How far are you willing to go for your pet?

Grimmerick

Hello there,
So recently I had a situation where my dachshund (5 years old) slipped a disc and became paralyzed from the waist down making surgery his only real chance to walk again. I know everyone is different and has different opinions on what they would do for their sick or injured pet. For me there was no question about the money(it was less than $5000) To have him be able to walk again and pee on his own. Keep in mind these dogs are happy and healthy and can live perfectly happy lives, as any person in a wheelchair can. Just more work for you and there is really no reason to euthanize, most vets dont' consider that an option, unless there is pain or suffering. So what's your limit, how far will you go? My husbands friend was raised on a farm and said you can buy a lot of dogs with that money, I of course feel that Dexter is only 5 and I certainly can't just go out and get another Dexter. I dont' care much for money and would much rather have my happiness from my dog, can't really snuggle up to the cash. So what kind of pet owner are you?

also I was very surprised to find out that most of the people I talked to that have money and I do mean HAVE money, wouldn't really spend much to save/help their pet.

Mobilemuscle

As soon as the dogs name changes to "Bill".....you gotta end it

WeepingAngel81

I just couldn't jusify spending that kind of money when there are things my kids need. I love my kitty, but he would either have to go to a family that could afford that kind of bill or he'd have to be put down.

seltzermint555

There would be many factors involved in my decision. $5,000 would be too much for me at this point in my life. A few years ago it would not have been as I was in a marriage with two much larger incomes than my current household has. I hate saying that but yeah...$5,000 is more the amount to keep me in transportation, insurance, and possibly pay medical bills for my husband and I but not for a pet.

Under $1,000 though...there would be no question, I'd do it automatically. I have been in that situation before w/ pets several times and did not hesitate even when I was in my mid 20's and spent my $900 tax return on a pet's vet bill.

If the dog was older, say 10+ then I'd have it put down.

Btw though...I love dachshunds. So clever and sweet. I hope Dexter's surgery went/goes well and he's back to his old self or almost.

downinaggieland98

I am with the OP, I would do whatever I could if the dog or cat would be able to live a happy life. They are family.

ames105

Its a personal decision for each person. I love my kitties and would do whatever I could for them, but I don't have $5000 at all so I couldn't justify it. It would just about kill me to put one of them down, but I wouldn't have a choice. However, if you have the money and the inclination to do it, go for it, its your business, your decision. Good luck!

twinketta

Do you have pet insurance?

TheRoadDog

I'd put it down. Not spending $5,000 on a pet.

Mobilemuscle

I love my furbabies more than anything

it really comes down to their quality of life

I had my cat on lactaided ringers for his kidneys and was artificially keeping him hydrated the last few years of his life...ultimately he just was ready to go....it was my own selfishness who was prolonging his pain....

bronnyd

$5000 is too much for me at this point in my life which is exactly why I do not have a pet yet. I would love love love to have a dog, but I know that if anything unexpected happened, I would want to do anything I could to help/save the dog, but at this time I would be unable to. So I have resolved to wait until I am more stable.

It's hard to say what my limit would be. It depends on the age of the dog, the prognosis and all that. Based on your story I'd say I would have done the same thing if I were in your situation.

lavieboheme1229

I'm the crazy pet mother who would jump in the middle of the road to stop my dog from being hit by a car.

With that being said, I also don't have kids. Priorities may change. But right now, I'd do anything for her.

Grimmerick

I guess my thoughts when I hear people say "it's just a dog, just a cat, just an animal"
My thoughts are "They become your family and it's just money, what do you make money for if not to spend it on things you care about?" assuming you have enough to cover expenses otherwise it isn't really a choice.

bkw99508

I would do most anything if quality of life would be greatly improved. I spent over $5K to keep my Samson with me for another year. However, when it go to the point where he was suffering, I made the decision to let him go. Best $5K I spent and probably ever spend.

Grimmerick

Do you have pet insurance?

looked into this, it's genetic they don't cover it...........weirdly they also don't cover Nuclear War (yeah they really said that)

ThePlight

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

acheron03

Some of my decision comes down to how much 'X' service is going to be. I don't have the means to provide a 5k operation so it just couldn't happen. On the other hand i just forked over $450 bucks for meds and x-rays for my german shepard. So it's about can i afford it and what that will do to my family because at the end of the day my wife comes first, then my family, then me, then my dog (order of whose health I care most about)

KatrinaWilke

I would do just about anything for my dog! As long as she was able to live a happy life! If she was going to suffer, I would consider euthanization.

AlongCame_Molly

I am not in a financial position to pay anything more than about $1,000, and even them I'd see what I could do to finance it. In a few years when we are better off financially, I think I'd probably do it.

dawlschic007

We went through this with our dachshund a year ago. He wasn't paralyzed because we caught the signs early enough, but he was in severe pain from it and would have gotten to that point if we didn't have surgery for him. He was only 6 years old at the time and had no other health issues to speak of. We paid to have the surgery for him without even a thought about putting him down. Yes, it's a lot of money, but he made a full recovery and is running around and back to his usual self. He does have days where he's a little stiff, but other than that he's fine. The recovery was tough for him because they have to spend so much time in the kennel.

Now, if there was only a slim chance of recovery or that the dog wouldn't make it through surgery due to age, etc., then yes, we'd definitely consider other options.

I really do think that people who decide to have dogs like dachshunds need to budget for back surgery or large expenses when they are deciding what type of dog to get. This is a VERY common issue for dachshunds because of their length.

CharlzO

I'd die for mine. However, there does come a point, where no amount of money is going to do anything but prolong their suffering. I've had to put two dogs down over my lifetime, my first ever was an Akita, Gracie. And the last, my Pit. Had him since he was a year old, rescued from a shelter, he was the best dog I've ever had the pleasure of being allowed to be with. I didn't own him, he let me be his. But when he had his stroke, and there was nothing that could be done...Could've tried steroids, but it would have, if anything, only gave him a couple months more, and he would've been in agony most of it. My sister is a vet, so she came to the house, so that I could hold him when he went. Hardest day, I think, of my life.

If it comes to injury, or illness where there's a good chance to recover their function and live a fully healthy life with little/no restriction, then there is no price tag for me. I'll find a way to do it, if I have to eat Ramen for the next two years.

alettep

If I had the money of course! We had to recently put down our cat who had gotten hit by a car but he was 16 and the vet wasn't sure what he could do for him-we didn't want to see him suffer. Now same cat 6 years earlier-we did spend quite a bit on for some other injury, including me giving him antibiotic shots!

twinketta

Do you have pet insurance?

looked into this, it's genetic they don't cover it...........weirdly they also don't cover Nuclear War (yeah they really said that)

Then all you can do is feel what you think is right for your pet. It is a between a hard rock and a hard place, sadly

seltzermint555

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

I love this. Well done. When my elderly dachshund had ongoing health issues we finally found a touchy-feely country vet, no nonsense cheaper approach worked great for a senior pet IMO.

brcossette

I think your toiling with the idea of wether or not it's ethical to spend that kind of money on an animal. Thats a personal decision for everyone and i have some friends who would and some that would not.

MeepleMuppet

Same thing happened to our cat, who was 12. One night his back legs just stopped working. The vet at the clinic couldn't really tell what was wrong though and wanted to do an MRI ($3,000) before surgery. We live in a college town with a vet school, so labs were clamoring to run multitudes of tests on our poor kitty. The vet leveled with us though and said that cats just don't go through surgery as well as dogs do. I was 3 weeks pregnant with our first child, we're both state employees, there was just no way we could afford any of it. So we said goodbye to our sweet kitty the next day. We cried so much the weeks that followed my husband was convinced our baby was turning Goth in the womb. A month later we got another kitty. And that following spring our daughter was born, sans eyeliner. We miss Aslan terribly but life goes on.

QuietBloom

Sorry about your wiener. I had one of those two. Fortunately he had a short back for one, and never had any problems. Have you thought about a wheelchair for him? A lot less expensive than surgery, and he'll never know the difference. Just an idea.


http://www.handicappedpets.com/walkin-wheels-mini-doxies-adogs-under-20-lbs.html

Personally, now that I have children and money is tight, if my pet is in pain and it's expensive to fix, I would choose to euthanize. But that is my personal choice.

ETA: Ha! I just realized the dog in the photo is named Oscar. So was mine.

dawlschic007

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

I love this. Well done. When my elderly dachshund had ongoing health issues we finally found a touchy-feely country vet, no nonsense cheaper approach worked great for a senior pet IMO.

Some of those may help, depending on the condition of the dog. For us, there really wasn't any other option besides the surgery since his condition was so bad. We did try steroids first and water exercises, but none of that helped.

ktsimons

I try to find alternatives before deciding what to do. Our cat had a broken bone and we were quoted $5,000+ for his surgery. Fiance's dad said "put him down" and we're all "no way, we rescued him as a feral kitten and he deserves a chance at life"..
We decided to get him painkillers and keep him confined, the next vet we visited was kind enough to give us meds that would make him sleepier and keep him calmer while he healed.
He healed naturally and can walk and run just fine. He's a beast climber. He limps when he walks, but when he runs, you can't even tell. If you touch the area that was affected, you can feel where the bone is thicker, but at least our grouchy baby got to keep his leg.. AND stopped being so grouchy, he's a sweetheart now.

This is awesome!

IhScoutII

You might check in your area or state for a vet school...my 1st dog had bad hip problems when it was a pup and I didn't have the money to get it fixed. I found the closest vet school and they did the surgery on the dog for a quarter of what my vet wanted...oh and it was my vet that told me to look into that option....

asimmons221

I'd do anything for my dog, it's a family member rather then a pet to me.

ash8184

I would do (almost) anything for my pets. About a year ago, I rescued a dog from Ft. Worth Animal Control who needs one eye removed and cataract surgery on the other one. It's expensive, but I want to provide the best care I can. He's part of the family.