My dog needs surgery, what kind of options do we have?

[michellegen34]

Long story short, Little Dude fell off the couch, landed funny and broke his leg the other day. We took him to an emergency vet who put him in a cast and recommended immediate surgery. It is a clean break, and it won't heal on its own.

Problem is, we can't afford the $6k they quoted us. They said we could surrender him to an organization that would get him the help he needs, but it has been 2 days and we haven't been able to get ahold of them. We asked about putting him down, but everyone we've contacted said that he is too young and they won't put him down since his leg is fixable. The pain pills the vet gave us are keeping him calm, but we have no clue what to do next.

Anyone have any advice? We are located in South East Wisconsin, if that helps.

Edit: we did start a GoFundMe. Another place quoted us at $4500 for the surgery over the phone, and we're working on getting that into writing ASAP to make our GFM more trustable.

Edit edit: Another place gave us an estimate of $3500.. Still very expensive, but definitely more achievable.

 

[legend28]

@michellegen34 Go to a board certified orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion/quote. Call every specialty vet in your state, and if you live in a state with a university that has a veterinary teaching hospital call them too.

My pup just broke her femur and to do repair with a plate was $3700 at an ortho specialty vet. (We'll do followups, physical therapy, etc which will add more).

If you have no other options, start a GFM, get Care Credit, take out a loan from the bank, whatever you need to do. Also ask the cost of amputation, it may be less and dogs can live awesome normal lives on 3 legs.

 

[michellegen34]

@legend28 We got another place to quote us for $4500, but that's still well beyond what we can afford. We did start a GFM, but none of my family is very adept at social media so I don't know how much help that will be. We are definitely okay with amputation if we have to go that route, but obviously we'd prefer to exhaust our other options first.

Thank you so much! I'll look into those suggestions and make some more calls.

 

[aletheiapraise]

@michellegen34 Try reaching out to WeRateDogs on Twitter, they tend to promote gfm for pets!

 

[michellegen34]

@aletheiapraise Will do, thanks!

 

[minnie965]

@michellegen34 Look into CareCredit. They specifically give money for vet care, and you pay it back like a credit card.

 

[michellegen34]

@minnie965 We did and they denied us. We don't have great credit, unfortunately.

 

[legend28]

@michellegen34 Hmm maybe reach out to local shelters (maybe rescues) and ask if they have any resources to send to you for financial assistance for vet bills? They would know what orgs there are that offer assistance. Make it clear you're not asking for the shelter's/rescue's financial help directly unless that's something they do; you're looking for resources of who can help.

 

[israelp]

@michellegen34 Apply for a loan through scratch-pay or care credit and ask if your vet accepts it. Most of the vets around where I live accept them and If you get accepted you can pay it off through monthly installments.

 

[michellegen34]

@israelp Thank you, that sounds amazing! I'll look into those. We don't have amazing credit, but hopefully we can get something sorted with them

 

[israelp]

Also, next time I’d suggest getting pet insurance, you can get it to cover routine stuff but even if it’s just to cover emergencies I recommend it. My pet insurance company offers coverage for emergencies/illnesses for about 25-30$ a month, it can very widely ofc but I think it’s always worth it just in case.

 

[michellegen34]

@israelp Even $25-30 a month would be a difficult expense for us currently, but if it prevents us from having to go through this again I think it would be worth it. We'll definitely explore our options if we can find a way to get our little guy surgery though!

 

[freerangechristian]

@michellegen34 So call different rescues, don’t just wait for a call back. Time is of the essence. If you wait too long infection could set in or it’ll start to heal wrong in which case will cause the surgery to be a rebreak and correction. Or start calling other vets to see if someone will commit to taking a payment plan.

 

[michellegen34]

@freerangechristian We aren't just sitting on our hands, we're calling, emailing and Tweeting everyone within driving distance. We have yet to find anyone that will take him as a rescue or let us do payment plans on his surgery. We're doing everything we can with the resources we have.

 

[freerangechristian]

@michellegen34 Damn it. I wish you all the luck in the world!

 

[legend28]

@michellegen34 Like I said in my other post, I called a dozen specialty vets. I think it was every specialty vet in the state. I was frantic. Desperate. When one called me back and said to bring her in and they'd do surgery that day, I sobbed. I could barely tell the receptionist my information I was crying so hard, it was such a relief. Keep at it. I know it's hard, time consuming, and you feel helpless to help your dog as they're in pain. You'll find the best option, you'll get the right combination of things together. Keep at it. Wishing you all the best.

 

[michellegen34]

@legend28 Thanks bud!

 

[gowdy]

@michellegen34 Try and get a different opinion I can’t believe it fits this much we just payed a little over 3000 to have a leg amputated

 

[michellegen34]

@gowdy We've been calling around and found another place that'll do it for $4500, but a lot of places want to do their own scans and tests before they'll quote us and we can't afford the $300+ it'll cost to do that if we have to save for a surgery. We're fine with amputation if that's why it takes, but obviously we'd prefer surgery if possible

 

[minnie965]

@michellegen34 If the evet did scans you can have those forwarded over to the new clinic. There may be a cost, but it's usually free or less than $30 - which means they won't have a reason to duplicate those tests.

I usually ask for the results or any scans to be emailed to me, so I can then forward on to the clinic of my choosing.