Low income pet care?

[Saoirse]

A friend is having severe health and financial problems. Now her dog has a lump that she suspects is a tumor. I have not seen the dog, but it sounds pretty bad. It is an older dog, I'm guessing maybe 10-12 years old.
She needs to get the animal to a vet, but cannot find one that will accept payments. I told her to call a shelter or the humane society to ask about low income vet care, but she is afraid that they will take her dog because she can not afford to pay for the care of the animal.
Any ideas?

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Just one visit to a vet for a palpation of the lump would be under a hundred dollars. *Most vets can give an educated guess whether a lump is cancerous or not by feel. *Cancers feel firmer than cysts and are "attached" by a root or growing on organs or a bone rather than just lying in the subcutaneous tissue. It's not a definitive diagnosis, but vets do have an idea of what it is just by feel even without biopsy or added tests.

Honestly, if the dog does have cancer at that age, comfort measures followed by euthanasia when it became necessary may be the best option. Cancer treatments are difficult on pets because they don't understand what is happening. *And a dog's natural lifespan is around 10-12yrs. The expense of treatment would be a secondary concern compared to the pain and discomfort of treatment for the dog. *And at that age, the outcome would not be that good even with treatment because he is already near the end of his life span. It would be like putting a 90yo human through aggressive chemotherapy and surgery.

Care Credit is always an option, but you have to have good credit to get it.
http://www.carecredit.com/

I'm sorry.

[Saoirse]

Hi Mom!
Thank you for the advice. I visited with the lady that has the dog yesterday. She said a vet wanted $500 or $600 down payment for surgery and would not take payments.
The dog looked healthy for its age, except for a lump the size of a marble on her lower leg and another under an eye. I told her to call the Humane Society. She is in very dire straits; I don't think she has any available credit.
If I were her, I would let the dog go before subjecting it to surgery and chemo. You are right.
Thanks again!

[Saoirse]

Update: I contacted an animal rescue service that put the lady in touch with a vet that is willing to examine the dog and advise her on the best course of action.
There are really some wonderful people out there.
:)

[MYellowRose]

I've had that problem myself but I am lucky enough to have a vet who will take payments. I think that it helps that I've been his customer since 1977.

[Saoirse]

Her regular vet wanted $500-$600 down. I don't know what the plan was from there.

I had to change vets after 10 years because I felt I was being overcharged and got tired of being "upsold" items and services the animals did not need. I no longer trusted him.

I think you chose a good person to be your vet. Mutual trust is a wonderful thing.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I had to change vets after 10 years because I felt I was being overcharged and got tired of being "upsold" items and services the animals did not need.

We switched vets a few years ago because we also felt some the advice was based more on income than on the good of the animal. I have chihuahuas. One that I had purchased from another breeder had a limp which turned out to be luxated patellas. I have taken that dog to four different vets who gave 4 different opinions on what to do for her. The one that we chose to follow was an older vet's advice to use DMSO on the knees. It was the least invasive treatment option. It has worked wonders and costs about ten dollars every six months for the medication. She isn't even on Rimadyl any longer since she started the DMSO ointment. We didn't have surgery on her because some vets said the right leg was unfixable, the left leg was only a stage one, while other vets disagreed about which leg should be fixed and if there was any slippage at all on the left leg at all. Every one of them except the older vet said DMSO would never work. But it did. It worked wonders for the dog. Simple ten dollar horse lineament fixed a problem that a different vet said would cost over $2000 to treat, and that the dog would still need painkillers for the rest of her life. Now she runs, jumps, barks, plays like nothing is wrong.

Long story short, Medicine is as much an art as a science. And there are various opinions and treatments for various issues. It just seems like it is in the best interest of the animal to do the least invasive treatment that causes the least pain yet achieves the same result as a more invasive treatment.

I personally would never put a 12yo dog through extensive surgery and chemo. If the first priority of Veterinary Science is to relieve suffering, I don't think that would be the best option for a twelve year old dog. Sometimes you have to wonder if the vet is thinking about potential income, or thinking about what is best for the animal.

[Saoirse]

Absolutely. Some vets charge more if they know you really like the animal. When I take one of my animals to the vet these days, I act very nonchalant.
I suspect that is one of the problems with my friend and her vet bill. She once spent $1500 (at least) on an injured cat that died after being on some sort of life support at the vet. She loves her pets and it shows. Unfortunately there are vets out there that take advantage of folks like her.

[michiganmom]

I took my dog in for a lump last year and it was skin cancer so the vet said. Well let me tell ya $1000.00 and the worst cut job ive ever seen. He stapled my dog up twice and they kept coming out and we could see the insides. What a wack job that vet did. I ended up ordering vet supplys and tending to her myself. She is all healed up and fine now but what a night mare. My dog is only seven yrs. old. I pray nothing else goes wrong with her now but if it does she will be going to a different vet. I wish your friend luck, these things can get very costly and the vet cannot always be trusted.

[Saoirse]

Wow... I'm glad to hear you were able to help your pet. Thank you for your kind words.