We received some bad news today. Our 6 year old Golden is going to need a $2000 dollar operation. The worse news is that in a year or two, she most likely will need another to correct a not so serious problem she has now, that *will* be serious in a year or two...allow me to explain in detail:
Our 6 year old Golden has hip displasia. Her hip is weak but she can walk on it for short distances. the other day, she tore her ACL in her knee and she cannot put any weight on that leg at all. If we do not get her operated on, then she runs the risk on ruining her good hip as well, and we most likely would have to put her down. Now if we get her operated on for her ACL, she will most likely need another surgery in 1-2 years to repair her damaged hip. Each surgery costs about $2000 each. I do not want this to come down to a matter of money, nor do I want this to be an emotional snap decision. Golden's with hip displasia usually live until they 10- 12 years old, which means that we have about 4-6 years on average to have her around.
My wife is very upset. She knows that this is money we do not have and while the surgeon has payment plans, we really cannot afford $100-200 a month beyond what we bay in bills now unless my wife increases her hours (and I am not sure that is wise).
If this dog was 2-4 years older, I would most likely consider on putting her down, money issues aside. Since she is just shy of becoming a senior, the choice becomes very difficult. My wife loves that dog and we treat our dogs as well as most people treat their kids. We want to do everything we can, but we do not want to extend their lives just to make us happy.
I do not want this to be a financial decision. I mean, I had to have surgery in January (well, I could have decided against it and lived with the pain, but that is another story), but I had insurance. We do not have dog health insurance and the last time I checked on it (and believe me I have), it did not have very good benefits. The surgery is going to be expensive and we are going to be paying for it for at least 18 months..and if we have to get the second surgery, we will be paying on the medical bills for 3+ years.
I do not want this to be an emotional decision, either. My wife has really fallen in love with this dog and will just fall apart the day that big Golden dies. We have had it since it was 4 months old and it has been a very good companion for my wife when she travels. That dog is her child.
My heart wants to get the dog operated on., but how will an active dog react to surgery? Will it heal properly? People that have had ACL surgery usually have to stay off the leg for a while and then have extensive physical therapy. Can we cope with a large dog after surgery? My wife cannot life our smaller dog, let along a 70 pound Golden Retriever.
I am sure that tonight I will be doing a lot of praying. God give me the strength to stand by whatever decision needs to be made.
1 comment:
Wow. I know this is hard. My best friends just put their dog down after she was hit by a car and needed a surgery that she wasn't gauranteed to survive. They kept her alive as long as possible, and they were heartbroken to let her go. Our animals really are family members! I will pray that God will heal your dog and that he'll give you and your wife wisdom on how best to handle this tough situation.
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