Can't afford vet bills!

okgaz

Our dog who is otherwise young and healthy is in the vet at the moment having a lymph gland biopsy as all of his glands have swollen up and the vet suspects cancer. Having the test done is costing £250 + it's going to be a real struggle to find that this month. I'm self employed and my wife is having a baby in a couple of months.

I'm really worried that he will need chemotherapy, the survival rate is great but I can't see how we could afford it

I tried phoning a local RSPCA center but they weren't even interested in talking to me because I'm not on benefits!

Is there anything I can do?

lowis

i am sorry to hear about your doggie - dogs do indeed respond well to chemo.

the first thing i would do is talk to my vet about projected cost of treatment, ask him to write down an estimate. chemo can indeed be very expensive, but some forms of chemo are inexpensive. tell your vet that you may have trouble paying off large sums of money and ask him whether he would accept some sort of monthly amount over 'x' amount of months to cover costs?

i am not sure if the PDSA can or will help a dog with cancer, and I am not sure if you have to be on benefits or not to receive any help.

good luck

sara0405

Maybe ask the vets if they will do a payment plan and let you pay it off monthly?

robpw2

im guessing you dont have insurance?

try speaking to the cab office they may have some vets who will help etc
is your wife on maternity leave because this may enable you to get free treatment with rspca

okgaz

Thanks for the advice so far (didn't expect such a fast response!). I'll definitely ask the vet about payment plans when I go back later. I'll phone PDSA too.

robpw2 wrote: »

im guessing you dont have insurance?

try speaking to the cab office they may have some vets who will help etc
is your wife on maternity leave because this may enable you to get free treatment with rspca

Nope no pet insurance. We cancelled it about a year ago because nothing ever seemed to cost more than the excess (doh!). What do you mean by the cab office?

My wife will be on maternity leave from january.

foreign_correspondent

Blimey, I dont know what else you can try other than the routes suggested above. Personally, I would look at payment plans, or even paying for it on a zero interest credit card, if you are in a position to do so.

Unfortunately though, maybe, to be realistic, if there is no way to pay for this then you may have to consider having him PTS rather than let him suffer, but lets hope it does not come to that.

I do not know the prognosis for this sort of cancer in dogs but it may be worth asking your vet for a rough guide to total cost of treating this, the likelihood of success and likelihood of recurrance because this conditon would not be covered if you re-insured him and it then came back.

robpw2

citizens advice beareau

callywally

There is a charity called tailwaggers club trust. It might be worth a try.
www.tailwaggersclubtrust.com
I believe they help people in simalar situations, they may be able to offer some advice at least.

They would also be very grateful if anyone could organise a sponserd walk etc to help with fundraising

snowman2_2

Assuming that the lymph node biopsy means a provisional diagnosis of lymphoma, chemo is expensive, minimum of £600 to £1000. You need to speak to your vet asap and discuss options with them. This is one case when insurance is great but I guess you live and learn. Hope you can work something out, good luck.

savemoney

The PDSA I doubt will help, sorry.

Hope you get this sorted out, best of luck

What are the eligibility criteria?
To be eligible, pet owners need to live within the defined catchment area of a PDSA PetAid hospital or PetAid practice and must be receiving financial help with their housing costs through either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit. This means that one in five UK households is eligible for help by PDSA.


http://www.pdsa.org.uk/eligibility.html


I think you best option is to see if you can pay by instalments or try and asking family/friends for any help

lowis

most vets will try and help you as much as they can in finding a payment solution which works for both parties. not many vets will allow a pet to die just because you can't pay them the full lump sum immediately.

i had to enter into an agreement with my vet recently because i am liable for a 20% excess on my insurance policy due to my cat's age, she had some very expensive treatment done over a prolonged period of time. my vet has been nothing short of brilliant and understanding.

i hope yours is too, good luck.