Pet Lovers

A Tough Call

Pet Lovers

Posted by: spog777

12th Nov 2012 11:11pm

With an extra large brown snake population around this year a more personal problem may occur. I was faced with it and had to make a decision and was wondering what decision others would make and as an optional response - why and what motivated said decision. Our Boxer was bitten by a brown snake so rather that see her suffer a prologed death we had her put too sleep. Would others:

A) Pay up to $2,500 for the vaccination and vet treatment

B) Try to comfort the pet until its time finally came all the time hoping for a miracle

C) Take the pet straight to the vet to be euthanased to end the pain and discomfort

D) any other option one can think of .


Comments 6

Charlottekay62
  • 18th Nov 2013 05:15pm

I believe I would do the same. I had a cat that was apparently bitten by a snake (or it might have been rat poison), but we only had symptoms to go on. He was already very sick and close to death when I got him to the vets, and it was explained he could have a B12 shot which might help, but might not, and costs a fortune. I decided to keep him overnight and if he was still kicking, which would mean he had a good chance at survival, I would get him that treatment. For better or worse he didn't last the night. But he was home, with those he loved, and he went without drama, just slipped away while lying on the bed with me.

I say better or worse because this same cat was hit by a car a few years earlier, had his pelvis broken and one leg crushed. That time, I decided to get him treated, and his leg removed. It cost me over $1000 and Tippy never really recovered from it. He lost his nerve and even years later would balk at obstacles that would mean nothing to other cats. And his pleasant disposition suffered too. He was still very good with any and all kittens, but other cats no, and he was just generally grumpy.

In hindsight, I should have put him down back then, but I'd just lost another cat to illness and couldn't stand to lose another one so soon.

That cat's brother, BoBo, also caused me to make the hard decisions a couple of times. He was mauled by a dog, had his throat ripped out literally, hid under a neighbour's house, so by the time I found him he had an advanced case of gangrene. I took him to the vets to be put down, but they said they could fix him, at a reasonable cost, if I nursed him properly afterwards! I was happy to do it, and BoBo and I became especially close during his rehabilitation.

3 years later, BoBo gets acute liver failure, vet says he won't make it more than a few months. With me providing my specialised cat nursing services again, he and I worked at keeping him alive and happy for 2 more years before he finally started losing his happy attitude and was really ill every night. It was a horrible choice, because in the daytime he was reasonably okay, but every night was horrible for both of us.

As you can see, I am a crazy cat lady, and having had short term custody of over 100 kittens I fostered, as well as my own. I would advise, if you believe your pet may survive but with greatly diminished quality of life, put it down. If it's not likely to survive, I'd take him home and let him die with the people and things that he loves.

Go-anna
  • 1st Jul 2013 07:36pm

I would probably take Option C and put the poor pet out of their misery. Fortunately I have a great dog who warned us several times that their was a snake in the yard but was smart enough not to get too close, after 3 months my husband finally put an end to the snake.

groucho wiggle
  • 8th Mar 2013 10:54am

I would find the money - savings, credit card, beg, borrow...

Mizz
  • 25th Feb 2013 07:32pm

I'd pay for the treatment if I had the money, I wouldn't see it any different to trying to save a human loved one, but euthanasia is definitely a close second choice for the wellbeing of the pet. You also need to weigh up what life after treatment would be like for your pet. My cat had a problem last year and we had the same decision of paying thousands for surgery or getting her euthanised. Apparently her life after surgery would have been unpleasant, so unfortunately we had her put down. There are too many things to consider for there to be a 'right' answer

Alpaca
  • 8th Jan 2013 08:29pm

Depending how quickly the dog is seen by the vet and also your financial status I think euthanasia would be the kindest option.

If this is what happened you have my sympathy as it is very hard to lose a loved pet in that way.

simla
  • 23rd Oct 2013 11:58pm
Depending how quickly the dog is seen by the vet and also your financial status I think euthanasia would be the kindest option.

If this is what happened you have my sympathy as it is very...

Hi Alpaca, my vet advised us to keep a vial of vitamin c and a needle in the fridge to use in an emergency, as it has the effect of helping the body deal with the poison.
As first aid, this could save the life of an animal or human.
We live in Tasmania, where most snakes are black tiger snakes. All snakes in Tassie are deadly.
The solar powered snake repellers are useful around the yard, they keep rodents away too, using a beeping noise, not audible to humans.
You can spray snake repellent herb tea made with cloves and cinnamon. They don't like that smell. Recipes are on 'the net' just type in Snake repellent, and Google will do the rest.
Prevention is better than cure.

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