[Mike77]

I rescued a 12 year old+ dog from the street. As a disabled veteran I can only budget $200 for something to ease the dog's pain. Every veterinarian that I talked with is a money hungry and uncaring person.
What have I Experienced ?
Spouting platitudes like, "good medicine requires it," They typically require two to three visits , hundreds of dollars for tests and $45 for each visit.Only prescription for the suffering dog would be an anti-inflammatory. Then they escalate to requiring an over $2000 operation which could kill it.The dog remains in pain. Its an old dog,
I have met and talked over the phone/paid out money, to 11 vets in the Smoky mountains area. Every one is a money grubbing, uncaring person. My poor dog is suffering because vets charge too much and prolong the animal's suffering.

If you explain that (1) You cannot afford an operation (2) You want to relieve the dogs pain (3) So far you have got nothing for your money...
They say, we are not a charity and good care costs money.

A number of my friend' have paid out a lot of money to vets and their dog died mysteriously. In two cases the dogs died after teeth cleaning. Its an ugly process when you deal with a vet in East TN. I do not trust veterinarians,every one that I met was a sociopathic mechanic.

If you know of a humane vet in the East TN area that would take my $200 and give me a prescription for relieving my dog's pain, please contact me. Aspirins and condriten (sp?) have not worked.

 

[angelbaby]

Im sorry You are going through this , idont think all vets are bad tehre are some really kind hearted ones who love animals and have them as priority #1. Being said I do agree with them , they cant work for free they have fees to pay and costs to cover as well. I find it hard to think that all those vets are taking you for a ride im more to believe if they are all telling you the same thing that maybe that is actually what the dog needs. Unfotunately not everything that comes up with our dogs is "affordable" or "cost efficient" these things happen and as owners we have to deal with it. I always said with my dogs i care more of quality of life over quantity of life , If my dogs get to that point where they are in pain all the time and we cant manage it to were they are happy it may be time to make that decision .
How old is your dog? and what exactly is wrong with him do you know? And are you wanting permanent pain med solution or is this something that will improve later as he heals? or will you be doing the surgery? I think if its pain meds for the rest of his life you may want to think it over a bit more and decide if a life on pain meds is the right thing? only you can answer that though.
I just think its harsh to place the blame on the vets because you cant afford the treatment , If they worked for free or dicounted to everyone most likely they wouldnt be openany more.

 

[Aireal]

I 100% agree with angle baby, if you cannot afford the treatment for this dog and its in pain there is something you can do for under 200 and the poor thing will never be in pain again

 

[bahamutt99]

That's a tough one. I have seen plenty of folks who prolong their dog's life at the expense of the quality. Loading the pup up with drugs may not be the best answer. I empathize, but I also understand the vets' position. Special needs dogs are not cheap. Sorry that I don't have a more positive answer for you.

 

[stonerreakinhavok]

sounds like your lookin for tramadol or vicodin... a vet in texas was giving dogs small amounts of vicoidin to dogs to help with pain, i dont know if other vets do this. the most cost effective way to deal with the dogs pain isnt pretty or "humane" but i think letting the dog live in alot of pain is even less humane...

 

[crystalcountry]

We're in NE TN. We do have a very good vet clinic we use for our gals and guy. I think the reason why the bills can run up so much is it's a process of elimination. We lost our pitty girl(1 1/2 yrs) last week, our rottie girl (11yrs) 3 weeks ago, and our dane girl(8yrs) has just been thru tests to see if she has bladder cancer. We've had a VERY rough month and have taken a hard hit to the savings. Our 4leggers can't let us how it happened or why it hurts. I agree that it should be a quality of life.