UPDATE - RIP Shade - words can`t describe the loss

[cnigh]

Took my 10yr old girl - Shade (Lab x Border Collie) to the vet this morning and she has open Pyometra. She is full of infection, but it is draining a bit. Still perky and eating, although she has slowed down some.

The vet wants to do an immediate spay, but we just don`t have the$3000 - 5000.

So we are hoping the infection can be controlled with antibiotics and then we can do a normal spay. It still cost $500 for meds and then $700 - 1000 for the spay.

I have to take a string and measure her belly a few times a day to make sure she doesnt swell up more. Hopefully she doesnt get worse or I will be facing having her PTS.

Has anyone had any good results with using antibiotics?

[nasalberry]

May I ask why she wasn’t spayed as a younger dog?

[SquishTheBunny]

An open pyo is better than a closed, as its a draining infection. If your dog isnt in a lot of pain, giving antibiotics is worth a try. But, as a reminder a previously infected uterus will be left - it will be prone to this reoccur. IF she gets better, I would recommend finding a cheap spay neuter clinic to get her spayed to prevent further infections.

Euthanizing a dog over something totally preventable/treatable is just very sad. I totally understand life situations change and that sometimes finances really are a strain, Im not trying to make you feel bad, but its a sad situation when routine care can not be provided. Is there any humane societies/rescue groups that would take her and spay her? 10 isnt really that old. I wish your dog the best of luck with the antibiotic therapy! Jingles for the little girl.

I would call another vet as well ASAP, if you have $1000-$1500, there is likely a vet out there that would be willing to work with you. Remember that you get what you pay for, but if its a life or death situation having a low budget spay (ie. no IV fluids, no preanes blood) it will certainly cut costs down. I am at a VERY expensive clinic, and our emergent pyo surgeries generally go home well under $3000.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=cnigh;6888345]

The vet wants to do an immediate spay, but we just don`t have the$3000 - 5000.

Has anyone had any good results with using antibiotics?

[/QUOTE]

no. I know of very few who have not had the emergency surgery and had good luck. It is Saturday, if you can keep her on the antibiotics, then get her into your regular vet on Monday, you will be best off to get 'er done.

I am not a fan of the blanket spay/neuter, but unless you have a concrete plan to breed your dog, there is no good reason to keep her intact. Pyo’s are life threatening.

[Bacardi1]

[QUOTE=nasalberry;6888359]
May I ask why she wasn’t spayed as a younger dog?[/QUOTE]

I second this. Why oh why oh why oh why did you not have her spayed earlier in her lifetime???!!??? Since she’s a mixed breed, certainly you couldn’t have had any intentions of breeding her. So what what made you keep her intact, especially since the problems she’s enduring now are fairly common in senior intact females.

It’s awful what both you & the poor dog are going through now, but surely you must realize how easily (& inexpensively) this situation could have been headed off at the pass?

[cowboymom]

I’m constantly flabbergasted at vet costs in other areas of the country.

Here a standard spay is $100. It’s by no means high end but scores of local dogs get spayed here for that every month and live long healthy lives. Our local vets also volunteer to do free spay and neuter clinics once a month and the shelter will contribute funds towards a s/n. A high end clinic is 90 miles away but at least there are affordable options.

By all means, I’m pro s/n but wow, it’s tougher than it has to be sometimes.

I do know a dog that had a open pyo and survived it; it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fast and it wasn’t easy but she did survive and lived another six years or so with no other problems. The owner was broke and not of the mindset to pursue other options… they bought penicillin and gave the dog shots, if I remember correctly. It was a distant inlaw relative…

[cowboymom]

Owner didn’t say that she’s had the dog the whole 10 years or what the circumstances are. I don’t think we have enough info to completely berate and abuse the OP (yet, perhaps).

[jetsmom]

OP- Can you look into Care Credit? www.carecredit.com
Can be used for vet care or people medical care.
Also check around with other vets in your area. I know doing a spay on a dog with Pyo is much more expensive than a regular spay, but that seems excessive.

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=cowboymom;6888415]
I’m constantly flabbergasted at vet costs in other areas of the country.

Here a standard spay is $100. It’s by no means high end but scores of local dogs get spayed here for that every month and live long healthy lives. Our local vets also volunteer to do free spay and neuter clinics once a month and the shelter will contribute funds towards a s/n. A high end clinic is 90 miles away but at least there are affordable options.

By all means, I’m pro s/n but wow, it’s tougher than it has to be sometimes.[/QUOTE]

It sounds like you are definitely in a cheaper area of the country, but my guess is that part of the reason for the expense is that even after antibiotic treatment, the pyo will make the spay more complicated and therefore, more expensive. Being in heat will make a spay more expensive, and I would imagine that having pyo would make it even more complicated. Also remember that the bitch is 10 years old, meaning that they will probably want to do pre-surgery bloodwork as well as fluids. There are some low-cost clinics hear, but dogs past a certain age don’t qualify because they usually need more than a basic surgery on a younger dog.

[Houndhill]

Hey All,

With all the studies coming out now about the health risks/benefits of spaying a bitch vs keeping her intact, I think we should focus now on the OPs current situation, rather than questioning the decision not to spay this bitch. Remember 90% of bitches in Sweden are kept intact, it is thought that it is better for the bitch to keep her intact until and unless there is a health issue that requires spaying, and recent research tends to support this view. Who knows whether if OP had spayed this bitch, she might have already developed bone cancer and might have had to be euthanized years ago?

But to address your question, OP, no, I have not known many bitches with pyo to do well without surgery, though I’ve known of some who have tried. My repro vet tells me she has had some success with treating with prostaglandin F two alpha along with antibiotics, but that does have side effects and I do not know the success rate. But it might buy you some time.

The price you have been quoted seems very high to me, I would think you would be able to find a vet who would do it for less than 2K, though I do not not where you are located and prices do vary widely.

If you think it best to go ahead and euthanize her, so be it, do not beat yourself up or blame yourself for not having spayed her, because who knows what her health outcome might have been. You did what you thought best for her and what you could do. I have six intact bitches from ages 18 months to eight and a half years, and while they are show/breeding Irish Wolfhounds, I would make the same decision to keep them intact if they were strictly companions, as I believe it is what is best for their health. If spayed, they would be at greater risk to develop bone cancer and other cancers which they would not survive, than pyo which is usually more treatable.

[Houndhill]

Oh yes, if you do have her spayed, you might ask the vet if they might spare at least one ovary, that would protect her from the increased risk of various cancers and spayed bitch incontinence.

[cnigh]

Thank you for the replies.

For those that asked, no I do not believe in spaying all female animals. I don`t breed, but I have never put any animal through surgery without a reason. Yes, spaying MIGHT have prevented this infection, but it also might not have.

All I can say is I will do whatever I can to take care of my sweet girl. Can`t do much about the cost of things in Ontario. I have spent almost $2000 in the last few months on a cat and Shade had an ear infection. My cat had a nasty cut on his tail and stiching him up cost a fortune.

Shade has been a very healthy, happy animal. Aside from regular vetting, her ONLY extra vet visit was a couple of weeks ago for an ear infection. There was no sign of the Pyometra at that time.

If the antibiotics work she will be spayed to prevent future infections. This will give us 6 weeks to come up with the additional funds. I`m praying to the truck driver gods that the season picks up soon. No work = no $$

[Marshfield]

There are protocols for medical management (I think using lutalyse) that can be used to resolve the pyometra and then schedule the spay once the infection is cleared.

[cnigh]

[QUOTE=Houndhill;6888528]
Oh yes, if you do have her spayed, you might ask the vet if they might spare at least one ovary, that would protect her from the increased risk of various cancers and spayed bitch incontinence.[/QUOTE]

I`m really curious about this. Would it leave room for the infection to return? I am reading that some dogs get this regardless of being spayed if there is some tissue remaining?

My worry is spaying her now will release the infection into the body. Another reason I would like the antibiotics in her before the surgery.

[cnigh]

Also wanted to be clear. Shade will only be PTS if the infection becomes life threatening. At this point it is not.

[threedogpack]

@cnigh;6888534

Yes, spaying MIGHT have prevented this infection, but it also might not have.

If the uterus is removed, there is no place for a pyometra to happen. It would not have happened with a routine spay.

[FalseImpression]

I kept a stray bitch a few years ago. She was scared but oh so gentle. Put ads and phones AC. Nobody was looking for her. My vet dewormed her and a week later, at a second check up, found a lump on a mammary tumour. Being a BC survivor… well I went for the surgery. During surgery, they found another one… One year later, she went into heat for the first time (could not find a scar previously). It went on and on and, never having had a female, started getting worried… sure enough, pyo… her tubes were one foot long and the size of sausage. That was a Friday night and the vet put her on abx right away with surgery first thing on Monday am. She did well after that, but then started having seizures. We put her down 6 months later when she spent all her life sleeping, had to be carried outside, etc. The pyo surgery did not cost anywhere near $3000! The dog herself cost me a fortune in the 2 years we had her though between two surgeries, numerous tests for the seizure and meds. I will never keep an intact dog, esp. a female!
Best of luck to Shade!

[cnigh]

Pyometra can happen in spayed animals. The stubs left behind from surgery can become infected.

Here are some pictures of her.

As a pup:

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp239/cnigh_2008/Shade/012_12_zps1d915d04.jpg

Pretty young girl:

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp239/cnigh_2008/Shade/014_14_zpsba35b26a.jpg

And Shade now - still beautiful :):

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp239/cnigh_2008/Shade/003_zps7831a3ee.jpg

[SquishTheBunny]

Stump pyometera’s are not nearly as life threatening than a full blown infection in the uterus. They are also significantly less common as most vets do a good job removing the entire chain.

As someone who works in emergency and referral practice, I can tell you I see a LOT more intact females with pyometeras and mammary cancer than spayed females with bone cancer.

Spaying is a choice, its neither right or wrong not to spay. But YOU chose not to spay, and now you are dealing with the consequences.

Please dont put your dog down because you chose not to spay. I am also in Ontario and can give you a huge list of rescue organizations that will take her and give her the care she needs.

Chances of your dog developing bone cancer 0.00079% - 1.2%
Chances of your dog developing pyometera 23% - 33%
Intact bitches have a seven times greater risk of developing mammary neoplasia than do those that are spayed.

There are certainly benefits to having an intact female (spay incontinence, the desire to breed if needed, decreasing chance of bone canter - only proven in rottweiller so far). But, there are also benefits to spaying. Again, not saying there is a right or wrong decision.

Not all pyometera’s are surgical, some that are caught early can
treated by antibotic thearpy. For your dog, I really hope this is the case.

Stump pyometera’s are frequently found when part of the hormonal
chain has remained (ie. the uterine stump, ovary). If everything
is removed, there is no stump to become infected.

It is generally the hormones from intact females, that cause
inflammation and later infection. With spays where one ovary is left
chanes are significnatly diminished, yet there is still some hormonal
influence. Often this type of surgery is a reasonable compromise and is becoming a more common option that allows hormones to function, but also
preventing unwanted pregnancy.

[LauraKY]

Squish, you’re just awesome.