Spinoff: Maximum Amount You are Willing to Spend on Vet Bill

I borrowed half of that to get my dog surgery on her elbows. I'd do it again without a second thought.

I have spent a pretty fair amount on vet bills. You also have to take into account how much the dog is worth. If someone bought a $3,000 dog and put thousands more of training into it then I would bet they are willing to spend whatever to make sure they don't have to start over again.

like $240, anything after that, keep the fricking mut.

Depends on the animal. Pet, probably would spend a lot. Beagle gets the 22 bullet after about 250-300.

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Beagle gets the 22 bullet

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Do me a favor and just drop it off at a shelter next time. It's a shame the way people treat these dogs.

I have 3 beagles, two of which were found sick, freezing, and starving on the street. They're now two of the best dogs I've ever had and members of my family.

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off at a shelter next time. It's a shame the way people treat these dogs.

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The shelter gives those dogs about 2 weeks and then kills them. Welcome to reality.

Our dog had a lump, the Dr. operated as she was only 9 years old so I thought she would have a lot more time. It was cancer. Surgery was successful. But, the changes was high for it to come back.
She was good for about 2 months, back to her old self. She then started to struggle, and finally stopped eating.
We put her down that night. Total costs was about $3500, but I look at it as we got about 2 more months with her, knew time was limited, took lots of pictures, went on lots of walks.

Wouldn't do anything differently. My dog had been my best friend for those 9 years, I owed it to her. No regrets.

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The shelter gives those dogs about 2 weeks and then kills them. Welcome to reality.

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Reality is there are many shelters that work hard to get these dogs adopted. At least there they'll receive medical attention and have a chance to find a home.

My oldest shorthair, 11 was bit by a cottonmouth on Jan 30th while hunting. We didn't know she was bitten, but I saw the snake and killed it after BigHoss stepped over the snake and did not see it. It was coiled and mouth open when I saw it.

5 minutes later we were in a friend's truck and 5 minutes after that we tried to remove her from the dog box to move to my dog box when we found her paralyzed. No swelling visible, 30 minute drive to lodge and gave her honey, thinking seizure. She came around a little but not much. Then another 30 minute drive to vet in Vidalia to a vet that another friend knew and called. Her rear foot was starting to swell at this time. When we got there, the blood work indicated snake bite, and the rear foot was swelling more. The vet said she sees 4-10 snake bites a week in the summer, never seen a dog react so bad after a bite and live.

She was then moved to MedVet in Metairie. Internal Specialist took over her care, it was determined the snake bite caused other issues, a stroke, pancreatitis and her immune system causing the white blood cells to attack her red blood cells. I was assured she would make a complete or almost complete recovery with enough time to get her over the hump. She spent 2 weeks there. Transfusion, 24 hour care etc for the first 10 days.


She came home looking like a dog you see on an SPCA abused dog commercial, due to her weight loss. She went from 53lbs to low 30's. The stroke had affected the base of the skull and balance was way off. She needed help standing and walking, but never lost control of her bladder and even in a sling with us helping her, she was trying to hunt a rabbit at the house, 24 hours after getting out of the hospital.

2 weeks later and she is making good progress, besides fighting a foot issue where she was bitten. She still can't walk up and down the stairs but she is adding weight slowly. She still has a drunken sway when she walks. We were told expect a couple of months till she is back to 100%, though I don't know their definition of 100%.

It all happened so quickly, $1700 gone the first 24 hours at the original vet. $1500 gone the next 24 hours in Metairie. At no point did I have the discussion with any vet that her odds of making it were not good, she just needed time. All told I am a little over $6k on this snake bite and she is doing well. The money will sting, but well worth it for a part of the family...

as much as it takes to save a life
i spent 3K on a puppy i found near a dumpster two years ago, today she is irreplaceable