Dog's Costing More To Run Than My Disco

[d2dave]

Last week my 11 year German Sheppard was showing some pain and distress with her neck. We took her to the vet. They kept her for a few hours to do Xrays. They found that she has arthritis but the Xrays also showed up some abnormalities with the spleen. When they did the Xrays they had to anaesthetise her. Her heart stopped whilst under anaesthetic but they managed to revive her.:BigCry: For this reason they did not have the time they would have liked, so did not get a comprehensive supply of pictures.

The pics that they got led them to believe that there was a growth on the spleen but was inconclusive. They sent the Xrays to a specialist in Melb for a second opinion. They suspected it could be spleen or liver. Spleen can be removed and dog can survive. If it is liver, game over. The vet said the only way to know was an ultra sound scan, which they could not do. I had to go to the specialist in Melbourne

Wallet now $650 lighter.:(

We went to Melbourne today to have the scan done. It was good news, no cancer or growths,:thumbsup: but the heart has an irregular beat. She will need pills for the rest of her life at $75 per week.

Wallet another $763 lighter(including two weeks supply of pills):(:(

The things we do for our loved animals.:twobeers:
Dave.

[Slunnie]

She's cheap compared to my dearly missed Simba. Vet bills are about the only ones for me where the number printed was irrelevant, because I could never have repaid 1/10th of what Simba gave me or was to me.

[justinc]

She's cheap compared to my dearly missed Simba. Vet bills are about the only ones for me where the number printed was irrelevant, because I could never have repaid 1/10th of what Simba gave me or was to me.

well voiced simon.:)

jc

[timbo]

I have pet insurance for mine. Just as well also, because he broke his leg not long after and it saved me paying a $6k vet bill. And yes, I would have paid it for him.

[disco gazza]

Am thinking of getting pet insurance,who where you with if you dont mind me asking.

Thanks

cheers

[njz]

She's cheap compared to my dearly missed Simba. Vet bills are about the only ones for me where the number printed was irrelevant, because I could never have repaid 1/10th of what Simba gave me or was to me.
X3 - very well put.

I went through something similar with my late Rough Collie.

I nearly lost him to the anaesthetic when the vet removed an aggressive tumour from under his chin. Ended up in animal ICU overnight with them uncertain he would recover. He pulled though and gave us another good year and a bit.

Poor old thing cost us a small fortune in the last few years of his life but it was worth every cent.

[Sue]

It's money well spent though and your beloved dog will pay you ten times over with love.. she is doing well for 11years.. and I sure she appreciates that you have done everything within your power (and wallet) to help her through this..

My German Shepherd lived until 13 years and apart from a little arthritis (which cost me a fortune in tablets for her) she was getting about well and pain free up until the one day when she just didn't get up.. the decision was made to put her to sleep but we were thankful that it was so fast and she didn't have bad days before that.. 8 years later and I still miss her every day..


I've also got Pet insurance for both of the dogs I have now.. and it's money I'm happy to spend as it's already saved me about what I've paid out on premiums on bills for accidents etc not to mention peace of mind knowing that if something major happened they are covered.. the company has been great in regards to claims and they always pay up promptly with no fuss... The vet mentioned that even they were impressed with them and it seemed to be one of the better companies providing pet insurance that they've seen.. I use Real Pet insurance as they were the only ones that covered for paralysis tick which is a common problem in my area.. :)

[timbo]

Am thinking of getting pet insurance,who where you with if you dont mind me asking.

Thanks

cheers

RSPCA :)

[Lotz-A-Landies]

She's cheap compared to my dearly missed Simba. Vet bills are about the only ones for me where the number printed was irrelevant, ...Simon

I didn't know about your loss of Simba, my sincere condolences however belated. Simba was a beautiful animal. It takes a huge hole out of your heart that never really heals. My youngest went missing overnight recently and that was bad enough. I feel for you, don't know what I'll do if and when I lose any of my dogs. :(

Diana

[SimonM]

I lost my fella last year - he was a real character - one of a kind for sure. We spent a couple of grand on him in the last year or so.

I didnt think I would get another dog then I came across a pup when I was helping a friend move, they couldn't keep her, and she was about to go to the rspca. Given her name was Honey (we have our own bee hives) I couldnt say no. A week after we got her she got really sick, turned out to be Parvo - approximately $1000 later I am getting my moneys worth.

[d3syd]

My beloved 10 year old border collie "Moet" was diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer) last year:(. We wasted a couple of weeks because her vet misdiagnosed her rapid weight loss and vomiting to be a stomach bug, which could be fixed with anti-biotics.

As she was getting worse fast we took her back and the vet said it was cancer and she had probably 4 weeks to live. Not accepting her fate, we got her on a plane to Sydney to see a dog oncologist, who put her on a 6 month chemotherapy course.

That was in April last year. Over $10,000 later Moet is today in full remission and has a new lease of life.:)

Like all of you have said, money is no object when we are talking about a member of your family.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/04/419.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/04/420.jpg

[mick88]

The chances of being burgled are so much less when you own a dog...I am not sure of the actual figures but they are something like 75% less likey than not having a dog.
So if over a ten or fifteen year period you have a dog that is loyal and faithfull companion and a few Vet bills over a ten or fifteen but you have never had the trauma of a home invasion or burglary, well then you are miles in front.
Plus you have the pleasure of sharing your life with a pet.
We lost our old Blue Cattle Dog twelve months back. She was aged seventeen and we had bred her from another pair of cattle dogs we had.
we get pretty used to her laying at the back door waiting for us to come out of the house so that she could accompany us just about everywhere we went! She left a huge void behind.
A good dog is a great mate!

Cheers, Mick.

[Slunnie]

Simon

I didn't know about your loss of Simba, my sincere condolences however belated. Simba was a beautiful animal. It takes a huge hole out of your heart that never really heals. My youngest went missing overnight recently and that was bad enough. I feel for you, don't know what I'll do if and when I lose any of my dogs. :(

Diana
Thanks Diana, I miss her all of the time and you are absolutely right about that hole. We always went everywhere and did everything together and as you know she lived at school with me so was there during the day too - it was eerie how we "just knew" each other. I'm glad your youngst turned up too, Roxy my dog now is a bit of a wild one at times too and I know the anxiety too well.

[dullbird]

I dont have pet insurance but what I did do as I got my boxers as pups I put 40bux a fortnight a side and still do...I only have 4 grand in the dog account currently but I have had one operation on the girl to remove a lump and 4 on the boy to remove lumps...the cheapest op was 470bux

I figured the likely hood of needing big stuff for them when young will be slim unless im unlucky but I knew I would need money for them being boxers as they get older..the problem with insurance is once they have an issue and its dealt with generally lets a say a leg that is no longer covered.

so for me with something that is likely to be reoccurring which it is this worked for me best...i also buy they 6 monthly advocate out of it as well. sometimes. its kind of just there when things crop up for them that's unexpected

[Sue]

My beloved 10 year old border collie "Moet" was diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer) last year:(. We wasted a couple of weeks because her vet misdiagnosed her rapid weight loss and vomiting to be a stomach bug, which could be fixed with anti-biotics.

As she was getting worse fast we took her back and the vet said it was cancer and she had probably 4 weeks to live. Not accepting her fate, we got her on a plane to Sydney to see a dog oncologist, who put her on a 6 month chemotherapy course.

That was in April last year. Over $10,000 later Moet is today in full remission and has a new lease of life.:)

Like all of you have said, money is no object when we are talking about a member of your family.


She is beautiful and it's so nice to see that the Chemo worked.. I am one of the people that make up the Chemo for Oncology patients and yes we also make up the treatment for your furred friends too.. and I have to say that as much as we all take note of the names and wonder and hope about the human patients that we make the chemo we all especially notice when the order is for one of canine patients.. we even made the manager phone a vet once to ask about a patient as we stopped getting orders for him.. and yes he had recovered.. :):)

[d3syd]

She is beautiful and it's so nice to see that the Chemo worked.. I am one of the people that make up the Chemo for Oncology patients and yes we also make up the treatment for your furred friends too.. and I have to say that as much as we all take note of the names and wonder and hope about the human patients that we make the chemo we all especially notice when the order is for one of canine patients.. we even made the manager phone a vet once to ask about a patient as we stopped getting orders for him.. and yes he had recovered.. :):)

Thank you Sue, and thanks to people like you!

The chemo was hard going but worth it. I was difficult to see Moet go through all the symptoms of a human chemo patient - hair loss, nausea, diahorrea, skin infections, etc, but we are so overjoyed that she pulled through:):)!

It was a different drug each week, and once a month she would need to have a dose of what the vet called "red devil" (doxorubicin). We hated when that time came because of the potential danger of the drug plus it would knock her about quite badly.:(

[dullbird]

Thank you Sue, and thanks to people like you!

The chemo was hard going but worth it. I was difficult
to see Moet go through all the symptoms of a human chemo patient - hair loss, nausea, diahorrea, skin infections, etc, but we are so overjoyed that she pulled through:):)!It was a different drug each week, and once a month she would need to have a dose of what the vet called "red devil" (doxorubicin). We hated when that time came because of the potential danger of the drug plus it would knock her about quite badly.:(

Wow thats actually quite interesting to read your experience as the specialists reckon they dont have the effects like humans have..a very good friend of mine had her dog go through chemo and you would never no he was on it..if anything he got a little lethargic at one point but no hairloss (samoyed) and no sickness no diahorrea..interesting to see the other side of the coin and that it can actually happen

[d3syd]

Yes she lost all the hair off her back, her whiskers, and the top of her snout. All grown back now:). Her appetite also swung between "can't look at any food, I feel sick" to "I could eat a cow". Weird.

The sad thing is that the oncologist told us that although she is full remission, it is fairly likely the cancer will return sometime in the future:(. Basically the treatment has bought her time, and we figured that at her age (11 in July), if she get a few more years of quality life out of it, we are all doing well.

Certainly a lot better than the 4 week to live prognosis when she was diagnosed last April.

[Drover]

My dumb dog “Boston” (black and white)ate his lead when he was 6 months old, clip and all. He didn’t eat it he swallowed it whole.
Not realising what he had done, a few days latter he was lethargic and not well. Down to Vet, a quick x-ray and problem found. The lead had tangled the stomach, large and small intestines all togather.
So open him up, had cut it to the stomach and both intestines to remove the lead in 3 pieces, stitch him back up, 2 days latter he blows up like a balloon.
Infection diagnosed, open him up again, wash out all guts with some special wash, stitch him back up – 5 years latter he going like a rocket.
All up $4500 and worth every cent.
RIP - Lara age 4years (white)


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/04/382.jpg

[smally4.6]

G/day Mr whippy
I'm in the same boat:D
We have two little landrovers:) Ollie a 5yr old Maltese (nicknamed Range) & Jessie a 14 yr old Pom (nicknamed Rover).
They got these nicknames because I would be driving a RangeRover,if it wasn't for the vet bills over the years:D
Yep vets can be exy$$

But..... they are not dogs they are our two boys........
Cheers smally

[Sue]

Thank you Sue, and thanks to people like you!

The chemo was hard going but worth it. I was difficult to see Moet go through all the symptoms of a human chemo patient - hair loss, nausea, diahorrea, skin infections, etc, but we are so overjoyed that she pulled through:):)!

It was a different drug each week, and once a month she would need to have a dose of what the vet called "red devil" (doxorubicin). We hated when that time came because of the potential danger of the drug plus it would knock her about quite badly.:(

Yes, Doxo has some nasty side effects... but it seems to be effective so I guess in the long run worth the misery for those few extra years.. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to see her go through all of that..



Wow thats actually quite interesting to read your experience as the specialists reckon they dont have the effects like humans have..a very good friend of mine had her dog go through chemo and you would never no he was on it..if anything he got a little lethargic at one point but no hairloss (samoyed) and no sickness no diahorrea..interesting to see the other side of the coin and that it can actually happen

Yes in most cases they do suffer the same or similar side effects as we do.. it's just that animals tend to suffer silently.. of course the side effects - or lack of them - are dependent on which drug is used. It's the same with people some chemotherapy drugs cause little side effects while others cause some horrific ones.. I have had two members of my family recently have long courses of Chemotherapy (and radiation) and both of them were fine during the treatment, with only one of them feeling a bit off colour for a day or two after the dose was administered... they were some of the lucky ones though as others (on different drugs and doses) suffer terribly..

[d3syd]

My dumb dog “Boston” (black and white)ate his lead when he was 6 months old, clip and all. He didn’t eat it he swallowed it whole.
Not realising what he had done, a few days latter he was lethargic and not well. Down to Vet, a quick x-ray and problem found. The lead had tangled the stomach, large and small intestines all togather.
So open him up, had cut it to the stomach and both intestines to remove the lead in 3 pieces, stitch him back up, 2 days latter he blows up like a balloon.
Infection diagnosed, open him up again, wash out all guts with some special wash, stitch him back up – 5 years latter he going like a rocket.
All up $4500 and worth every cent.
RIP - Lara age 4years (white)


Amazing how resiliant dogs are. Imagine how much recouperation a human would require if that happen to us.

[dullbird]

Bloody jinx'd me

My female boxer is not right tonight behaving very oddly generally looking incomfortable followed her out to the backyard because she didnt look right and she threw up twice...

drinking a bit of water just before doing that threw up her dinner.

So now I'm watching her like a hawk because not last night but the night before I was out and they ripped up a postage envelope you know the ones with the bubble wrap inside them I just hope she hasn't eaten any of it.

She has settled down getting on the sofa and going to sleep since vommiting but still concerned...ironic as they have a vet appointment tomorrow, but if she carrys on looking uncomfortable she might be going tonight

[d2dave]

G/day Mr whippy
I'm in the same boat:D
We have two little landrovers:) Ollie a 5yr old Maltese (nicknamed Range) & Jessie a 14 yr old Pom (nicknamed Rover).
They got these nicknames because I would be driving a RangeRover,if it wasn't for the vet bills over the years:D
Yep vets can be exy$$

But..... they are not dogs they are our two boys........
Cheers smally

I have two human boys. One 21 and one 18. It has been raising and educating them that has kept me poor, and the reason that I am still driving a 96 TDI. After reading all the replies on this thread, I have had a pretty good run with the vet bills. Although spelt differently, my dog is also called Jessy.

Dave.

[Sue]

Bloody jinx'd me

My female boxer is not right tonight behaving very oddly generally looking incomfortable followed her out to the backyard because she didnt look right and she threw up twice...

drinking a bit of water just before doing that threw up her dinner.

So now I'm watching her like a hawk because not last night but the night before I was out and they ripped up a postage envelope you know the ones with the bubble wrap inside them I just hope she hasn't eaten any of it.

She has settled down getting on the sofa and going to sleep since vommiting but still concerned...ironic as they have a vet appointment tomorrow, but if she carrys on looking uncomfortable she might be going tonight

How is she this morning?

[DiscoMick]

I once paid $150 to have a vet try to save one of the kid's guinea pigs which had been mauled by a cat - and it died anyway! Still, you have to do what you can.

[Bundalene]

Bloody jinx'd me

My female boxer is not right tonight behaving very oddly generally looking incomfortable followed her out to the backyard because she didnt look right and she threw up twice...

drinking a bit of water just before doing that threw up her dinner.

So now I'm watching her like a hawk because not last night but the night before I was out and they ripped up a postage envelope you know the ones with the bubble wrap inside them I just hope she hasn't eaten any of it.

She has settled down getting on the sofa and going to sleep since vommiting but still concerned...ironic as they have a vet appointment tomorrow, but if she carrys on looking uncomfortable she might be going tonight



How is she Lou...?

[dullbird]

She is all good had her checked by the vet anyway as they all got booked in for vaccs...

so today I visited the vet for vacc's and came out with

Female needing her gums cut back
Male needing a lump cut out of eyelid
Shepherd needs scale and polish (mild) but while there 2 teeth removed.

not going to be a cheap month next month :D

[goingbush]

Our dogs are cheap to run, except when we go away the $50 a day boarding is a killer. Still can't find anyone to take them while we are away for 12 months.

The Husky x Border collie was being a bit cagey yesterday, would not leave whatever he was 'protecting' from the jack russel x kelpie . Went to investigate & found it was a Deer skull complete with antlers & pretty fresh too.
How gross - no idea where he got it, as they are not too common round here.

Must retrieve it from the bin for a photo I guess, but Im sure there is one not to happy hunter around here somewhere !!

[DiscoMick]

Our dogs are politicical socialists who believe they have a right to live off the government (me) and lay around doing nothing until meal time when I provide for them, so that makes them expensive to maintain in the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. :D

[Sue]

Our dogs are politicical socialists who believe they have a right to live off the government (me) and lay around doing nothing until meal time when I provide for them, so that makes them expensive to maintain in the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. :D

Are you sure they aren't cats? :D

[justinc]

Are you sure they aren't cats? :D


Was thinking exactly that Sue!! :D

We are hotel staff to our British Blue Shorthair:(:), dogs are sooo not like that usually.

JC

[DiscoMick]

Definitely dogs. Why, do your dogs earn their own living?

[scarry]

Our dogs are politicical socialists who believe they have a right to live off the government (me) and lay around doing nothing until meal time when I provide for them, so that makes them expensive to maintain in the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed. :D

What a pity they don't have the life expectance of the average dog,then there wouldn't be many around:)

Now getting back to the OP,good to hear all is OK

About 11 yrs ago my wife decided that our elderly Doberman needed a playmate.A Sharpei pup appeared,he is still going,just getting slower & slower.

In 14.5 yrs we had the Doberman,she had very few trips to the vet.The Sharpei goes regularly,has cost us heaps,but as others have said,money well spent.

His new playmate is a Springer Spaniel,& she has just turned two & going strong.

[Sue]

Definitely dogs. Why, do your dogs earn their own living?

In a way yes.. both neighbours and the neighbours across the street have been robbed in the last 2 years.. but not our place.. I am guessing that two cattle dogs in the yard would have something to do with that.. :)

[DiscoMick]

Yeah, dogs probably do deter burglars. Howeverm that didn't stop some yobbo from smashing the rear window of the Disco, parked in the car park out front, with a rock last year. :twisted:

[Sue]

Yeah, dogs probably do deter burglars. Howeverm that didn't stop some yobbo from smashing the rear window of the Disco, parked in the car park out front, with a rock last year. :twisted:

That sucks.. :mad:

[scarry]

Well i spoke to soon:(:(

A couple of days ago our Springer spaniel decided to pick a fight with an echidna in the middle of the night.I locked her in the house for the night,so the echidna could get on it's way,as it did.
Today i get home from work late &i find Dixi,the spaniel has a large lump on her side,and she does not look well.So it's off to the after hours vet,she has a high temperature & the lump is a large absyss,she needs a general so they can clean it out after it is cut open,etc.
The run in with the echidna may have caused the problem,or it could be coincidence,we will probably never know.
What i do know is in the morning the wallet is going to be a lot lighter,but as others have said,money well spent.