Sick pet and PDSA

RacyRed

arlybarly wrote: »

I think that some people on this board are extremely heartless to these 2 oaps, they probably havent got 2 pennies to rub together never mind affording pet insurance. Not everyone CAN afford it but it shouldnt mean that 2 old people in their twilight years be denied the pleasure of a little dog. For goodness sake im sick to death of reading such drivel off people with nothing nice to say. I hope the OP gets help from the rspca because obviously they are in genuine need.

Couldn't agree more with this. Life happens, it is impossible to plan for everything or foresee every eventuality.

Edinburghlass, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat (((hugs)))

arlybarly

Im so sorry Edinburghlass about your cat its hearbreaking when a much loved pet dies, sending you hugs xx

lemma1968

RacyRed wrote: »

Edinburghlass, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat (((hugs)))

Me too, such a loss hurts. Sometimes these hard decisions have to be made. I so wish they didn't

((Hugs)) x

pboae

RacyRed wrote: »

Couldn't agree more with this. Life happens, it is impossible to plan for everything or foresee every eventuality.

Don't be ridiculous, a pet getting ill is hardly an outrageously unexpected event that no-one could have expected. Paying for medical care is as much a predictable part of pet shop ownership as paying for food, or providing shelter.

It's an entirely avoidable situation, and yet one that so many people find themselves in, and so many pets suffer as a result.

It's devastating for everyone concerned, but by the time they are in this position it's too late. If one person reads this thread and either decides against getting a pet they cannot afford, or to insure one they do have, so that they never have to face it, then maybe some good will have come of it.

Edinburghlass wrote: »

I had to make the decision to have my cat put to sleep yesterday, not put down, worst thing I have ever had to do. OP I hope you find someone that can help one way or another.

I'm really sorry to hear that EL :-( I hope you are doing as well as you can be, under the circumstances.

loulou123

Ive been in the situation of having an ill pet and no insurance and dont think others have the right to judge. Sure some people are just irresponsible but sometimes life does throw the unexpected at you. In my case the dog was my grandparents, (who i also lived with) we adopted him in the early 1990s (i was 14 at the time) and they didnt even consider insurance - as it wasnt so common then i guess.

Anyway fast forward 10 years and in that time both grandparents have passed away - very young and unexpectadly. Im 25 with a good job and keep looking after the dog, dog gets ill, turns out to be cancer - emergency surgery. Week after i am made redundant, through no thought of my own. Vets bill came to over £3,000 and i had no job and very little family support.

Does this mean i was an irresponsible owner? I would always get insurance now.

OP i was forced to put my vets bills on my credit card (not MS i know) is this not an option for you? Try to borrow the money off someone? Or to call some local vets and see if they will take payment in stallments? Or call the blue cross/rspca/pdsa and explain how dire the situation is?

Facing up to losing a pet is terrible and not knowing how you are going to pay for it makes a bad situation even worse.

MrsTinks

loulou - sadly around here no vets will accept payment in installments now - too many people have not paid their bills

Is this dogs situation sad? Yes of course it is - I don't think anyone has said otherwise. If the OP had only posted asking what other help was available then maybe the responce would have been very different - but the whole "horrid PDSA won't help, how dare they" certainly got my back up - I'm guessing it got other peoples up too?
Did the elderly couple set out to be irresponcible? No. Did you when you were younger? I doubt it But that doesn't mean we can magic financial support for a (let's face it) extreemly expensive condition that may or may not be treatable and as you know... £3000 soon clocks up. As I explained about my cat - just the initial tests to rule cancer our amounted to £422...

Why are people so quick to judge... look back in the history of this board... we get so many of these cases where people haven't insured a much loved pet and now the animal can't get treatment or has to be put down for something that could be treated but would be expensive. And these are the cases that people post about - the thousands every week that just get dumped because people can't afford their vet care is stomach turning (I'm not btw suggesting the OPs parents would do this - I strongly doubt they would! But it might help understand why for a lot of people this is a very emotive subject).

OP - if you have things to sell then great - but get an initial assessment with a vet before you start selling things... ask if they think this is likely to be a cure or just prolonging the dogs life slightly. Cancer treatment is not only extreemly expensive but also in some cases it may be arguable that it's not in the dogs best interest depending on the dogs age and what type of cancer it is.
Take the advice of the vet on that - if they don't recommend treating because of a cost/success/quality of life/something else combination of reasons then please take their advice... I'm not saying vets are never wrong, but if it's going to cost £1500 to MAYBE prolong the dogs life a few months... then no matter how loved it is I think it's better to have it put down now...

Debt_Free_Chick

MrsTine wrote: »

loulou - sadly around here no vets will accept payment in installments now - too many people have not paid their bills

Is this dogs situation sad? Yes of course it is - I don't think anyone has said otherwise. If the OP had only posted asking what other help was available then maybe the responce would have been very different - but the whole "horrid PDSA won't help, how dare they" certainly got my back up - I'm guessing it got other peoples up too?

I wonder if you've mixed up the OP with another post?

My parents are both registered disabled, are pensioners and in receipt of state pension and housing allowance.

They have a little Yorkie who has been unwell. Fearing for his health they took him to their nearest PDSA who said that as they did not live within their catchment area they would not be able to treat their little dog. The vet did do a quick examination and provisionally diagnosed cancer as a result of finding a lump. But he said they would have to find another vet and pay for xrays and scans to confirm the diagnosis and then obviously pay for treatment.

They do not have 2 beans to rub together. My dad is 81 and my mum is 70. When they asked why their address was not eligible the reply was "there is little call for it there".

Can anyone offer some advice please?

It would seem that their only option is to have their darling pet euthanised as there seems to be no other option and they do not want to see him suffer if it is cancer. They have no way of getting a full diagnosis though.

It goes without saying that they are both very distressed, he is their world.

I see nothing derogatory about the PDSA.

Did the elderly couple set out to be irresponcible? No. Did you when you were younger? I doubt it But that doesn't mean we can magic financial support for a (let's face it) extreemly expensive condition that may or may not be treatable

I don't see a request for financial support - just a general "what can I do" request for help.

Why are people so quick to judge... look back in the history of this board... we get so many of these cases where people haven't insured a much loved pet and now the animal can't get treatment or has to be put down for something that could be treated but would be expensive. And these are the cases that people post about - the thousands every week that just get dumped because people can't afford their vet care is stomach turning (I'm not btw suggesting the OPs parents would do this - I strongly doubt they would! But it might help understand why for a lot of people this is a very emotive subject).

If we approach all new cases of uninsured pets on the basis that there's a history on the board of lack of insurance, then the Board will have no role to play in helping those who need some guidance. We could just have a standard response of "Sod off you irresponsible pet-owner, you should have got insurance"

If the Board is to have a helpful function, then we need to approach new posts with an open mind, initially - just IMHO. Those posting here clearly care for the welfare of their pets - if they didn't care, they wouldn't post, surely?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but "we are where we are" and finding solutions should be the only objective ...?

I do think the OP has a valid point about the PDSA though. I wasn't aware that they operated "catchment" areas - I thought the only eligibility criteria was lack of affordability, tested by the reciept of certain benefits. I guess that if the OP's parents were able and willing to travel to another catchment area that they still wouldn't qualify as they would then be "out of area" ... which is difficult to understand, as if the owners travel at their own expense, then there's no additional cost to the PDSA. I wonder if those who donate realise that this is how they work?

MrsTinks

No I didn't confuse her with another poster - I pasted the post in question further up BTW.
And people did post places the OP could try to get help.
It doesn't matter where the OPs parents go - the PDSA ask for addresses and it's down to your postcode if you are able to get help or not. They don't sadly have unending funds to cover all of the UK... wouldn't it be great if they did? Maybe if people donated more to them they could cover more areas?
They only have funds to cover x amount of people and pets - if people travelled to them from near and far then the areas they have set out in their mission statement couldn't be covered (and don't get me started on the fun of dealing with the charity commission and how extreemly ridgid the rules actually are for charities ).

The solutions have been suggested (several times) - try RSPCA etc, or if they can't find the money then sadly put the poor dog down.

If you can't afford to care medically for a pet then sadly this is the reality. I don't personally do fluffy and pink and telling people it will "all be alright" when I don't think it will. Should I get their hopes up just to have them crushed when the dog is put down because there is no help to be had? Surely that is the ultimate in cruelty to the owners?

At the end of the day then pet owners are a VERY oppinionated lot and I know that because I ran my own pet rescue forum for over 3 years - if you think THIS is unfriendly... post the same thing on somewhere like DogsPages and stand back behind a bombproof shelter! I'm not saying that makes it right, but because people are so passionate about their pets and their welfare then sometimes the responses will be equally passionate when they disagree with others/each other/whoever.

Spirit_2

Whatever happened to "be nice to all money savers"?

Do the best you/your parents can for your dog. They have taken an elderly dog on and given it a good life. That they may not be able to extend its life through further medical interventions may be inevitable.

The really essential care is that he is pain free . Do what you can/contact RSPCA etc to achieve this.

You are all financially challenged from what you say of your family and I hope that you find some charitable help.

Wine_of_the_World

Sorry to hear the poor dog is poorly. Perhaps you should go back to the vet to get a more detailed idea of the costs, and also very importantly, an idea of what the dog will have to go through with treatment. I think it would be awful to have to put a beloved friend down due to cost, but also if the dog will suffer alot with the treatment then being put to sleep may actually be the kinder thing to do - and so finding out more from the vet may help save yourself (and parents) from a lot of guilt / stress/ sadness - tho of course you will be sad.

Also, once you have an idea of if and what treatment is necessary could you "shop around" vets and get quotes for the treatment? I mean, people do this with dentists, and although NOT ideal in a time of such stress could save you money. You may even find a vet with a payment plan option - especially if you were prepared to act as garantor for the payment,

Where did the dog come from orginaly? If they rehomed him the charity may be able to offer help - maybe even a loan? (no idea really, but worth a try).

Think this post serves a warning to other poeple thinking of buying a puppy or getting a dog with limited funds - because dogs do become sick, and this can be very expensive - and the dos wellfare is in the hands of the owners. Perhaps you post will help avoid this problem in the future and for someone else to go though what you guys are.