vent,vet costs!

[dntd]

I have a tiny 11 pound fixed 5 year old female bichon and she started to pee blood a week ago. So far she has had 2 urine tests and a blood test 2 types of antibiotic and still no real reason for the bleeding. She had some sort of infection but her culture this time didn't grow anything. Now they want an x-ray or ultra sound. I have no idea what an ultrasound will cost but the x-ray will set me back another $200, so far we are at $500. Never have we ever had to spend this much on a pet. The vet said it could be a lot more then $500 if she needs surgery. This just isn't the best time for he to get sick as we have many bills, trip to save for and I'm attending nursing school in the fall grr.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Sounds like it could be kidney stones. Poor thing

 

[cjnix29]

I feel your pain. My dog is going through the same thing. They discovered (with an x-ray, ours only cost $89...yeah, I know "only") that he has a bladder stone. We tried to dissolve it with a special diet, and it is not that type of stone. So the next step is surgery. My dog is 12. I am on hold with the sugery. Doctor estimated that it would cost about $1000 to do it. My dog doesn't seem to have any other symptoms other than the occasional blood in his urine. I feel bad about waiting to do it, and if he was showing other signs, I would totally have him on the table. But I worry with him being so old, what would happen after the surgery. A few years ago, they took out a fatty tumor, and he took a long time to recover from the anesthesia.

It stinks! I feel your pain. Good luck!

 

[dntd]

What's worse is that was my budget to get the dogs needles yikes! hopefully bills settle down a bit as winters over.

 

[piperett]

I'm sorry about your pooch. I feel your pain. I'm out over $300 already trying to figure out what's wrong with our 10 year old dalmatian. He has had several spells when he passes out, falls down, then wakes up about 10 seconds later. Blood work, EKG, antibiotics, heart meds- no known cause. Needs an EKG monitor and chest x-rays, another $200.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I have a tiny 11 pound fixed 5 year old female bichon and she started to pee blood a week ago. So far she has had 2 urine tests and a blood test 2 types of antibiotic and still no real reason for the bleeding. She had some sort of infection but her culture this time didn't grow anything. Now they want an x-ray or ultra sound. I have no idea what an ultrasound will cost but the x-ray will set me back another $200, so far we are at $500. Never have we ever had to spend this much on a pet. The vet said it could be a lot more then $500 if she needs surgery. This just isn't the best time for he to get sick as we have many bills, trip to save for and I'm attending nursing school in the fall grr.

sorry, poor pup!!!

Many years ago my dogs vet bills were repeatedly so HIGH, continuously... that I just wanted to scream...Then I finally said, thats it and switched (to find that the original one was basically Over treating, over testing and just spending MY money to pay Her Lifestyle ) not saying yours is though....Sometimes it does take a while to get it all fixed up.....Best of luck to both you and that Pup of yours!!

 

[maleficentmom]

I adopted a purebred Persian that began peeing blood..the vet said it was a bladder infection and put her on liquid antibiotics (clavamox?)...and we changed her to Science Diet CD from the vets office. Maybe your vet would be willing to try antibiotics and prescription diet before running more tests. I could tell a huge change in the cat after only a day or 2. Good luck!

 

[CdnCarrie]

I just paid $629 for our Bichon to have surgery! I feel your pain.

 

[Jenn4615]

Sounds like my doxi last year... Put him on three round of antibiotics,thinking it was a UTI... that wouldn't go away. After we finally did the 200 dollar xray it turned out to be a Calcium kidney stone...that was only fixable with surgery...the surgery itself was 1500 dollars... plus the diagnosis xray, the several visits to the vet and three round of antibiotics... then another round after surgery, and pain killers... we were way over 2 grand when all is said and done. Some stones they can break up... without surgery, but the calcium oxite or whatever its called are only removed by surgery. I saw this thing when it was removed. It was HUGE...and had dagger looking claws hanging off of it... My poor dog! No wonder he was peeing blood! So far and its been a year he hasn't had a reaccurance...there is a HIGH recure rate on these stones... Hoping that doesn't happen!
Good luck keep us posted.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I feel you. I just took our Lab to the vet yesterday. Bill was $404. So glad we decided to do pet insurance for her.

 

[merekc]

Emergency vet visit, ultrasound, etc and 3 night stay at the pet hospital set us back about $1100 last month. Ouch!

Had we left him at the emergency vet hospital for 1 day (until Monday) that rate would have been closer to $1800!

I so feel your pain.

 

[marie1203]

We have a pet emergency fund in case this things come up. We spend over $8000 last year in vet bills something always comes up with so many of them. they are worth every penny .

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Shop around.

As much as we loved our last vet, part of their high prices were to pay their high priced location. For routine care, we switched to a lower cost vet. Now, if I had a particular emergency, we would go to them b/c we felt they were experts.

But some costs were just crazy.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

wow this sounds very similar. We just took our 5 year old bichon in for peeing blood too. Poor baby has a giant bladder stone. The surgery and everything (not including anethesia) is quoted at between 2000-2500. We asked about alternatives but those would be even more. I did some digging and found out a vet school offers a non-invasive alternative (uses a laser) that costs up to 1000 + anethesia, so we're going to look into that.

 

[Order66]

Bichons are one of the top 5 breeds we see at our clinic for bladder stones. Get the xray. Shop around for a less expensive vet if you must.......but get the xray. You don't need the more expensive ultrasound. It's very likely she needs surgery to remove the stones. It's quite painful for the dog and can cause obstruction. Not as common in females.......but I have seen it. Then it's a matter of life or death rather than just discomfort.

regards

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

I totally understand. A few years ago we spent $4200 (yes that is thousands and not a typo) to save our kitty.

 

[flakypuff]

I have a tiny 11 pound fixed 5 year old female bichon and she started to pee blood a week ago. So far she has had 2 urine tests and a blood test 2 types of antibiotic and still no real reason for the bleeding. She had some sort of infection but her culture this time didn't grow anything. Now they want an x-ray or ultra sound. I have no idea what an ultrasound will cost but the x-ray will set me back another $200, so far we are at $500. Never have we ever had to spend this much on a pet. The vet said it could be a lot more then $500 if she needs surgery. This just isn't the best time for he to get sick as we have many bills, trip to save for and I'm attending nursing school in the fall grr.

OOoo so sad. I am so sorry for you and your dog We have a Bichon also. He is now blind in both eyes with catarachs (sp) I feel so bad but 2500+ to remove it is just way out of our budget. I would get the xray as another poster suggested and go from there. Is there a vet school in your area that you might be able to go to?

 

[dntd]

Sadly there is no local vet school. Nothing at all is swollen and she actually is acting normal other then the blood. I'm hoping if it is stones they are small but I doubt that. Today her pee was a bit lighter so hopefully it passes and we are put on medication/food. This dog has had good holistic foods, no dyes or fillers. She has never had a milk bone as she hates treats, never eats chews other then the occasional bully stick( 1 per month).Maybe it's our water IDK. The vet said there is 1 type of stone that can't be seen on an x ray, so if it doesn't show anything I'm worried the x ray will be for nothing.What also peeves me off is they had her on a expensive drug then switched to a cheaper one that is commonly used for infections, why not start on the cheaper one? Well at least it isn't cancer, abnormal kidney cells showed up in her tests the first time which made the vet use the big C word! Oh well, she has been a really wanted dog, I waited longer to have her then my kids,waited well over 4 years just to find the right one

 

[lindsmom]

We went through a lot with our shih tzu last year, she had bladder stones brought on by an infection, exasperated by her lower water intake. Surgery once, then they came back six weeks later. Surgery again. I said no more surgery after that, and they thought the stones were coming back. I took matters into my own hands, took her off the canned medicated diet (yeah, I'm a rebel), prepared natural foods for her and fed her inordinate amounts of water (i.e. 1/4 of food stuck to the bottom of her dish, covered with water so she had to drink the water to get to the food).

As long as she drank the water the stones ended up breaking down eventually and didn't come back. Also lots of antibiotics and we made sure the infection was finally gone, but it took over three months to get rid of the infection. No infection, no stones.

Do some internet research for alternatives. Surgery is not the only choice. I wish I had known before putting her under the knife the second time. Not saying what is best for your family (which may be surgery), but go with your instincts because you don't want to have any "what if's".

 

[princessdawn2011]

Sorry about your furry friend.