Poll of the Day > fuck. my dog isn't doing well

(+) Yeah! (+)

to be fair, its not really my dog, its my housemates dog but hes kinda my dog (but not really) since i live here and he loves me.

my stupid ass housemate took him to the vet this morning because hes barely been eating and has been very lethargic the last couple of days. they wanted to do x-rays and blood work for $1200 which he cant afford.

so now i have to take him in the morning. vets have payment plans, right? i cant stand to watch the dog suffer but i also cant really take a $1200 loss atm

---

Ouch, I lost my cat last year when he got diabetes(?) and didn't respond to any of the insulin my vet tried. Almost tapped out all my savings on it before he got too far and I had to put him down. I wish you luck.

Vet bills can get insane in a hurry. :(

---

Im sorry man. It always sucks when a pet is near the end. Let yourself feel what you need to feel.

---

Zangulus posted...

Generally speaking, no. Especially on labs. For the most part they have to send out the blood to be checked and they have to pay in advance for it, so they don't take any sort of payment plan. With in house stuff, it depends on if they have a relationship with you, usually.

There is the Pet Care Card or whatever, and they'll probably suggest you try to get that...

what about on an X-ray?

---

oh alright, i was under the impression that X-rays were crazy expensive

---

First place wanted $1100
went somewhere else and they wanted $1200

all just to figure out what the problem is

---

That blows. People getting animals and not properly taking care of them pisses me off.

---

Judgmenl posted...

That blows. People getting animals and not properly taking care of them pisses me off.

yeah, most of the people that own pets seem neglectful tbh

---

You got a credit card?

Sorry to hear that. Are you and your housemate able to split the costs?

---

SilentSeph posted...

Sorry to hear that. Are you and your housemate able to split the costs?

This could work Or a credit card where you split the cost
---

Judgmenl posted...

That blows. People getting animals and not properly taking care of them pisses me off.

some people do the best they can but unfortunately pet healthcare is sometimes so expensive that even most well meaning pet owners cant afford it in todays economy

you could argue that people just shouldnt have pets if they cant afford many thousands of dollars periodically but with that kinda view I think that very few people would have pets. And personally I think that would be harmful to society because I think pets are important and just being around animals can be very healthy if its an animal that someone can bond with

---

OhhhJa posted...

You got a credit card?

yeah, i actually applied for a new one specifically for this at the vet

---

Mead posted...

you could argue that people just shouldnt have pets if they cant afford many thousands of dollars periodically but with that kinda view I think that very few people would have pets. And personally I think that would be harmful to society because I think pets are important and just being around animals can be very healthy if its an animal that someone can bond with

Pretty sure it's one of the few things that has prevented me from going 100% batshit tbh. My dog is going on 16 now.

---

Judgmenl posted...

Pretty sure it's one of the few things that has prevented me from going 100% batshit tbh. My dog is going on 16 now.

this is gonna seem like a very bizarre thing to suggest, but have you ever considered looking into mentoring?

from things you post it sounds like you arent really fulfilled with your life currently but youre skilled in a trade and seem to have healthy financial stability, that might be enough for you to just spend time every now and then with some troubled teens from a group home or something.

nobody ever has in faith in those kinda kids. But sometimes just being around someone that doesnt pre-judge them or seeing a positive example of an adult can be enough to give them some optimism and drive to succeed

and idk it might give you some drive to get out of your house occasionally if thats something you want and give you a reason to check out cool places likes museums, aquariums, stuff like that

---

Mead posted...

from things you post it sounds like you arent really fulfilled with your life currently but youre skilled in a trade and seem to have healthy financial stability, that might be enough for you to just spend time every now and then with some troubled teens from a group home or something.

I would be more inclined to start / maintain an open source project, but I've never really been motivated to do so. A lot of my problems ultimately drive down to a lack of motivation / drive to do some tasks. My success only comes because I'm self motivated (basically by the fear of failure) at my job, which makes me look like I am much more skilled than I am. I've basically put all of my eggs into a single basket.

But, to actually answer your question, I've spent a lot of time over the years helping people, mainly on reddit. I actually really enjoy answering people's questions and was a mod on /r/hardware for a while. The problem eventually rises where I get really tilted when people ask the same questions over and over again, or when things like circlejerks arise (I unironically run Manjaro KDE now which is a different story, thanks reddit). But really, I am probably the last person anyone would want dealing with children, despite one of the things I'd love to do is to teach Computer Science (And I'd probably make 1/3 of what I get paid now, and I don't even get paid a lot...). I have had a few success stories working with College Co-Ops (we hire multiple every half-year from Northeastern), but my main advice for them is that they'll get what they put into the internship (you put in effort, you'll get rewarded with knowledge and experience), and to always ask questions (because that's why we're here). Some, don't take that advice and that's pretty sad from someone who didn't have that opportunity in college (GameFAQs Avatars / xFAQs was basically my "internship" I guess).

I really miss going outside, I went out today to go to the store. The problem is ultimately I never learned how to drive, and I can't get the motivation to do it now.

---

My mom has been paying a ton for my sisters dog who got diabetes
---

My dog is 16 and a half. She became skeletal and we nicknamed her "The Spine" about two years ago. She started pooping in the house a year ago. She stopped being able to sleep through the night without going to the bathroom about five months ago. She started peeing in the house three months ago, and now wears a diaper (pee is, somewhat counterintuitively, much grosser than poop). We almost put her down pre-diaper (we really didn't want a diapered dog) but she seemed content (not pained) enough that we ultimately couldn't do it. Two weeks ago the cancerous lump on her foot ruptured and became badly infected (gangrene? I don't know) such that the house truly smells like death. Parts of the lump fall off when we remove the bandaid.

I scheduled the final appointment for this weekend. But it's leveled out and she stills seems damn content/normal otherwise so it's near impossible to imagine to have her quasi-happily walk into the vet to get put down. So I changed it to a "wellness check".

She's been a great (and inexpensive!) dog, but this year...uggh! I thought they were supposed to go fast when something goes wrong when they're this old! Next time I'm getting a purebred with built-in genetic defects. :/

Anyways...more on topic: sorry, dude. That sucks.

---

this has been extremely stressful

he still absolutely refuses to eat. i cooked him a meatball and put it in front of his nose and he just starts crying now the vet is giving me some kind of appetite stimulant. I have like 7 medications im supposed to be giving him right now and i cant get him to take anything other than the ear drops

---

You literally just have to force pills down their throat and they'll swallow it. It's rough to do but you have to.

---

but the vet also said that we shouldnt give him the antibiotics or muscle relaxers on an empty stomach

---

Im sorry man you might need to get the dog to eat just a little bit of food the same way, basically gotta just push it to the back of their mouth so it goes down

it sucks and it feels mean but its to help them

---

im gonna try but he also might eat my hand

---

DirtBasedSoap posted...

im gonna try but he also might eat my hand

That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make

---

omg i got him to drink some water and some bone broth (which the vet suggested) im so happy

---

DirtBasedSoap posted...

omg i got him to drink some water and some bone broth (which the vet suggested) im so happy

Aw good lil beeb

---

LinkPizza posted...

My mom has been paying a ton for my sisters dog who got diabetes

I didnt even know dogs can get diabetes. I knew cats could get AIDS, though.

1. Is it type 2?
2. If so, was it due to poor diet and lack of exercise?
3. Does he get insulin?
4. Does he get metformin?
5. Does he get his paws pricked?
6. Do you have to limit sweets?
7. Does he have visceral fat?
8. Is there a cure for K9 diabetes?

---

A lot of cats and dogs become diabetic unfortunately

---

HornedLion posted...

I didnt even know dogs can get diabetes. I knew cats could get AIDS, though.

1. Is it type 2?
2. If so, was it due to poor diet and lack of exercise?
3. Does he get insulin?
4. Does he get metformin?
5. Does he get his paws pricked?
6. Do you have to limit sweets?
7. Does he have visceral fat?
8. Is there a cure for K9 diabetes?

1. Not sure.
2. Not sure. Probably food, though
3. She does.
4. Not sure.
5. Probably. I know m grandma gives her some shots.
6. She has special food now.
7. Shes a little chubby. But its hard to tell since shes a small dog with a ton of fur
8. AFAIK, no
---

okay i got the appetite stimulant in his mouth i think

this shit is so fucking hard, i can not open his mouth

---

and he refuses to eat again

this is sending my anxiety through the fucking roof. i havent slept in 3 days and have no appetite either. Im down $1500 and he seems like hes just wasting away. I cant get any of these pills in him. I called the vet but theyre slammed today so Im waiting for them to call back. I really cant afford to take him somewhere else right now idk what to do but i cannot relax at all

---

Why isn't your roommate doing any of this if it's their dog?

---

Hes actually come around to helping but Im still doing most of the work

---

Your roommate shouldn't own a dog

---

Jen0125 posted...

Your roommate shouldn't own a dog

absolutely agreed

the guy is so neglectful

---

DirtBasedSoap posted...

absolutely agreed

the guy is so neglectful

Reminds me of my boyfriend's roommate. His dog has wicked anxiety, no training and is never groomed and her nails are always super long.

---

How old is the dog?

---

Jen0125 posted...

Reminds me of my boyfriend's roommate. His dog has wicked anxiety, no training and is never groomed and her nails are always super long.

Yeah his nails were so long, i had the vet cut them. So sad. If i save this dog, Im going to make sure hes the happiest little guy he can possibly be.

wpot posted...

How old is the dog?

hes a 6 year old German shepherd

---

Take this with a grain of salt (I'm some guy on the internet) but for a 6-yr-old (in a prime age) large breed that is showing pain and a reluctance to eat I would say the odds are high that he ate something he's having trouble digesting. Tennis ball or stuffed animal or compression sock (I have friends with dogs who've had problems with all three of those).

If that's what it is they sometimes work their way through...and sometimes do not. :/ Bloodwork and appetite stimulants aren't going to help with that (should those be breaking your budget).


---

yeah they did like 12 X-rays though and they dont see anything inside of him

the vet says the reason hes not eating is his back pain

---

Ah: I saw where you were considering them but didn't see that you'd gotten them...sorry. They must not have seen a twisted intestine, either (one my inlaws' dogs died of that).

Oh...back pain?? Did they see a slipped disc/etc or does it seem muscle-related?

---

yeah they say it is a disc in his back that is cause muscle spasms up and down his back. we have muscle relaxers and pain pills but we literally have tried everything we can think of to give them to him. He will not let me open his mouth at all. The only thing that doesnt make him cry when i put it in his face is water and even then he still cries half the time

---

Got it: that sucks. If it were me I would probably get a turkey baster or some sort of syringe, crush up the pills, and try to shoot the mixture into the back of his mouth such that he chokes it down. That's much easier said than done, I know, but if you can't get him to eat you can't get him to eat.

If you can get him past the pain of the injury and on some pain pills I would think there's a chance his back will 'normalize' to an extent, although it may be a chronic sore spot.

---

thats what the vet also suggested but he just clamps his teeth shut if i try to put anything in front of him

---

If no gap in his teeth at all (and he's not sleeping enough where you could 'ambush' him)...phew. You could probably get the vet to shoot him up with a tranquilizer if you tell them you need it to get the first dose in.

If that's too expensive or impractical then you may just have to wait until it gets a bit better on its own or the dog gets too weak/tired to resist. That wouldn't be fun to watch, particularly for someone with anxiety, but people/animals can go quite a while without food... Good luck!

Sidenote: I was at the vet a couple of hours old with my old dog and they said it was time. MY task for the day is figuring out how to tell the kids. :/


---