My dog is dieing and I do not have the funds to pay for his surgery. Where do I go from here?

Question

My dog, max, is a maltese and he has a liver shunt. I have no way to come up with 2500 dollars to get him his needed surgery. I try my hardest taking him to the vet and giving him his medicine, but it just isn't working anymore. I'll do anything to save my dogs, but it seems that all vets care about is money. If you don't have money, they can't help you. Can someone give me advice on where I should go from here? And fundraising and sponsorship doesn't help. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

http://www.carecredit.com/providerloc/ you can fill out the form on line and know in minutes if you qualify for this credit card that is only for veterinary care.
I checked my area, and all vets within 200 miles of me acctept this card.

I will pray for you and yours.

Answer 2

Try to google Maltese rescue groups. Certain groups want to help animals of particular breeds.

It is truly sad when an animal has to die because vets are not willing to help. If you can't take a loan and most vets won't finance, maybe you can start by contacting vets in the area and see about getting a reduced price. Be persistant and offer to volunteer at the office cleaning cages or whatever you can do to help offset the expenses. Call every office and always make sure to talk to the vet or most sympathetic person available. If nothing else offer the dog for adoption to a family able to afford the surgery it needs. You might have to give the dog up, but you would know you did the best thing for it.

Good luck--I wish there was something more uplifting to say.

Answer 3

Why is it that any time someone can't afford the treatment for their pet, the vet is a jerk for actually charging money for performing the service? Do you have any idea how difficult it can be to do the surgery that you are talking about? Probably not. Suffice it to say that the vet that is going to perform the surgery has had to pay a ton of money to learn the skills to do that procedure. But I guess all that matters are your bills. They don't have to pay theirs.

Anyway, you had the money to get a purebred dog, so there is that. As for how you get the money, all I can suggest is that you a) ask family, b) ask friends, or c) apply for CareCredit, which is a credit card that is specifically geared toward veterinary care. You can apply at Carecredit.com, and then you can find out what specialists in your area accept this as payment. If you can't do any of those, why do you think that a vet who is not your family or friend should feel obligated to loan you money?

I suppose you don't want to hear that some dogs have shunts that are not able to be closed because they are numerous tiny vessels causing the shunt, or because closing a large shunt is not possible due to increase in overall blood pressure.

I do understand how difficult it can be when you are faced with a decision such as yours. But your vet did not give the dog the disease. They are telling you what it takes to fix him. If you cannot do it, you cannot do it. Blaming everyone does not help your dog. I hope that you can find a way to make your dog better, but if you can't, I hope you are kind enough to end his suffering.

and dr - clearly you aren't actually a doctor, or you would not say something so dumb. Vets aren't "money hungry", or we would have chosen a profession where people actually like to pay their bills! Vets don't give the animals the diseases they have, and it's not our fault if you cannot afford to treat the pets you have. Like it or not, life is not free, and neither is pet care. Vets have bills to pay too, and for one that performs this procedure, they have major costs related to their practice. Vets that work at shelters and low cost clinics work there for a reason, and it really isn't because they are great surgeons. Most of them cannot perform this kind of procedure.

Answer 4

Although Clovicat was harsh in what she had to say, there's some good information in her post. This is a highly specialized surgery and, sadly, there's no guarantee going in that the shunt can be fixed. Part of the expense will be to do preop testing to determine the type of shunt that they think it is, etc. I had a little dog that had a liver shunt and it was one of the hardest times of my life and my heart goes out to you during this difficult time. Please check into CreditCare (Clovicat gave you the addy) and make sure that you have some good support for yourself during this difficult time. In other words, take care of yourself, too, while you're figuring this out. There's a Yahoo group that you may want to join to get the emotional support you need...I'll put the addy in the source box. If it helps, there does come a time when the medication does stop working with shunts and surgery becomes your only option for trying to remedy the problem. I wish you the best of luck and my heart truly goes out to youl.

Answer 5

a liver shunt is a very serious condition. is there any way you could make payments some vets will make arrangements for something like this. the surgery will have to done by a specialist as you all ready know. even if you have the money your baby might not make it. you all ready said the meds are not working and he is just getting worse. sometimes we have to let go and say good-by to a special loved one. do you want him to suffer just because you love him so much. I'm so sorry and keep looking for that special vet that has compassion and will work with you may God bless you and your little dog. you and your little dog will be in my prayers.

Answer 6

That is a tough one. You are right in respects to many vets are money hungry. Lots of people say" if you can't afford a pet don't have one"--- I hate it when people say that as you can love a pet and give it a great home and times can be tough and you just don't have the money. That happens to many people.
So.. the only suggestion I have is ask at the Humane Society, the pound, what ever your hometown calls themselves and ask if they can help out. Another idea is a local university that has veterinary campus and call them and ask if they have the ability to help your dog out. I would have never known that they have clinics for animals through the university but the students are the ones who help the animals under the guidance of their professors.

Answer 7

I wish you would understand that it takes a lot to go into a surgical procedure, from pre-op, to surgery, to post-op.

Consider the number of people required to be able to go into surgery (the surgical team, laboratory personnel and other support personnel) and the number of man hours used (from preparing the team, training and updating them, to the actual procedure). Correcting a liver shunt can be tricky or tight.

Consider the supplies and disposables that will be used in the procedure, the cost of keeping an inventory of medicines and other disposables, procurement costs.

Consider the equipment and facilities that will be used: electricity, maintenance and upkeep, sterilization, etc.

Consider also the permits and licenses that have to be maintained/updated to keep the clinic viable, patient record keeping, accounting, etc.

In this view, $2,500 is reasonable - its not all just about the money. There is some responsibility involved when you decide to take care of a pet.

I appreciate seeing that you have deep concern for the welfare of your pet. For now you will have to explore all possible combinations of raising the money for the procedure: rummage sales, loans from friends and banks, double jobs. You could visit veterinary colleges near your area - they could give you lower fees or even waive the PF entirely.

Answer 8

Besides getting a second job, getting a loan, selling something you own, ( get rid of cable TV, computer access, phone and a tight budget for a few months

See if the vet has a payment plan.

In the end, if the dog is in a great deal of pain, our only choice may be to put the animal down instead of allowing them to live in pain with no way to improve.

Answer 9

While this may SOUND like "get a shovel" it's not meant to be. I understand the pain you are going through. We had to have our beloved Max (dacshund) put down because of age and it was the most difficult thing I could do, but it was also the most humane thing I could do for him. Talk to your vet about it. If you do choose to do so go in with your dog, sit with him, talk to him pet him, love him. When we had Max put down we also had him cremated and I now have his ashes. That might be of comfort to you as well. Max left his earthly form almost 10 years ago but I still fell his presence and I still miss him. Sometimes letting go is the hardest part of being a pet owner but sometimes it's also the most humane.

Answer 10

This is very hard and I know the pain you suffer. I have been in the same position. I had to take a long hard look at what was going on and when Sam was no longer able to have quality of life, I could not let him suffer any further, I had to put him down. I held Sam as the vet slid the needle in and I said goodbye, Sam looked in my eyes and I felt I could hear him saying, "Thank you for your kindness, I have been in pain and now I am ready." He gently closed his eyes and went quietly to an eternal rest.

Answer 11

Wow don't listen to these morons on here that say shoot him, they have no heart. Have you tried calling every vet in your area? Find out if they have a payment plan? I just went through this and was unsuccessful but my dog had cancer and not too much could be done for her. Hang in there Max! Keep working at it. I wish you all the luck in the world.