Puppy is about to get really expensive. I'm not crazy am I…

Back in my surprised my wife (and kids) with adding a 2nd dog to our family. We went out and picked out an English Springer Spaniel. Brought her home a few weeks later and she has been wild and crazy but also fast became part of the family and my kids (7,5) absolutely adore her.

I write this as I am sitting in Orlando on my last night of a Disney World vacation. Got a call from my brother in law last night. He was out running with my pup, didn’t see a sewer grate and unfortunately my puppy ended up breaking her leg when she stepped on the grate.

After playing phone tag all day today and some Xrays the bone is displaced and she needs surgery. Both the vet and the surgeon think she will likely make a full recovery which is great. Here’s the kicker. Looking at 3500-4500 for the surgery.

I’m doing the surgery. I tried being a hard ass but as soon as I heard my kids ask how shes doing and talking with my wife I can’t bring myself to put the dog down. I know nothing is promised but my hope is in 3 years I won’t care at all about the money we spent.

It feels crazy to spend this money on a dog. I just don’t know how not to do it.

Don’t think you’ll find anyone on here who will tell you not to, well, except me maybe

When my dog was 6 months old I paid over $3k for a surgery. My dog is now 11 years old. Trust me, you won’t regret helping her and getting the surgery. You would have regretted putting her down and having to explain it to your children. Get the surgery done and sleep well knowing you did the right thing.

as a dog lover,its worth it,but I cant help but believe you are being taken advantage of,get another vets price if the pup has time,I know that seems like asking the pup to hang on while you shop for a better price and I dont like any animal suffering.

do you have any insurance that will cover it??

Dude, it sucks, but you’ve got to do it. I’ve been there, and as hard-ass as I like to think I could be, I’d do the same again in an instant.

Who’s doing the surgery? A good friend of mine does a lot of ortho surgeries in MN.

Too late now, but we carry pet insurance for just that reason.

Broken leg, young dog, good chance of full recovery, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for the surgery if it was my decision.
Now if it was cancer, I’d give you a different answer.

Heck pretty sure my wife would save him over me if our house was on fire.
yep,pets take priority,ask any wife out there.

You need to do it.

I’m 10k into my chocolate lab. 2 ACL surgeries. She is now 4 years old. Don’t regret a penny spent.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Heck pretty sure my wife would save him over me if our house was on fire.
yep,pets take priority,ask any wife out there.

Ain’t that the truth!

I’ve loved all of my dogs and have spent money on them, but they are still dogs.

If you love your pup and can afford the bill, I say go for it. You’re hopefully going to get a lot years of enjoyment out of her.

If it’s something a person cannot afford (or even if they can), they need to step back and realize it’s a dog, not a person.

I know people who’ve spent $5,000 on a dog and they didn’t have a pot to P in…..I also know a guy who spent almost twice that on a 13 year old lap dog that needed back surgery….(I wouldn’t do that in a million years)

Whenever something like this happens, make sure to take a step back with an objective view of the scenario before you allow you or your family’s emotions take over.

From your description, I say go for it…..but the decision is only up to you. We all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Don’t allow emotions overtake logic. You can buy a lot of dogs for $4,500.

I know it sounds cold, but it’s true.

Also remember that a lot of Vet’s make money by pulling on your heart. The surgery might only take a few hours…..and they’ll charge you $1,000 an hour….or more

A real country vet would charge a quarter of that or less.

I don’t like thinking about the amount I’ve spent on my dogs. It’s a lot. But it’s one of the things you have to realize when you get a dog that there are going to be unexpected things that come up that could cost $500+ or they could cost $5,000+. I wouldn’t change my decision on any of them even if I could.

Most likely dog who needs 4000 surgery for repair your “low cost country vet could not fix”. Due to lack of tools and lack of experience.
If it’s a rear leg there is a in between answer of amputation. Front legs are harder on dogs. (1/3 of cost).
Know there is risk of issues when older such as tearing acl and arthritis.
Good luck these situations suck.

Just money….you’ll make more. You will regret it more if you didn’t do it.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I’m back home now and I’m comfortable with the decision and it’s the right one. Hoping the surgery goes well.

Good for you, glad you did that. Like a few others said, everyone’s financial situation is different so that plays a major factor in what should be done.

I’ve had my dog a little over 12 years and I think within a month she’s going to need to be put down. In the past 2 weeks I think $1,500 has been spent on her for tests, exams, and specialized food and medicine (which unfortunately she won’t take). Yet at this point, at the end of her life, all I can think about is if I did enough for her. I can’t imagine you’ll regret this at all.

We learned the hard way that pet insurance is definitely worth it. Obviously hind sight being 20/20 and all but I would suggest finding a good policy. We use Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and while it’s not cheap it’s a heck of a lot better than a $4,500 surprise bill.

Best of luck on your dog’s surgery and recovery.

My dog got an autoamune decease last year and has cost be approximately 10,000 to get her healthy she’s pretty much back to normal. Alot of money but she’s part of the family. Your dog is young and now part of your family easy for me to spend your money but I’d do it.

Get a second opinion regarding the price.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Heck pretty sure my wife would save him over me if our house was on fire.
yep,pets take priority,ask any wife out there.

20+ years ago.
11PM and the smoke alarm goes off in the dublex we were living in. Place was filled with smoke! I grab the wife’s arm and tell her to get our daughter (who by the way was in the bathroom while the toast she put in was burning).

Wife goes back to the bedroom to grab the dog first.

I’m pretty sure if there would have been a fire and someone would of needed to save me…I would of been TOAST!

$5k+ at the U of M to save my my hunting dogs life at about age 5. She lived to 15.

We use Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and while it’s not cheap it’s a heck of a lot better than a $4,500 surprise bill.

Hope I’m not prying to ask, but I’d be curious if you or anyone would care to share the price of policies like that or premiums, etc. Seems like pet insurance is getting more and more popular, in fact my employer actually has it as a benefit. With hindsight, if I could perfectly re-live the last 12 years I would have still not had insurance and then signed up for it like crazy the last year or so. If I would’ve had insurance in that period I’d be out a lot less money for my dog.

We’ve had the Healthy Paws policy for 2.5 years now. It’s gone up at renewal time by ~$2/month each year. I think it’s currently $39.XX per month, so certainly not cheap. I just treat it as a fixed expense so at least it’s expected rather than the $7,500 we had to pay the U of M emergency vet 1 week after getting our dog…

I’m sure if I called in to complain or shopped policies the premium would be less but I haven’t bothered. We also have a fairly expensive dog to insure (Great Dane). Haven’t had to deal with a claim yet so I can’t comment on how they are to deal with but we went with this carrier because of a good reputation. I believe our deductible is something like $100 or $200 and they’ll cover everything outside of standard vet visits including the office visit fee, cost of medication, surgery expenses, rehab, etc supposedly no questions asked. I’m sure different companies and different policies differ some but that gives you an idea of a comparatively high-premium policy of $35-40 per month vs the expense of 3 nights at an emergency vet ($7,500) and the problem with an insurance for this type of situation is you’re not really in a position to “shop around” depending on what’s wrong with your pet – a life or death scenario in our particular case. I sure wish we’d had the insurance from the get-go

We’re with Healthy Paws, too. Ours is about $50/month. It varies depending upon breed and age. I really haven’t had to use it yet (knock on wood). I honestly would be happy if I never need it, but it’s there if we need it.

We had a different company/policy with our last dog, but it’s not offered anymore. That one paid for itself several times over.

I think when it comes to pets the important thing is to do what you would like and not be judgmental about other people’s decisions. Some people view pets as furry people, and others see them as animals or tools. I know people who have put relatively healthy pets down and others who have chosen pets over losing their housing. It’s your decision – you do you.

As others have said, insurance spread out over time might be something worth factoring into the future cost of a pet depending on your views.

Just an update.

I brought her in on Monday. The surgeon actually thought he would be able to set the leg and cast/splint it and it would save us ooodles of money lol. He tried for an hour and was unable to do it. Did the surgery and she is back home. She is getting sick of her crate but otherwise seems to be doing well. Keeping a 7 month old springer calm is interesting lol. Thankfully shes quite athletic and has been able to avoid putting weight on the leg for the time being.

Jonesy wrote:

Keeping a 7 month old springer calm is interesting…

Yeah, good luck with that. Did they give you anything to calmn her down? If it gets to be a problem, they can give you some temporary sedatives.

Good luck!!!

Figured I would post a final update. The surgery went well and it looks like she has made a full recovery. We had some tough months though because she missed out on a lot of training so she really enjoyed going over,under,and through the fence. Now she is a great listener and has even been off leash camping a few times this summer.

The wife and kids and dog are happy so there is definitely no regret on spending the cash.

Got a picture of the pooch?

Jonesy wrote:

The surgery went well and it looks like she has made a full recovery.

Wonderful news!

-J.