My dog had to be euthanized today?

I am a veterinary technician so I see these kind of cases all the time. Fortunately veterinary medicine has advanced greatly over the years and we are now able to treat animals almost to the extent that we treat humans. Unfortunately, this costs money. How old was your dog? If your dog was young and would have had many years to live without these unfortunate circumstances than I would say that the vet definitely did the right thing. It is strange that the dog woke up paralyzed. Could he have jumped off a bed during the middle of the night and that was what caused the injury?

Where did you take your dog? A regular vet or an emergency clinic? You have to understand that if you take your dog to an emergency clinic you are paying for a doctor who spent about 10 years in under grad and graduate school so that he/she could be knowledgeable and able to handle any case that walks into their door. You are also paying for the staff that stays by your animals side all day and night while it is being hospitalized, plus IV fluids, and hydrocortisone is not a cheap drug. Most vets first goal is to relieve the animal of its pain and in your case a hydrocortisone injection was probably the best idea. You should also know that if you would have agreed to the surgery you would have been sent a referral surgeon who specializes in back surgery and the original vet you went to would not financially benefit at all from this.

I know this is a very difficult time and situation for you but I encourage you to not blame the vet. I understand the cost is expensive and very detrimental especially when you dont get to take home a healthy pet in the end. Did you get your pet privately cremated, because that also would increase your final bill.

You ask if you should pay the bill? Frankly im surprised you havent already payed the bill since most vet offices require payment at the time of service, so if this vet was willing to bill then I would be very appreciative of that.

My suggestion to you in the future would be to invest in Pet Insurance early on in your dog's life that would cover incidences and medical expenses like these. I would also reccomend that you look up a poem called the Rainbow Bridge, it always helps me when coping with the loss of a furry friend.

In my opinion, I think the vet was trying to do what he thought might work in order to give your dog a chance for recovery. I know that it didn't work, but atleast your vet tried. My sister had a dachshund mix for many years and he started to have problems. He couldn't go to the bathroom, when she would let him out, he would just stand in the same spot and never moved. She took him to her vet, which she thought could help her dog, but all he said was that her dog was suffering and that there was no hope for survival and that her only option was euthanasia. About a year or 2 later she was at a different vet with a friend and dog for a check up. The subject of her dog came up while they were still there and the vet over heard what they were talking about and asked my sister what the symptoms were and she told him that he couldn't have a bowel movement and he was vomiting. The vet told her that it sounded like he had eaten something that clogged his digestive organs/system and that surgery was possible and he could have survived. That night she called me and told me what the vet had said. She was crying. Her dog was only 3 years old when they had him euthanized. I felt really bad too, because he was a dog I had rescued from an abusive owner that had kicked him in his side and broke a few of his ribs.

I am glad you have a vet that atleast tries before he says there is no hope for a painless recovery. I think that it was a hard decision for you to make, but his quality of life probably wouldn't have been a really happy one. You did what you could and now he is at peace and no longer hurting. I think you made the right call.

I am sorry that you had to make such a painful decision and had to let your dog go. You have his memories though and you should keep those memories close to your heart. He loved you and I am sure he understood what had to be done and he is probably looking down on you and thanking you for ending his suffering.

I would pay your vet, he did what he was suppose to do. And again I am sorry for the loss of you dog.

No I don't think your vet dragged out his life. The reason he gave him three days of a steroid treatment was to see if it would give his back a little time to respond without further injury. Steroids usually stop the body at that point. I am sorry it didn't help him though. I recently had a dog that had the same thing happen to him, only I took him to a vet that didn't start him on a strong enough treatment of meds, and when I took him 3 days later to another vet, I was told about an expensive surgery that there were no gurantees he would walk again and I decided it was more fair to him to have him put down. Yes you should pay, the vet did what they humanely thought was right for the dog, but it wasn't enough.

You should pay your Vet bill not matter what the outcome. Sorry about your dog. Sometimes backs go out in dogs and it takes a while to see if the cortisone is going to work. That was the last straw to give the high dose. Vets are not there to tell you to put your dog to sleep but to try and help. Sometimes it helps to hear it from a Vet but that isn't their place to decide. When dogs go down in their back and they are unable to use their bowels there is nothing left that anyone can do but make your dog comfortable. You made the right choice.

If you have been using this vet all along I don't think this was intentional on his part. I also want to tell you that you made the right decision. We as pet owners have to make difficult decisions regarding our pets quality of life. I have owned many animals and have had to make this difficult decision on more then one occassion. It was a horrible decision to make but at the same time in my heart I knew it was the right decision. I have also spent a few thousand dollars on a surgery for one of my dogs and she is completely healthy now. When faced with the decision to spend all that money it wasn't a problem deciding because I knew the quality of her life would be restored. On the other hand I have had to put a dog to sleep because I knew the quality of his life was not going to be restored and he would be in constant agonizing pain. You should pay the vet the money you owe him. The vet needs to earn a living in order to keep being a vet and helping other animals. If you can't afford all of it at once because you have incurred large bills over this I would simply talk with him and ask if you can make payments because all of this happening all together and the cost being large. If he agrees to payments be sure to pay him as you have agreed though because I am sure you will have other pets and will be needing the vet.

As hard as it is to deal with, yes you should pay it. I stepped on my kitty several years ago when I came out of my bedroom in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I crushed 2 veins, damaged his liver, and bruised his lungs. It seemed like he was having trouble breathing so I took him to the vet in the morning. She offered me a couple of options, and I ended up taking him home with a whole bunch of meds to give him (including injections of Heparin which I had to learn how to give him). Within 2 days he lost the use of his hind end, and had to drag himself around by his front paws. The vet gave me a couple more meds in the hope that it would help my kitty to walk again. Unfortunately, he passed on in the middle of the night a week later, when there weren't even any vets open to give him an easy end by putting him to sleep. My vet was tearful when I told her he was gone. If you feel that your vet truly valued your pet's life, as a patient, and a friend, then I think you should trust that your vet was doing what he/she could to help relieve your pet's pain. The vet is in a difficult place as well, especially if they are treating a pet which they are familiar with. I am sorry for your loss.

First of all, I'm really sorry for your loss. This has been a horrible day for you and I can understand how you would look at that bill and not want to pay it. It sounds like your vet knew you'd want to give your dog every chance and he did that. It just didn't work out the way you both hoped.

I am sorry for your loss..we went thru this when we had to put one of our cats to sleep two years ago...it was an extremely sad time...i didnt realize how much they had become part of our family..the vet i took her too gave her immunizations when it was very plain to anyone that looked at her to know what was best for her was to be put to sleep. so i took her to another vet..who told me i would drag out her life for me not for her..she was in pain and it was really hard but i did it for her..your vet sounds as though he thought it could be fixed after a few pain meds...i had a friend that recently went thru this with her weiner dog she was going to have him put to sleep till they upped his meds and it wasnt his discs at all but he had strained a muscle...so the doc i think did what he thought was best for the dog..yes you should pay the bill ...it was your dog and they will send this to a collection agency if you dont..why damage your credit...i am sorry for your loss and the only thing i can say is time will heal the pain..

I'm so sorry for your loss but your dog is in a better place now. Unfortunately you will have to pay the vet bill. So vets will try & get as much money from a person as they can they will say oh we can do this just enough to give people hope that something could actually be done when really they need to be looking in the best intrest of the animal & not to just fill their pockets

I doubt the vet would intentionally drag on your dogs suffering, but there are some money hungry people out there! I think you should still pay the vet bills, because you did use their services. One of my dogs got poisoned last year, and he died when we got to the vet, and I still paid the bills.

I'm really sorry about your baby!

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