$2,500 is the bill for surgery on Winky, my lil maltese whose leg

[radwriter0555]

got bit and broken by her big sister, the much maligned and knee-breaker Blue, back in June.

I believe the bill is far more painful than the injury at this point.

So far this lil free dog from a famous wild rock star has cost me almost $4,000.

***sigh***

The perils and pleasures of being owned by animals. Would some other pet lovers with the same "sucker stamp' on your foreheads share your tales and bills so I feel better?

[mirandaod]

1. My Airedale ate a wine cork.

This was 20 years ago, and the bill for his x-rays, surgery & meds was $700. Most expensive bottle of wine we've ever had.

Our friends have a diabetic dachshound who they inject with insulin every day, and are saving up for the cataract operation.

Good luck to you and Winky.

[soothsayer]

2. My (always cash-strapped) sis cashed in the $10k savings bonds

my grandmother had given her to get chemo for her stray cat when a tumor was discovered on the base of his spine (when he couldn't use his back legs hardly at all anymore) and built him all kinds of ramps and whatnot. She did get another year or so out of him before he finally got too sick and perished.

[radwriter0555]

3. I guess I justify it by the fact it's not a disease, she will completely

recover, she's a young, happy, healthy little dog with a LOT of love and spirit. It's not like it's a terminal illness or that she'll be in any way debilitated once she's recovered, so I think that helps me rationalize it a lot more.

**sigh**

I watched a friend spend $6000 on his 13 year old dog who died 6 weeks later in agony. I don't think I would do that.

[jedicord]

4. Big time sucker for animals, but I missed a bullet last year...

One of my cats, Edison, got hit by a car a year and a half ago. (Don't worry, the boy doesn't get to leave the house any more.) I took him to the vet and found out his pelvis was broken. The vet wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Bill at that time, $750. The vet said the charges for overnight would be minimal. When I went to visit him, the vet said that he would definitely have to have surgery or he would die. He wanted to keep him another night. Charge for the first night was $175 (this is minimal?).

I went to pick him up (with an additional $175 charge), the vet said he recommended Eddie be put to sleep, because he was unable to urinate and had to be catheterized. I took him home with the promise to bring him by every day for the catheterization. When I put my boy on the cat box, he peed every time, so I figured that he just wasn't peeing for the vet. With over $1,000 already out of my pocket, I could not afford the additional $4,000 for surgery. Luckily, a friend told me that he knew some people whose cat had a broken pelvis, didn't have surgery, and was fine to this day.

So, instead of having him put down, I decided to wait and see. I had a friend come see Eddie to see his condition, and promise to come back in a week to see if he had improved in his objective opinion. After the week, she said that he had most definitely improved (thanks to my son who cured him with love).

It's been a year and a half, and you wouldn't notice the limp if you weren't looking for it. He can jump on to my highest shelves, no problem. And can that boy run when he hears the can opener!

So, dodged the bullet, and didn't have to feel guilty for putting my boy down because I didn't have the bucks.:bounce:

[MsFlorida]

5. I totally understand...

I once spent over $1000 on my african grey parrot when daughter's cat barely touched him with claw (bird harasses the cat, and calls him up to the cage). Unfortunately that little touch went septic and I had to pay the vet to spend his new years saving my bird. I've had him for over 25 years now and wouldnt give him up for the world. Besides its only money and for the joy and love our little critters give back to us -- I find it to be well worth the trade.

[Trish]

9. Bird Bills

I can relate to all of these posts.
And birdies are a pretty expensive pet to begin with.
To think all my pets are rescues because people don't want them once they realize how much work they are....

[montanacowboy]

6. Join the crowd

One of my Aussies had to have leg surgery last year - anterior cruciate ligament - cost $2,000 - also this same dear girl is hypothryoid and has to take lifelong medication everyday... and lots of blood tests, etc...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

This year we have had such bad luck - Aussie #2 was scared to death by some idiot who shot off a cherry bomb and jumped our 6 ft fence and took off - she was hit by a car, and the bad news of that is she is totally blind - she was hit in the head and her optic nerve was damaged by swelling of the brain....a beautiful and wonderful working dog is forever relegated to a world of blackness that she cannot understand.

I hope in her little doggie dreams she can see again. It is too sad to talk about. My heart is broken.

[MuseRider]

7. Feel better.

7 horses, 3 cats, 3 dogs. Would do anything, and have, for them. Expensive? You bet but it is certainly worth it. They give us far more in return. Love those "free" pets. BTW, sucker is my middle name.

[bratcatinok]

8. My little dog wasn't quite as expensive as yours

but he hasn't been exactly the cheapest investment I've ever made.

Mother's Day 2 years ago he got outside accidentally and was hit by a car. Thankfully I live in a small town so the local vets are always on emergency call in case expensive livestock have a problem.

Our vet received numerous calls from friends and relatives about a dog being hit by a car. It was somewhat funny since he initially thought there were a couple of dogs who needed emergency treatment.

He met us at the clinic, took x-rays and then allowed Rufus to stabilize overnight before he performed surgery. Eight pins are holding Rufus's pelvic and right leg together. I was surprised I got off as cheaply as I did since the total cost was $1200.00. Our vet literally had to put Rufus's rear end back together again. We had a 50-50 chance of the operation being successful. If it wasn't then Rufus was looking at having his back leg amputates.

I spent 5 weeks with Rufus being in a playpen and with me hand feeding, hand watering and washing bedding 3-4 times a day. I even got to give my first and only enema. I'd do it all over again to keep my little guy around.

Thankfully, Rufus is completely healed!

[Kali]

10. Here is the easy justification:

Just think about what it would cost to fix the same problem for YOU.

On the other hand my sister spent thousands on NEUROSURGERY for a cat that got his head slammed in a door - she made the mistake of picking him up instead of just cleanly finishing his suffering. He did live many years after but required lots of attention - he was a yellow tabby and was a dead ringer for Bill the Cat, complete with one prolapsed eyeball and a tongue that always hung out of his mouth. (pbbbtttthhht!) Watching him drink was really difficult as his toungue would get longer and longer - he seemed to have trouble retracting it more than extending it. That was many years ago. I think she eventally finished paying off the bills.

[Red State Rebel]

11. I'm glad you clarified Winky was a dog....

The first time I read that title, I thought it was something else!

BTW, did you know you can get pet health insurance? I've been very tempted to do it - you just never know! I hope Winky is feeling better!

[flvegan]

12. My rescue organization

Has probably spent around $10k-12k this year so far. We've had several dogs with heartworm ($250/each), a few hit by car (requiring major surgery), 1 hit by car (missing needing major surgery by a pinch), lyme disease (caused blindness before we got her), damn-near-dead emaciated girls, various anemias and skin conditions, and on and on and on. Plus, the spay/neuter for all of these critters.

We're very lucky in that we have a couple vets that take good, good care of us. One of the dogs that got hit needed full hip reconstruction. $4k worth of surgery and vet follow up for about $1500.

Lots of folks would've dumped Winky by now, so thanks for taking such good care of her!