Budget killer...dog needs surgery...again

[frannn]

Our 9 yo lab has a fatty lump (noncancerous) on his back that may interfere with movement, so it must be surgically removed. He's had this once before, when we were in better shape financially, and he had the surgery right away. Now this surgery will take the last of what is in our savings, so that is not an option...not if we want to pay the mortgage, etc. The vet mentioned a medical "credit card" called Care Credit, which supposedly would be no interest if paid off in a couple months,but I've read some bad things about them online. We could max out an existing credit card, but will end up probably paying the minimum, all interest, each month. I'm sure we'll get a good tax refund in a couple months, but DH is hesitant to put off the surgery. The appointment is Mon morning, so I have to try to get in touch with the Dr before then to ask if it needs to be done right away. Am I not thinking of any other obvious options?

 

[skmommy]

Not having seen the lump, it is hard to say, but I would think that if it is not malignant and not currently causing discomfort it would be ok to wait a little while for the budget to look better. The drawback would be that the mass could get bigger and then be more difficult (and thus more expensive) to remove. I would just be straight with your vet about finances and why you would like to wait and ask them to be straight with you about the pros and cons of waiting.

 

[RachaelA]

Care Credit is awesome. It comes highly recommend on all the pets message boards I visit. I have never heard anything negative about it. I think it would be your best option in this case.

Good luck!

 

[sunnyday123]

I wouldn't put it off. My lab had these too,and as big as they get on the outside, you never know what's going on inside. For her last surgery, they let me make payments. Would your vet let you do that?

I also just got my Newfie puppy insurance. After starting to add up the medical bills for my lab, that was the only way to go to help offset anything that might crop up.

 

[EvanMaddieMouse]

Keeping in mind that I don't have any pets, I have a question. Do they have veterinary schools, like the way there are dental schools and beauty schools, where you can get healthcare supervised by a professional, for a greatly reduced rate? If it's a simple excision, it may be worth it to look into. Does anyone know?

 

[tinkerbell615]

Although I have never used care credit, I would just like to wish you much luck with your loving dog. Our vet does offer it as an option also. I just had to put my 11 year old chocolate lab down two and a half weeks ago after a year and a half battle with heart disease. It was a bit of a struggle for us for that time with finances also so I know what you are going through. Our "Snickers" also had fatty tumors on his side and they had drained them once with a needle. They were not life threatening so they never actually removed them. I don't remember how much that it cost us, but could that be a cheaper or available option for you?

Once again... good luck and I hope everything works out well.

 

[LoriNSC]

We just had one removed from our 7 yr old blonde lab last month-$435. I had just taken a buyout from my employer so we had the $$$. We have since used the rest of the $ to payoff everything we have expect our house. I start nursing school in Jan. & am not working. So if that comes up again for us in the next 3 yrs while I'm in school I know we can't afford it. DH is the only one working & we are a family of 5. We will have daycare, the mtg, food, gas & utilities. I feel for you. It's tough making decisions like that when you really don't have the $. Talk to the vet about his opinion of putting the surgery on hold for a little while. If he don't think it's a good idea then use the care credit or your credit card & budget paying it off when you get a tax return. Good luck.

 

[mjkacmom]

Not having seen the lump, it is hard to say, but I would think that if it is not malignant and not currently causing discomfort it would be ok to wait a little while for the budget to look better. The drawback would be that the mass could get bigger and then be more difficult (and thus more expensive) to remove. I would just be straight with your vet about finances and why you would like to wait and ask them to be straight with you about the pros and cons of waiting.

Our rat had a tumor, and we caught it quickly, and it cost $175 to remove. We decided to wait with the next one, and it cost $$300+. She now has 4 more, and we're done, but keep in mind that the bigger the tumor, the more it's going to cost. Plus, she almost didn't make it through the second surgery.

 

[ceecee]

We offer Care Credit at my Dental Office, I have a lot of patient's who use it and we have had successful transactions. The time they get in trouble is if they miss a payment, then interest is charged. You can set up a certain amount of months INTEREST FREE and as long as you make the monthly payments you are fine. The office actually pays the interest for you, Care Credit charges us a percentage on the amount charged as well as a percentage on the length of time of the loan. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, it sounds like you need it.

 

[WishIwerethere]

Is there any way you could get a free second opinion just to ensure that the surgery is even needed? Sometimes we get coupons for new patients at local vet offices through a Valu-pack mailing.

The reason I ask is that I have an old lab who has a number of the fatty tumors, including a huge one on her side (and I mean huge). I trust my vet (long history of caring, conservative treatment for all sorts of animals), and he assured me that it was not bothering her; if we drained it, it would just come back; and it did not merit surgery. He checks it every year during her annual exam (as well as during any other appointments) and has not changed his mind in a couple of years of viewing it, despite its growth.

Every animal is different and none of this may be relevant if you trust your vet the way I trust mine, but just thought I would offer this. I'm sorry you are dealing with these stresses.

 

[SalandJeff]

Is there any way you could get a free second opinion just to ensure that the surgery is even needed? Sometimes we get coupons for new patients at local vet offices through a Valu-pack mailing.

The reason I ask is that I have an old lab who has a number of the fatty tumors, including a huge one on her side (and I mean huge). I trust my vet (long history of caring, conservative treatment for all sorts of animals), and he assured me that it was not bothering her; if we drained it, it would just come back; and it did not merit surgery. He checks it every year during her annual exam (as well as during any other appointments) and has not changed his mind in a couple of years of viewing it, despite its growth.

Every animal is different and none of this may be relevant if you trust your vet the way I trust mine, but just thought I would offer this. I'm sorry you are dealing with these stresses.

I would agree with this. My sister's lab has a huge one of these on her side (she has had other's as well). She went to one vet that we used for many years and trusted everything she advised. That vet advised to leave it alone. She has since switched vets (because of distance to the old one's new office) and he advises the same. Her lab has diabetes, so visits the vet more than once a year. The fatty tumor has not caused any problems.

 

[hipchickie]

We have care credit and have never had an issue with them - we have used it many times on our pets, and once for a human for some dental stuff that was not covered by insurance. Never had a single problem.

I think there is a $1k minimum charge for it to be interest fee for a year, not sure about shorter time periods

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Wow - how interesting. We have an adopted lab mix that I just noticed a bump on her back - not huge. Wonder if this is it - of course I will take her in. Question about pet insurance. Do any of you have this, and would it cover it? Obviously I would need to get it before I took her in.

 

[SandrA9810]

The bigger something gets, the more it's going to cost.

And vet schools don't always charge less than a regular vet would. As they told me, they still have to purchase the medications, and surgical stuff to do the surgery as any other vet would, and that still costs money. The stuff to put them to sleep... can't think of how to spell it... that cost alone is a major budget buster. The only thing vets schools are good for, is complicated surgeries, since they've got the big medical stuff to find it, and several vets that can perform the surgery.
Kari had major dental work down, so she went ne-noz for it all, 15 mins under costs like 60 bucks or something crazy like that. Hundreds was paid out of pocket just for that.

 

[natenapril]

We had 3 removed off of our 11 year old Golden Retriever this summer. It was about $500. The problem was he didn't recover so well. He's older so it was very hard on him. Now I feel more all over him and am torn on what to do. We are in the middle of paying off debt so it will be a small set back but we love him so much.
We have a care credit card and have never had a problem with them. We do not carry a balance on them though.

 

[frannn]

Called the vet for advice said & she's not sure what it is-could be a burst cyst, could be a malignancy. DH must have heard wrong. It has shrunk to about 1/2 the size it was, since he's on antibiotics. We're going in a 1/2 hr before the scheduled surgery to speak to the vet to see what/if they can work something out for us. The secretary advised us to apply for the Care Credit before we see if the vet will work something out for us....why would I want to apply for another card if we won't need it?

 

[VLee]

Would like to hear from some of you that may have pet insurance. With having so many pets, I've felt the premiums would be unaffordable ( 6 dogs+ at times). However, after spending over $6,000+ in the last three months on them (who are 14+ years old) I wonder if pet insurance would have even covered the various items.

And yes, vet schools have the latest in technology and great staff and can handle surgeries that a local vet may not be able to handle, but they are not inexpensive. A basic visit with ultrasound and blood work for one was over $500, with the recommended surgery from 2,500 to 3,500 for adrenal tumor with probability of not making it through.

We have really been through some difficult times since September, losing two, and thankful that I was able to do what we could. But I really feel for those not able to afford these kind of expenditures because I know our dogs are like our children.

 

[marie1203]

why would I want to apply for another card if we won't need it?

Because you won't have to pay any interest for those few month until you get you tax return. My mom's dog needed emergency surgery it was over $6,000 she use care credit for a part of it and she never had any problems.

 

[marie1203]

Would like to hear from some of you that may have pet insurance. With having so many pets, I've felt the premiums would be unaffordable ( 6 dogs+ at times). However, after spending over $6,000+ in the last three months on them (who are 14+ years old) I wonder if pet insurance would have even covered the various items.

And yes, vet schools have the latest in technology and great staff and can handle surgeries that a local vet may not be able to handle, but they are not inexpensive. A basic visit with ultrasound and blood work for one was over $500, with the recommended surgery from 2,500 to 3,500 for adrenal tumor with probability of not making it through.

We have really been through some difficult times since September, losing two, and thankful that I was able to do what we could. But I really feel for those not able to afford these kind of expenditures because I know our dogs are like our children.

We had pet insurance we have 4 dogs and a cat and I cancel it after the first month because it is not worth it. The insurance will not cover pre-existing conditions it is base on the breed and age of the dog. We use to pay $35 a month for our pomeranian and he is only 2 years old. They don't cover annual check ups only a very small part. We have emergency pet insurance thru their microchip company if they get out and something happens to them then they are cover. When we got our dogs we knew how expensive vet bills are so we have a separate bank account for the dogs only with money for emergencies that will grow as they get closer of being seniors that will be much better than having insurance.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

Could you borrow the money from a family member until your tax return? We had to do this in Jan 2009 with our kitty Zoe. She ate a toxic plant and started to die from it. She spent a week in the hospital and well the bill ended up at $4200. We borrowed the money from my parents because we didn't have it at that time.