The High Cost of Keeping our Pets Healthy........... [Archive]

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CathyA

8-29-17, 2:38pm

It's really hard to NOT consent to get medications that your pet needs. Unfortunately, our 14 year old dog needs some pretty expensive meds. Twice now, over the past 2 years, her liver enzymes have skyrocketed. Apparently she has a bile salts problem. After giving her a very expensive human drug (ursodiol), her liver enzymes come down to normal. Now the vet says to keep her on it forever. Also, she's developed bad arthritis and we're going to start injections on her that are supposed to even reverse the joint damage. Plus, she's on thyroid medication for being hypothyroid. Then there's the flea and tick med and the heartworm med.

We love her and we just can't say no to these things. But geez.........sooooo expensive.

The vet recommended using a Canadian pharmacy or Good Rx company. I guess I'll check that out.

I do have mixed feelings though, about spending so much money. I guess it's a First World problem...............

catherine

8-29-17, 2:54pm

So sorry, Cathy. I am a pet lover and I would also would find a way to squeeze expensive medications into the budget. They are such loving, loyal companions. Our last dog was clearly dying of organ failure, but we asked the vet to perform surgery just in case it would help. He died a few days later and we had a pretty large bill, but I'd do it again. It is so hard to deny a furry friend the same medical advantages we humans have.

freshstart

8-29-17, 3:42pm

I have an 8 yr pup who keeps struggling with his hind end. First it was supposedly an ACL tear on the left leg, then that healed over and it's a tear on the other leg and he probably needs surgery. But the thing is I really think it's arthritis because he gets put on vetprophen (which they swear is not ibu-prophen, hmm) he gets better, can run, lift either leg to urinate, get up and down stairs, he seems good. I don't see the point of surgery when on vetprophen, he's not even limping. We go back in two weeks, I really hope surgery is off the table. I adore him but I am on a very limited income. I took him in from an old lady who couldn't keep him anymore back when I was still working and could afford big vet bills. I want to be a responsible owner and I will do the surgery if I have to but it will be very hard on me financially. Once one of my dog passes, I'll just have one dog because that's all I can afford.

flowerseverywhere

8-29-17, 3:48pm

ToomuchStuff

8-29-17, 4:06pm

There is a lot of times it won't make fiscal sense, especially with a time cost benefit, but emotion overrules logic. For those times there are some pharmacies that are better for no insurance coverage (ones like Costco, according to one boss, going through Chemo for a dog that is within 2 years of average lifespan for that breed).
I wish years ago, I had put mine down after he had his first stroke. When I let him out to go poddy, we figure he had another stroke, by how a person described him acting as he had run off into a vacant lot, elsewhere, and died that night, before we found him. It is a hard choice to make.

CathyA

8-29-17, 4:27pm

freshstart.............I love our new vet. The other one was in a small town and was awful. This one is about 24 miles away and is expensive, but he's sooooo good and smart. He put our dog on a tablet called Derrmaxx to see if she responded to it......which she did. Since it's a dog NSAID, they don't like to leave them on it, or at least find the lowest dose possible that gives them relief. Now that she's responded to that, he wanted us to go to a glucosamine/condroitin/MSM tablet, which I guess really helps restore their cartilage. But he said there is an even better product, but it has to be injected (Adequan). DH and I feel very comfortable with injections, so we're going that route. Unfortunately, you start out at twice a week for a month, then slowly go down a bit, to eventually once a month. But at my dog's weight, each injection is about $12 each. So......I think there are other options for your dog, rather than a higher dose of an NSAID. Be sure your dog isn't having side-effects from that......like vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding.

The med for the gallbladder sludge my dog keeps making (which raises her liver enzymes) is something like $4-6/tablet and he wants her on it forever....every day. It's a human med. Hmmm.....maybe we could get our doc to write us a script for it and it would be partially covered by insurance. (Just kidding!).

Yes........our pets are family members and it's hard not to do everything possible for them to ease their pain and give more quality to their lives.................but man, it can be expensive.

pinkytoe

8-29-17, 6:13pm

Had to spend $500 recently to have my cat's butt shaved and sewn up after a neighbor's cat got him. He had to wear a collar for two weeks for which I was charged $30. The thing I've noticed is that a lot of vet offices now must have huge overhead costs with state of the art clinics and large staff. A new emergency vet specialty "hospital" is going up nearby; it is very large and is being built on high dollar real estate (next to a Costco). Another thing I've found, at least here, is that many of the vets will only see you if you have signed up prior (are you a member?), shown proof of vaccinations and have pet insurance. I had to search quite a bit to find one that operated in the old-fashioned way.

Yppej

8-29-17, 6:15pm

The reason we no longer have pets.

Ditto. There are some stray cats we give water and treats to.

14 x 7 = 98 in dog years. What do you think the expected life expectancy of your pet is, and if you were at that stage of life yourself to what extent would you want measures taken, on a scale from ordinary to heroic, to keep you alive?

When my grandfather, an active farmer his whole life, was confined to a wheelchair, in the end stages of Alzheimers, unable to feed himself or to speak, wearing diapers, my aunt said, "If he knew what was going on he would say, 'Take me out behind the barn and shoot me.' But of course we can't."

With their dairy cows they could. But it seems that more and more animals are being treated as humans and their lives extended many times.

BikingLady

8-29-17, 7:17pm

razz

8-29-17, 7:36pm

I felt I got railroaded on this costly pet care ride in life. I have had dogs all my life, I love these wonderful mutts no more than all the ones that came before them. However the last 10 years I have seen a change in my trips to the vet or should I say the bills. Everything is offered from pills to surgery, to treatments, therapy and X-ray . Surely I must be a bad owner if I do not do all these things???
My experience is the same. My dog, as with all the previous dogs, gets his annual check and all the shots necessary each year, quality food, daily 1 1/2 hour walks and lots of attention. My vet knows that basics will apply to my health as well as my pet so no extras are offered or requested. I have rarely required extra visits.

CathyA

8-29-17, 9:11pm

I felt I got railroaded on this costly pet care ride in life. I have had dogs all my life, I love these wonderful mutts no more than all the ones that came before them. However the last 10 years I have seen a change in my trips to the vet or should I say the bills. Everything is offered from pills to surgery, to treatments, therapy and X-ray . Surely I must be a bad owner if I do not do all these things???

No, I don't think it makes you a bad owner. Everyone has to decide for themselves how far to take it. I feel like if your pet is in pain, you should treat it as best you can, but I think there's a lot to be said for letting nature take it's course.
Everything in this country is getting so advanced and high-tech and expensive. It's sort of crazy. I would always treat a pet for pain, and be good to them, but please don't feel like you have to do all those other things in order to be a good owner.

freshstart

8-30-17, 1:39pm

double post

freshstart

8-30-17, 1:39pm

I will ask about these things, thank you, CathyA. I do do glucosamine/chondroitin already

Tradd

8-30-17, 1:46pm

The reason we no longer have pets. We volunteer at the no kill local shelter and that gives us our fix. Funny how we all gripe about health care costs and yet shell out a huge amount for pet medical care. Our last pet was so expensive at the end it did not make sense in our situation.

I was going to mention this. Friends who are less well off than they used to be get their pet fix by volunteering at the local no kill shelter, as well as pet sitting for any and all when folks are on vacation. It puts a bit of cash in their pockets, and the pets get loved on when their humans are away.

pinkytoe

8-30-17, 2:11pm

Life without a dog after forty years or more of having them...has been very freeing. At this stage of life, I get my fix by fussing over other people's dogs.

Teacher Terry

8-30-17, 5:20pm

I have had dogs that past 13 years. Some we got young and some we rescued when old. WE have had 4 dogs for the past 10 years. It has gotten crazy expensive. I was paying 300/month for meds. One died in June and one today. Now the meds cost 65/month for our big old dog. We did get a puppy 3 weeks ago because I knew our 4 old dogs were going to die from various conditions they had. Josie who died today had kidney failure, seizures, dementia and a sore leg. She was on pain pills and other meds but it became clear the past 2 weeks that all of a sudden her quality of life went from good to bad. She was 20 yo. Our big dog is 12 and 80lbs so don't expect to have him much longer. We also have a 13 yo Maltese with no health issues. At some point we will be down to just the puppy and intend to keep it that way. The cost has gotten crazy. If a dog is young we spend a lot more $ then when old because obviously we are all going to die. With that being said in the past 3 years we have spent 3k on the big guy for curable conditions. Our vet clinic also has the state of the art equipment. But once a dog has organ failure we do meds and keep it comfortable and then let go when their life is no longer good. I wish more states did that for people that want it. My friend with Alzheimer's died a slow, painful death from cancer the last 4 days of her life because they could only give her meds every hour and she needed them every 45 minutes. She spent the last 15 mins of every hour thrashing. It was horrible.

pony mom

8-30-17, 8:50pm

Last year I adopted a 15-16 yr. old deaf dog. Her digestive issues have required expensive human grade food and supplements. Hopefully all this will keep her around for a few more years.

My horse is 32 years old. He has Cushings disease, which is common. His rx meds costs $3.50/day; his dose may need to be increased in the future. His NSAID drug is about $1.50/day. This makes him very comfortable and has totally changed him. However, he tore a ligament in his hind leg a few months ago. He's had two ultrasounds and will have another in Oct. He may or may not be rideable when it heals. I'm just hoping to be able to ride him at a walk to keep him busy since he's very young for his age and does not like being idle. Oh, and on Monday he had a tooth pulled out....$285.

I have basic health insurance and don't go to the doctor. Haven't seen a dentist since 1987.

CathyA

8-30-17, 8:54pm

Last year I adopted a 25-26 yr. old deaf dog. Her digestive issues have required expensive human grade food and supplements. Hopefully all this will keep her around for a few more years.

Good heavens..........is that a typo? I've never heard of a dog being that old!

Tybee

8-31-17, 8:12am

Tammy, I am sorry for the loss of your Josie.

We just took our puppy to the vet yesterday for shot round number two. I can't believe what the vet charges. We already bought the "new puppy plan" of 332 for three rounds of shots. But then on top of that, one optional lyme disease vaccine and one Trifecta pill for heartwork and fleas-- 59 dollars.

It bums me out because I have another dog due for boosters and I can go to tractor supply and buy them myself and give the shot myself for less than 20 dollars. I don't want to avoid the vet, but I could do that and she would have her shots and I'd probably save a hundred dollars.

And like Pony Mom, I don't go to the doctor anymore because I can't really afford it. I can't afford my prescribed asthma meds each month.

I'll probably do the Tractor supply clinic for low cost shots for the retriever.

CathyA

8-31-17, 2:32pm

We spent close to $300 for a visit, lab work, kennel cough vac, heart worm and flea and tick med (just a couple month's worth) last week. Then this week, we spent another $200 for special arthritis shots (about 10 of them) and more of her thyroid med. Now I have to look around for the cheapest gall bladder de-sludger med.....which usually runs around $4-$5/tab and she has to be on it every day. I told the doc........."Good thing she's so old." :(

Teacher Terry

8-31-17, 3:48pm

Tybee

8-31-17, 7:02pm

Thanks Tybee. It was rough with losing Cassie 2 1/2 months ago and now Josie. I gave the other 2 old ones the speech that they need to wait awhile to leave their Mom. Actually they both are doing great. Have you looked into prorams to get your drugs cheaper. I have heard of Good RX and also Walmart fills some RX's cheaply.
Terry, I am sorry I called you Tammy, and not your name! Losing two dogs within 3 months is heart rending. We still mourn one that we lost 4 years ago--she was really young and did not have a full life.
I will look into those programs, thank you!

pony mom

8-31-17, 8:05pm

Good heavens..........is that a typo? I've never heard of a dog being that old!

Oh gosh, definitely a typo. But if she does live that long, I'll be broke!

CathyA

8-31-17, 9:35pm

Oh gosh, definitely a typo. But if she does live that long, I'll be broke!

LOL! I had just never heard of an animal that old! Bless your heart for taking such good care of the dog and the horse!!