By Heather O.
Enough to pay for hip surgery?
She’s just as sweet as she looks, too (and much less possessed by the devil than the picture would have you believe). Dumb as a stump, but sweet. We spent last night in the vet ER. When J went to call Maggie in to eat dinner, she wouldn’t come, and sat outside, whimpering, until DH called her. Since she would go to the end of the earth and back for the man who takes her rollarblading every morning, she moved for him, but just barely. She walked slowly to him, head bowed, tail between her legs, body trembling, and gave another whimper.
This from the dog who we joke has no bones because she wiggles so much? Something was wrong. She was clearly in a lot of pain.
So, we took her to the vet, who found some hip problems. Options?
“Oh, there are plenty of surgical options–hip replacements, things like that.”
Great.
We are getting X-rays next week, to see what we are dealing with.
The Wiz says Maggie’s a lemon, and that we should take her back. She’s kidding, of course. Mostly.
How much do you love YOUR dog?
I tell myself not that much when I see someone putting their dog through chemo or something - but it’s all a lie. I would do most anything for them.
That being said, money can be an issue and would have to be taken into consideration.
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Comment #1 by AmyAugust 25th, 2007 at 10:06 amAwww! So sad. I hope the x-rays give a good prognosis.
As for me? I have no idea what I would do. But I do know that we love our cat (I know, some people are shuddering) almost like a family member. To lose him would be very, very hard on all of us. We might pay for surgery if the end result was good.
Comment #2 by cherylAugust 25th, 2007 at 10:19 amGrowing up as the daughter of a vet, I saw a lot of people treat their pets like an appliance when it came to something like this. Rather than fork over money to help their animal live humanely, or at least die humanely, they would allow it to live in agony until it just willed itself to die.
Comment #3 by EmAugust 25th, 2007 at 10:27 amChoosing to have a pet involves at least some of the same responsibility as choosing to be a parent. You are responsible for the well-being of another living creature. It’s a serious stewardship!
And I guarantee that your vet is willing to do hip surgery for less than 1/10 of what it would cost to do the exact same surgery on you.
Something to consider.
Wow. That’s tough.We had similar issues come up when our dog got bone cancer. The vet said there were things to do to prolong his life, but that he would be in a great deal of pain. It was hard as rocks, but we had a new baby, and the dog, bless his heart, was old, and we couldn’t really afford to pay for bone grafts and surgery.
It was heart-wrenching, but we chose to have him put down, humanely and while we held him and petted him and loved him on to the next world. I still get weepy when I think of it.
And, we haven’t had a dog since… probably because of what Em said- it was too hard, and we have not yet had the heart to take on the stewardship of another animal.
Comment #4 by Tracy MAugust 25th, 2007 at 10:36 amSince getting our own family dog I too have asked myself similar questions. Thankfully I have not been put in a position to have to answer it. That would be so hard. I hope that the prognosis won’t be so terrible and the cost not as high as you’d expect.
Comment #5 by AmberAugust 25th, 2007 at 11:06 amOK, I was TOTALLY kidding about the lemon thing!!! I know your dog is not a car! Hello!
She is soooo sweet. I say get the x-rays, figure out what the cost would be, figure out if just keeping her on pain pills might be an option, just keep all your options open. Then decide.
I would probably do it for my dog, though.
Comment #6 by The WizAugust 25th, 2007 at 12:23 pmWe treat our dog like he is a part of the family…really. He is our fur baby. He’s an indoor, sleeps on the bed inbetween us, we share kisses all the time, and here is the kicker…he has his own blog! Seriously, and has more internet dog friends then the both of us put together. It’s hard to know what to do unless you are looking at the situation in the face, we want what is best for them because they are a part of the family. We would probably do it for our dog, even though people without pets would think that we are crazy. Hope that things go okay.
Comment #7 by JSAugust 25th, 2007 at 1:00 pmI second what The Wiz said above about keeping your options open. I’ll say a prayer for your family and your dog.
My dog was my baby; she was fussy, annoying, always getting into things (like chocolate) that she shouldn’t have and getting me up at night for no reason I could ever discover. Yet when she snuggled up under my chin or behind my knees or tore through the house like a small, furry white missile to greet me when I came home, none of that other stuff mattered. When I lost her it was a pain like nothing I have ever felt.
I hope you and your family won’t have to face that choice. If you do though, I’ll pray for you to be comforted too.
Comment #8 by Proud Daughter of EveAugust 25th, 2007 at 1:07 pmI guess I’m in the minority, but I really don’t treat my dog as a member of the family. She’s our dog, and we love and enjoy her, but I don’t love her more than - say - a semester of college tuition for one of my children.
That said - I would absolutely take care of her if there were things I could personally do, and if not, I would have her safely and humanely put to sleep.
Good luck with your decision - it’s not easy for sure.
Comment #9 by JustRandiAugust 25th, 2007 at 3:00 pmOk - I’m in my early thirties and my husband and I don’t yet have kids so our two dogs are absolutely our “kids.” We would without a doubt spend as much as needed to get our two girls healthy IF what was being done would actually make their lives better. I would never want one of them to live in pain and would do everything possible to make them better but if they weren’t going to get better then I feel it’s my responsibility as the “parent” to make the right choice for them.
Speaking of parents - my parents have a dog who has major hip issues and he’s been put on a new medication that has helped immensely (this dog is 14 years old and now jumps around like a pup). I’ll get the name of it and send it to you when I talk to them next to you can talk to your vet about it.
Comment #10 by LEJAugust 25th, 2007 at 3:26 pmJustRandi-
We love our dog, but I sort of agree with you. She is not our child. She is a dog. That said, I agree with Erin that we have chosen to keep this animal as a pet, and as such, have a responsibility for her health and wellbeing. I’m just not sure how far that responsibility goes if it involves potentially hundreds of dollars that, like you say, could be spent elsewhere. LIke, say, on food for my family. Of people. Who are not dogs.
LEJ-
I am hoping that there is something like that. I am probably not willing to spring for a surgical procedure, but I would be willing to administer meds to my dog, as well as bear that cost that I’m sure would be substantial, but manageable. We’ll see. I’ll keep y’all posted.
Comment #11 by Heather O.August 25th, 2007 at 4:33 pmWow. Some people on here seem a little obsessed. Come on, a dog blog?
No, I would not pay for an expensive medical procedure. My price max would probably be around 75% of the cost of the dog. Just a general guideline that I have established, not a rule though.
I understand that pets become a part of the family but we must remember, they are animals, not people.
Comment #12 by FatimaAugust 25th, 2007 at 4:54 pmI probably would pay for the surgery as long as there was a good prognosis. But that’s just me. That is why we don’t have a pet because I know what a responsibility it is.
Comment #13 by TiffanyAugust 25th, 2007 at 11:30 pmAm I the only one picturing the dog on rollerblades?
I hope it’s not too expensive and that she heals quickly.
Comment #14 by Susan MAugust 26th, 2007 at 4:35 amSusan M-
LOL! It’s not quite like that, though. DH straps her to a leash harness, and then she tows him while he is on rollarblades. We got the idea from Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer, and from the fact that just running with DH didn’t seem to tire this dog out. She is an excessively high energy dog.
Still, the rollarblading could be contributing to her pain, we don’t know. The vet originally said that if she did have hip problems, exercise was the best thing for her. But the vet last night said no exercise until we get X-rays. It’s a testament to how much pain she is in that even without her daily run of 3 miles, she still hasn’t really moved much around the house. Usually, without her exercise, she is a total demon, and starts demonstrating all the behaviors I’m sure were the reason she was given to the pound in the first place: jumping on people, chewing on toys, digging, and basically having no respect for your personal space.
But she obviously still hurts. Poor thing walked up the stairs to wait for DH to get out of the shower (something she does every morning–keeping vigil at the bathroom door), and she sat and panted, trembled, and then didn’t move for another hour.
Comment #15 by Heather O.August 26th, 2007 at 5:15 amTough call, Heather! I would have to agree that it depends on how much the surgery is. It is really sad when our animals depend on us for stuff like this and there are treatments available but at a dreadful financial cost. I’d hate to have to be the one making the decision.
I know a lady here in CA who spares no expense for her cats. She has about 20 of them who all should have died years ago. She actually acquired them because she used to work at a vet and people would come in with sick animals to be put down but this lady would take them home instead and treat them. (I wrote a post about it if you want to read more). I really think she goes too far. She spends 4-6 hours a day at least taking care of them and is a total stress case about any of them dying. When one died last fall she fell into depression for about 4 months and couldn’t leave the house. Also, she doesn’t have money to pay the basic bills because all her money goes to the cats so now she’s in a REALLY bad financial situation and doesn’t know what to do. She’s one of the sweetest people I know, but definitely taking animal loving too far.
Comment #16 by SarahAugust 26th, 2007 at 10:23 amMaverick had the same problem but only with his front legs. He had arthiritis so bad that he would not put his paw on the ground, and Mav was the same high energy out of control dog that Maggie is. So high evenry that even when in pain, he would try to chase a frisbee! We found that glucosamine worked awesome. There is actually a dog food that has it in it, called Nurtomax, you can find it at Petsmart. Once I started him on the glucosamine his arthritis never acted up again. If the problem is more severe than that, I’m not sure what I would do. When Mav was diagnosed with cancer, if we would have had the money we would have tried to do anything possible, including chemotherapy. But we didn’t, so we chose to keep him comfortable and happy and I think everyone benefitted from it. Mav didn’t go through lots of painful, worthless, expensive treatments, and we didn’t have to watch him suffer through it all. We’d probably do the same thing again, knowing what we know now. As much as I miss him on a daily basis, I would not want to prolong his pain for my own selfish reason of having him here. I hope everything turns out well!
Comment #17 by TrixieAugust 26th, 2007 at 12:22 pmThis is what my parents’ dog is on:
Comment #18 by LEJAugust 27th, 2007 at 5:55 amHe takes Remadyl (prescription) and Cosequin DS (DS=Double Strength), that
is the glucosamine/chondroitin mix.
Heather,
Comment #19 by jamisueAugust 27th, 2007 at 12:33 pmMy vet lets me swap services with him. I do a little legal work, and he treats my dog, including some surgery. Maybe you could work a swap too. Tomatoes and squash for surgical costs?
My husband and I talked this over when we got our dog a couple of months ago. He’s a 4 month old Goldendoodle and the sweetest thing that ever walked the earth. However, we both feel that we wouldn’t spend more than $500 on surgery for him. We are barely squeaking by as it is, but I can’t justify spending thousands of dollars on a dog when we could be paying off our debt or paying for medical care for our human family. When Rio gets older and we get more money (hopefully!!) I hope that we can raise the amount we are willing to pay, but if not, we do plan on putting him down and being there with him as he goes.
The same goes for our demonic cats, although some days I wonder if I’d really spend that much on Satan-possessed fireballs with claws…
Comment #20 by KrisisAugust 28th, 2007 at 7:50 am