spca and emergency vet (long rant)

[branv]

You know I almost hate to add to this because I truly believe that most shelters do what they can to care for animals -- and one of our cats is a pound cat, the other an SPCA cat. But one day outside Petsmart we saw a non-profit shelter that had dogs for adoption. We'd been looking for a dog, and so went to take a look. We ended up adopting a dog, which the shelter person claimed the following:

"The vet looked her over and said she's about 3 years old. She's kennel trained, and house-trained -- she won't go in her kennel, and she feels safer in there at night. Very sweet, very healthy. She's obviously been trained."

We got her home, and she somehow slipped out of her collar and ran down the street playfully. Wouldn't come when called. So, no big deal, she's not trained, we can do that.

Before 12 hours were up she'd done both #1 & #2 in the house and in her kennel. Oookay, so she's not house-trained. A little harder since she's older, and it's really annoying that we were lied to, but we'll figure out a way to train her...hmmm...though we lived in an apt on the second floor, so it was going to be interesting!

That next afternoon when DH got home and took her for a walk, her legs started shaking and she couldn't walk straight, falling over. He rushed her to the vet, and we discovered the following:

She was not 3, was actually closer to about 13-14 years old and there's NO WAY the shelter vet could have mistaken that.

She had an enlarged, damaged heart and treatment would be thousands of dollars, but it didn't matter because with her advanced age she wouldn't last very long.

Her kidneys were questionable. She had an ear infection, hence the wobbling. But she was pretty much deaf anyway. And her teeth were really messed up.

I'll be honest with you. We felt victimized...because it was like they took a dog that was essentially dying and lied to us to get us to take it off their hands so they didn't have to face that or pay for the bills. I was enraged for the poor dog and for us. We just wanted to have a companion and help a dog, plus support a non-profit, and instead we were handed something that was honestly heart-wrenching. And we've never wanted a dog since. I still love them, but years later I'm still so upset about it I just can't face that again. Another friend of mine had the same problem as some of you -- she got a puppy from the SPCA for her daughter, and within a week the poor thing died of Parvo. And even worse she didn't understand about Parvo, so adopted another animal who became infected from what the previous dog had left behind, and that dog died of Parvo as well. You can only imagine the effect (and guilt) that had on my friend, let alone on her little girl. A family signs up for an animal, hopefully knowing that illness will happen and they'll have to deal with that both financially and emotionally. But who expects that to happen as soon as you bring the pet home due to a shelter's either poor oversight, or downright neglect/deception? Its hard enough on the good animal shelters without the bad ones making things even tougher.

 

[mousey]

Thank you for adopting Jack.

 

[kinntj]

We have a dog that we call the million dollar dog, because he had to go in to the emergency vet after adoption too. I just want to start out saying that the rescue league we adopted him from wasn't to blame.

His mouth just stoped opening and he wasn't eating. Took him into the emergency vet and they put him under to try everything under the sun to get his mouth to work and they still couldn't do it. Ok, that was a $$$ bill for that night. They said to take him into his regular vet the next day.

We got him into the vet the next morning. The vet said he's only seen this one other time in his entire career (he's an older vet). The muscles on the top of his head that controls the mouth was shrinking. He just prescribed prednisone and the next day there was an improvement. We had to liquify his food for him so he could slurp it up through his teeth.
He did make a full recovery and we've had many years of enjoyment with him.
He loves to lay at my feet and follow me everywhere I go. He's a mommy's boy.

I hope you have lots of fun and enjoyment with Jack.

 

[punkin]

Yeah, adopting from a pound is a bit of a crapshoot, but IMO it's better than buying a puppy from a mill. At least from the pound, you are not worsening the out-of-conrtol pet population. Our situation: we adopted a dog and were told he was 4 yrs old with no medical problems and would get a long great with other pets and small children. Actually he was at least 7 (probably older said out vet) and had ear problems, lip problems, and a tumor on his eye. I have spent over $7K on this dog (not including regular vet care and grooming). He does not like other animals at all (absolutely hates the dog park). Luckily we have no others at this time and now will certainly not get another one. He has no patience for small children and has nipped a toddler. Luckily my youngest is now 11 (she was 8 when we got him) so no problem there. Really he is a very good dog for us because he is low energy and just likes to lie next to a human and does not demand constant focused attention, but he would have been a disaster for another family if they relied on what the pound told them.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

So glad to hear Jack is doing better! And such a blessing about the Vet with your bill.

Our experience is sort of similiar except with cats. After several weeks of looking, we found the perfect kittens for DD from a local cat rescue group that was the adoption partner for our local PetsMart. They'd been checked/innoculated for a lot but they kept scratching/shaking their heads. Took them to the vet and it turned out they both had ear mites! Very common in shelter cats but HTH was this missed? Anyways, with two kittens and another follow-up visit I was out $300. I was more upset the poor darlings had to deal with ear mites while under care of the rescue group than the $300 I'd spent.

I'd say that if you adopt a pet, be sure to have about the same amount or 2x the amount of the adoption fee saved for that first vet visit.

 

[Temperance(xiv)]

Congratulations on your new family member! Jack looks beautiful and I hope he continues to get better. It sounds like this situation wasn't handled very well by the SPCA, and while you probably won't get reimbursed for the entire cost of treatment, I hope you get something that will leave you with a positive feeling about the organization. They do a lot of great work.

I was thinking about the fact that even if you get your animal from a reputable breeder, there is a chance they could have health problems. When I was a kid, our 3 year old AKC-registered cocker spaniel died out of the blue because of a heart condition she'd had since birth which we didn't know about, and I have many friends with purebred dogs from good breeders who have ended up having some sort of medical issue (the dogs, not the friends). There are no guarantees-- though many breeders and shelters will "refund" an animal or cover treatment of certain conditions if they are discovered within a certain time period after the adoption.

We have one found stray cat (never had any medical issues for the past 8 years except for skin and fur problems brought about by fleas this summer), a 5-year old shelter cat (New York City Animal Control) who had a severe upper respiratory infection as a baby, but who hasn't had any problems since, and a 1.5 year old shelter dog (Bishop Animal Shetler, Bradenton, FL-- a wonderful place if you've never been!), who hasn't had any health issues (so far! knock wood!). We are fortunate that so far we haven't had any huge unexpected medical bills-- just the basic vet bills for exams, which in and of themselves can be a lot!

Hopefully our luck remains, as today we're picking up a little 9-week old puppy that we're getting from a rescue organization. He's a quiet little guy, and the runt of his litter, and when I first saw him 2 weeks ago I feared he was ill. He's subsequently been treated for worms and has seen a vet 2 times (with his foster mom) and appears okay. But we'll see... wish us luck!

Thanks for letting me share my own rescue experiences. I don't claim to be an animal hero-- I'm just passionate about animal rescue, and I want to keep encouraging those who are looking for a dog or cat to consider rescue organizations or shelters first.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We have a wonderful cat who we adopted 5 years ago. We were told he was 2 years old at the time. Our first vet never noticed or mentioned that he was much older when he was checked. We found out a year after adopting him that he was more like 10 years old, rather than three.

Though we love him, we would have preferred a younger cat. He is now having health issues and the vet thinks he may have a year left. This is heartbreaking for my kids to lose a pet so soon. I know it happens, but we all thought we would have him longer.

The vet told us this is very common. Shelters and rescues either have limited information or "fudge" the information to make the pet more desirable.

The vet said these pets are still much healthier than the average pure breed.

 

[kim929]

I tried to adopt from our local spca for a few months. They were always being adopted to someone else. then on one of my weekly visits I saw the reason why... a van from petfinders was there.. they were listing the purebreeds and "adopting them" to the people who went thru petfinders, more money to adopt from them. They called me 2 months later to see if I still wanted to adopt the original dog who the claimed to adopt out to someone with 5 acres of fenced in land. They don't make it easy to adopt. I really hope your Jack gets better quick

 

[mster425]

Ack I've tried to reply twice and my responses aren't going though!

Jack is home! I have an appointment at the regular vet tomorrow.

ER vet said if the SPCA had vaccinated Jack against Parvo when they said the test would have been false positive, he tested negative. He was diagnosed with Kennel cough and a stomach infection. He also has not been neutered, I have an appointment to go back to the SPCA in 2 weeks to do that. Do I even want to take him back there if he is so susceptible to illness? I could just pay OOP at the regular vet.

Thanks so much for everyone's stories! I'm glad I'm not the only one this has happened to. I do NOT blame the SPCA, more the person who checked us out and myself for not insisting. They are right down the street and open 7 days/wk so I really didn't think too much about it. People make mistakes everywhere, not just at the SPCA.

He still looks pretty pathetic, maybe he's laid back dog? The people he lived with before were in their 80s and not active. When we got home we napped, then I boiled him some chicken and rice (when he heard the bag open he got his butt off the couch) He ate all of it and his antibiotic, and then drank a lot of water so I felt better. We went for a walk around the block once.

Any budget tips for getting dog snot off a microfiber couch before my husband gets home?

Thanks again for the feedback. This is my first time owning a dog since childhood and I am smitten and just want him to be healthy!

 

[Disney Ella]

I'm glad to hear that Jack is doing better. It must have upsetting to go through that experience with a brand new pet. Since SPCAs are non-profits, there is usually isn't enough money available to keep veterinary clinics open seven days a week. It can take a few days for animals to show symptoms of illness and in some cases, an animal can seem perfectly fine while at the shelter, but become sick several days after being placed in a new home. I realize that was not the case with Jack, since you noticed he had diarrhea. I'm guessing that the shelter staff might not have thought it was serious. Dogs in shelters usually all eat the same food and there can be some stomach upset when a new dog comes in and has to adjust to the brand of food that the shelter is using.

There is a higher risk that an animal will have an illness when you adopt from a shelter, due to the number of animals housed together. While cleaning can help eliminate some germs, it is impossible to eliminate every illness and airborne viruses can spread throughout a kennel. While this is a downside of adopting from a shelter, I hope the knowledge that an unwanted animal now has a good home with you will help make up for the worry and expense.

 

[pixiewings71]

I'm so glad Jack is feeling better!! You've done a great thing, adopting a pound puppy.

 

[ilovebassets]

Ack I've tried to reply twice and my responses aren't going though!

Jack is home! I have an appointment at the regular vet tomorrow.

ER vet said if the SPCA had vaccinated Jack against Parvo when they said the test would have been false positive, he tested negative. He was diagnosed with Kennel cough and a stomach infection. He also has not been neutered, I have an appointment to go back to the SPCA in 2 weeks to do that. Do I even want to take him back there if he is so susceptible to illness? I could just pay OOP at the regular vet.

Thanks so much for everyone's stories! I'm glad I'm not the only one this has happened to. I do NOT blame the SPCA, more the person who checked us out and myself for not insisting. They are right down the street and open 7 days/wk so I really didn't think too much about it. People make mistakes everywhere, not just at the SPCA.

He still looks pretty pathetic, maybe he's laid back dog? The people he lived with before were in their 80s and not active. When we got home we napped, then I boiled him some chicken and rice (when he heard the bag open he got his butt off the couch) He ate all of it and his antibiotic, and then drank a lot of water so I felt better. We went for a walk around the block once.

Any budget tips for getting dog snot off a microfiber couch before my husband gets home?

Thanks again for the feedback. This is my first time owning a dog since childhood and I am smitten and just want him to be healthy!

ah, he just sounds like a lazy goofball, like our bassets.

thank you so much for taking care of this sweet pup!! he is so incredibly lucky to have been found by you!

 

[Debbiebee68]

We had that happen with our own dog a few years ago. She came home from a Veterinary boarding facility (we were in Disney) with severe diarrahea and they sent me home with expensive food and a "free bath"- whooo hoo! Anyway, within hours she was laboring to breathe, the diarrhea would not stop and we could not get her to drink anything other than what we forced down with an eyedropper. Of course only the emergency vet was open. After all kinds of x-rays, they determined it was hemmoragic gastroenteritis. It can be cured with days on IV and antibiotics. It ended up costing us over $2500 to save a 14 year old dog.

I wanted to go after the vet who boarded her, but everything I read online and the info I got from the emergency vet said that there was no provable cause.

Totally was a bummer. Hope your pup is better soon. I would have been jumping at $500. I think they soaked us for that in the first hour we were there....

 

[midwestdee]

Jack is lucky to have found such a good family! I volunteer at a shelter. We test our dogs up one side and down the other before they are even posted on our website for adoption. Some shelters really run on a shoestring and the problem is so huge you just can't believe it. People need to spay and neuter their animals. Also, please get the word out to never buy a puppy or kitten from a pet store. There are plenty of responsible breeders that love the breed - so if you want a poodle, beagle or whatever, that is great - but please be responsible. Also, shelters usually have about 25% purebreeds even though we have to add the word "mix". The past 1 1/2 years - we have often had 50% purebreed dogs, sometimes with their "papers" if they were owner give ups. Again - thanks for taking in Jack - he will be your best buddy for life!

 

[RSADP]

YAY for Jack's health! Labs are fun fun dogs.

 

[kmccain]

So glad to hear that Jack is feeling better!

God Bless You for adopting from a shelter and taking on that responsibility. I too volunteer at my local shelter and it is a happy day when one gets a home!

 

[Gr8dan2]

My daughter worked for our local humane society, and any dogs coming in were tested for Parvo and given all their shots. If they were not spayed or neutered, they had that done too. Parvo is highly contagious, so if they were taking dogs in and integrating them with the rest of the dogs in the shelter without testing them first, they would have a real problem.
Glad to hear he is feeling better and thanks for rescuing the dog. Are you going to contact the shelter and let them know what happened? Even if they do not offer to reimburse you for any of your added expenses, at least it might make them rethink their practices. It's great to have those weekend adoption clinics, but they have to follow the procedures they set in place to protect the animals and the people adopting them.

I think this thinking makes some assumptions that aren't true about parvovirus-- a shelter can have a dog/pup come in and test negative when they arrive, get adopted a week later still negative, and come down with the virus the next week. Onset of symptoms can be up to even 21 days after exposure--- and the tests are only reactive for just a few days in the cycle, usually AFTER symptoms starts. The fact is that shelters testing at intake is very expensive and not very effective for prevention of spread of parvovirus because the test is so limited in accuracy because of the timing of testing.

I think when you consider the reality of that, that's a really tough stance to say the shelter should rethink their practices. Really health of shelter animals seem to reflect the health of the community animals. Until people take care of their pets, shelter's will continue to be dealt the difficult hand that they have now--try to provide care for thousands of animals every year while people complain that they aren't doing enough yet also complain about adoption fees being to high. It's a horrible catch 22. (btw if petfinder is right, most shelters give you some temporary health insurance for your adopted pet-- it seem sto have its own limitations but its something!)

 

[StephMK]

Yeah, so happy to hear Jack is getting better!! We have also had our share of shelter disasters, though luckily no huge expensive medical bills. Shelter dogs are the best, the ones we have owned have been so extremely loyal and just wonderful dogs once they learned the "rules".

For anyone terrified to adopt after reading this thread, don't give up!! There are many rescues & keep looking til you find one that works for your situation. After we had to put down our first fantastic stray shelter dog, we wanted a companion for our now only second rescue dog. At one shelter, she behaved horribly and they told us she would never be good with other dogs. I knew this wasn't true & found another rescue. She taught us to walk the dogs first so ours would calm down then they were all fine together.

We brought home Pete (#3) and went through some transitional marking and chewing. A year later, they are best of friends, he doesn't need the crate anymore & is just a great fun family dog. He also keeps our older girl young and I love seeing them guarding the backyard from squirrels.

Hope Jack continues to improve quickly! You've done a great thing and will be rewarded with his complete devotion!!!

 

[DMRick]

OP..thank you so much for rescuing this dog. I hope you have many happy years with him.

I don't understand the Petfinder van comment. A van from Petfinders? Petfinders is an online site, that allows rescue groups to put dogs and cats that the rescue group has, up for adoption. We (the groups) put the pictures and the info up there. Petfinder only gives us the space. They don't actually adopt out pets..they aren't an actual rescue group or adoption group. It's just an online directory. From the site: "Petfinder is an on-line, searchable database of animals that need homes. It is also a directory of over 12,500 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the USA, Canada and Mexico. Organizations maintain their own home pages and available pet database."

We do the best we can with our rescue group for cats and kittens (and I'm up at 5:30 this morning, because I will be up every 3 hours feeding these 3 week (which is a guess..they weigh just under 10 oz) old kittens found yesterday in a tin, with the cover on, on a sidewalk, thanks to some jerks who didn't take care of their animals..we got them after midnight last night, loaded with fleas and I still don't know if they will make it).
We vaccinate and treat for parasites, we do check their ears and treat for ear mites, as well as put on advantage (because all the cats that come to us are flea ridden..although these guys are too fragile for advantage, so I'm flea combing them everytime I go near them). We spay and neuter and when that is done the vet does a check up. We have about $220 worth of care in each of our cats.kittens that we adopt out for $80 (or $130 if you take two). As I said, we try our best, but we have no idea where these babies were before we got them from the street, the local park, the woods, in a mud puddle, someone's dumpster..all over. We don't know what they are harboring, that might not show up until after the adoption. We have very limited funds, so we can't be responsible for vet bills, and we tell people that. We will always take back one of our cats for any reason for ever. Wish it could be more..but our cat coalition group is s/n over 100 cats a week, and that's where most of our funds go..s/n and vaccines. Do things slip by us? Unfotunately yes Thank God for those who help us by adopting one of these guys. We adopted nine this week, not bad for a small organization.

I tried to adopt from our local spca for a few months. They were always being adopted to someone else. then on one of my weekly visits I saw the reason why... a van from petfinders was there.. they were listing the purebreeds and "adopting them" to the people who went thru petfinders, more money to adopt from them.

 

[mster425]

I agree with PP's that Jack probably didn't look sick when he got to the shelter. He was only there a few days so how could they know? I was just frustrated with the situation. I WILL be more cautious when I adopt another pet, and maybe do it on a Tuesday!! I also know that I need to be an advocate for them from day 1.

He got a chest x-ray today and doesn't have pneumonia, so that's good. The vet doesn't want to put him on antibiotics for the kennel cough yet since he hasn't kicked the stomach bug.

Don't be turned off to the SPCA!! It's not their fault that people did not care for these animals. I was just pissed someone gave me incorrect info about getting antibiotics for him, and venting about the huge cost I incurred. It's not always totally rational