HELP - Vets & payment plans?

Anacou

Hi all,

Would anyone know a vet in the dublin/Kildare/Meath areas that will do a payment plan for surgery? My retriever has a suspected intestinal blockage and needs xray and possibly surgery asap.

Any I've called won't take a cheque for the xray today or do a payment plan if surgery is required.

Thanks

cocker5

Anacou wrote: »

Hi all,

Would anyone know a vet in the dublin/Kildare/Meath areas that will do a payment plan for surgery? My retriever has a suspected intestinal blockage and needs xray and possibly surgery asap.

Any I've called won't take a cheque for the xray today or do a payment plan if surgery is required.

Thanks

do you have pet insurance?

Do you have a regular vet? surely they would help you out?

If not try the Blue Cross....

Anacou

No insurance unfortunately. Own fault I know!

Was with regular vet last night who recommended xray asap but had to refer me to another clinic as they don't have xray facilities. Other clinic won't take a cheque for xray (200+) and will not do a payment plan if they need to do surgery (very likely).

Ringing around but no joy so far.

cocker5

Anacou wrote: »

No insurance unfortunately. Own fault I know!

Was with regular vet last night who recommended xray asap but had to refer me to another clinic as they don't have xray facilities. Other clinic won't take a cheque for xray (200+) and will not do a payment plan if they need to do surgery (very likely).

Ringing around but no joy so far.

Can you own vet not vough for you with the new vet as he doesnt do xrays?

have you called DSPCA in Rathfarnham? 01 499 4780

The blue cross will probably help:

The Irish Blue Cross,
15A Goldenbridge Ind Est,
Tyrconnell Road,
Inchicore,
Dublin 8.
Tel: 01 416 3030
Fax: 01 416 3035



OR DEF call UCD....

Small Animal Medicine
& Surgery Clinic
Tel: (01) 716 6000
Fax: (01) 716 6005
Email: vethospital@ucd.ie


Best of luck

anniehoo

cocker5 wrote: »

OR DEF call UCD....

Small Animal Medicine
& Surgery Clinic
Tel: (01) 716 6000
Fax: (01) 716 6005
Email: vethospital@ucd.ie

UCD will do a payment plan (over 3 mths normally) but a fairly substantial deposit is required up front as far as I'm aware.

morgana

200+ for an xray? That seems very expensive - our cat had one recently, our vet charged us 90 Euro (plus VAT) for general anesthetic & the x-ray (as cats don't lie still).

Anacou

Thanks all - got all sorted locally, just sorry I didn't go to this one in the first place!

Morgana, I thought that estimate was a bit high alright but He's a 50kg so may need more sedation?? Not sure but not going with that vet anyhow.

He is having xrays now - possibly surgery shortly after depending on xray results. Fingers crossed he comes though this - he's only 3 and a big big part of our family.

morgana

Good luck - fingers crossed all goes well

ZiabR

Let us know how you get on.

Nody

Best of luck and once he's out have a look at that weight (50kg); he sounds very much overweight (which is never good for their health or recovery).

Anacou

Hi all,

Well, xray showed what looked like a piece of rubber in the small intestine. Surgery revealed no blockage though, just feces which may contain the piece of rubber so they didn't open the actual intestine as there was no obvious blockage.

So he's over the surgery, on an IV and comfortable, on pain meds and antibiotic. Next suspect may be some blockage further up in the esophagus or pancreatitis. Didn't want to open the poor dog from end to end so they closed up.

The plan now is he is staying in on IV and meds for a few days to be monitored and try to get bowels moving and get him eating then review the situation again before doing any more. He is comfortable and happy for now. He never appeard to be very ill though, just off his food and vomiting occasionally, maybe a bit lethargic and down. Mostly he is still his old happy self.

Its heartbroken but hopefully we'll get through it.

Edit: Yes, he is overweight but not hugely so. He's a cross between a retriever and red setter (retriever colouring and bulk, but body shape(ish) of red setter) and actually closer to the giant breed category. He a very very big cuddly boy

cocker5

Anacou wrote: »

Hi all,

Well, xray showed what looked like a piece of rubber in the small intestine. Surgery revealed no blockage though, just feces which may contain the piece of rubber so they didn't open the actual intestine as there was no obvious blockage.

So he's over the surgery, on an IV and comfortable, on pain meds and antibiotic. Next suspect may be some blockage further up in the esophagus or pancreatitis. Didn't want to open the poor dog from end to end so they closed up.

The plan now is he is staying in on IV and meds for a few days to be monitored and try to get bowels moving and get him eating then review the situation again before doing any more. He is comfortable and happy for now. He never appeard to be very ill though, just off his food and vomiting occasionally, maybe a bit lethargic and down. Mostly he is still his old happy self.

Its heartbreaking but hopefully we'll get through it.

Good news he's over the worst! wishing him a speedy recovery

boomerang

morgana wrote: »

200+ for an xray? That seems very expensive - our cat had one recently, our vet charged us 90 Euro (plus VAT) for general anesthetic & the x-ray (as cats don't lie still).

'Twould depend on the number of views taken as well though, Morgana.

aonb

hopefully the piece of rubber being removed, will have done the trick, and job is done. Fingers crossed for speedy recovery too - let us know how you go

Anacou

aonb wrote: »

hopefully the piece of rubber being removed, will have done the trick, and job is done. Fingers crossed for speedy recovery too - let us know how you go

No, rubber wasn't removed as it appeared to be mixed in with feces and not large enough to not pass so they left it rather than open the intestine. We're doing a wait and see game now. He's on IV so they are hoping that will flush out the remaining feces with the rubber, along with small meals to see if the bowel will move and if he can keep it down. If not, then more xrays of esophagus & chest to check that area, bloods etc to check for pancreatitis. And then god only knows. Worried sick about him, but he is safe in hosp and in good form apparently.

Anacou

Well, my boy looked like he was well on the road to recovery over the weekend. What was going in was coming out the other end as expected. What was showing up on xrays appears to have been gas in the cecum, and was reviewed by ucd also. No blockage found in what was examined during surgery. He came off the iv on Sat and came home. Drinking and eating (hills i/d tins) over the weekend and all was going well. Still on antibiotics and pain killers and saw vet again on Mon and got all clear as long as things keep going as they are. Started introducing normal food yesterday, and he wouldn't touch it, wasn't even that keen on what he had been eating. Today he went right off everything again. Even chicken and rice, but he will eat if we hand feed him, albeit small amounts but better than nothing. No poop again since Sun night so now I'm worried we're back to square one again. Will give him until tomorrow and back to vet again. Lord don't I wish we had pet insurance!! BTW we had 16 xrays done.

Anacou

Well, my boy is back in hospital again tonight back on IV fluids waiting on blood results and having ultrasound tomorrow. He's not doing well at all. Not eating, and not much fluid going in either. Pancreatitis is suspected and at least we know bowel is working now - just hope we're not too late and that this round actually identifies what going on with him AND that it is treatable!!

tk123

Ah god hope he's ok!

aonb

Anacou wrote: »

Well, my boy is back in hospital again tonight back on IV fluids waiting on blood results and having ultrasound tomorrow. He's not doing well at all. Not eating, and not much fluid going in either. Pancreatitis is suspected and at least we know bowel is working now - just hope we're not too late and that this round actually identifies what going on with him AND that it is treatable!!

any news? hope he is doing ok? If hes not drinking, hes in the best place - on a drip? Let us know how hes doing - everything crossed for you

Anacou

Thanks for the good wishes all. Well, he came home again today in great form. All tests came back pretty normal, bar white cell count was way off which shows there was some infection going on but no clue as to what it is.

He's been well re-hydrated by IV and is eating and drinking well today at least. Stitches out so he should be a bit more comfy too. He is staying on strong antibiotics (injected) for the next while along with some steroid. Fingers crossed that he will continue to improve this time and will make a full recovery.

I have no idea what has happened to him or what he has picked up. He doesn't mix with other dogs but I have been fostering rescue puppies the past few months so that is certainly knocked on the head now, as I'm just not willing to run this risk with my poor boy ever again.

He's back to vet again on Monday for injections and checkup.

And. . . I will have to sell a kidney to pay for it all (just in case anyone is looking )

aonb

well not Pancreatitis then? Thats good! So an infection 'only'? Thats good too. Hopefully the antibiotics will get rid of whatever it is. I HATE when they find nothing conclusive though. Im sure you boy is very happy to be home.

just out of interest, would an xray show Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas I mean)?

Drexel

Anacou wrote: »

Thanks for the good wishes all. Well, he came home again today in great form. All tests came back pretty normal, bar white cell count was way off which shows there was some infection going on but no clue as to what it is.

He's been well re-hydrated by IV and is eating and drinking well today at least. Stitches out so he should be a bit more comfy too. He is staying on strong antibiotics (injected) for the next while along with some steroid. Fingers crossed that he will continue to improve this time and will make a full recovery.

I have no idea what has happened to him or what he has picked up. He doesn't mix with other dogs but I have been fostering rescue puppies the past few months so that is certainly knocked on the head now, as I'm just not willing to run this risk with my poor boy ever again.

He's back to vet again on Monday for injections and checkup.

And. . . I will have to sell a kidney to pay for it all (just in case anyone is looking )

Really glad to hear he is on the mend. Hope it's all sorted now

tk123

aonb wrote: »

well not Pancreatitis then? Thats good! So an infection 'only'? Thats good too. Hopefully the antibiotics will get rid of whatever it is. I HATE when they find nothing conclusive though. Im sure you boy is very happy to be home.

just out of interest, would an xray show Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas I mean)?

When my vet thought my guy had panc. she wanted an ultrasound. He didn't get it in the end - he wasn't showing any other symptoms apart from bloods being elevated and it turned out that it was actually his thyroid as I'd expected.

Glad he's feeling better OP.

Anacou

He had ultrasound and 15 MORE xrays from nose to tail yesterday & xrays were again reviewed by radiologist in UCD and only gas in cecum showed up. All major organs appeared normal on the ultrasound and the bloods didn't indicate anything serious except white cell count issue. His bladder at the time of ultrasound was HUGE so they drained it and re-scanned and everything fine. He's eating grand since coming home (chicken & rice for foreseeable future), poo & wee on walk earlier today. Only issue since coming home is that he has tried to poop about 4 times but nothing happening. I'm hoping its just gas or his tummy getting used to real food again. Hopefully, things will move along tomorrow. Its driving me nuts that after all this we still have no definitive diagnosis, but if he comes through this ok I'll get over it. The more I think about, the more I think its very likely he picked up from foster guests!

tk123

Anacou wrote: »

He had ultrasound and 15 MORE xrays from nose to tail yesterday & xrays were again reviewed by radiologist in UCD and only gas in cecum showed up. All major organs appeared normal on the ultrasound and the bloods didn't indicate anything serious except white cell count issue. His bladder at the time of ultrasound was HUGE so they drained it and re-scanned and everything fine. He's eating grand since coming home (chicken & rice for foreseeable future), poo & wee on walk earlier today. Only issue since coming home is that he has tried to poop about 4 times but nothing happening. I'm hoping its just gas or his tummy getting used to real food again. Hopefully, things will move along tomorrow. Its driving me nuts that after all this we still have no definitive diagnosis, but if he comes through this ok I'll get over it. The more I think about, the more I think its very likely he picked up from foster guests!

If you're getting nowhere ask for a second opinion - UCD can get things wrong. My retriever wouldn't be fast asleep on my bed now if I had of taken their advise 3 years ago(!)

Anacou

aonb wrote: »

well not Pancreatitis then? Thats good! So an infection 'only'? Thats good too. Hopefully the antibiotics will get rid of whatever it is. I HATE when they find nothing conclusive though. Im sure you boy is very happy to be home.

just out of interest, would an xray show Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas I mean)?

tk123 wrote: »

When my vet thought my guy had panc. she wanted an ultrasound. He didn't get it in the end - he wasn't showing any other symptoms apart from bloods being elevated and it turned out that it was actually his thyroid as I'd expected.

Glad he's feeling better OP.

tk123 wrote: »

If you're getting nowhere ask for a second opinion - UCD can get things wrong. My retriever wouldn't be fast asleep on my bed now if I had of taken their advise 3 years ago(!)

Thanks. . . will pm you

Anacou

aonb wrote: »

well not Pancreatitis then? Thats good! So an infection 'only'? Thats good too. Hopefully the antibiotics will get rid of whatever it is. I HATE when they find nothing conclusive though. Im sure you boy is very happy to be home.

just out of interest, would an xray show Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas I mean)?

Apparently, ultrasound scan and bloods should identify pancreatitis but its all clearl

Anacou

Well, my woof is well on the road to recovery. Off all meds as of yesterday and back on normal kibble (the selection of which is a whole other thread!) Hopefully, he keeps going the way he is now. Still no closer to an answer, apart from some form of infection. He was a very sick boy, it really looked like we'd lose him at one point.

He's lost nearly 4kg through all of this and I'm glad he had it to lose to be honest. He's still got about 2.5kg to go and then should be around where he should be (45kg mark)

So, all in all, I think we were lucky. No more fostering for me unfortunately and pet insurance is next on the list once I get this bill paid off!

Thanks again to all for your comments.

tk123

Glad he's felling better...but 45kg?! He must be a giant of that's his recommended weight - my boy is 28kgs

andreac

Sorry to say but your dog is very over weight. The recommended weight for a male is 29-35kg so even at 45 hes far too heavy. I really urge you to get his weight right down or you are goint to have major problems with his joints etc due to his weight issues.

My male rottweiler is 50kg and is just pure muscle so a Retriever is nowhere near the weight of a Rottweiler so you need to sort out his weight issue now before it becomes a real problem.

Anacou

He's not a purebred retriever. We were told he was a retriever x red setter but there is definitely something else (very large breed) in there. He is 29 INCHES tall at the shoulder and nearly twice the size of a pure retriever (height and length). A few vets have put his recommended weight at 45kg - he is a very very large dog, nearer the giant breed category. Believe me, he is enormous, and not very much overweight! This photo probably won't describe what I'm talking about but have a look.

aonb

Hes gorgeous!
I wonder what else is in the mix there - he doesnt look hugely overweight, as you say, he is certainly a big boy. If a few vets have given you an ideal weight of 45kg, then sounds like you are getting there.
GREAT to hear that he is recovered and well again.

tk123

Oh he's lovely!! He definitely has a settery face I think?

anniehoo

Anacou wrote: »

He's not a purebred retriever. We were told he was a retriever x red setter but there is definitely something else (very large breed) in there.

He's absolutely gorgeous Anacou but I don't see the "large breed" influence myself at all. Even at the top end of the Retriever scale he would be 37kg give or take a few kg (I allow +10%).Setter males even less.

The BCS (Body Condition Score) is what's routinely used to generally gauge an animals size/body fat composition. 1-5 is the level. 1 being very poor (thin/skeletal/emaciated) and 5 being (obese/morbidly obese). I'd put your lad at a 4 (they've classed it as "stout") in the link here

wrote:

General fleshy appearance. Ribs palpable with difficulty. Noticeable fat deposits over lumbar spine and tail base. Abdominal tuck may be absent.

Not knowing his breed history can be problematic but gauging body scores is always helpful anyway regardless of this.

Delighted he's back on the mend, but agree you could work on bringing his BCS down to a definite 3...borderline 2 with time.It will be HUGELY beneficial in the long run you know yourself.

This isn't meant to be in anyway insulting or offensive ok, it's just what we're reading/seeing in this thread.Would love to see more pics (or a vid) to properly gauge his size.

Knine

To me in that picture he looks to not have any waist & I would consider him fairly overweight.

I keep my own dogs very fit & muscled.

anniehoo

Knine wrote: »

To me in that picture he looks to not have any waist & I would consider him fairly overweight.

I keep my own dogs very fit & muscled.

Judging by that photo between 1 to 5 what would you put him as Knine? Remembering that this scale is a rough guide and doesn't take into account any/all of the conditions that can cause weight loss/gain.

Knine

I would put him at a 4 because if you look at his front he is actually quite narrow. His head appears small due to the extra weight. His body around the middle is fairly large & he has no definition to his loin at all.

He looks to be a tall racy type of dog rather then the heavier body of a retriever. He is a lovely boy.

sawdoubters

try vet college maybe they will do it for free

DBB

anniehoo wrote: »

He's absolutely gorgeous Anacou but I don't see the "large breed" influence myself at all. Even at the top end of the Retriever scale he would be 37kg give or take a few kg (I allow +10%).Setter males even less.

I know what you're saying makes sense, but in reality, I know a couple of Setter x Labs and Setter x Retrievers and they're HUGE! If you take the chunky Retriever body, and place it on the tall stilts of setter's legs, you've got yourself a chunky, tall dog.. certainly somewhere in the mid 40kg range. My GSD is 40kg, she's a fairly big GSD for a female, and one of these Setter x Labs that I know is several inches taller and chunkier than she is.
That said, Anacou's dog looks a little.. erm... portly , but is heading in the right direction

anniehoo

DBB wrote: »

That said, Anacou's dog looks a little.. erm... portly , but is heading in the right direction

Agree, but there's "room for improvement"

Anacou hope you're not feeling insulted here This is what happens in my head when pics are posted! It's all meant in genuine interest in your dog. What's his name?

sawdoubters wrote: »

try vet college maybe they will do it for free

Knine

He kinda reminds me of a Hovawart. I had several of these in my classes last week.

He certainly looks like a fairly tall dog but definitely needs to lose weight. I have also seen some huge crosses & even some huge pure breeds

DBB

Knine wrote: »

He kinda reminds me of a Hovawart. I had several of these in my classes last week.

Lol, I remember the first Hovawart I met years ago, who was actually very like Annacou's dog except he had no white on him. I had only ever seen pictures of the black and tan dogs, and didn't know they came in this solid colour. So, I said to his ridiculously proud and pompous owner, "oooh! What sort of cross is HE?":o
Well, yer man nearly blew a gasket... "I BEG your pardon... THAT is a PEDIGREE Hovawart" :eek:

Heh heh :pac:

Knine

lol I had 2 colours present. Black & Tan & also a blonde. Really lovely dogs.

This evening there was a Swiss Mountain Dog!

The op's dog is a beautiful boy whatever his genetic makeup.

anniehoo

Hovawart.Never heard of this breed!

Sorry totally OT.

mistress_gi

Don't forget you can still get insurance in case anything else creeps up in the future. I have a giant breed and insurance has been a lifesaver these past 2 years!