While I get that, and it is a good point, I’m sure his panic mode subsided, oh, I don’t know, around hour two, and he had the next seven hours where he really could have come up with a viable solution. Babysitter? Helpful neighbour? Take a van taxi with children’s seats to the vet? Have his wife come home on her lunch to switch vehicles (he mentioned her work is 10 mins away)?
For me, the bottom line is had the animal’s welfare been a priority to him, he could have gotten the dog to the vet. I couldn’t fathom watching my animal suffer for nine hours straight and not doing everything within my power to stop it.
Let’s not validate the OP by beating up on FGIE. No one has said he’s done everything perfectly, least of all FGIE himself. I don’t think anyone benefits from a detailed list of what mistakes he might have made. Clovernook isn’t really interested, he’s just an asshole.
He did say the called the vet. Is there anything the vet could have done? My guess is the best case scenario is that the vet would have given the dog a tranq to let him sleep through the seizures. I don’t know if there is much more you can do in the middle of a grande mal. And it is entirely possible that moving the dog to the vet would have been more stressful and risky than just letting him lie where he was (hopefully) comfortable and wait them out. Plus, FGIE also said he couldn’t afford to have the dog euthanized until payday, so he may not have been able to afford for the vet to do anything at all even if they could get him there. Or may have decided it was better to save the money in case he needed lifesaving treatment when the seizure was over instead of spending it on palliative care.
These are tough decisions for anyone dealing with a sick animal. He posted here because he was upset by the situation. You really think he was just beeing a heartless asshole? Why would he post about it?
You really have to make a lot of assumptions in order to second guess him in him in this situation. And for what? He came here for support and comfort, not to be judged.
I’ve never had a vet who I’ve had a prior relationship with NOT offer to bill me for some giant, expensive, all of a sudden, emergency thing. They don’t want any creature to needlessly suffer either.
Maybe you’re right. Or maybe he tried all of those things and nothing would work. We don’t know. Surely you’ll admit that there a chance, howver slim, that you are wrong and that he did his best. If that’s the case is it really worth putting him through all this bullshit and second guessing on the chance (however likely) that you are right? Again, who benefits? I’m all for taking down assholes, especially when they call attention to themselves, but reall, this is just kicking someone when they’re down. Even if he is an asshole, it’s just unseemly. What lesson does it teach? If you do prove that the dog’s suffering is all his fault what have you accomplished but to make someone who feels bad feel even worse?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. He had two young kids in the house. His family has a limited income. His wife said that she wanted to be the one to take it to the vet. He hand fed the dog for days when it wouldn’t eat. He cleaned the piss and shit off the dog for days when it couldn’t go out to do it itself. He has an electric fence, and let the dog out briefly so that he could clean its piss and shit covered crate without having the dog smear piss and shit all over the house. When the dog got out, he called an employee over to help move it. When the dog disappeared, he and the employee went looking for it for hours. He’s continued searching for it every day to the point of exhaustion.
I’m not a member of the FGIE fan club by any means, but I don’t see where he’s been an asshole here.
Maybe he hasn’t lived up to the standard set by the helicopter pet owners who anthropomorphize their animals would happily blow thousands of dollars on their medical care, but he’s done as much as any sane owner could be expected to do.
And he’s obviously heartbroken about the whole thing, so cut the guy some fucking slack.
I don’t put my pet before any humans or anything, but I certainly make sure I can care for her and minimize her pain to the best of my ability. If I can’t afford to care for my dog, I wont have a dog. I realize plenty of people have animals they can’t properly care for, but for me, my personal standard is what I just said.
Oh for fuck’s sake, no one budgets for a dog to start having seizures at a year old. Even if you’re right, you’re still being a bitch. And you aren’t right. FGIE went above and beyond what most people would do to care for a dog in that condition. Go find someone else to piss on.
I would suggest a)…that’s the way the dog would live if he was at home, regardless of his illness. he is not losing him on purpose. Although probably should keep a better eye out because of disabilities.
Because I have to say this: Whoever is not realizing that no animal should live like this is being extraordinarily cruel and thinking only of themselves.
I have no doubt that the man is stressed, distraught, saddened, the whole nine. I’m not trying to invalidate his anguish, which I’m very sure is real. I understand that people do the best they can with what they have and know, and I appreciate that.
I realize that he is in a very difficult situation, both financially and emotionally. However, I stand by my opinion that more could have been done during the grande mal seizures, and that there was some negligence involved, which allowed the dog to escape for the second time. He had already discovered that the dog no longer understood the invisible fence, yet he left him unconstrained with only the fence that had already been proven ineffectual protecting him from a dangerous area.
He has my sympathy, it’s a situation I’d never want to be in.
Meaning that really, having pets is a commitment and you should have something socked away in case something bad comes up. Sure, no one plans for a dog having seizures at a year old, but no one plans for their dog to get hit by a car, either.*
And every vet I’ve ever met, especially if you’ve been going to them for a year, would be willing to do installment payments, or a bill due the next month, or even take a post-dated check. They’re not going to say, “well your dog has to suffer for two weeks until payday, sorry.” I remember times when my mom would have to do just that because our baby-dog, Mira, would tear a knee ligament or get gastroenteritis. When you get a dog, you’re agreeing to take care of the dog. That’s not “anthropomorphizing” your pet.
I don’t think FGIE is an asshole at all, BUT he was unintentionally a bad pet owner. He didn’t mean to at all, and I can see he really did love the dog, but there were a bunch of bad decisions. Yes, berating him now isn’t going to bring Riley back, but maybe some of this is helpful for the other dog he has.
Which is why, even though I’m dying to get a dog, I’m not until I have a grand or two socked away for vet emergencies (in addition to the “oh shit I just lost my job” emergency savings I already have).
I’m not willing to pile on to FGIE. It seems he is/was doing the best he could. But, I did notice he was talking about ‘the next dog’. I don’t think he should get one. It is not in their budget if this episode was such a financial hardship.
Ca3799, yeah, that’s the only comment in the thread that made me sit back. A short period of mourning would be appropriate. Especially for the kids, who shouldn’t grow up thinking dogs can be casually replaced. I’m thinking (maybe projecting) about my stepson, who always has to have a dog, but they never seem to last more than a year or so. (His kids have had almost as many dogs as they’ve had temporary mothers.)
I can’t find any fault with FGIE. As for getting help to get the dog to the vet, if I was in that situation, I’d be stuck. Everyone I know who’s healthy enough to help me with a large dog (or anything heavy) is at work during the day.
I think it really depends. The last time that we had a ferret who had to be put to sleep, that left us with one young ‘kit’ at home who was obviously very distressed at how her older friend had deteriorated in health. My husband was too torn up to go into the vet’s office with me, so he sat in the car while I sat with her as she was put to sleep. Then I went out to the car, we cried a little, and both of us realized that we absolutely had to get another ferret, that very night. It felt right. We drove straight to the local pet store and played with the kits until we found a little boy who we adored. The “replacement” ferret lived to age 6, which is ‘old age’ for a ferret, and he was a great playmate to that distressed young ferret we had left, who only discovered the joy of playing with toys after her buddy died last year. She’d never needed them before that.
However, I do think that in this case (and in general) if finances were an issue in treatment, then it is an extremely good idea to wait. You never know when something could happen to a pet, and to go into the situation knowing you don’t have much money isn’t wise.
Really? That’s your standard for pet ownership? You really think the dogs waiting to be euthanized in shelters (or on the street because the shelters are full) are better off than if they went home with a dedicated, loving human who happens not to have a couple of grand to spare? Try running this by the local Humane Society or Animal Wefare League and see what they think of this idea. :rolleyes:
Oh what the fuck ever. My point is that if you can’t afford the treatment for your dog, you shouldn’t have the dog. Whether that means that you have them put to sleep (which would’ve been understandable in this case, since it’s health issues. A healthy dog though, I’d think that’s shitty), you give the dog to someone else, or you find some other way to pay (like, oh, I dunno, I mentioned in my fucking post).
You seemed to have somehow missed where I said
This is known as, “what you do if you don’t have a couple of grand saved up”. Try actually reading all the words of a post the next time you want to reply, k?
Whatever. I can’t wait until you post about something bad that happens to your family so I can pipe up with how it’s all your fault.
I think I’ve made my point here and I’d rather see this thread drop off the front page, so I won’t post here any more. If anyone wants to discuss my position further, please open a new thread directed at me.
FGIE, I hope you haven’t seen this thread, but if you have and you’re still reading along, know that my thoughts are with you and your family and with Riley wherever he is.
Where in the bloody blue fuck did I say that it’s all his fault that his dog’s gone? I said he made bad decisions. I tried to make sure I said I didn’t think he was a bad person, or an asshole, or anything like that. It’s obvious he loved the dog, but he made mistakes. That’s all I fucking said. Dumbass.
