Posted: 12/11/2008 10:56:41 AM EDT
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OK ARFCOM, I'm having a very difficult situation that I'm trying to remedy. I took my GSD to the vet over the weekend to get his monthly shot (he's got 3 y/o and has Addison's Disease) and he's developed a limp over the last few two weeks that I asked the vet to look at. The dreaded words "This doesn't look good". It appears that he's got a torn ACL-equivalent in his back leg. Solution is going to be a $3500 procedure.
My situtation is that my fiance and I just got the preapproval on our house and a loan is out of the equation, as is putting it on the plastic. My parents are fortifying against a very real spector of downsizing at their jobs at the end of year. I am concerned that I have only a few possibilities, none of which I like. Sell guns to finance the procedure, put him up with a rescue organization, or absolutely worst case, he has to be euthanized, and because of his Addison's he may not survive the aenestesia from the surgery in the first place. I will do anything humanly possible to save my dog, because he's my buddy and my companion. My fiance has flat out told me that she doesn't want me to sell guns that I treasure so much to fund something that she deems a "bad investment", but at the end of the day, he's my dog and my friend. No eject pics, please. |
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That's a tough one man and I'm sorry to hear it.
I'd do anything for my mutts including selling firearms. That not being an option I would talk to the vet and see if he can set up a payment plan. Before I did that I would discreetly shop around for a second opinion/surgery cost. |
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Quoted:
I'll sell my guns any day if I have to. No, this vet has been being doing a lot of probono work and at-cost meds for him for the last two years. He knows the predicament I'm in and he's not going to try and stick it to me on this. Objectively/Scientifically/emotionally detached reasoning would indicate that your girlfriend is correct. Firearms are an appreciable asset. A dog is not. Obviously, I don't think that way or I wouldn't have a house full of rescue mutts. They'll never be worth anything to anyone but me and the SO. I spend good money on good food and vet visits. But they're always there for us. More loyal than any human. I'd try to work out a payment plan with the vet if I didn't have the cash to spring for the surgery. It sounds like you're on good terms with him, maybe you two could work something out. When I was pursuing my undergrad, my vet often helped me out. I think it's worth looking in to... |
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I'd do what I had to do, you can't put a cost on your loved ones or time with them, in this particular case a lot of potential time with them. Hopefully you're able to do it.
payment plan as mentioned, I've had a few dogs at va. tech where it's considerably expensive for special procedures and they've done the payment thing, and they were good about me just showing an effort to pay at times.. |
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Your dog won't die under anesthesia because of Addison's Disease as long as it's being properly treated. How much prednisone are you giving daily? The pred may slow down healing some.
How much does the dog weigh? You might be able to find a vet that will try an extracapsular repair (should be considerably less than half the cost––at my hospital it would prob run $1200-1400, I'm sure some places are even less) although there is more of a risk of failure. I assume the $3500 is for a TPLO or TTA? The very last thing to consider is medical management. Pain relief and serious exercise/crate restriction for a few months. In the long run he's going to develop terrible arthritis but people have and do go this route. See if the place doing the surgery has Care Credit. |
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Quoted:
Your dog won't die under anesthesia because of Addison's Disease as long as it's being properly treated. How much prednisone are you giving daily? The pred may slow down healing some. How much does the dog weigh? You might be able to find a vet that will try an extracapsular repair (should be considerably less than half the cost––at my hospital it would prob run $1200-1400, I'm sure some places are even less) although there is more of a risk of failure. I assume the $3500 is for a TPLO or TTA? The very last thing to consider is medical management. Pain relief and serious exercise/crate restriction for a few months. In the long run he's going to develop terrible arthritis but people have and do go this route. See if the place doing the surgery has Care Credit. Thanks vet, He's taking 5mg daily of the pred, and for stressful encounters, we give him 10mg and he gets a percorten shot once a month. He's around 85 lbs right now. The vet is highly recommending the TPLO because of his high activity level. He did say that they could do the extracap, but he said that he has concern's about the longevity of the procedure of a dog his weight and also with his activity level. |
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5mg isn't much for a dog that big. I doubt that will affect healing much at all.
There have been recent studies published that say that it doesn't matter which method of cruciate repair is done, including extracapsular, healing and return to function are about the same in all. Some say that the plate and screw methods have a higher rate of complications. That being said, if your dog came to me I'd still recommend a TPLO just because I feel better having the plate and screws in there over the nylon. Does it really make a difference?? According the the studies, no. You just have to put some big nylon line in there, maybe double strand it. Good luck. |