Would you pay for surgery on a dog?

Q

QuickSilver

SF VIP
Location
Midwest
Our 5 year old dog has a ruptured disc and is in agony.... He is in the hospital now... A laminectomy will cost about $4,000 to $5,000 dollars. The alternative is to have him put down. He is a rescue dog we adopted from a shelter 3 years ago.. We have no pet insurance. Would you do it?
 

I would have the poor dog put down rather than let it suffer. I would never spend that sort of money on an animal.
 
I think it depends on the dog's overall health in general, also if it's a small dog or a large one. Sometimes surgery just isn't the wise thing to do, regardless of cost. In the early '70s, we had an Alaskan Malamute puppy who had weakness in his hind legs. After having x-rays, we found that both of this back knees were bad and needed surgery.

Although we didn't have that much money ourselves, we opted for the surgeries, which cost over $2,000...in those days that was a lot. Anyhoo, we did the surgery, and he healed, but was never quite right. Being a large dog, made it even worse. He would yelp in pain whenever he tried to jump up, if he was happy about something, etc. He had to be lifted into vehicles.

So, it's an individual decision by the owner. Sometimes it's most kind to let the dog go. Of course there are people who have a lot of money, and have many expensive operations on their pets. If they work out, fine, if not they end up putting the dog to sleep anyway. Sad and stressful regardless of the decision. :(
 
Wow, hard decision and one I don't envy you having to make! Not at all. I guess it depends on your financial health and whether or not your dog will 'pop' back or be like SeaBreezes dog after his surgery.
 
QuickSilver said:
Our 5 year old dog has a ruptured disc and is in agony.... He is in the hospital now... A laminectomy will cost about $4,000 to $5,000 dollars. The alternative is to have him put down. He is a rescue dog we adopted from a shelter 3 years ago.. We have no pet insurance. Would you do it?
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If I had the money, you bet.
 
Yes I would and I have,several times. My friend had to make the same decision as you with her Doxie-the biggest problem being that there was no guarantee that the surgery would be successful and she was very low income. Her kids helped out though and thankfully the surgery was a success and Sophie is doing fine. But it is a decision only you can make,depending on your finances.
 
As others say, it's down to your personal finances, and the general health of the dog.It's a young dog, so that comes into the question too.Dogs and cats are part of the family aren't they, and we do what we can for them. This kind of money may be hard to find though.
 
I know a lady who spent over $10k on one of her dogs. I thought it was crazy because the animal was almost ten. My lab swallowed a fish hook at the age of three. Took him to the vet and they told me the hook was stuck in his throat but they didn't have the equipment to scope it out. So I was forwarded to a University vet school about 90 miles away. They were able to get it out w/o doing surgery at a cost of $600. If surgery had been required, it would have been around $3k. I was prepared to go with the surgery but would have had a hard time going that route if he was an old dog.

Its an individual decision. For me, I can afford it but I weigh the return on investment side of the equation. Sounds kind of cold I guess, but to me it just doesn't make sense putting a lot of money in a pet that may only have a year or so left.
 
Yes... I have the money... I am going to do it. However my initial reaction was... that's not how I want to spend $5,000..... then I couldn't lift my head up to look in the mirror. So now he has been transferred to a special surgical hospital about an hour away.. Tomorrow my husband will drive there for a consult with the neurologist... then Pete will have an MRI and if necessary surgery depending on what the MRI shows. He could still be a medical case, and will need medication and physical therapy... OR he could be having the whole enchalada tomorrow.. inclusing discectomy and a laminectom..

We have a suspicion how this happened... About a year ago Pete jumped out of a 2nd story window... on to a porch roof and on to the ground. He limped around a bit, but was then fine... IN April this year, he had a problem with what we thought were his knees, pain and limping and whimpering, but that got better with meds. Then last Saturday, he was running around our yard like a maniac, and the next thing we know... he was in agony and couldn't walk. We have been carrying this 50 pound pooch out to pee and poop... and giving him pain meds and we haven't had much sleep this whole week.. I hope we get this resolved.. I'm exhausted.
 
Davey Jones said:
My limit on any animals medical cost would be $100 simply cause of what they are...an animal.
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Around here,$100 would barely get you in the door of the vet clinic. Shoot,it costs $400.00 just to get their teeth cleaned! Years ago,when my daughter`s pony was ill,we spent well over $5,000 for his treatment. He had a terminal illness (Amyloidosis) but had a good quality of life and was,after all,our daughter`s beloved pony. When his quality of life deteriorated though,we had him put down and she knew that it was time. The best dog I ever owned in my life,a rescue,who went everywhere with me for ten years,stepped in a squirrel hole while feeding the horses with me,and tore his ACL. And yes,even at 11 years old,I spent the $1,000 to have it repaired. Sadly,while he was still recovering,he suddenly became very,very ill and was found to have lung cancer. We put him down immediately,as he was struggling to breathe and obviously in pain. The same daughter with the pony saw her kitty be hit by a car and shattered his leg. We spent $2500 to have the leg repaired rather than $250 to have it amputated-and he would have gotten along just fine on three legs. I have always felt that if you take on the responsibility of a pet,you owe it to them to do whatever you can for them.
 
That's my feeling too.. When you take on a pet, you take on it's care for life.. Don't get me wrong... It gripes me to spend that kind of money... but I love my Pete.. He's my buddy.
 
I'm glad your going to do the best you can for your pet and friend. It's not a hard choice if you have the money - it will be spent on something regardless. I'm a believer that our beloved animals are 'people' too and family members and deserve the best we can offer them, since we are their caretakers. I know how exhausting and upsetting it is when your pet is ill and I hope all goes well.
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
Around here,$100 would barely get you in the door of the vet clinic. Shoot,it costs $400.00 just to get their teeth cleaned! Years ago,when my daughter`s pony was ill,we spent well over $5,000 for his treatment. He had a terminal illness (Amyloidosis) but had a good quality of life and was,after all,our daughter`s beloved pony. When his quality of life deteriorated though,we had him put down and she knew that it was time. The best dog I ever owned in my life,a rescue,who went everywhere with me for ten years,stepped in a squirrel hole while feeding the horses with me,and tore his ACL. And yes,even at 11 years old,I spent the $1,000 to have it repaired. Sadly,while he was still recovering,he suddenly became very,very ill and was found to have lung cancer. We put him down immediately,as he was struggling to breathe and obviously in pain. The same daughter with the pony saw her kitty be hit by a car and shattered his leg. We spent $2500 to have the leg repaired rather than $250 to have it amputated-and he would have gotten along just fine on three legs. I have always felt that if you take on the responsibility of a pet,you owe it to them to do whatever you can for them.
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You and your family sound like real nice people and your critters were lucky to find you.
 
One thing to keep in mind is... will the recovery period be painful and how long will it take. We once had a cat whose leg was nearly severed and we had it splinted and stitched up. Recuperation was a long ordeal where she couldn't move or get around at all. Her personality was never the same after that. She became irritable and didn't want to have much to do with anyone. I don't know if it was because the surgery was unsuccessful, or because being laid up for so long just changed her. That's the problem with animals. You never know.

OTOH, I spent $1000 on a mastectomy (yes that's right) for a goat no less. She never blinked after the surgery and is still alive and well and happy 8 years later. So that one was well worth it.
 
I should mention,just in case anyone else ever finds themselves in this situation. On the cat that had to have his leg/him rebuilt....he had to stay confined in a large crate for 8 weeks after the surgery so that his hip would stay together. The day we were able to finally let him out of the crate,he jumped up on the couch and undid it all (although the plates and screw were still in place. But,he actually ended up creating a new hip socket himself-something the vet said only a cat will do-and ended up walking just fine. But I did learn that if I had that one to do over,I would have opted for the $250 amputation. He would have done just fine and would not have had to endure 8 weeks locked in a crate.
 
The hospital just called... Pete is doing pretty good! They increased several of his meds and added some.. He was able to go with the tech for a walk! My God.. we couldn't even get him to move off his doggie bed.. Anyway.. hubby is going tomorrow to meet with the neurologist and she will give Pete a complete neuro exam.. maybe no surgery... but that will be for her to decide. We just want to do what's best for the dog.
 
My dog Hans hurt his back a few years ago, slipping on the ice while getting the morning newspaper from the driveway. He had either a pinched disc or a bulging disc in his spine. He was in a lot of pain too, could hardly walk without screaming out, or make it up and down one step in the kitchen to the outside.

Besides some injections, I think they put him on a liquid medicine called Metacam and Tramadol, maybe Prednisone too. I had to walk him in the yard on a leash to do his business, because if he went too far, I'd have a heck of a time getting him back into the house, since he's 60+ pounds.

Depending on how he moved, he'd scream loudly like somebody was beating him. He'll yelp loudly even if he has a briar in his foot though. I had to confine him to the kitchen, so he wouldn't move around too much or try to jump up on anything. The first night or two, I spent a couple of hours my self on the kitchen floor, to watch him and keep him company.

Luckily the inflammation went down and the pain subsided. I always still tell him "easy" when he goes out for the paper, even on dry ground sometimes he'll skid right past it and end up on his side. We were grateful he didn't need an operation for that.

Good luck with Pete, QuickSilver...hope he can make it without surgery, that would be great! Hugs to you both!
 

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