I believe my dog is ill but can't afford a vet. His symptoms are listed below. Any advice?

Question

He's a black lab pup, 10 mos old. He has an obvious hip problem, constant diarrhea even with natural puppy formula food, and has low energy. His appetite is great, doesn't act ill, will play fetch and wrestle with my other dog but seems to tire easily. I want to get him treated but we can't pay a vet and I don't know what my other options are.

I'm not stupid and I'm not irresponsible. He has seen a vet and he has been vaccinated. I have had some recent medical issues and have no insurance and am trying to pay those bills off. And sorry to say, I have 2 kids of my own and they come first. Those of you who have children and have found yourself in hard financial times will understand. If you are only going to criticize please don't answer my question. I came her for help.

Answer 1

Well the first thing I would do if I were in your position would be, to start, I would certainly drop off a stool sample at your vets office and have them check it for all parasites, as they can cause diarrhea in dogs (the cost should be minimal to do that), when you drop off the stool sample I would ask your vet if the food could be causing the diarrhea problem, it has been my experience that all foods don't work well for all dogs for example, my 10 year old border collie eats wellness senior, I have a friend with a 1 year old pit, she tried him on wellness and it didn't work well for him, he does much better on Eukanuba. You mention that his appetite is great, are you feeding once or twice daily? I would also check the ingredients on his current food to see if it contains several fillers, that will cause his diarrhea. As far as his hips go, I would have them checked, and X-Ray will show if he is going to have future problems, discuss it with your vet. I understand that you are having financial difficulties, it happens to the best of us. However, I would get your pup to the vet as soon as you can. I have looked up some helpful websites that offer help to people during financial hardships, if these do not work out, you can also look at some of the Labrador Retriever Rescue Group sites, they can also offer some assistance. I wish you and your pup well. God Bless.

Answer 2

I agree with "I ain't your momma". Most vets will accept a payment plan. I'm sorry that your puppy is sick and that it comes at a time when you are having your own medical and financial hardship. You have to realize that when anyone posts a question on here about not being able to afford a vet, all the people out there that think they are perfect and know it all, assume that you are a terrible pet owner and never had any money and they jump all over it and get on the warpath and you'll only get 1 nice helpful answer to every 10 from people that just want to criticize you. I agree that if someone is poor to begin with and has no intention of vaccinating or providing any medical care for their pet that they should not get one. But, unlike these b*tchy people, I also understand that people fall on hard times and it seems that bad things happen all at once. Maybe once you are back on a good financial track, you can consider getting veterinary pet insurance. It is inexpensive and comes in sooooo handy in times like this! I have known many a pet owner, who were good pet owners and not poor, be put in a difficult financial position due to illness of a pet. One owners dog, just for example, ate a pair of nylons and got a blockage and between the barium study x-rays, the surgery to remove the blockage and to remove the part of the intestine that was already necrotic, the hospital stay and medications, and all the aftercare, their bill was well over $3000.00. If all the people that put down everyone for not always having enough money to pay for emergencies can drop $3000 at any given time, bully for them, but I'd be willing to bet that they couldn't. That being said, good luck to you and your pooch:)

Answer 3

Here's an article I was able to find that may help in a way that's manageable for your situation.

Canine Diarrhea: First, try small amounts of canned pumpkin (no other ingredients but pumpkin-see label), dispense one teaspoon to one tablespoon (depending on size of dog) once in the AM & another in the PM (tip: you can freeze the unused portion if you wish). Only feed your dog SMALL PORTIONS of bland food such as boiled chicken & plain white rice (no treats or dog food). If your dog will not eat the pumpkin (tip: drizzle with honey-it may change their mind), you can try Pepto-Bismol. HOWEVER, be sure to contact your veterinarian, Pepto-Bismol contains aspirin, which some dogs are allergic to. If you are certain your dog is NOT ALLERGIC to aspirin, dispense one teaspoon at a time, up to three times a day. Treatment should only be needed for 1-2 days. If diarrhea persists or worsens, contact your veterinarian.

If it comes down to the dog being so drastically ill that it needs vet care, as an absolute last resort, I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention that most shelters will accept surrendered dogs when their owners can't afford vet care.

I wish you and your pup the best of luck!

Answer 4

Try www.imom.org They provide people with grants to help pay for vet bills. (ADDED NOTE: Usually only will help out Non Profits, but can point you in the right direction of getting assistance in your area. ) Another thing to consider is that many vet offices will work out a payment plan - they understand how hard it can be to pay. Don't expect discounts, but ask about a payment plan. Also some areas have Vet teaching centers especially if you are located next to a University. They offer visits at a 50% discount and some of the medications they offer are almost 200% cheaper.
I hope your pup is doing better soon! Best of Luck!
(P.S. It kinda sounds like worms. Do you give him a de wormer?)

Answer 5

I understand about no money but if could be serious. Call the vet and talk to him. Maybe he can give some idea over the phone.
Sounds like he could have hookworm or possible heart worm. You can take a stool sample in to the vet and have it checked for parasites.
If something isn't done to find out what is wrong with him you may loose him. He can die from dehydration which the diarrhea will cause . Good luck. Oh yes, call the SPCA in your area and maybe they can help you. The hip problem could be dysplasia

Answer 6

Diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours can be dangerous. It can lead to dehydration which if left untreated can cause the organs to shut down.

If he hasn't had a checkup he needs to get one. He may have parasites, which can be confirmed by a stool sample.

Animals will not really act sick until they are too sick to act any other way. It's their natural defense mechanism. He will need to see the doctor. If you see he has an obvious hip problem, the vet should have noticed it at his first checkup (which he should have gotten along with his yearly vaccinations, before you brought him home to another dog). If this dog has parasites, your other one can get them too.

No soap box talk but..pet are going to cost money. If you can't afford the doctor bills for them, then you should reconsider having them.

Good Luck

Answer 7

Go to your local health food store and buy a bottle of rescue remedy, and give your dog a few 6-12 drops in the mouth. It will cost about AUS$25.00 , I don't know where you live. If you have a friend who is into homeopathy, she has something called NUX VOMICA in her kit, ask her to treat your dog. Probably won't cost you anything, I take care of my friends and neighbours animals, with positive results, I am also a Colour Therapist and I would put the dog on a turquoise or light blue blanket to assist in his healing. You might want to add a capful of Apple Cider Vinegar to his drinking water, very beneficial and you might want to keep adding the Apple Cider Vinegar to the water, it makes the water taste better, and you will find he will drink more of it. Good luck to you both.

Answer 8

I'm sorry to hear about your dilemma. I understand how easy it is to get behind. If you can't work something out with the vet for payment arrangements some shelters offer medical for free or for cheap. In the meantime, when my boy had some stomach aches my vet had me feed him rice and hamburg, cooked for course. He loved it and got better right away. It gave me time to figure out it was the Iams food that was troubling him. Also you might consider ebay to earn a little extra cash. I hope you get back on your feet soon and your friend gets better real quick. BOL

Answer 9

You cant aviod going to the vet if he has a hip problem or that will cause future damge, it could damage his spine if left untreated for it could bump against his spine, which could in return damage his internal organs, again that is the worst case scenarion, he may be in pain, that may be why he plays with the dogs but gets very tired or stops playing with them. For his diarreah, you can go to a pet store and get some medicine for him, they usually arent too pricy, but you need to get him checked out whenever you can afford too, but it i a top priority because he could end up in a sever amount of pain and thats never good, but check your local pet store for his diareah problem , oh he may get tired easily because he may have an iron deficiency which would cause petite, tiredness, and diarrhea, hope your puppy feels better!

Answer 10

You're going to need to give up some expense to pay for a vet visit. If you are not able to I suggest you turn the pup over to the humane society.

Have you had him vaccinated? If you haven't because you can't afford it.. well, you should have thought of that before you got the dog.