Our dog is sick...don't know what to do

[dukie41181]

I am really sad about this. Our 4 year old Bassett Hound is sick. My husband is at the vets office with him right now and just called me to let me know that he vet thinks he has a severe allergy that will continue to increase in severity. Three weeks ago he weighed 70lbs. and today he was 56lbs. He has been refusing to eat and his skin has been very irritated which escalated today to open bleeding. The problem is treatable but based on the course of treatment my husband was outlining, I don't think we have financially afford it. We are going to do the extensive allergy blood test which will run about $220 but if the allergy is confirmed we will have to give him regular injections which will run $240 the first month and then $160 each subsequent month. Initially the shots would be several times per week and we'd work down to the ideal of once/month. I don't know that we have afford the extra expense every month!

Its just on top of everything else, I don't know we can handle this. I am 22 weeks pregnant and my husband's workplace is moving which will add an extra 30 min. onto his commute each week. He works really long hours as it is and now with 2 kids, 2 dogs (1 which will need extra attention) and 2 cats (which are easy peasy) I just feel like my plate will be overloaded. We don't live close enough to family to get much help and I still have to find some time for me to be able to work.

He quickly mentioned perhaps finding someone to adopt our dog who can give him the attention he needs and who doesn't have the stressors we do. I hate to think about this course of action, but overall, it is probably the most realistic thing given where we are at in life. Just thinking about it makes me sad! How do you even go about adopting out your dog? He's a Bassett Hound and I'd thought about the Bassett Rescue but aren't those organizations for stray, abandoned or abused dogs?

I hate having to think about all this and I hate the feeling that comes with it!

[infomama]

I had a very sick dog once so I know where you are now. I'm sorry. Here is what I would do. First do the test and if the results are positive talk with your vet about it. Ask if there is any way you can get the drug for less or if the drug company has a program for those who can not afford to pay for the drug. If not, contact basset rescue organizations first in your state then everywhere. Send emails, ask for help and guidance.
Try to take a step back and do the best for you. Your pup knows your doing the best you can.
http://www.basset-bhca.org/Health/healthpolicylinks.htm (scroll down and there are some links re allergies)

[BabyMine]

I had a very sick dog once so I know where you are now. I'm sorry. Here is what I would do. First do the test and if the results are positive talk with your vet about it. Ask if there is any way you can get the drug for less or if the drug company has a program for those who can not afford to pay for the drug. If not, contact basset rescue organizations first in your state then everywhere. Send emails, ask for help and guidance.
Try to take a step back and do the best for you. Your pup knows your doing the best you can.
http://www.basset-bhca.org/Health/healthpolicylinks.htm (scroll down and there are some links re allergies)

We worked out a payment plan with our vet when Kitty started getting sick. They just kept a running tab and we paid $100 a month.

[Ceepa]

The shots themselves are very easy to administer so try not to worry about that aspect. I would talk with your vet to see if there's a payment plan available for part of the bills.

You already plan to do the allergy testing. Take that first step and see what the results are. It may be easier to manage than you first suspect.

[ecofem]

If you are thinking of not keeping your bassett, I would recommend looking into breed-specific rescue. They tend to be more tolerant of special needs doggies and typically have waiting lists of folks looking to adopt that specific breed. This is how we adopted our welsh corgi. The family couldn't afford his medical needs.

Good luck to you all!

[elephantmeg]

we're managing our dog's condition right now. Which means after the diagnostic stuf ($400+ for an u/s then a traumatic catheterization to determine the type of bladder tumor) now we do 3 different meds-2 daily and one 3x a week. We probably pay 30-50 a month for those. It was hard at first but we're in a routine now and it's going OK. When our second dog was on antibiotics last week though then it felt really crazy-like 5-6 pills a day to get down the 2 dogs!

The initial diagnosis is hard, give yourselves time to process, grieve (even though it's treatable you are still grieving the loss of the healthy pet) and made decisions

hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[newg]

usually a breed specific rescue group will take a dog for any reason.
One of my parent's cats needed to start taking thyroid medicine and after talking to their vet, they discovered that the cat could take a low-dose human thyroid pill.......it didn't have to be a special cat thyroid pill........so my mom got the perscription filled at Costco for just a few $......

See if there are other options out there besides the super expensive meds.

[wendibird22]

When our dog was taking prednisone and an immune suppressant we learned you could get a AAA discount on pet meds at CVS. That saved us a bunch over getting the meds from the vet directly.

[SkyrMommy]

to you & your family & your dog... rescues are not only for abused or neglected dogs. A good breed specific rescue works because of the love of the dog and looks carefully at the family, the dog's needs & what would be the best future for both. It might be worth calling the Bassett rescue to see if they even have someone who could help if you want to keep the dog with your family or even possibly financial help.

My thoughts are with you & your pup. I hope everything works out.

[Momof3Labs]

Keep in mind that breed rescues depend on donations to survive, and a dog that requires $160 per month in medication is a big drain on resources, plus may take a long time to adopt (breed rescues usually do not have waiting lists to adopt sick dogs - usually just young, healthy dogs). If you do decide to surrender your dog to a rescue group, please try to make a sizeable donation to help cover 6-12 months of your dog's medical expenses - it may take that long to adopt out a seriously ill dog.

I'm sorry that you are going through this, but after volunteering with a Lab rescue group for over 15 years, I can't assure you that it will be easy or quick to rehome a sick, adult dog.