Do You Have Pets?

[Matt_Fury]

Awesome Rob!

[Angry Ewok]

Pepper. She's a German Shepherd rescue, appx. four years old. Could probably make it as a therapy dog if I had the resources. She's a huge hit when we have Bible study at my place.

[Rob]

Well for the second time in 3 years I just had a dog that needed its small intestine re-sectioned. 

Poe stopped eating on Saturday and then ate some on Sunday, then wouldn't eat again on Monday.  Instead of dental floss, this time it was some sort of weird abnormality on her intestine where there was a pocket where food was collecting and getting stuck.  They couldn't figure it out on the x-rays or ultrasound, so they did an exploratory surgery to find the problem.  They don't know if it was from an abscess or if it's a birth defect or what.  They're doing a biopsy which will come back in 7 to 10 days, but no one expects cancer given her age.

$4,200 later she's home and I'm doing dog rehab again, trying to keep her calm so she doesn't bust her stitches and so the re-sectioning doesn't leak.

The part that's killing me is that I didn't get pet insurance.  After the last time I thought long and hard about it, and asked a lot of people their opinions, and decided that since it wasn't likely to happen again, and since she was so young, I'd set aside $40 a month for her and then if we never had an issue I'd have a nice pile of cash sitting there when she was gone someday.  There's like $360 in it so far. 

My advice is now officially that everyone should get the insurance.  It'll be interesting to see if that's an option for me after all this... I'm assuming it'll either be really expensive or at a minimum they won't cover her GI Tract. 

Ugh.

[Matt_Fury]

So sorry to hear about Poe.  Hope the little guy gets better soon.

[Chris M]

Damn Rob, sorry to hear about that.

I've thought the same thing about the insurance and when our cat and dog cross the rainbow bridge (15 years and 11 years respectively), we'll pick up some new ones and will most likely get insurance for them too.  Between the two animals we have now, I've done 3 UTIs ($5500) and two ACL surgerys ($5000).  Yeah, good investment.

[Pete_Fett]

Apologies in advance for resurrecting this thread.

Michele and I had to say goodbye to our oldest male kitty, Trip,  this past Sunday. The first cat we got together after five years of both marriage and me nagging for us to get a cat.


We got him from the local shelter as sick little kitten, not more than 4 or 5 weeks old and for the past 15 years, it was due to how amazing of a cat he was, that we opened up our home to many other cats.

When we found him Sunday morning he was unable to use his back legs, we wrapped him in a blanket and took him to the vet, knowing the situation was not good, right before leaving, I took him by where our other cats were laying and told each of them that he may be going "bye bye" for the last time. Many of them nuzzled at, and licked his head as if to give him an affectionate kiss goodbye.

We were told by the vet he either had a blood clot or had fallen and broken something in his back. He wasn't a very vocal kitty, but from his meows, it was clear he was in quite a bit of pain. We contemplated having them give him something for the pain and a steroid to reduce inflammation to see if that would help, but we agreed it was better to end his pain than to put him through any further suffering, simply because we were not 100% ready to say goodbye.

 

[Matt_Fury]

So sorry for your loss Pete.  At least the litte guy is not in pain now and he had a great 15 years as part of your family.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Sorry for your loss.  I had the exact same thing happen to a cat of ours.  Blood clot/embolism.  I will never forget the noises he was making.

[Matt_Fury]

We had to say goodbye to my cat Bailey today.  She was 17 years old and her health was in decline, but she was in great spirits, but the other day, I accidentally left the gate at the top of our stairs open and our female rottie, Sasha went downstairs and got to her.  Bailey's injuries were more severe than we originally thought and I took her to the vet today to end her pain.

I don't think I'll ever forgive myself.

[Rob]

So sorry Matt, that’s tough on a few different levels.  I hope it gets better. 

[Jesse James]

Sorry to both Pete and Matt. 

This past year late fall we had my gfs cat’s leg amputated and it was a stressful time due to her age.  We bought some time with her and she has rebounded well.  Still I was on anxiety overload for about 3-4 months while we looked at options and kept trying to take care of her.

I know how you guys all feel, either when it’s time for them to be at rest or you’re making difficult financial decisions regarding surgeries and stuff.

Edit: spoke too soon maybe.  Got down to gfs tonight and the cat’s other hind leg is giving her trouble and she’s sort of struggling on it.  It’s been months, so I dunno.  I hope it’s just a sprain or something and she works through it.

[Pete_Fett]

Apologies in advance for once again resurrecting this thread to share another loss...

This past Wednesday, I had to say goodbye to a kitty that I only got to have as a part of my life for four years, but she was the most amazing little fur baby I have ever had.

She was born w/o eyes, but that never stopped her. She could get around just as well as my other cats that had eyes and if anything she was even more fearless than those who could see. Unlike the other kitties who flock to my wife, she was bonded to me, so her loss has hit me really hard, harder than any other cat I have had to let go. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I was not ready to not have her in my life, but I don't think I ever would have been.

Anyway, her name was Phoebe and I will continue to think about her and love her until my last day on Earth...

[McMetal]

Sorry to hear that, Pete. Sometimes it’s the unexpected attachments that really hit the hardest. Wishing you the best!

[Jesse James]

Sorry man, as we’ve all experienced here it’s hard but you have given the pet the best life they could’ve had, and you try to take some solace knowing they were loved and cared for.  It never makes it hurt any less it seems, but it’s a good thing to try to remember too.  I feel bad any time any of you guys post a loss of a pet because I know how much it hurts me when it happens.

[Matt_Fury]

Sorry to hear Pete.  We lost our cat a year and a half ago when one of my dogs got to her.  It was tough because she was 17 and I found her when she was a kitten.  It's never easy.