Some Veterinarians Make the Last Days of a Pet’s Life WORSE
There is no doubt in my mind that a dog is certainly a man’s best friend. They never stab you in the back, they can always be trusted, they protect you, they are loyal and they have an uncanny way of warning you when you are surrounded by the wrong people or you are in danger. I will never understand how people can abuse them and not take care of them in return.
On July 24, 2013 I finally resolved to put my Chow… Libra to sleep. It was an incredibly tough decision that was made more difficult by the vets I had taken her to for the last few months of her life to see what was wrong with her. This was my 5th Chow and only the second one I had to put to sleep and after 1 years it’s an incredibly hard thing to do. (picture is of Libra as a young dog)
I noticed something was wrong with her around April of this year when she kept sneezing when I took her for a walk. It was as if she was trying to push something out of her nose and I noticed she always sneezed after we got off the elevator in my building as if the pressure of decending at a fast pace may have had some kind of effect and was contributing to her sinus problem. She was fine for the most part but it was always when we went for a walk that I noticed a problem.
I took her to a vet after she got out of my truck one day and I noticed she had a bloody nose. The vet looked her over, gave her a shot for a bacterial infection and gave me some antibiotics to give her for the next 10 days. This cost me $450.0. Around the 5th day, her nose was still dripping blood and I took her back to the same vet but he was out and another vet was there. She looked Libra over and said “Oh, she has a lump above her eye” I need to do an X-ray and try to get a some fluid out of the lump to see what’s wrong. I asked her how much this was going to cost, she left the room and came back and told me around $2500.0. I asked her what about the $450.0 I just spent and she said she would knock off $59.0 for the exam this time but that none of the medicines the previous vet had given me were any good. So I basically wasted $450.0.
At that point, i knew I was being taken advantage of. I had been through this game before when I put my other dog to sleep 10 years ago. Some people are so incredibly hooked on their pets they will give their life savings to save them. For those of us who love pets, we have all seen these people especially in the waiting room of the Vet offices. One man had spent $15,000 for a hip replacement for his dog and now his dog’s nose was bleeding like Libra’s. Nasal cancer is very common in some breeds of dogs.
I decided to take my business elsewhere when the vet tried to take advantage of my situation. I went to a vet around the corner from where I live and they wanted to also do an xray, the cost was $1000 but that the test may not be conclusive and the next step was surgery. I asked the vet to try to get a sample first to rule out Cancer. She agreed. I paid $700.0 for that. When the test came back, she told me they could not determine what was wrong from the test except that there was some abnormal blood activity and that the next step was to do the x-ray. By this time I was pissed off. I was at another vet who was motivated by money and taking advantage of a stressed pet owner. I decided to wait a few days. Libra’s nose got worse and the lump was getting bigger. Had it been a Foxtail in her nose the lump would have gone down with the antibiotics but it didn’t. She kept looking at me like she was in immense pain. There were also drops of blood all over the house and her energy was bad. She was having a hard time breathing as well. I had decided to get the x-ray done the next day when I noticed she was tripping up the stairs. Something was very wrong and I knew she was very sick. It was time. I cleared the house to spend some quality time with her. I played her favorite song, Pat Metheny “Are you Going With me.” She loved to howl during the horns and everybody would crack up. There was no howling this time, she was too tired. I put her favorite Turkey lunch meat in front of her and she didn’t eat it. I gave her one of her favorite dog treats and she ate it very slowly. I took her for a last walk and she was confused stopping during the walk and not sure which way to go. This was not the same dog anymore. I took her to the vet that day and told them not to play any more financial games with me, it was time. They wanted to try to convince me to spend more money but I refused. They grabbed her leash and I gave her a huge hug one more time as they walked her into the other room. They asked me if I wanted the leash. I said yes. I took it, went to my car and lost control. I felt an immense amount of guilt for what was going to happen to Libra. Was there something else I could have done? Should I have spent more money? I then realized it was (see more on the next page click “Next” above or below”just time, she knew it and I knew it. A couple of weeks passed and they vet‘s office sent me a card. I’ve never been a big fan of cards but I had to frame this one. They were all saying what a sweet dog Libra was and that was what everyone always said about her. In the entire time I owned her, she may have barked 5 times in 1 years and she was extremely docile and well-behaved. I made sure I got a great picture of us together before I took her over.
You may wonder why I didn’t have dog insurance… I had it before and it’s a rip off. You pay the premiums then when something happens good luck trying to get it paid for. I surmised it’s the same thing to just put money away each month for years and do the same thing.
I have decided to hold off on owning another dog for some years. My next dog will probably be an English Bulldog. Ironically, I came across a girl who told me she was going to have to give up her Bulldog a week or so ago. His name was Kevin and he was just the kind of Bulldog I want eventually but I knew it was too soon to take on that responsibility again. The last days of Libra’s life could have been much easier if the Vets had been more honest. I’m sure they play this game with most pet owners and it’s very unfortunate.
