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Originally Posted by cinnamonmon  I have 3 dogs...as Ive posted before, not willingly...the third I inherited when my son and his fiance couldnt keep her (thats my Yorkie). She has been the most costly as she has bad allergies for one and a very sensitve digestive system for another. She has reverse sneezing and before I knew what that was it cost me two er visits. My other two dogs are older, 9 and 7 and have been always been pretty healthy but as they age, they are starting to have issues also. The Yorkie mix has a collapsed trachea which acts up every now and then and the Maltese is starting to have all kinds of age related issues. The last two weeks alone, I spend $90 for a routine visit for severe itching for the Yorkie, then $50 again for the Yorkie this week as she has started peeing in her sleep (on my bed), then $184 last night at the er vet. The Maltese woke up in the middle of the night, clearly distressed and having trouble breathing...once we got there she seemed better but the vet still xrayed her and gave her meds. She couldnt find anything wrong. I am just frustrated...I adore my dogs...I make a decent salary and treat my dogs well but I do have other things I need to spend my money on.
I am lucky enough that the er vet is only 7 minutes away so maybe I go there more quickly than I would if they were farther away. Almost everytime Ive gone, it was something they couldnt really diagnose and was gone by the time we got there, or was something minor that would have gone away on its own, or could have waited till the next day to see the regular vet. (vomiting or diarrhea, coughing, bloody stool, ) The thing is when my dogs are in pain or distress my tendency is to get them help
Even the regular vet visits half the time seem to be a waste. Sometimes I think I could have diagnosed them myself if I had access to the medications. I know there are no easy answers but how do other people manage this. I can afford normal care and the occasional emergency but lately they are bleeding me dry. |
It can be a very big concern, especially when you're on a fixed income. My little albino ferret had cancer, and it was amazing how fast the vet bills could add up, even with a little 1.9 lb pet. I spent quite a bit of money in three weeks before it was clear that she wasn't going to get better and I had to let her go. My dogs are ages 11, 9, and 1, so I could be facing big vet bills with them any time, especially the two older ones. I am very attentive to them and they get all the care they need and then I figure out how I'm going to manage to pay for it. I have one credit card that I use if I have to and that's my "backup" plan. I don't use the card for anything except emergencies. It's the only credit card I use and so far, it hasn't been a problem.