Euthenasia costs?

HurdyGurdy

We are in complete shock tonight.

Took our beloved dog to the vet for "run of the mill" booster injections and have come out with pretty much a death sentence.

Cutting a long story short, she had a lot of blood in her abdomen and they want to do an exploratory operation tomorrow to see what it is, and then make a decision as to what to do from there.

She is about 13 years old, so not a young dog. But no one ever told her she was getting old and she used to bound around like a young 'un. When I got home today to take her to the vet, it was so obvious there was something not right about her.

Anyway, the vet said she is "a very ill dog", and although he didn't come right out and say it, I got the impression that she won't be coming home after the operation tomorrow. We are devastated. It is just so out of the blue.

But, although it shouldn't have to be a factor, we do have to consider costs in all of this. Tonight's consultation has cost me £100, the exploratory op tomorrow will be another £170, plus the cost of any further surgery, depending on what they find, plus the cost of follow up medicines etc.

She is also slightly diabetic (that is new tonight, too), so that is something else that will need ongoing treatment.

She isn't insured - the premiums just went up so much it was ridiculous - so we need to fund anything ourselves.

If I am right (and I will try and nail the vet down to as near a definite opinion as I can when I take her tomorrow) and she's not going to come through the operation, then we are wondering if it would just be kinder to have her PTS. It isn't ALL cost related. It is so shocking to see how she has gone down so fast today, and we really don't want to prolong anything for her.

So, although I know this is probably a "how long is a piece of string" type question, does anyone have a rough idea of what it would cost to euthenase her?

She is a cross breed - mainly collie - and weighs about 25kg.

Thank you

phill99

I had to have my collie PTS less than a month ago after being diagnosed with cancer. It cost a bit under £70.

13 is a decent age. Do what is right for the dog. We don't know how much they are suffering, and as difficult as it is, make the right choice. At 13, you realistically won't her her for much more than a year at best, even if she pulls through the surgery.

I feel for you. It's an awful decision to have to make.

Gold_Dust_2

Poor doggy. I am going through something similar right now and was quoted around the £75 mark for euthanising my cat - I'm not sure if they charge more for a larger animal, but I hope that helps somewhat. There are other costs too: unless you plan to bury the dog yourself, you'll have to pay to get them cremated which can drive the cost up into the hundreds depending upon whether you want it done privately in order to get the ashes back (and what container you want them in) or in a mass cremation. I have another cat currently undergoing some serious treatment, and he was uninsured too. It has cost us thousands to get him treated, but we took a risk and found out that it was something very treatable, but the solution was only discovered by chance during surgery.

While I am glad that they found the problem, his quality of life at the moment is a bit rubbish due to some complications and he's old, so I do wonder a bit whether it has all been worth it (if he continues to improve then he answer is a resounding yes ).

You'll have to have a serious think about it, but at that price I would personally go for it because I'd rather try and fail than wonder what could have been later on. I have been given no hope by the vet twice, only to discover through the treatment that the problem was totally cureable and not a death sentence as I thought at the beginning. Each time I treated, I was glad that I did.

Re: the diabetes - it's very treatable and one of mine was diagnosed with that before. I can give you some information on how much that cost me, and where the costs came from, as well as how to cut costs down (because some things just don't have to be bought at the vet's office where they mark-up the prices) if you want me to.

All the best

Gold_Dust_2

I will say this though: vets have to give you a 'guarded' prognosis because they can't give you false hope. But it doesn't mean that it's all certified doom and gloom - have hope!

Vets are also quite limited in what they can do for you. What they may find complicated, a vet hospital will find routine, so if possible (after initial diagnostics) it may be good to try and get a referral if money isn't an issue.

I know that my posts simultaneously offer you help whilst snatching it away and I'm sorry for that. Please do keep us updated.

Dunroamin

When our cat had an exploratory operation for cancer the vet discussed with us the fact that it would be better not to bring him round if they found it was advanced and we agreed that would be for the best.

In the circumstances, perhaps that would be best in your situation as well.

chucknorris

When our vet recommended we put our last dog to sleep (he was 11.5 years old) we were not insured either. I asked to be referred to a specialist, but they said that I was just wasting my money, but I did it anyway because it would be easier to live with myself knowing that I had done everything that I could have. The fee for the specialist consultation was £300 and they recommended an MIR which was a further £1,600 because there was hope. Unfortunately luck was not with us, the MRI revealed that not only was the problem cancer, but also that it was too advanced for treatment. As an aside they only charged us 50% for the MRI saying that the scan had not worked properly but the bit that we needed had (I think that they were being kind because they knew I didn't have insurance). If I was in the same position again I wouldn't do anything different.

harrys_nan

I have a 15 yr old collie/lab and I would not put her through any operations at her age. I love my dog to bits, so much I want her to have a decent quality of life and when that doesn't happen anymore then I will do the kindest thing I can for her.
It's a very hard decision to make.

littleoldme_2

we had to put our dog to sleep in feb this year for the same thing .



on the sunday night she was abit lethargic , so off to the vets first thing on the monday. told us she was enemic which was proberly caused by a bleed in the stomach. he gave her a few jags and did a blood test , told us to come back next day .
on tue she was back to her normal self , gave her another jag told us to come back wed.
on the wed she was starting to go down hill so when at vets they did more test and they drained her stomach . told our options were very limited . most bleeds into the stomach come from a bleed in an organ .
we could operate ( which they didnt think she would survive , as she was just to poorly ) in the hope that they could stop the bleed , which if they did there was a great chance it would happen again. or
take her home not knowing how long it would be before she woudl be gone . as they didnt know how fast the bleed was , we were told it could be days or months .
as i didnt want her to go through the surgery and still have the same diagnosis we decided to take her home , a bag full of drugs and a little hope in our hearts.
on the thu she was back to her normal self , by friday night she was going down hill .on the sat she could barely lift her head , so we made the hardest decision i have ever made to put her to sleep , i didnt want her to suffer . she was only 9 .

i will admit there were times where i was being selfish and thinking of my own pain , when i should of been thinking of what she was going though.

my vet was amazing through it all , wrote us a letter of condolences a few days later , which brought me to tears but i appreciated deeply.

it cost us 70 to put her to sleep and 150 to have her cremated .

i hope you have the strength to do what is best for your dog when the time is needed. and these ((((hugs)))) are for you .

penny_pincha

I had an 18 year old cat put to sleep about 5 years ago and was horrified to discover the cost. They charged me just over £50 !!:eek: I rang around to see if this was the going rate and discovered it varied wildly, from as low as £20 to as high as £75.

I felt that when you are upset it isn't something you would do to get the best price and I felt taken advantage of.

When I had to have a kitten euthanased I wanted her cremated. A friend had told me it was usually about £25. When I requested this at the vet they asked me if I wanted the ashes back. Answering this question at face value, I said "yes". Not realising that it actually meant that if you want the ashes back, that means a private cremation and so the cost is a lot higher. I ended up paying £120 :mad: The difference was not explained to me nor were the cost implications.

Polmop

Hi Hurdy, have you been to the vets yet

rising_from_the_ashes

So sorry you're facing this difficult dilemma that is so often the case when they get old

Hope things went OK today?

Re costs - like all vet treatment it varies hugely from different vet practices in the same village / town / city - let alone across the country so I'm afraid the only way you'll get an accurate cost for anything is asking your vets

I also appreciate re cancelling the insurance - once Ben got to the point where it wouldn't be fair to put him through difficult / extensive treatment, I cancelled his and put the premiums away each month

That more than covered the cost of the odd trip to the vets and his arthritis meds etc