Dealing with a hard decision

[Triskeliongirl]

Hi Sandra. What a happy ending! Please keep us posted as to how he is doing. But do know, that we understand and support whatever decision you make. The good news here is that Bull wasn't put to sleep and was given the gift of life. I so hope he qualifies for pet insurance. Thanks for much for posting that information. It will make things easier for lots of people. -e

[sandra]

Our vet worked last night at the Emergency clinic, so he is not in today. That's where he took Bull last night to observe him. (I didn't know this yesterday. We just though he was taking him home.) I've talked with the other vet and explained that we can't handle it. The response was "well, he needs to go home with you then".

She said he was such a special dog. Little dogs are prone to more issues and yes, he has had more than his share of problems, but they have a hard time putting them down unless it was life threating. His issue was serious, but he may recover. She thought that he was such a friendly dog and would be happy anywhere as long as he was being held.

I understand both positions. Their position (and I cannot ask them to work for free or even reduced rates) and my position.

She said we could certainly work on a payment plan, that she has known us and we have been good patients for so long.

He was sitting right there with her. She said that she works the Emergency clinic tonight and she had planned to take him with her tonight. He may be able to come home today, it all depends on if he is urinating and all is doing ok. We are to talk again at 4 p.m. and see.

[onimity]

Hi Sandra,

That is so wonderful! I think it is a good decision for you and Bull. It is clear that you love one another. It is sometimes necessary to go through these things to realize how important the things we love are.

If the insurance doesn't work out maybe what I did would help you? I read a financial planning article that listed the average cost of a cat at $10,000 over 10 years (it was higher for a dog, but I don't recall the exact figure, maybe 15K) I just figured that the best option was to put that money aside, vet bills or no, so that I'd be ready for the unexpected. Minus food, litter, etc. it seems to work out to roughly what the insurance plans would cost.

It makes me really happy to think that your little dog is doing well and will be home again with you soon.

Anne

[Ninabike]

Sandra, so happy you can have your little "Bull" back with you. All the best.

[Triskeliongirl]

I am so happy that Bull is doing well, and that you are at peace with your final decision. In life we have to prioritize how we spend our money. Clearly this taught you that Bull is important enough to you to make him a priority financially. I hope the insurance works out, but if not, consider simply buying LESS STUFF. You may be doing this already, but right now our priority is sending both our children simultaneously to elite New Enlgand Colleges. This is a huge finanaical burden, but we believe it is important for our family. So we cut our budget in other ways. We eat out less. We cook nice dinners at home (from fresh unprocessed ingredients) in double servings so we have nice lunchs to pack for work the next day. We ride our bikes to work (no gas and its good for us too!), or car pool if the weather is too bad. We take less expensive vacations. Like, we visited our kids at school last week, but stayed in our daughter's dorm room instead of a hotel. I lost a lot of weight recently so I have had to replace my wardrobe, but I am limiting the amount of clothes I buy to a small number of pieces that I love and are on sale/coupon, and I do laundry more frequently. Just last night the temptation to buy another cycling jacket hit, and I said, no, I can layer under the one I have for colder weather riding and still be fine.

There is a tremendous pressure in our society culture to consume, so we just have to choose carefully what services and goods are most important to us, and we can have what is MOST important to us.

Warm wishes headed your way for Bull's continued recovery.

[sandra]

Triskeliongirl, everything you wrote is so correct. That's also part of the problem. We were already trying to do this but probably not as furiously as we should have been.

We don't eat out, we don't take vacations, etc. At our age we are staring at retirement and we have tried to plan. But, just last week I wanted the new mixte and GOT it, but did I really need it? No, I already had one bike. It didn't seem like a bad idea at the time because it was not expensive. It is a good reminder that several small things all added together can cover a large thing.

Thanks for the reminder.

[rij73]

Hi Sandra... Yes I have actually used Hudson's health plan! They commonly cover 80% of the average cost of procedures (not necessary exactly what your vet charges you). In some cases, your vet may charge less than what they budget for a procedure, though. Your dog's pre-existing conditions probably wouldn't be covered, but any future conditions that develop would be. There are also other plans. VPI is one, and PetCare is another. Do some research... it's probably worth it!

[trickytiger]

This will be my last post here because I don't want my point of view to make it harder on you... Seems the decision has been made. I'll just say in closing that if the vet just couldn't put him down, then he should have offered to do the surgery for free and give him back to you. Otherwise he should have done what you, the kind and thoughtful owners of the dog, had decided. I believe he is very wrong and unprofessional to take Bull home with him.

I apologize in advance.

Are you serious? You would rather that the dog DIE than be taken care of? Who are any of you to demand that the vet offer free services? And where in any of this was it stated that the clinic workers got anything for free? It seems like many of you have just assumed that and ran with it.

I realize this is a tough choice, as a pet owner myself, and as someone who is getting rather creative with money in order to achieve some goals. However. When faced with the option of ending your pet's life versus letting someone pay for and care for your beloved dog, I think the second option is infinitely better. In both cases, you no longer have your dog. The difference? In the second case, your dog has another shot at life. And, it sounds like the clinic workers are caring people who would probably let Sandra see Bull. Please don't heap abuse on the vet- he or she is doing their job. And, vets have to eat too- and pay student loans back!

[sandra]

It is all my fault! I'm the one that in my very emotional state accidentally said "free" in my post with regards to his healthcare. I really didn't have any way of knowing this and that was a wrong assumption on my part and wrong use of words, but AGAIN, I was upset.

I never wanted this thread to turn into a disagreement among members. I appreciate the different thoughts and respect that everyone has their own opinion. It's hard to know what I would have done until I was faced with it. But please, it's going to all be OK.

[Blueberry]

Many vets can and do offer reduced/free services in certain cases (and especially to their employees).

The ABA model rules of professional responsibility says that I have an ethical obligation to provide 50 hours of pro bono work to folks who can't pay for my services (I'm an attorney). Lots of licensed professions have similar obligations. So yes, professionals do sometimes perform free work for folks who can't afford it - some because it's the right thing, some because a governing board says they should. Yep - I have student loans to pay back. Yep - I have bills to pay. Yep - I have to eat.

As Sandra said, we don't know what the situation with the vet tech was - I was just concerned about the vet putting a long time client in a tough ethical situation when he had the power to stop it. I don't deal with life and death situations much, but I've written off thousands of dollars in fees to keep folks from being in a bad situation. And yes, I sleep well at night (if not in quite as nice a house). Sorry to those I offended by suggesting that the vet consider what I've regularly done.

[Tri Girl]

Oh, Sandra. What a roller coaster ride you've been on.
I'm glad that Bull is coming home with you. I'm sure he's glad, too. You made the right decision. Be at peace with that. There'll always be unexpected expenses in life, but you did what you had to do. Don't feel guilty about the mixte either- you should be able to buy the things you want. That's what we work so very hard for every day. To be able to enjoy life.

I'm glad Bull will be staying with you!!! Pet him from all of us when you see him again!

[sandra]

He's home and doing good. He will be on a special diet for the rest of his life.

No discounts, but that's ok. We are happy to have him home.

[Blueberry]

*so far* the special diet has worked for our kitty. He had the opposite kind of stone from most cats, so his food wasn't really well tested.

It's hard not to feed treats, etc., but it's SO worth it

Hug him from all of us at TE.

[sandra]

they said our stone had been sent of to be tested and they would be able to tell exactly what caused it.

They said treats without a lot of dyes were ok, like Science Diet or Milk Bone, but not to give many. They are accustomed to having one every night at bedtime and it will be hard to get them to bed without it. I really want to cut out treats.

[Blueberry]

Ours was Calcium Oxalate which means kitty needs a basic food. We do break the rules sometimes with natural treats (e.g. freeze dried salmon) - the main thing is you don't want to mess up the pH modification the food is making....

CA