First off I don't think it's fair to say that anyone who "can't afford emergencies" like this shouldn't have a dog; because that would mean that more than half of current dog owners would have their pets in shelters now. Simply put there are ways to deal with emergencies... as long as one can afford routine medical care and proper food and necessities, by all means let them take in that dog from the shelter if they have the abilities to care for it otherwise.. a good dog owner will ALWAYS find a way to pay for emergencies even if they DON'T have the income to do it immediately; myself included! I just personally found that comment a bit rude, that's all- as I'd hate to think that it would deter people from adopting a dog because they think, "Oh, well I can easily afford vaccinations and high quality food and can spend all kinds of quality time with them; but because I don't have an extra thousands of dollars set aside for when it gets injured I'd better just not get one." And boom, one more perfectly healthy dog gets euthanized because someone changed their mind.
I'm not worried as much about the cost as the actual procedure. The clinic I work for does not do it, as they are a fairly small practice and refer everything to either a specialist an hour away or the medical school about 2 hours away. I've done a lot of research and found many people saying that a dog under 20lbs has just as good of a chance at recovery with limited activity and joint/pain meds; than it does if it had the surgery to begin with; and that the recovery would take just as much time.
Anyway just as an update, she's been in her little x-pen type thing for about a week or so and still hasn't limped at all since she's been on the glucosamine supplement.
Will keep you all posted as time goes. |