[Lucky098]

Unfortunately I know too many people that can afford outlandish vet bills. But I see where you are going.

It bothers me to no end, though, when we have clients that come in and deny certain care due to money, yet will turn around and get another puppy or kitten. If you cannot afford the first pet, than don't get a second, third or fourth. I guess that's the side of this debate that I'm talking about.

Things happen, people lose their jobs, get their paychecks cut or get sick themselves and have to pay their own medical costs. I think life's unexpected surprises should be in a different category than people who straight up don't have enough money to even feed themselves.

In my little city, we have 4 big vet hospitals. The main ones are the one I work at, a cheap, cheap vet hospital (Lots of complaints coming from that place) and an expensive, state of the art hospital. I realize that not everyone has the ability to pick and chose, but for those that do, know which place offers what. If I were in a pinch and needed a pet looked at right now, and my vet was not available or too expensive, I'd use that cheap vet. I doubt I'd ever step foot into the expensive place. Not only is the head doctor a jerk, but their medicine isn't nearly as good as the place I work at or the 3rd vet office who is very similar to the one I work for. I hope that made sense.

Life happens, I get that. And if you are in the position to put aside $2g in a rainy day account, more power to you. But we all know that when it rains, it pours. What would you do if your car broke down and cost up to $2g and the dog broke its leg? Than what? The pet is a living creature that is in pain, but in order to get the pet to the hospital, you'll need your car. Most of us will see a way around this dilemma, but 90% of the others will just simply sit down and claim they have no money period for either.

Exotic pets... whether it's a bird, hamster or an expensive Koi fish, you need to know what your veterinary budget is. Be realistic. Don't expect to spend $100 bucks on a sick Koi fish. Specialty vets are expensive.. and Koi fish are a specialty pet.

But once again, keeping our pets healthy without medical intervention should be a priority. Everyone on this site knows not to put an 8wk old puppy on the ground in a dog park. But other people think nothing of it and than cannot afford parvo treatment. it's the stupidity of owners that bothers me. I'm not saying that they should read up on every possible disease that dogs can catch, but be smart about some of the more common ones, like Parvo, and how to avoid it. Is it a 100% guarantee that the puppy won't get it because you dip your shoes in bleach before entering the home? No. But it lessens the chance by a lot.

Which is why I come back to PUBLIC EDUCATION. That is what this site is all about and I think we all do a pretty good job. But, we are only touching such a small percent of people that its not being as effective as it should or could be. I tell people at work all the time with puppies, don't put them on the ground. Most listen, even more don't. Its just a never ending battle.

[grammadidi]

I live in miniscule-town, Nova Scotia, Canada. I moved here from top-dollar city in Ontario, Canada. I pay, on average, about 40% more for most veterinary care that I received in Ontario from a very exclusive vet in a very exclusive area who was an ortho-specialist (among other things.) In fact, it cost me more to get 1 dog spayed here than it cost me to have 3 cats spayed (one of them with a very bad heart condition who needed special treatment & care during her surgery) AND one very large dog neutered.

I also don't get it. We have one of the lowest minimum wages in the country. Rents, property taxes and property ownership is at least 1/3 of what it is in comparable towns in most provinces. It is my understanding that we have lower fees for veterinary college here and my vet has been practicing for 30 years (don't know why she hasn't got it down right yet! ** poor joke **) so her mortgage on her two clinics and her education MUST be paid off by now!

I worked as a vet tech for many, many years and my job including purchasing, accounts payable/receivable, etc. so I know the costs of drugs, equipment and the like. There is just NO excuse for the costs involved here. In addition, our population has a very high amount of low income seniors and unemployed people. Hmmmm... could this be the McDonald's/Walmart syndrome? (Open up shop where the low income people live so you end up making lots of money!)

I will say this... I voiced my opinion in a well-written, thoughtful letter backing up my figures, etc. and the clinic has since started to include things such as nails, ear cleaning, check for fleas, etc. for FREE with their office visits AND now offer me a "quantity discount" because I have 3 dogs, 3 cats and 20 to 70 chickens. I think we need to be a lot "squeakier" as far as wheels go.

Finally, I wanted to make a suggestion regarding the yeast infection in the dogs ears. I have a Chocolate Lab who had ongoing ear issues when he was younger. (He loves water, of course.) I also have a Golden Retriever who is a little prone to allergies when ingesting the proverbial chicken-** after all the breeding hens are turned loose after their productive times. Our 3rd dog is part Golden and part Irish Setter... yep, another water lover. Anyhow, I would suggest cutting back on PROTEINS (not what most people think) and adding a bit of cider vinegar into your dogs drinking water. Stop cleaning the ears daily... you are likely irritating them and opening them up for yeasts. Clean the visible area of the ears LIGHTLY with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution every 2 weeks to start, gradually reducing to every 4 weeks. Again, many people won't agree, but I would strongly recommend (ONLY if the problem continues) using a bit of alcohol on a swab to clean the ears once a month. It will sting a bit if there is irritation, but it will kill any bacteria and help to dry the outer ear area well. I had tried everything with our Chocolate Lab and just decided to go back to the basics with him and we never have ear problems with any of our fur-kids... so good luck!

Hugs, Didi

[joypulv]

Thanks for all that grammadidi.
Re the ears again, if I don't clean my dog's ears daily, she can't even walk straight, and scratches much too much, and shakes her head, and the gunk builds up in there quickly.

[Alty]

Thanks for all that grammadidi.
Re the ears again, if I don't clean my dog's ears daily, she can't even walk straight, and scratches much too much, and shakes her head, and the gunk builds up in there quickly.

I have the same issue Joy, with our beagle. I do a deep clean every single day. I bought a cleaning solution from the vet, cost a pretty penny. You literally squirt the liquid in his ear, rub the base of his ear to make sure the liquid gets right into the ear. Then you clean it out with a cotton ball. We also put cream on his ear 3 times a day. I've also tried UP honey, and that helped a lot. We put it in his ear, and we give him some to eat. UP honey is a natural healer. I would highly recommend trying it.

[Alty]

On a side note, my friend's cat, the one I was talking about in another post, passed away last night. She went into respiratory distress at around 2:30am. All our friend could do was try to perform CPR, but she didn't make it. :(

[Lucky098]

How sad :(

What was wrong with the kitty?

[Alty]

How sad :(

What was wrong with the kitty?

They said it was an infection. She hadn't eaten regularly for quite some time. He took her to the emergency vet because it was Thanksgiving weekend last weekend. They put her on intravenous, did an ultrasound, an x-ray, and other tests. They said her liver was enlarged, but no cancer. They figured the enlarged liver was due to her not eating. They kept her overnight, then sent her home.

The next day my friend took her to his regular vet. They ran the same tests as the emergency vet, found that her liver was enlarged. They prescribed 2 meds (don't know what, didn't ask) and 6 forced feedings a day, which my friend was doing.

Last night she just flopped, wasn't breathing. He tried CPR, no time to rush her to a vet. She passed away in his arms.

[grammadidi]

That's very sad, Alty. I also lost our Chocolate Lab the other night. He just cried out a bit, stiffened up and stopped breathing within 20 or 30 seconds. I cried and talked to him, saying, "Oh Browni, I'm so sorry." and he took a deep breath, wagged his tail twice and was gone. Apparently he had a heart attack. :( We lost our Bernese Mountain Dog to an inoperable mast cell tumour that spread to his organs and brain a year ago, and now my "Chocolate Moose". It's tough losing a part of you. My thoughts and prayers are with your friend.

Hugs, Didi

[Alty]

That's very sad, Alty. I also lost our Chocolate Lab the other night. He just cried out a bit, stiffened up and stopped breathing within 20 or 30 seconds. I cried and talked to him, saying, "Oh Browni, I'm so sorry." and he took a deep breath, wagged his tail twice and was gone. Apparently he had a heart attack. :( We lost our Bernese Mountain Dog to an inoperable mast cell tumour that spread to his organs and brain a year ago, and now my "Chocolate Moose". It's tough losing a part of you. My thoughts and prayers are with your friend.

Hugs, Didi

I'm so very sorry to hear that Didi. My thoughts are with you and your family. It's always hard to lose a member of the family, and that's what pets are, they're family. My heart goes out to you.

[mogrann]

I am so sorry to hear Didi. I agree it is the hardest part of having pets, losing them. May your memories of them help you through the next while as you grieve. I have posted this lots for others that have lost pets, and hope it helps you as well. It is called the Rainbow Bridge.
The Rainbow Bridge

[Wondergirl]

It is called the Rainbow Bridge.
The Rainbow Bridge

I cry every time I read that. But there's hope there too.

[mogrann]

I cry too but tears of joy. Let me explain as it sounds odd. My cat had numerous health issues. He lived in a cone all of his life due to not being able to control his allergies. He would scratch so much he would need pain meds and antibiotics. Pony was on so many medicines to try to control his allergies. We made the painful decision as he was not happy, he was in pain, and he had no life really with the cone.
I read that and I picture him running free, no medication, no cone, no diet restrictions. He is playing and healthy and happy. I picture pets getting along and I see Pony welcoming pets of my friends. I see that they know each other somehow. That is how I cope and I am fine with me believing that.
There is a Rainbow Bridge poem for animal rescuers, and fosters. That one makes me cry and gives me a funny feeling in my chest. I can't explain it but it affects me more.

[Wondergirl]

I cry too but tears of joy.

I understand. And if my beloved cat Thomas Jefferson isn't waiting for me on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, I don't want to cross it myself.

[Alty]

I understand. And if my beloved cat Thomas Jefferson isn't waiting for me on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, I don't want to cross it myself.

I think all pet parents feel that way. When Indy and Jasper passed the only comfort I had was that I knew that my parents were waiting for them. My parents raised Indy the first year of his life. My dad didn't want to give him back to us when we finally bought a house and could have Indy with us full time. He kept making excuses (you need to finish the backyard. Okay, that's done, now you need a fence. Okay, that's done. You know maybe Indy should stay with us, you can get another dog. My mom finally told him "Stefan, this entire year they've come every weekend to take him, and come during the week to see him. He hears their car and runs to the door. He knows who he belongs to. He loves us, but he's their dog".

Indy was at every Christmas dinner, every Sunday night dinner, stayed with my parents when I had Jared, and whenever we went out. One time my parents hosted Christmas dinner for our family. We left Indy at home because we thought it would be too much to have a huge lab walking around with all those people. We got there, (this was before Jared was born) and the first thing my dad said "Where's Indy? Why didn't you bring Indy? He's part of the family too. Go get him". Rod went back to get Indy.

So I know that Indy is with my parents, and they finally get to have him, and care for him, until I get there. Jasper too, even though my parents never got to meet Jasper.

[grammadidi]

Thanks to everyone for their kind words re: my recent loss. I didn't mean to hi-jack the thread... it just came out. Rainbow Bridge is something I chose to believe in many, many years ago and now I have many faithful companions waiting there for me.

By the way, loved your post about Indy, Alty. That's exactly the way it should be! :)

Hugs, Didi

[Alty]

Thanks to everyone for their kind words re: my recent loss. I didn't mean to hi-jack the thread... it just came out. Rainbow Bridge is something I chose to believe in many, many years ago and now I have many faithful companions waiting there for me.

By the way, loved your post about Indy, Alty. That's exactly the way it should be! :)

Hugs, Didi

It's my thread, and I say that you didn't hijack it at all. :)

Losing a family member is never easy. I hope that you know we're all here for support if you need it. Start a thread about your pet, tell us all about him, so we can get to know him like you knew him. Post pictures, cry if you need to, laugh when you remember the many great memories I'm sure you have.

A dogs life is so short. George Carlin once said "Life is a series of dogs". It's so true. Every time you get a puppy you know that you'll likely outlive him. You enjoy every moment, because they're only with you for a short time. I've lost many fur babies, and each time it rips my heart out. But I do it again, knowing that it will end the same way, and that one day I'll be mourning them. The joy that I have with them is definitely worth the risk to my heart.

Hugs to you Didi. We're here if you need us.