F....Animal Vets

JR thanks for sharing your story. It proves my theory someone always has it tougher.

Well, I wasn't trying to "one up you". Just letting you know that, as a fellow pet lover, I understand both the difficult choices we must face at times and the wonderful rewards that our four-legged friends bring us.

For as much as we treat them like family, are pets aren't human and, at times, the real needs of our human family will force us into horrible Hobbesian choices. The pain at those times can be visceral.

[Stop reading now Hog1] On the other hand, as Schneed10 said, my son did learn a hard but sweet lesson. One of Bronwyn's favorite things to do was stick her head and paws into the bathtub while Aidan (my son) was getting his bath. Shortly after Bronwyn's death, my wife was giving Aidan a bath and, while doing so, had a "Bronwyn Moment". Aidan asked her why she was crying and my wife said that she just missed Bronwyn. My son reached out, took his mother's hand and, with the conviction of a comforting sage, said "Mom, it's okay, as long as she's in our hearts and minds, Bronwyn will always be with us." I thought that was some pretty intense thinking for a four year old.

My wife, however, completely lost it.

BTW - My user CP has a picture of me and Bronwyn for those interested.

I spent $80 dollars at the vet Saturday because apparently my new beagle is a drama queen.

Sadie was flying around the back yard, excited that my husband was home. She then stops, lets out this blood curdling howl and raises her paw up. OMG... the howls coming out of that dog when you'd try to touch her paw were deafening. I tell my husband he'll have to take her to the vet because it might be broken.

Long story short... She comes trotting out of the exam room after 10 minutes as happy as can be. She's fine. There's nothing wrong with her paw other than she may have stepped on something weird. Then the vet basically tells my husband that beagles are pretty much big babies and there's nothing to worry about. So Sadie spends the rest of her visit schmoozing with the staff and getting her picture taken.

I basically spent $80 for a stubbed toe and a kodak moment. Nice.

$80 that doesn't even cover the tax on my bill.

$80 that doesn't even cover the tax on my bill.
My husband and I thought it was more humorous than anything. We pretty much felt like our dog played us. Now we know to wait a bit before hitting the panic button when she goes into drama mode.

I know too well the cost of maintaining a physically ill pet. I had to put down my 12 year old cocker spaniel last September. Unfortunately, cockers have a lot of problems that are inherent to the breed. Cancer, skin tumors, deafness and blindness finally got the best of him. He had three major surgeries over his lifetime and we probably spent over $2000 just to have benign tumors and skin growths removed every so often. He also suffered from terrible ear infections which a former vet never properly treated him for. Factor in his general vet care over the course of 12+ years and that's quite a chunk.

Would I do it all over again? You betcha. Would I ever have another cocker spaniel again? No way.

My husband and I thought it was more humorous than anything. We pretty much felt like our dog played us. Now we know to wait a bit before hitting the panic button when she goes into drama mode.

I know too well the cost of maintaining a physically ill pet. I had to put down my 12 year old cocker spaniel last September. Unfortunately, cockers have a lot of problems that are inherent to the breed. Cancer, skin tumors, deafness and blindness finally got the best of him. He had three major surgeries over his lifetime and we probably spent over $2000 just to have benign tumors and skin growths removed every so often. He also suffered from terrible ear infections which a former vet never properly treated him for. Factor in his general vet care over the course of 12+ years and that's quite a chunk.

Would I do it all over again? You betcha. Would I ever have another cocker spaniel again? No way.

Each breed of dogs are prone to a whole mess of different inherent problems.

I've even seen a pug that a guy had thrown thousands of dollars into so it could have multiple back surgeries. And the dog hadn't even reached 8 years old yet.

I think there are a few steady breeds that, when they get older, won't be a complete mess. Labs, golden retrievers, boxers and big working group dogs (Dobermans, Sheepdogs, Newfies, Rottweilers) tend to hold up very well so long as you keep them in shape and don't overfeed them.

I've never owned a dog, but I've worked with them for over 2 years and I can understand that bond between people and their pets. It's just like having a kid (to a point). If your dog needs something, I can understand an owner pouring almost as much money necessary into making sure it gets good treatment.

But I do think vets gouge on what they wanna do for pet owners. I know a dog that is on medication for separation anxiety. Come on... Is that really worth medicating your dog over? I can see if he's just freaking out and biting people when he's away from his owner or something.. But I really don't think it's worth spending money on a dog for medication for separation anxiety. Maybe it is? I just don't understand it myself.

Each breed of dogs are prone to a whole mess of different inherent problems.

I've even seen a pug that a guy had thrown thousands of dollars into so it could have multiple back surgeries. And the dog hadn't even reached 8 years old yet.

I think there are a few steady breeds that, when they get older, won't be a complete mess. Labs, golden retrievers, boxers and big working group dogs (Dobermans, Sheepdogs, Newfies, Rottweilers) tend to hold up very well so long as you keep them in shape and don't overfeed them.

I've never owned a dog, but I've worked with them for over 2 years and I can understand that bond between people and their pets. It's just like having a kid (to a point). If your dog needs something, I can understand an owner pouring almost as much money necessary into making sure it gets good treatment.

But I do think vets gouge on what they wanna do for pet owners. I know a dog that is on medication for separation anxiety. Come on... Is that really worth medicating your dog over? I can see if he's just freaking out and biting people when he's away from his owner or something.. But I really don't think it's worth spending money on a dog for medication for separation anxiety. Maybe it is? I just don't understand it myself.
True, but I think there are certain breeds that suffer from chronic health issues that can't be corrected through surgery or a series of treatments. They have ongoing issues that over the course of their life results in higher medical costs. While one breed might be prone to one issue, another breed can be prone to five different ones.

We once asked our vet's staff what breed of dog would they recommend to someone. Their response was that they could tell us what breed they definately wouldn't recommend... cocker spaniels. Unfortunately their temperaments are often poor and they can be very expensive to care for because of their medical and grooming costs. I tend to agree.

I spent $80 dollars at the vet Saturday because apparently my new beagle is a drama queen.

Sadie was flying around the back yard, excited that my husband was home. She then stops, lets out this blood curdling howl and raises her paw up. OMG... the howls coming out of that dog when you'd try to touch her paw were deafening. I tell my husband he'll have to take her to the vet because it might be broken.

Long story short... She comes trotting out of the exam room after 10 minutes as happy as can be. She's fine. There's nothing wrong with her paw other than she may have stepped on something weird. Then the vet basically tells my husband that beagles are pretty much big babies and there's nothing to worry about. So Sadie spends the rest of her visit schmoozing with the staff and getting her picture taken.

I basically spent $80 for a stubbed toe and a kodak moment. Nice.
Get used to it. Beagles are serious emotional wrecks. We now have a hound/lab mix that is even worse.

I'd ignore it but she almost died about a month ago when she and our middle dog were playing and the older dog's jaw got caught in her collar and almost strangled her. Luckily I was right there and was able to get her undone but not before she was deprived of oxygen for a good minute. After that she stood up, crapped and passed out. Serious life changing momoent for the pup. Same for me. She was literally dying in my arms as I tried to untangled them. I ended up worse probably than her with all the cuts and scratches I got and a $400 midnight visit to the ER vet.

True, but I think there are certain breeds that suffer from chronic health issues that can't be corrected through surgery or a series of treatments. They have ongoing issues that over the course of their life results in higher medical costs. While one breed might be prone to one issue, another breed can be prone to five different ones.

We once asked our vet's staff what breed of dog would they recommend to someone. Their response was that they could tell us what breed they definately wouldn't recommend... cocker spaniels. Unfortunately their temperaments are often poor and they can be very expensive to care for because of their medical and grooming costs. I tend to agree.

Pure breeds in general have shorter life expectancies and higher maintenance costs because their lack of interbreeding really never lets nature take it course. Mixed dogs generally get the bad traits bred out and live longer while pure breds just pass the crappy hips and so forth from one generation to the next without the bad traits ever getting "natural selectioned" out.

Get used to it. Beagles are serious emotional wrecks. We now have a hound/lab mix that is even worse.

I'd ignore it but she almost died about a month ago when she and our middle dog were playing and the older dog's jaw got caught in her collar and almost strangled her. Luckily I was right there and was able to get her undone but not before she was deprived of oxygen for a good minute. After that she stood up, crapped and passed out. Serious life changing momoent for the pup. Same for me. She was literally dying in my arms as I tried to untangled them. I ended up worse probably than her with all the cuts and scratches I got and a $400 midnight visit to the ER vet.
Glad she's ok. Does she act any differently now since the incident?

Sadie has a few issues (timid around men, hates thunderstorms), but she's a very good dog. She's really laid back and quiet most of the time. She only gets excited when we come home. I was so worried I would end up with a chronic howler.

One thing I've noticed is that she is starting to shy away when we have several people around or the neighbors bring their dogs over. She loves the neighbors dogs and she'll be fine for awhile, then I'll find her off in a corner of the yard somewhere by herself. I just find that odd since beagles are bred to be part of a hunting pack and really don't enjoy being by themselves. She's like our little wallflower now. I'm just wondering if she would do better if we got another dog.