How much money would you spend?

[Sara & Frank]

I don't really want to know what you would spend to save your pets life but......... today we had Scotti's 4th surgery, TPOL 4 weeks ago then his first endoscopy that diagnosed esophagitis a week later. This past Wednesday things got bad and Scotti could barley swallow even the smallest piece of food and couldn't take his pills. Another endoscopy Thursday and a restriction (esophageal stricture) was found. The search was on to find a specialist that could do an esophagus dilation (Balloon dilation) We found a surgeon at Texas A&M and had Scotti there at 10:00 this morning. The news came to us 6 hours later that Scotti had a very badly damaged esophagus. He said on a scale of 1 to 10 it was an 8. He informed us that he would prefer to keep Scotti over night because of the severe pain he would be in without the strong narcotics he needed. He asked that we get a hotel room and stay by our phone. If things go well tonight we can pick Scotti up in the morning. Scotti will have a feeding tube placed in his tummy and will have to be fed this way for an undetermined time.
The ballooning will need to be done several (3-8) more times because of the severity of the restrictions.
We were told by the vet "we should consider the possible long term cost of the future surgeries and the outcome that is not certain."
He gave Scotti a 65-70% success but not for a total recovery. He may have to have the feeding tube the rest of his life.

We don't have children just Chowdren. I told the vet that the quality of life is what determines our decision not the money.
I do feel fortunate that we have the ability to have these surgeries done for our little Scotti but hate to judge when is enough.
It will never be the money but rather , will he be happy?

We are crushed right now.

[Auddymay]

Those are the hard questions. We had one member who felt no cost to help your Chow, even to the point of bankruptcy, was too much. Of course, having the cash to be able to help his Chow, he never had to worry about having to face that prospect. I have a much more pragmatic view. I wish I had the money to fix any problem, but mine and my human family's welfare must be a consideration.

Since this does not answer your question, I will say this...Scotti and the specialist will help you decide on how far you should go. The specialist should be able to spell out exactly what Scotti's quality of life will be. If he will be in a lot of pain after the procedures on a long term basis, consider that may not be the kindest thing for Scotti. If, after all is said and done, Scotti can live a pain-free life, but with alot of daily regimens, you must consider if you can make it work, long term. Finally, if Scotti gives up- and some animals actually do- the decision will be out of your hands. I do not envy you your position. Sweet Scotti has been on my mind, and I had hoped that you could resolve the complications easier than it has been. Whatever you decide to do, know that we are here to offer prayers and support.

[Sirchow]

I dont feel I can be of any help you with your question as Auddymay says it is down to your circumstances and Scotti's quality of life but I would like to send support and prayers for Scotti and yourselves this is such a sad situation to be in. I will be thinking of you and your beautiful Scotti.

[Sara & Frank]

We love this forum even though we may not post here often. To see people that care for their pets as we do for ours is a comforting feeling.
Most of our friends and family are sympathetic to a point but don't truly understand the bond we have with our pets. From the post on this forum I can tell many of you are extremely close to your pets. I just want to thank all of you for letting me have a place to vent so to speak.
We were told today while picking Scotti up, that what happened to him was very rare. Dr. Michael D. Willard said a veterinarian could perform surgeries his entire career and never have an incident like this. That's why there are so few vets that can do this type of operation. He told us we were fortunate for living so close to one of the top Veterinary research hospitals in the U.S. Dr. Willard performs this type of surgery regularly on pets from all over U.S. He spoke to us about the next appointment on Tuesday and told us he was sorry of what we were going through but said Scotti was lucky to have us. He said Scotti was very vocal and attributed it to pain and severe home sickness. I don't think Scotti could have a better doctor.
It is quite a arsenal of meds and an array of syringes. We have a schedule written out and doing pretty good so far.
It is a little scary when feeding through the tube. I keep thinking I'll over fill his tummy. We're supposed to work up to feeding him 2-3 cans of liquefied food a day! He is going to start dreading the site of those syringes and the sound of that blender.

Thanks again for listing everyone and I'll keep you guys posted.

P.S. I would post a photo but I'll get one when he's a little better.

[Sirchow]

The people on this site do understand and are with you. Who couldn't feel your pain and feel for you with the regime that has become your life. Hugs to Scotti and keep us up to date on how he is progressing.

[CoraP.]

You are certainly doing everything you possibly can for Scotti. I always like to look on the bright side and hope that things will turn out even better than expected. You never know. One thing you can be sure of though, is you are taking the best care of him that you can, and he knows how much you love him. All the best to you, and keep us posted!

[chow fancier]

We too have no human children, only chowdren. I feel for you and Scotti. I would do the same for my kids, if that is what they needed. (By the way his pictures are beautiful; love the deep red of his coat).

[Layla]

I sympathise with you & Scotti. I spent everything we had on Alf & Milo over the last couple of years & don't regret it at all. However, I'm not sure we would take Alf through another operation, cost aside, as we don't think he can take it. I use that as my measure, rather than money.

[CoraP.]

By the way, we now have a horse at Cornell Large Animal hospital who had to have an abscessed tooth removed. The final bill will probably be around $4,000.00 There was nothing else we could do, so we will be shelling out the bucks. I would be doing that for my chow, too, if need be.

[Sara & Frank]

Scotti has had several operations now to open up the strictures in his esophagus. Dr. Willard says we should proceed slowly in order to reduce the chances of further damage. The PEG feeding tube is going well and we are starting to feed him small amounts of liquefied food by mouth now. The feedings have gone from 5-6 feedings a day down to 3-4. Sara and I are hoping Dr. Willard will do another dilation this week and are hoping to have the tube removed but we both know that may not happen. Scotti is a little down and doesn't have the happy tail up most of the day. (can you blame him?) He still loves to go out and sit in the front yard, so we do a lot of that every day. The photo is the rig we made to do a few things. One, keep the tube taped to him. Two, keep the sun off his little white skin. (big shaved area on his side.) Three, keep him from licking the tube entry. All four legs have shaved spots from IVs and the left front is an obsession for him. The T-shirt sleeve fixed that.

The next step is up to the doctor. He will make a decision tomorrow based on my report on how well he is eating. I would love to tell him he's eating great on his own but he can really only eat very mushy wet food. Anything else will result in regurgitation. We actually brought home a big piece of ribeye from the Outback Steak House and blended it in our food processor. Boy, you should've seen the joy that brought him. He was eating like a little puppy! What a wild tongue! Liquid steak everywhere!

Well, time to take Scotti and Kippi out front!

We'll be in touch......

[Coco Chow]

Thank you for the update on Scotti.
You must love him very much to take such good care of him. I am sure he knows.

[CoraP.]

Scotti is adorable! I'm glad he is eating a bit better. Thanks for the update!

[Sara & Frank]

Things have been a little crazy around here. Everything was going well until Monday. Scotti grabbed his feeding tube and in an instant it was destroyed!
We sat there with our mouths open as he walked around dripping stomach fluids all over. Once we had our wits about us, we snatched him up and headed to Texas A&M. The A&M hospital isn't around the corner from us, it's 100 miles away and this all happened fairly late in the evening. Well, once we got there the vets told us Scotti would have to stay the night and have surgery the next day to replace the tube. It was such a sad drive home for Sara and I. The next day we were told we could probably pick Scotti up around 3:00 P.M..
Well, as we were about to head out on our journey to A&M we get a call from them telling us there had been some problems and he is still in surgery, they said we could pick him up around 7:00 P.M.. When we picked Scotti up we were told the original stricture that had been doing so well had started to close up again and his esophagus is very inflamed. It seems like it's one step forward, two steps back. They canceled his regular weekly balloon surgery and told us to only feed him by tube. Nothing but water through the mouth. He has some really good moments but I can tell he is depressed.
I spend every moment that I'm home with him. He is sleeping here beside me right now. I tell ya.....I LOVE this dog!

[Coco Chow]

I am sure you do...
I'm really sorry he's not feeling better.

[Auddymay]

Scotti soumds like a real trooper. It is hard seeing our furbabies uncomfortable. I was wondering how a feeding tube worked with an animal- now I know! Hang in there, he is bound to get a turn to good luck...you all certainly have earned a measure of good luck. Healing purple kisses from Lily.

[chowpups]

my heart goes out to you all.. It hasn't been a smooth recovery, but seems like you're on top of Scotti's care.. hope all goes well after this last episode..Scotti you have some awsome parents..

[Sirchow]

I am so sorry to hear the latest on Scotti. Surely his luck must change soon poor boy. He is such a brave boy but it is no wonder he is feeling low. Hugs all round and try to stay positive.

[Rogansmommy]

I am so sorry to hear about Scotti's turn. It sounds like the hospital is doing everything they can. To answer your question, I think for us, the deciding factor has never been the money but the quality of life. If I knew that I had a chance of getting the dog back with a good quality of life (for us it's always 1-no pain, 2-alertness, 3-eating, sleeping, resting comfortably 4-overall enjoying life) then I've spent the money. The hardest question to answer is when does that quality of life end? In all of my situations, my dogs have communicated to me that they were ready to go. I know that sounds weird, but that's what happened every time.

Good luck with Scotti. He sounds very lucky to have you.

[Dogdad]

I am so sorry to hear what is happening with Scotty. You are doing everything that you can. We understand what you are going through. I can't add anything to what the others have said. Listen to your heart, listen to the vet, Listen to Scotty. The last 2 will help you decided

David

[Sara & Frank]

At 5:00 this morning I sat down and wrote this post.
I’ve had a difficult time deciding if I should post it or not.
I feel I never have anything good to say and didn’t want to add more bad news.
If I don’t post..……..Well, I think some of you may want to know how things are going.

The strictures in Scotti’s esophagus began to close so we had to move his surgery up to Thursday.
Surgery didn’t turn out as we expected it to. The balloon dilation went fine but after surgery Scotti aspirated and now has aspiration pneumonia.
We knew something was wrong because nobody came out to the lobby to tell us how he was doing at the usual time. We repeatedly asked for an update but were told that anyone that could talk to us was with Scotti and could not leave him at the moment. The hours went by very slowly. When the doctor came out to talk to us she was visibly upset. She told us she had been wringing her hands trying to tell us about the unfortunate turn of events. We were taken to a room and shown x-rays of Scott’s lungs. It was very bad. One lung was almost a solid mass. He was on a ventilator and meds to try and combat the pneumonia.
She said they were going to try everything they could possibly do but told us this was not a regular case of aspiration pneumonia. We were allowed into the ICU to see Scotti. Many of the interns and resident doctors were by his cage and told us how sweet he was and that they were sorry for all we’ve gone through. Scotti wagged his tail and licked me and Sara. It was so very hard to leave him and take that long trip back home, a trip that had very little conversation.
Now we just sit by the phone. When it rings what will the news be?
Sorry for being so gloomy…….it’s just hard to process all the events over the past few months.

[Dogdad]

Oh how awful,

my prayers are with you and Scotti

[Sirchow]

I cried and cried when I read your post. I am so sorry that things have gone so badly wrong for Scotti and you both. I feel for you and wish that there was something that I could do to help but I guess now it is in the lap of the Gods now. I will pray for you all and light a candle for Scotti. Please keep us updated when you can.

[Coco Chow]

It is true that your post brings tears to the eyes...
I am very very sorry for everything that you, Sara and Scotti are going through.
We'll be waiting for your update and we'll keep you in your thoughts.

[LEO's mum]

I am wiping tears off my face as I type this. I wish I could be with you to hug you both. Your are in our thoughts. Be strong.

Warmest Hugs,
Leonora & mum

[kingalls]

Scotti knows how much you love him.
You and Scotti are in our prayers