My poor elderly dog has started to have seizures, and it is terrifying me. She had one early Monday morning, and then again late last night. I was so upset after the one last night I asked my husband to take her to the Emergency Vet run by the Universities Vet School. That in itself was a complete waste because for our elderly dog they wanted to run THOUSANDS of dollars of tests including a chest X ray, CAT scan, and MRI. When my husband refused the treatment he felt like the staff was judging him and he returned home with our old dog and no answers.
My husband took our dog back to our regular vet today and he suggested some blood work to see if we could find an underlying cause of the seizures and told my husband he agreed that my elderly, anxious dog should not be subjected to a litany of tests. We both felt better believing we had someone on our side who would not judge us should we end up having to put our dog down. It is a horrible decision to have to make and the last thing you need is some douche student judging you because you won't pay for a dog neurologist (and maybe some of you would, and I respect that, I honestly can't afford it and at my dog's age it was a quality of life choice for us).
I am an anxious person anyway, and I don't deal well with pet illnesses because I get very emotional very quickly and I become so anxious about the situation I just can't deal with it. My husband stepped in and took care of everything even though the dog is MY dog from before we even met (she is 13). I just thought of how lucky I am to have such a fantastic partner when I was reading a love story earlier today. I thought of how sad and anxious I am to be put in the position to make a decision I don't want to make, but I thought of how grateful I am to have a person standing beside me and supporting me all along. A person who never wanted any pets but loves the ones he is now the step father to.
I just hope we don't have to make the choice.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Okay, I know this is a serious post but the title sort of reads like you are outing your dog as your lesbian life partner.
I know exactly how you feel because Mr. P was adamant that dogs are outside animals and he now comes home early on my late nights so my old fatty dog can have his walk and not be too lonely.
I am sorry you are going through this.
Jeez, I am not in a lesbian relationship with my dog. It is my dog COMMA my partner, not my dog IS my partner. Shut your assface.
i'm sorry you have to go through this. but your husband is awesome.
when we had to put our dog down last year, jay was the one to do all the dirty work and i dont know what i would have done if it had been all on me. i dont do well with this sort of thing and i was already a mess.
hang in there and i hope you dont have to make any tough decisions.
Sisters sisters! You two kiss and make up :)
I am so sorry about your dog and his seizures. Pablo has seizures too and they are frightening to see. We, too, opted not to go for any extensive work-up or testing and they told us that if they come too often we can always give him anti-seizure meds, but really he hasn't needed it. We just hold him when he has one and it seems to calm him down.
I'm so glad you have Teddy. How did we get so lucky?
I hope you don't have to make any hard decisions about your dog soon...maybe the blood tests will reveal something that is easily manageable. Oh, and I hear ya on the douche Vet students...we have a vet school in our town and it's $1500 minimum whenever you walk in their clinic. Sorry, I love my pets but cannot afford that.
I would have done what Teddy did too. This is one of your own, it IS about quality of life, and animals deserve to have some dignity too (not be treated at specimens to learn from). It is so hard. My eyes tear up just thinking about it. We have been there. There are never any easy decisions and you just wish you had more time.
You and your sister are cracking me up. You can love your dog, but you can't LOVE your dog.
Anyway, I totally know what you mean about feeling judged when you refuse an expensive test for a pet. I love my pets like they're my own kids, but if I cannot afford a test that will render me and my human (and 4-legged) family unable to eat for 2 months, then I am going to refuse it. It does not mean I love my pet less, it means I am being practical.
I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I have lost cats before, but never a dog and I shudder to think of the day.
hey there.
i was just thinking about you guys and your pup...hope all is well.
i'm coming late to the post. i hope everything is ok. i've been there and if you do have those decisions to make they aren't easy. the hubs also adopted my dog that i had before we got married and she was our baby before we had babies. i think he ended up loving her as much or more than i did before we had to put her down a couple of years ago.
sending you big hugs.
I just found your blog and can totally sympathize you. In late 2008 my dog started having seizures, she was 12, and they wanted to do all kinds of tests. We did the reasonable ones to see what we could find out and by a process of elimination it was decided she had brain cancer. We controlled her seizures with medication but she lost her battle last April. My heart goes out to you and your family, losing a beloved pet is incredibly difficult. I'm glad I found your blog.
Thanks Flo, it has been really hard. We are all still so sad. Thanks for stopping by!
Post a Comment