurance for my border collie. it was $148 for the year, more expensive if you pay monthly. mine covers up to $9000 and i have the extra cancer coverage rider. i did not get the routine care package. that would cover things like frontline, heartguard, and teeth cleaning. without the extra rider, insurance does not cover any of those things. it does cover accidents including if she ate something she shoudn't.

*most* work the way that mine does, in that you still have to pay out of pocket for the services but then you are reimbursed. they do not cover pre-existing conditions. i have a looooonngg list of things it does cover (about 7 pages worth) though. it's really dependent on the provider. i have VPI, which my vet recommended.

they just did a story on this on the today show a couple days ago.

4/13/2007 1:54:22 PM

I use Petcare Insurance. I got a package similar to ^ in that it covers accidents, but not routine care. And it works like ^ said--pay upfront, get reimbursed.

4/13/2007 2:01:25 PM

Wow, those are actually much cheaper than I would have expected for pet insurance. We never really looked into it because my wife is a vet.

4/13/2007 3:52:50 PM

i feel your pain. i've got ~3k in my dog to repair a broken back leg after she was hit by a car. i couldn't afford it, but sold a motorcycle i had at the time to pay it.

i had the surgery done at quail corners animal hospital. they were willing to work with me on a payment plan, but luckily i sold the bike shortly after the surgery. i also found them to be cheaper than other places. they did a great job too, she has no problems with the leg. she might need to have the rod removed at some point, but for now it's fine.

i tried the vet school, but they wanted more than most anywhere else i checked.

is pet insurance still an option for those that have had major surgery? i'd love to get some for my dog, but i don't know that she'd qualify now.

4/13/2007 4:19:19 PM

^as long as the condition is deemed *cured* then they will cover her.

^^i bought my dog insurance a couple of days after bailey died b/c i know i cannot afford the treatment bailey got. tell your wife thanks for forwarded bailey's biopsy for me.

4/13/2007 4:33:10 PM

i dont know if its applicable in your case...but you could try rehab. i work at ARWI (near the vet school) and we work with alot of animals that have orthopedic/neuro problems, some that have had surgery and some that have not, so depending on how "necessary" surgery is, it may be an option ...


http://www.arwi.com/

4/13/2007 9:29:37 PM

http://www.ashleyfund.org/

This place helps people pay for expensive vet care. Ashley's fund is mainly for cancer but Zack's fund does more than cancer...

4/14/2007 8:16:26 AM

I worked with a veterinary surgeon in Asheville and CareCredit was frequently used by people who couldn't pay right away. You could also see if you could get some local animal groups to help pay for some of the costs. What places did you call? Also, I would definitely explain my situation to various surgery hospitals and maybe try the NCSU Vet School. I volunteer over there and everyone seems to be very caring. Good Luck with everything and hopefully your baby gets the surgery she needs!!

4/15/2007 12:28:59 AM

im sorry, i love my pet and all, but fuck if im gonna go into debt to save his life. of course i did the responsible thing and waited till i was out of school and had a job to get him, but if i was ever in the situation where it was the dog or staying debt free... id be debt free.

4/15/2007 12:48:34 AM

^ boo.

4/15/2007 1:54:49 AM

^^i totally agree. i love my dog but i think of them like an automobile. there is only so much i'll pay to fix it until it's just a total loss. i paid $300 for my dog when she was a pup just because my dumbass had to have a pure bred. why am i gonna pay $1000+ to fix this old dog when i can have a brand new one for $300?

4/15/2007 11:21:25 AM

Quote :

"i totally agree. i love my dog but i think of them like an automobile. there is only so much i'll pay to fix it until it's just a total loss."

Exactly.

4/15/2007 11:44:39 AM

My dog tore up all his knee ligaments and have to have surgery. It was $2500 and a hell of a lot of rehab and tlc. Good luck.

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 12:57 PM. Reason : One reason I don't think most college students should just run out and get a pet.]

4/15/2007 12:55:56 PM

i totally agree. i love my dog but i think of them like an automobile. there is only so much i'll pay to fix it until it's just a total loss. i paid $300 for my dog when she was a pup just because my dumbass had to have a pure bred. why am i gonna pay $1000+ to fix this old dog when i can have a brand new one for $300?


i guess thats what seperates you from the people who really care about their animals

4/15/2007 1:18:26 PM

I don't understand how you can compare you dog to an automobile. Your dog is a living creature that DEPENDS on you for survival. If your not going to take care of it don't get one.

4/15/2007 1:54:58 PM

i really care about my dog but i'm not going to go into debt so my life suffers.

4/15/2007 2:10:06 PM

no shit^^^


I guess you just never know what you'll do when in a position such as this.
Until you're in a vet office and faced with a beloved pet that needs a life or death operation and it's life is in your hands - whether to spend $ and save it or put it down because you simply don't have the money or you just don't think its worth it..

I'm sorry but when my dog Bailey had pnemonia and needed to be hospitalzed and hooked up to ivs and rang up a $700 vet bill- The companionship he's given me over the past 6 years has well been worth it. When he was in a dog fight and required $1000 worth of emergency vet care and sutures - he was worth it.
When my cat was hit by a car and it cost me close to $1000 to put him back together - he was also worth it. Sure it's tough to swallow spending that kind of money but I did it and made ends meet.
I have 3 dogs and am fully aware of how much they've cost me. I've also spent hundreds on foster puppies and dogs vetting them and feeding them with the goal of finding them homes.


No one anticipates or expects this things to happen... I guess it comes down to whether you think of your dog as a piece of "property" and easily replaced or as a friend or companion that you treasure and are willing to fix when it's sick or injured.

/rant


OsuAml - good luck with your dog. Contact all the sources people have listed. The Carecredit plan is helpful - just like a credit care u can make payments on

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:14 PM. Reason : d]

4/15/2007 2:13:38 PM

i think putting a pet through major surgery is fucking cruel. most times its for the owner, not the pet.

(im also really mad at how much money people spend on "rescuing" animals with radical surgery when there are fucking humans who need help)

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:19 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:14:46 PM

^care to expand on why you feel it is cruel?

4/15/2007 2:18:49 PM

because pain management in an animal that cant talk and, depending on the breed, is very stoic is a best guess situation. there is no afterlife for animals, if the animal is suffering then humanely put it down. a lot of times people put their pets through radical life saving procedures because how it makes them feel, or because they dont want to deal with the death of an animal.. and that is just sickening to me.

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:21 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:20:38 PM

humans can help themselves

4/15/2007 2:24:16 PM

give up the dog.....u dont want to go into debt for a damn dog.....

4/15/2007 2:25:21 PM

I guess "humane" only applies to animals.

4/15/2007 2:26:14 PM

not all humans can help themselves, and ive seen plenty of dogs and cats on the streets that seem to do just fine.

and i dare anyone to say im not an animal lover, i love animals. one of our dogs, buster, is 18 years old. a dog attacked him in the park and while the vet was checking him out they said that he probably had cancer. they wanted to perform all kinds of tests and start him on treatment. thats disgusting, how could anyone put an animal through that. he recovered from the fight, his injuries were minor, but if cancer ever makes him suffer you better believe that i will put him down. i love my dog too much to make him suffer.

4/15/2007 2:26:25 PM

for those of you who look at pets as you do your car, do you not have auto insurance? if you don't then you're breaking the law. my parents spent around $10,000 to try to help Bailey, who only cost $400, and they did it out of pocket because they can afford it. they also spend around $1200 to fix Bo (who was free) when he was a pup because he had some freak heart infection. i know that i could not afford that without really screwing up my credit/life, so i have a health insurance policy for my dog. if i totally fucked up my car i couldn't pay to fix that either, thus the insurance. if you make that kind of statement like underPSI made, then you obviously have never loved a pet.

^guth, would you put your mother down if they discovered she had cancer?

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:32 PM. Reason : ]

4/15/2007 2:31:51 PM

not all animals can help themselves, and ive seen plenty of humans on the streets that seem to do just fine.

and i dare anyone to say im not an people person, i love people. one of my relatives, buster, is 18 years old. a dog attacked him in the park and while the doc was checking him out they said that he probably had cancer. they wanted to perform all kinds of tests and start him on treatment. thats disgusting, how could anyone put an person through that. he recovered from the fight, his injuries were minor, but if cancer ever made one of my kids suffer you better believe that i will put them down. i would love my kid too much to make him suffer.

4/15/2007 2:32:21 PM

my position is not on the cost of treatment, but its invasiveness. if someone wants to spend $10k on a pet thats up to them, but if the $10k was for radical treatment then they are some horrible, weak-minded people who make me sick to my stomach.

Quote :

" ^guth, would you put your mother down if they discovered she had cancer?"

theres a few differences, the big ones being:
my mother can speak for herself
humans are human, a lot of things come with that

however, i dont think it should be illegal for a doctor to assist a suffering patient who wants to die and if a legal option for that existed and a family member or loved one wanted it i would support that.


[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:37 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:34:02 PM

depends on your definition of radical.

if you don't know anything about how far veterinary medicine has come (technology, medicine, etc), then you don't need to act like you do.


much of the current medical technologies as far as HUMANS go is a direct result of it be performed on a dog/cat first. dogs had a HUGE part in organ transplant studies. dogs also have a big part in cancer treatment research. there is more experience out there in dogs for these same procedures that are performed on ppl on a daily basis.

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:40 PM. Reason : ]

4/15/2007 2:35:42 PM

so guth, if you had cancer, and you could spend 50k to delay dying...by lets say 2 years, without treatments, you die in 6 months, what would you do?

4/15/2007 2:38:22 PM

i dont need to know anything about veterinary technology to form an opinion that making an animal suffer for your own pleasure is disgusting

^well i would have the advantage of making the decision myself and being able to communicate my opinion with my doctors. i would probably choose to prolong my life, but if it made me suffer i would communicate to my doctor that i would rather go peacefully.

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:39:24 PM

obviously you really have no clue what you're talking about. lol

4/15/2007 2:41:16 PM

guth, you lost this thread a long time ago....

4/15/2007 2:43:16 PM

this is really simple, i dont know where in my logic you think veterinary technology comes in.

treatment that causes the animal to suffer- cruel

^hardly

Quote :

"much of the current medical technologies as far as HUMANS go is a direct result of it be performed on a dog/cat first. dogs had a HUGE part in organ transplant studies. dogs also have a big part in cancer treatment research. there is more experience out there in dogs for these same procedures that are performed on ppl on a daily basis."

except that we arent talking about medical research, i am talking about putting an animal through an operation or treatment that will make them suffer so that the owner can feel all happy that their pet is still alive.

(and yes, for my dog the vet said it would be uncomfortable for the animal. but maybe you know more about it than they do)

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:48 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:43:20 PM

the point is that the dog doesn't suffer as long. if a dog say, has cancer and is already in pain, there are 3 options: 1. put the dog down no questions asked 2. let the dog continue suffering and live out his life as it is 3. go into surgery/chemo/radiation and remove the mass, the dog suffers for a couple of days, gets better and lives a longer, happier life w/o pain. maybe you're just too dense, but i don't see how you think the last option is not viable. pain management in pets is NOT just a guess. there is science and they use a lot of the same drugs used in people and get the same results. it's not like the vets just go stabbing around not knowing what they're doing. a LOT more is known about how a dog's body works than a human's.

the point is medical research. "they" know more about what they're doing in dogs than in humans because of all of the research (done to help humans). since you don't know much about vet technologies, you don't understand what "they" are capable of.


spay/neuter causes pain & suffering, we should quit doing that. vaccinations hurt too, so let's quit those. oh, my dog really hates going to the vet period so i'll just stop taking her in. my cat really really hates taking antibiotics for a bladder infection and he pouts the entire rest of the day, so i'll quit doing that b/c he's suffering.

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:54 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:54 PM. Reason : ]

4/15/2007 2:49:39 PM

pain management in humans is a difficult affair, its exponentially more difficult when the patient cant tell you what hurts.

and i would have no problem with 3, but not all treatments are two days of discomfort followed by a lifetime of no complications


^nice edit, you should follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man


[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 2:57 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 2:52:40 PM

guth - have you studied veterinary medicine?
have you ever even taken an animal science course?
have you ever worked at a vet?
have you ever even had a conversation with a vet?

the ridiculous statements that you're making lead us to believe that you have no clue when it comes to anything dealing with veterinary medicine. so please STFU because you're not helping the topic at hand

4/15/2007 2:56:43 PM

guth, the chick TKOed your azz a long time ago......

4/15/2007 2:58:54 PM

look, i know that logic us really hard for women but try to follow me here. i dont need to know much about veterinary technology to know that some procedures do cause prolonged suffering. i grew up around it enough to at least know that. my position isnt about all procedures, its only about radical procedures that cause suffering. im also not talking about suffering for couple days followed by a lifetime of no complications. i didnt spell that out but i thought it would be obvious, should have known better... my bad.

many times the motivation for pet owners is selfish, this is disgusting. pets are just animals, they have no afterlife, there is no moral conflict with humane euthanasia. it is disgusting to put an animal through a procedure that will cause suffering (use some sense on the definition of suffering), that is my position and any way you twist that is a straw man and poor form

no one has challenged my position at all, the only counter argument is that i dont know anything about veterinary medicine (doesnt matter for my point) and then someone twisted my position so that they could refute it. hardly a KO

[Edited on April 15, 2007 at 3:06 PM. Reason : .]

4/15/2007 3:02:55 PM

Quote :

" they have no afterlife"

wtf are you talking about willis?

4/15/2007 3:05:20 PM