My dog needs a new hip. It costs $3,500. Being 22 and still in college, and living off of savings and paying for my own wedding (although small and modest), I find myself at a loss as to what I should do.
We got the dog (a 4 year old rottie mix) in February. Her foster mom said that she had always favored one leg, but that a vet had been consulted, x-rays had been taken, and all that was needed was to give her a glucosamine tablet every morning. Sometimes I would forget to give her the pill if I was running late to school, and when I gave it to her in the afternoon, I could tell she was starting to need it. The tablets cost about $25 for 200, so no big investment there.
Saturday she started limping. Yesterday she wouldn’t put any weight on her back leg. She cried and whined in pain all through the night. She wouldn’t eat unless I hand-fed her. Today we took her to the vet, and she was sedated and had x-rays taken. That alone cost $275. We have money budgeted for unexpected visits to the vet, and $275 goes beyond that, but it’s still workable as far as finances go. $3,500 is not.
The vet prescribed some pain medication for the dog, but she has to take it on a full stomach and she won’t eat. I’m hoping that it’s just a side effect of being put under today and she’ll want to eat tomorrow, because without the medication, she’s in a fair amount of pain. She can barely walk, and she’s too big for me to move her by myself (she’s 80 lbs; I’m 120).
I’m supposed to call and schedule an evaluation with an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. How do I tell them that there is really no way that I can afford this? What should I do? Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation with a pet? I feel so bad.
Can you talk to the vet about a long-term payment plan? Most vets will offer one for catastrophic problems like this. I know that when faced with a possible expensive course of treatment for our dog last year, our vet offered us longer terms (although we opted not to go with it – it was a recurrence of a nasty cancer and we just didn’t want to prolong her misery, poor baby).
Check with your local ASPCA. They may be able to aim you local vets that are more willing than others to work with you on the cost.
If you’re really in a hard spot, the ASPCA will likely be able to take the dog and see that it gets the needed care. Drawback to this is once it’s recovered, it’ll most likely go up for adoption to someone else.
Another possibility is pet health insurance. The trick will be finding one that’s effective as soon as they have your money with no waiting period and will cover an existing condition as it sounds like your dog needs substantial help right now.
As a last resort, there always is “the big sleep” (gratuitous Ren and Stimpy reference) but it’d be a shame to have to do that to such a young dog.
I second butrscotch. Talk to your vetinary hospital about a payment plan. I’ve found it to be a rare occasion when a vet won’t work with you on payment, at least partially.
Also, I know there are non-profit programs that will help individuals with pets in need of expensive surgery. The largest one, PAWs, is based in San Fransisco and helps people with AIDs care for their animals. There’s also another one called PALs, which is based out of Atlanta. They, too, I believe serve the HIV+ community, but I’m not sure if that’s exclusive or just their main foundation goal. I don’t know where you’re located at the moment, but there’s also a foundation called Hope Sanctuary (Homeward Bound) that offers a set financial gift for those who need it. You can find that here. That’s all I could find at the moment, but do a Google search. You may find some closer to you!
Do you have any family that might be able to help with the costs? A payment plan is also a good idea. Do you go to a church? Perhaps they could help, too.
And you could always do a fund drive. People have done fairly well in the past trying to drum up money from strangers on the Web, for instance. A few pics of a doe eyed pooch in need would pull all the right sorts of heart strings. Because dogs are good, loving creatures. Dogs are the best.
Look up any and all animal rescue organizations in your area. Call and explain the problem and maybe they can help you get funding for your dog. Sometimes you can find them in the phone book or the web…or you can just ask your local animal shelter. A lot of them have relationships with local vets, so they can sometimes get a better price on the treatment. If you are considering euthanizing the dog, please check with the rescue people first…they might be able to take the dog in and get it care at the very least. Good luck. I really hope you can work it out.
Everyone, those are all very excellent suggestions–please, please please keep them coming!!
I’ve emailed my dog’s foster mom (at any given time she fosters about 30 dogs–she’s amazing) to see if she knew of any reduced cost programs or providers.
I could ask my dad for the money, but he’s been so good to me in terms of helping me pay for school, extended zero interest loans, etc, and he’s supposed to retire this year–I’d just feel really bad about asking him for anything but a small amount.
Hopefully I can piece it together from all angles. I absolutely do not want to euthanize her. I’d rather give her up to someone who could care for her than put her to sleep when other options are out there.
This sucks.
On a good note, though, just a minute ago she licked some peanut butter off my finger (laced with asprin) so hopefully that’ll provide her some temporary relief at least.
A lot of vets, especially places that routinely do pricey stuff, offer an option called CareCredit. It’s a lending company that works exclusively with doctor’s offices and vet clinics, and if you get approved they pay the bill and you pay them over time. Being a student, you’ll most likely need a co-applicant to get approved. Maybe your dad will be a co-applicant for you and you can take care of the payments yourself.
What part of Virginia are you in? If a trip to Lexington, KY is feasible for you, call the vet I used to work for. He does hip replacements, and when we moved last year he was charging $2000 for the surgery, films, meds, hospitalization, and everything. I know for sure he does CareCredit, and sometimes he’ll even do promissory notes, although those are pretty rare.
If you’re interested, it’s the North Lexington Veterinary Clinic, and the vet’s name is Dr. Hume. The number is 859-255-8919. If you call, tell them Tamara referred you.
CareCredit seems like a Good Thing to know about. Sliceguy (my fiance) could do the application. He’s also a student (getting his graduate degree) but has a “real job” as well.
Unfortunately, Lexington is almost nine hours away. That would have been a drastic reduction in cost. Although I hadn’t thought about the fact that the farther west or south I go, the more likely the price will go down. I know there’s a reputable veterinary program at a college about 3 1/2 hours away. I wonder if they would have a program. Hmmm.
And hey, I’m unemployed! Maybe I could work at a clinic for the discount…
D’oh! That was me above with the CareCredit stuff. (Damn that man, always wanting to use his own computer.)
If you made the trip on a Sunday, dropped the dog off Monday morning and went home, then came back the following Sunday, it still might work out better financially to go to Lexington. I know that we’ve had people drive six hours each way for THR’s before, simply because we were the closest place that did them.
Vet schools almost always can do THR’s, but I don’t know how their pricing compares with private clinics. You may be hard put to find vets who do the procedure who aren’t boarded surgeons, and specialists are always going to cost you more.
Oh, and her lack of appetite today is almost certainly related to the anesthesia. She should be back on her food tomorrow. Just give her small amounts to start with in case she’s a bit nauseous yet.
We have an organization that takes in aluminum cans and stuff to raise money for animal surgeries that people can’t afford. There might be something like that in your area.
Another possibility (don’t laugh!) is to throw a fund-raising party amongst your friends and acquaintances. You can buy cheap beer and hot dogs and charge an admission fee. I’ve had friends do this for everything from human amputations to headstones. You’ll be able to raise a good portion of the money. Try it!
You may want to tell the vet or surgeon that you really want to do what’s right for your dog, but you simply don’t have that much money, and if there’s any way he can lower the price.
He may offer a payment plan.
He may take pity on you and give you a discount.
Alternately, he may say he’ll do the surgery, but you’ll have to sign the dog over to him. He’ll then try to find a home for the dog. This is pretty unlikely, though, for a total hip replacement.
I’ll second CrazyCatLady on the CareCredit thing. Week before last, I had to take my kitten in for surgery on his arm, with an estimated cost of $2,000. I asked them about a payment plan as well, to no avail, but the receptionist handed me an application form and I got approved.
'Course, we didn’t need it, 'cause the vet decided that surgery wasn’t necessary, but it’s still good to have that approval should something else happen. Good luck with your dog!
I can say I’m a satisfied CareCredit customer. The dog got bit by a brown recluse while we lived in southeastern NC. The first vet didn’t think it was a big deal (naw, not a spider bite), so he went 24 hours with cheap antibiotics, by the time I got him to another vet, he needed emergency surgery to the tune of $1200 to save his leg. The vet’s office administrator helped me fill out the paperwork and faxed it to CareCredit and I had approval by the afternoon. Took about 14 months to pay it off, but it was worth every penny.
This was the thought that immediately came to my mind yesterday; however, the vendors already have our (non-refundable deposits). And it’s not expensive by any means as far as weddings go (off the rack evening dress on sale, silk flowers arranged by my sister, cake from publix, 15 guests) but we have decided to cut back on the things we haven’t already put deposits down on. We appropriately delayed before–when there was a death in his immediate family–so I’d rather not go through that again.
We have an appointment with the surgeon for 8:30 a.m. on Friday, so we’ll see what happens then. Dad said I could have a no-interest loan of $1K, and slice guy is going to talk to his mom and see if she can do something similar. We can take care of the other $1K on our own, just no more dinners out and lots of movie rentals in our near future.
Is there a vet school close to you? If so, they’ll probably be willing to do it at a reduced rate, if you don’t mind students participating in the surgery.
I am sorry about your dog. You might try to put out jars with picture of the dog at convenience stores and such (be sure to get permission obviously) and maybe your vet would let you put one on the counter in his or her office, too. Don’t be afraid to beg, plead and be a pest, and don’t take “no” for an answer from your vet. Don’t just try to work out a payment, get a substantial reduction as well, if it is at all possible.
Good luck and let us know how things are going. Maybe some of us can help.
That’s what I was gonna post. The students need practise and it usually way less expensive. You’d think they are also well supervised. Try to see where the closest vet school is.
Keep us posted!
Well, things might be different in the USA, but in this country vet students would never be allowed to be involved in something as complicated as a hip replacement. If you were lucky, you might be allowed to watch it by video link.
In fact, your regular vet wouldn’t either. You’d need to be a registered specialist, which is why my uni is the only place in my state bar one specialist clinic which offers total hip replacements.
The costs are not cheaper- it’s usually more expensive to get anything done at the uni clinics here, because they are trying to pay off expensive equipment and get practically zero government funding, and have more staff than a regular clinic because of the student supervision factor. They are also trying to fund research. On the other hand, everything is as top of the range as it could be.
