Woul you consider euthanasia?

[Aussie_2020]

I volunteer my time transporting for several rescues. Used to be I would take pets from one shelter to another or to the vet for s/n. Now I also deliver to food banks and transport private animals to and from vet appts plus bring people medicine and food all on the rescues’ dime. They feel it’s better to help the owners keep their animals if possible than to take the animal into a shelter or rescue.

I was at the local vet waiting for donated meds to bring to a rescue and heard a woman telling the receptionist that it was cheaper for them to bring their 3 cats here to be spayed. If they had stayed with their regular vet it would have been almost $1k for the office check and then to come back for spay.

This vet office is 2 hours from home but they were able to book a hotel for the night and have dinner and breakfast, look around town, then pick up their cats and go home for less money. Is that nuts or what?

[libgrrl]

This is very controversial in my local area – but I’ll state it here. In my community of about 45,000, we no longer have an open access shelter. We have two “no kill” rescues that have waiting lists.

Soo…what is happening? Some dogs are kept for years. Folks that need to surrender their dogs and have no place to bring them are turning them loose. There are some local “pet recovery” groups that find them, advertise them as lost dogs – and if no one responds, they need to stuff them somewhere. It’s getting really, really bad. I (quietly) keep arguing that we need an “open access” shelter. You might have thought I was the devil incarnate based on the reaction.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

That’s nuts! Although I remember when I got a dental on my dog and a spay, the estimate was $1200+ at a very fancy clinic near me…and $700 for the same service an hour away. The vet who I got to do the procedures was a bit salty at me, saying I was “doctor shopping” and I should have stuck with the vet who knew the dog best, but he did go through with it, and had a successful outcome. This was back in the 00s, so the prices would be much higher today.

That is so wonderful the rescue helps owners keep their pets. Sometimes people just need help through a rough patch.

[Aussie_2020]

The shelters I’ve been dealing with are pretty good about switching animals when one has been at a shelter for too long. I transport a lot of those. Usually dogs or cats from small towns where the chance of adoption is less. We’re within 3 hours of several large cities and they have a bigger pool of adopters.

But it is nice for the older and/or ill pets to stay in their homes and have rescues help them out with food and meds.

[libgrrl]

My beef is that they need to do a full-court press on trying to find adopters for some of the older ones, and if unsuccessful after a period of time, give them a barbecue sandwich and a SUPER GREAT DAY and gently let them go. One is a GSD with DM. He breaks my heart. I’ve had 2 that had that condition, and it is heartbreaking to watch. It takes a special person to adopt a dog like that, knowing what you are in for – and we don’t have enough of those folks locally.

[Cat_Tap]

I don’t know if this is the case in the US but here in Canada many vet clinics have been purchased by Corporations and costs have risen tremendously. They also advocate and pressure for more treatments than people can afford.

Fortunately there are a few privately owned clinics available and I will choose one of them once I get another dog.

Gone are the days when my vet came to do vaccinations, teeth etc. for the horses including my dogs and cats.

Back then we even did surgery on my kitchen counter on one of my cats who had urinary tract blockage and an emergency C section on a dog in my barn.

[libgrrl]

It’s definitely happening here.

[Aussie_2020]

That’s what has happened here. One of the local vets is still private, that’s the clinic that does lots of low cost neuter and spay.

[Marla_000]

I have the perfect farm to have
A couple more rescue dogs and a few cats…but The thought of more budget breaking vet bills
Make me hesitate. My last few
animals were seniors with end of life issues and kept me in the poor house.
I couldn’t believe the vet charges
And the changes in the last few years.

[cristalle]

@Cat_Tap

All your comments are appreciated both positive and negative. That is why I come here other than my previous trainer who is also a Social Worker I don’t have anyone to discuss this with.Trainer is not pushing one way or the other but said she would support any of my decisions.

Do you have any friends or relatives who know your situation who would be able to advise?

[Cat_Tap]

I have one of my mother’s cousins living not to far from me but she is 90 in good health and very independent but she doesn’t have a clue about my life on the farm. There are some second cousins but they live all over the world so no help there. Have a sister in Kansas but she and i are the extreme opposites so her advice would be useless. To explain, she voted for Trump. We have agreed not to discuss politics.

As far as my animals go I do talk to Fred but she has a lot on her plate also. However the son of my deceased partner is a great help for any structural problems I have, currently a
leak in my mudroom roof from extensive ice and snow build up.

I was up most of the night worrying. Horses don’t like their new hay, what to do? Don’t want three cases of colic . Another snow storm today getting tougher for me to plow through getting the horses to the field, wheelbarrow out to the muck heap. Kept my fingers crossed watching the horses. At first they turned their noses up at the hay but then decided it was better than nothing. This hay was harvested late and is much coarser than their previous hay.

So now I am in the house, stalls cleaned, horses are eating and I am using buckets and a huge cooler to catch the drips in the mudroom.

Thanks Coth.

[iberianfan]

Hang in there. You are a strong woman. I couldn’t do what you are doing and I think I’m a little younger than you. {Cat_Tap}

[ParadoxFarm]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

The vet who I got to do the procedures was a bit salty at me, saying I was “doctor shopping” and I should have stuck with the vet who knew the dog best, but he did go through with it, and had a successful outcome.

Why shouldn’t we do this? That was pretty rude of him to say, I think. If we are trying to do the best for our animals, and that means a lower cost somewhere else, we need to do that. Would he rather owners did without the care if they couldn’t afford the bump of $500?

[enjoytheride]

So on my local lost and found FB page there’s a lady with a cane corso/great dane/pitbull/mastiff cross (not making that combo up, the dog is enormous) that she is trying to rehome. She says that she’s been trying for 6 months but nobody will take it, and in that time it has killed her cat. She says if she can’t find anyone she will euthanize it.

You can probably guess what the responses are. From now that she no longer has a cat it should be fine, to she’s a murderer, to any vet would refuse, to stereotyping this as a aggressive breed is dog racism.

I’m very glad the responses on this page are much more supportive and I feel sorry for her for having such a hard decision to make.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I was really shocked at the time, and felt terrible. It’s possible he was just frustrated with owners being cheap about pet care and complaining they didn’t have the money to take care of their pets properly! But I was getting the procedure done!

I mean, his clinic didn’t have as cushy a waiting room as the other clinic, but he got the job done and was a competent vet.

[libgrrl]

Sadly there aren’t as many fosters for the rescues – so the dogs are mostly kenneled.

[S1969]

@enjoytheride

She says if she can’t find anyone she will euthanize it.

I find that hard to believe. I think most vets would do it if you told them it killed your cat and you can’t find a way to rehome it.

[keh]

Aussie_2020 thank you for volunteering! May your kindness come back to you. I’m sure you’ve saved many lives & enriched countless others <3

Cat_Trap believe that the right dog will come along & it will.

[RHdobes563]

@Kinda_Kooky

What would YOU rather have? A Boxer or a Shepard mix? Something else?

This is an incredibly frustrating situation to be in. I would think a rescue would jump at the chance to have you adopt. While proper placement of a dog is essential, I question the process. It seems extreme.

If you would like a dog from the Southwest NM/TX area, let’s get one on a plane to you. Dogs around here would line up to be yours. Rescues fly dogs out from here frequently.

In a neighboring city, it is common to see need to re-home ads for really nice dogs on Craigslist due to Military relocation.

Just a couple of ideas, if I were closer I would bring a car packed full of them to you. We have a lot of dogs that need homes here.

ETA: sorry to hear of the breeder’s passing.

I’ve always thought that it would be nice for military families to FOSTER dogs where they are rather than ADOPT one of their own that might have to be placed/surrendered later due to relocation.

[Aussie_2020]

Oh I’m so glad to hear you say this! I’ve had words with a couple of shelters on adopting to a military person. The outcome in both instances is that I was pretty much called a mean bum-butt.