PLEASE HELP! Moose is injured :(
 

I'm not even sure what happened and am feeling so horribly guilty, this has never happened before!!! I've spent the day caring for my friend's ailing dad, normally my dogs are crated when I leave, but I knew I'd be gone 10 + hrs, and hated for them to be locked up that long, so I locked up my cats and left the doggy door open with most of the dogs gated into the kitchen so they could come inside if they wanted, and go out the dog door if they needed to potty. I'll NEVER do that again :( I'm not sure what happened - But one of my house guest Yorkies, Moose, apparently tried to dig under my gate - My yard is double gated and the 2nd gate has cement under it, so there's no danger of them actually getting out, but he did get under the firs and really tore his belly and back end up bad doing it :( I took him to the vet as soon as I got home and saw how bad he was injured - Have him home for the night on an IV, but he'll need to go back tomorrow for more IV fluids and antibiotics, I feel so horrible! His dad is a disabled veteran and recovering from a massive heart attack, which is why I have his dogs. He has very little money, and with some huge specialist vet bills on 2 of my cats and 1 of my dogs in the last month, my vet bill fund is dry, I don't have enough to cover his bill as well, and don't know what to do! Any advice on what to do? My vet is trying to keep things as reasonable as she can - But of course this kind of care is expensive, and we won't know until we see how he responds how long we'll need to keep him on IV fluids and antibiotics - and we may need to do surgery to close up some of this, but right now the swelling is to bad and we want to leave the wounds open for at least a few days so it can drain and get most of the infection out on it's own. I'm just sick that I allowed this to happen :( Especially when I know this has got to be really painful - And when the vet handed him back to go home for the night, instead of crying or nipping like most dogs was, he just looked at me and started kissing my face, he's such a good boy!

No disrespect intended here, but you have an awful lot of animals in your house for a person who does not have vetting funds. After this recent emergency I would hope that you might try to get your numbers down.
This is the second pup treated at home that should most likely be hospitalized...both of them. :( I don't care if you are a vet tech...I know that you know these pups are on the edge when that severely injured and need more than can be provided at home.
I will say prayers for Moose. I am so sorry he is injured so badly and suffering. :(

The only reason he's home tonight is that there is nobody there overnight. It was a mutal decision between me and my vet - It's either he comes home where I can monitor him and rush him to the ER if I have to, or he sits at the clinic where there's nobody there from 6 pm to 7 am. Same applies to Gina. When the clinic is open and a vet is there - The dogs stay at the hospital. At night when nobody is at the clinic, the dogs come home so I can monitor them, keep their meds on schedule, and give them better care then they'd get sitting in a cage with nobody around.

Yes, I do have alot of dogs - And normally funding isn't an issue, but I've spent $10,000 in the last month at the specialty center between one of my cats needing some major surgery to deal with a chronic eye problem that flaired up, another cat who's heart problems suddenly got worse and needed to get back to the cardiologist urgently, and my 15 year old Afghan who also has a bad heart. So yes, I'm hurting a bit at the moment, but perfectly capable of caring for the animals here under normal circumstances - there's just been alot of unexpected vet bills recently.

As for what happened with Gina - I was again in contact with my vet the entire time. I do as my vet advises, what do you think they do when your animals are hospitalized? Especially if the clinic isn't staffed 24/7 (and even many that are!)? Your dog sits in a cage and is checked in on by vet techs and if anything changes it's reported to the vet. During the day vets will check in on them every few hours usually at best unless they're critical. I've worked in many animal hospitals - And they almost all operate that way.

I hope that Moose is feeling better and responds to the treatment and doesn't need surgery. Sending him get well hugs.

First of all, I would never leave my pups unattended for 10+ hours and definitely not to go in and out of a dog door. I let that go but you are a rescuer and imho should know better. You won't do it again...fine...but I am floored that you did not know know not to do that.

When poor little Gina was so severely injured you told me that she was better off in your home than in an emergency clinic overnight. I have no doubt that poor thing was in shock by the next morning. The post you made that day indicated that...and they could not do much with her.

Are you now telling me there is no emergency clinic in your area? I have also spent thousands in vet care recently having had 3 of my own pups requiring surgery. They don't choose to live here...I choose to keep them and I owe it to them to take proper care of them.

I am not trying to be mean. I am merely advising you to take a long look at your situation.

I appreciate what your saying - Yes, there is an emergency clinic here. The vet there is terrible, and yes, they'll get better care here at home since I have all the equipment to do EXACTLY what they'd do, minus the rough treatment and inexperienced care. I know many animals that have been ignored there and died from neglect. I know stories where animals that where suppose to be getting treated and be on IV fluids died in their care, and they didn't even have a spot shaved for a catheter. I'm not sure why they haven't been shut down, and have no basis for a claim since it's all word of mouth - But I trust the people I've heard this from. So no, I'm not comfortable going to the ER here, and do feel that when I can reach my own vet and discuss with her what we need to do, that they'll receive better care with me watching over them at night and her attending to them when her clinic is open during the day.

And I'm sorry - But THOUSANDS of people allow their dogs to have access to their yard through a dog door while they're gone. My neighbor checked in on them half way through the day and said they where fine when she checked on them. s**t HAPPENS. Is it something I normally do? Of course not, and will never do it again, but my neighbor didn't feel like she'd be able to get them all back in and in their crates so I did what I felt was best given my circumstances today - I had to go care for an elderly man who's near and dear to my heart and the staff at the rehab center he's staying in wasn't supervising him close enough. I couldn't leave to come home, he couldn't be left alone. So nothing about what happened today was ideal or the way I'd normally do things, I guess this is what I get for trying to help a dear friend out instead of making her hire a stranger to take care of her dad when she wasn't comfortable with that at all.

You have no room to judge me when you know so little of the real facts. The fact is I did what I felt was the best for these dogs, today wasn't a normal day, and I will never allow that to happen again, but it happened and Moose needs help, and that's all that really matters to me at the moment.

24 Hour Las Vegas Veterinarian/Animal Hospital | VECC24.com

Until 2 years ago I went to Vegas months out of the year. This place is great, I "know" that these animals at this place are rarely left alone, if ever even for a few minutes.

I suggest you get Credit CAre get this pup in the hospital. When the owner is well you can square away with him, I'm sure he would be happy to reimburse you.

Also, I am 46 years old. I have two Yorkies and I work. I no matter what would never ever leave them alone for that long and no matter what, they are seperately secured in their own pens. I can't imagine the houseful you have is easy to care for, these two wear me out, you need to really thin the ranks down, I know your intentions are good, but this situation has proven to be dangerous, and with that many animals your sure to see more.

Also, there is alot of wildlife where you live, nail up the doggy door...

Good Luck

Removed because it's obvious this topic isn't worth my time

And you expect the YTers to provide that help? I am not sure what you are saying....

That'd be great if I had the cash upfront, but I don't. And what do you think they'd do? They'd keep him on an IV (which he's on, hooked to an infussion pump), give him pain and antibiotic injections (which my vet sent me home with for the night), and monitor him (which I can do here - I have my vet's cell phone if things change). You may not like me having him at home - But reality he's getting the same care he'd get anywhere else.

I have care credit, it's been maxed out on my own dogs and my rescues already. I had my home catch fire a year ago, and the insurance company I had only repaired my home, they didn't cover vet bills.

Lets drop this, I'll do what I feel is in the best interest of Moose, I'll be leaving this forum since it's obvious people here think if you're not rich and don't have unlimited resources, you're not a good owner or rescuer.

Actually, I was hoping they could help me find resources that could help me, knowing this dog is owned by a disabled veteran who can't afford the care the dog needs. I'm sure there's groups out there. I'll find a way to pay for Mooses' care, and am not going to expect the owner to reimburse me - It's not his fault this dog got injured, and he shouldn't have to pay for it!

One more thing: I am not judging you at all. I am merely commenting on things that you have posted on this forum. If you were a friend, I would be telling you the same thing.

And, I don't care how much "equipment' you have and the fact that you say you are a vet tech....you are not a vet and my personal experience with emergencies like this are that a licensed veterinarian should be handling things.

Please don't let the dogs use that doggy door, I saw coyotes in LV more times than I can count, I am very familiar with LV, please I implore you to reconsider this practice.

NDOW - Nevada Department of Wildlife Website

No one said anything about being wealthy.... It is about being responsible and having the money needed for emergencies. I was merely suggesting that you may have too many animals in your care....that's all. Not a word about how much money you make. It's about having enough for what you have.

Perhaps your friend could reach out to veteran support groups...or contact the VA to see if they might have a program to assist him.

You are correct...Moose's injury is now your responsibility. I will pray for his recovery.