Lady brought in her older cocker spaniel mix. She said the little dog had been unable to keep food or water down for several days. I get a bad feeling just from this information. It's not a good sign as far as owner compliance and/or financial situation that they have done nothing about a dog who has been vomiting profusely for several days. Not to mention that the poor dog is probably pretty sick.
As it turns out, the little dog was VERY sick! Extremely dehydrated, very painful in the abdomen, and she vomited on palpation of the stomach despite not having eaten in close to a week. The poor little dog laid on the exam table without moving anything but her eyes the entire time I was in the room.
I discussed the options with the owner. 1) Bloodwork and hospitalization or 2) Euthanasia. One of these options was going to be fairly expensive, the other, much less so. The owner hems and haws, so I offered to do the bloodwork first and give her a more accurate prognosis than "probably not good."
Her: I'm just not ready to euthanize her yet. I just don't know what to do.
Me: Okay, then you need to let us hospitalize her.
Her: I don't want to spend that much money on her. After all, she's an old dog.
Me: I will not send her home like this. She will just die a slow painful death at home and that is not fair to her...But I can go ahead and run bloodwork to get a better idea of what her long term prognosis is.
Her: How much does that cost?
Me: $120
Her: I don't really want to spend that much money on her. I just don't know what to do.
Me: Is there someone you can call to help you make this decision?
Her: My husband is at work. I just don't know what to do.
Me: I'm going to give you a few minutes to think things over.
--I step out of the exam room for 5 minutes before going back in--
Me: Are there any questions you would like to ask?
Her: I just don't know what to do.
Me: How about we run the bloodwork so we have more information?
Her: I don't really want to spend that much money on her.
Me: Your options are euthanasia or bloodwork. Which would you like to do?
Her: I'm just not ready to euthanize her.
Me: Then I guess we're running the bloodwork.
The poor little dog had severe pancreatitis and suspected kidney failure. She had 2 normal values on her entire blood panel. Her prognosis for long term survival was poor. The owner eventually (finally!) decided to euthanize her and end her suffering.
Her: Can I take her home for a couple of days to say goodbye?
Me: A couple of days? (I'm trying to keep my jaw from hitting the floor) No. She is terribly sick and miserable. It is not fair to her to prolong her life like this. You can take her home for the rest of they day and bring her back right before we close.
This poor little dog had already been living like this for several days and she wasn't going to feel any better without hospitalization, IV fluids and pain management. It was inhumane to continue prolonging this little dogs life without intensive care. I understand that I was offering the owner two crappy choices, but sometimes I want to look at people and be like, this is YOUR dog but sometimes you have to do what is in YOUR PET'S best interest, not yours.
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