BAD NEWS about Kyra (sorry this is long)Upset

[vicster605]

I got some really bad news about Kyra on Wed. and have typed this out several times and deleted it because it got way to long. Didn't want to post this until I understand EXACTLY what we're dealing with here, but since Wed. I have gotten more confused so I could use some help understanding it and some help on what to do about it as well. Not really looking for sympathy as I feel sorry enough for Kyra and our family already and I know everyone who knows Kyra will feel the same way....... I'm looking for answers for what is best for Kyra.
As most of you know Kyra is my rescue that I got thru this site when she was 11 weeks old. For the new members you can read her rescue story under the rescue section titled "Your Not Going to Believe This"
As I said in a couple of posts Kyra has been limping off and on for a few weeks, by this I mean every now and then she wasn't putting all of her weight down on her right leg. I thought she pulled something playing hard with Kearra & my daughters Boxer Lily. Tues. she was still doing this so I called and made a Vet appoint. to see what was wrong. I took her in Wed. and the Vet and her Assoicate tryed to manipulate her joints. It seemed to be her hock or the other joint in her leg bothering her or BOTH and the Vet could hear some popping, but her joints were so tight that they couldn't tell. They decided to sedate her and get xrays. They wanted to keep her overnight since her appointment was in the afternoon because of the sedation so after thinking about it after I left I called and they said she was awake and i could come and get her and bring her home.
The Vet said that it wasn't her hock but was her HIPS. She said even under sedation they had a hard time manipulating her joints and her paw wanted to rotate outward. Kyra has walked funny from the beginning and I have always thought it was her ummmm less than breed standard body build. I've told you many times that BAMA described her gait like John Wayne about to draw his guns LOL that was at Chow Fest and she has always walked this way.
DIAGNOSIS
SEVERE HIP DYSPLASIA to the right and MODERATE TO THE LEFT
I got very upset as this has come as a complete SHOCK to me because she has NEVER acted as though she was in pain and never has had ANY symptoms
Always just my happy go lucky girl
The Vet said that the ONLY thing that can be done is a TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT costing $5000-6000
At this point she kinda lost me as to why she can't have the HFO surgery I believe its called (removal the femoral head) which is ALOT cheaper $2000 -3000 I believe she quoted me when we discussed it about Kearra's HD not sure if its because of the shape her hips are in???
I told her I don't have $5000-6000 and that Kyra is a rescue she said, we will just have to keep her comfortable and gave me pain pills Etogesic 300mg once a day
Of course the more I thought about it, the more confused I have gotten and called on Friday and asked the Vet to return my call so I could ask her LOTS of questions......then I sat here about 4 hrs waiting thinking she would call any minute......I called the office back and their answering machine was on so here I sit for the weekend.....CONFUSED and UPSET and worried about Kyra YOu would think after ALL THE MONEY I have spent there she would call me back Yes, I'm going to make an appointment with the Ortho Specialist Mon.to get a second opinion and will be looking for another Vet now
SITUATION
My family has been in crisis, one thing after another since Dec.
My daughter is on her own now with 3 children and the baby is only 4mos old, her pregnancy was horrible, sooooo depressed I thought she was going to kill herself and now she has snapped out of it and realizes she made the worst mistake of her life...... BUT now has to work full time and I'm keeping the children because of the expense of day care for 1 infant and child care for 2 other children......I can't work because I have to help her to survive. Not to mention she can't afford school supples and uniforms for two and we are helping her with that also. She has NOBODY ELSE as she is my only daughter and we have no other family other than my dh's family and quite frankly when you have grandkids you just have to help them or is that just me?? Its that or section 8 housing which is HORRIBLE here.
My health crisis cost us a pretty penny because yes I have insurance but since I have never been sick dh decided to switch to the high deductable for me $2500 and we spent every bit of that and then the 80% after.....by the way I do have an anursym and its in my neck instead of my brain....so worth the CT Scan, MRI of the brain, MRA, and angiogram to know its there not to mention I'm on $100 a month B/P meds now, guess he should have paid the extra cost of the insurane that kept going up every month it seemed for no reason LOL!! Live and Learn....
Then if you take into account that we spent somewhere around $700 in Vet bills when Kearra & Kyra went to war
LOL!! Can't afford another loan or any more monthly bills right now.

QUESTIONS
When a Chow is walking and bearing most of her weight on a MODERATE hip because the other is SEVERE do they have before the other hip becomes SEVERE too????
Then what, do they become lame??
Anybody know of anyone that can help Kyra?? RESCUE< SUPPORT GROUP whatever that can help lower the cost of surgery???
HOW LONG before the surgery is the ONLY WAY??? Am I wrong in thinking this is something that has to be sooner vers later???
I NEED TIME to save for this!!!!

What kind of meds will help her......beside pain meds??? Anything to help her hips???She has been in pain since they xrayed her and has been limping more
WHAT???WHERE??? WHAT DOSAGE???
Kyra is such a SWEETHEART and doesn't complain about anything just doesn't understand WHY I won't let her go and play
The Vet recommended that I make her swim everyday for exercise so after 10days she will be the new swimmer in the family and we all know this is just going to make her one happy camper She may never speak to me again LOL!!!!

BROKEN HEARTED.....is when you have 2 Chows that you LOVE VERY MUCH and they BOTH have HD and one you only find out about it when its already severe.....at only a yr old and don't have the money for the VERY EXPENSIVE SURGERY to fix it.
BROKENHEARTED...... is when you have to choose between you families needs and you VERY MUCH LOVED Furkids
BROKEN HEARTED is when your DH says NO WAY, DON'T HAVE AND IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN
Now What???
You want to know my opinion of BAD Breeders THEY CASE HEARTACHE AND PAIN FOR THE CHOWS THEY BREED AND THE OWNERS THAT LOVE THEM
You should wait until they take their puppies to the pound because they can't SELL them and then go and rescue them but put them out of business by NOT BUYING PUPPIES FROM THEM
By the way Kyra's breeder is still breeding puppies and said she should have put Kyra to sleep like she PLANNED

[Jeff&Peks]

You could try giving Kyra some of the Joint care products were talking about in the health section, They won't be a cure but might help to relieve some of the pain and discomfort temporarily. Some of what your saying sounds like what's going on with onyx's right leg, she was hit by a car and even though she is running around with no problems right now and seems like nothing is wrong her lower right rear leg twist out when she walks it looks like she has a bad joint in her rear leg but there's no joint there.

[Chow Chow Mama]

Poor Kyra. Is there a vet school anywhere nearby that you could check with about the surgery? Just a thought there. If/when you decide to have the surgery for Kyra, I will help in any way I can.

[vicster605]

I checked with LSU Friday and they are a PAY Hospital & School and the expense would run about the same as a Vet
I thought for sure they would be cheaper too I really appreciate it Chow Chow Mama, not sure about anything right now,will know more after I take her to the Ortho Specialist ASAP
I'll have to go and read over there Jeff....haven't been over there in a while. Want to see what the Specialist recommends too
Where did her joint go Jeff??? Maybe you should get her hips checked because I swear this with Kyra looked like her whatever they call the ankle joint in canines

[Jeff&Peks]

The X-rays the shelter gave me for Onyx were worthless the vet couldn't see anything in them they are all blurry and dark so Onyx needs to go in and have a complete set done, as soon as Pekoe gets her problems taken care of I can start working on Onyx. What ever is wrong with her leg is much better now then when I first got her out of the shelter she was having a real hard time walking on that side but now she's running and jumping like nthings wrong, She seems fine for now but it has to catch up with her in her later years.

I was there the day they brought Onyx in getting Merlin They were sliding (dragging her) her along the floor she had just been hit so couldn't walk at all.

[vicster605]

Oh well Jeff shes come along way from where she started thats for sure. Maybe its just an injury that has taken time to heal. All those muscles and ligaments do take a while after that kind of injury. I would have her xrayed to make sure though

[WildThings]

Vicki,
I’m so sorry to hear about Kyra. Dogs (most if not all breeds) hide pain until they can’t anymore…it’s just instinct to not show a weakness so it’s not a surprise that it’s been a problem for awhile without you ever knowing. I’m sure she didn’t want to worry you. Health cost are a huge concern of mine. Like you, I can afford the day to day health cost, even smaller emergency cost, but I don’t know many people that could, on a whim pay $5000-6000 for a surgery. It’s not a matter of how much you love your pets, if the money’s not there, then they money isn’t there. I have a list of suggestions I have gathered from various sources of fundraising options, grants, loans etc.

First option is a Care Credit Card. It is something you have to pay back, but it is set up with no interest rates if paid off in the first 18 months, then has an interest rate lower than many credit cards if you make payments for longer than 18 months. Many of the links below that offer grants and assistance require you apply for Care Credit first before applying with them. If you are denied by Care Credit or they won’t give you enough to cover the full expenses, the assistances will then pick up .

Here are some of the groups offering medical cost assistance…
• IMOM Inc., http://www.IMOM.org
• Help-A-Pet, http://www.help-a-pet.org
• The Pet Fund, http://www.thepetfund.com
• Good Sam Fund, http://www.goodsamfund.org
• United Animal Nations LifeLine Fund http://www.uan.org
• Angels for Animals, http://www.angels4animals.org
• Brown Dog Foundation, http://www.browndogfoundation.org/home
• Orthodogs' Silver Lining Foundation (Orthopedic Cases and Service Dogs), http://www.oslf.org
• The Mosby Foundation, http://www.themosbyfoundation.org
I have not done much research on any of these groups, so I don’t know what their requirements or application process is, but they are at least worth checking into.

Another option is fundraising. I have heard from other rescuers who have needed to raise money for an injured or ill pet that have had a fair amount of success raising some or all of the funds for their pets medical expenses.
-Garage sales
-Mowing grass
-Washing cars
-If you are crafty (crocheting, knitting, beading, making cards, etc.) selling on ebay/craigstlist, etc.
If you do fundraising, make sure you explain the story to people. While the media focuses on the negative and show how little many people care about animals in general, there are still a huge number of people who love animals and would gladly help an animal in need. Let people know you rescued Kyra from a bad breeder who was going to kill her. I know a family that actually went around their neighborhood…door to door offering to mow lawns for $5.00 to raise money for cancer treatment for their dog. Most people they encountered donated $20.00 or more and waved off the lawn mowing…they just wanted to help. I don’t know how much family you have near you or if you are close to any of them, but it you have teenage nieces, nephews, friends, maybe they would be willing to help out for a weekend or two.

If I can think of anything else in the next few days, I’ll add to this. Try to keep positive, you aren’t out of options yet.

[fillyok]

Geeesh Vicster, when it rains it pours, huh? I'm so sorry to hear about all your problems, but I'm glad you at least have your wits about you enough to come and post here. People here on the board came up with some great ideas when we were trying to help Bear's parents pay for his vet bill. With only a few posts, almost half the bill was paid...we could do even better for you and Miss Kyra. Please try not to let this upset you too much or you'll get sick and won't be able to help anyone!! We just need to circle the wagons and see what we can do right away, then hopefully your vet will take payments (I think any vet worth their salt will take payments especially during these rough times). Kyra deserves a chance at a pain-free life...she's young and strong and will recover in no time.

A good way to start is to establish a website like Melanie did for Molly. (Molly's page is at http://www.geocities.com/adoginneed/) This can be helpful in keeping up with Kyra's needs and also a way of showing contributions. Even a dollar helps. I would love to do this website, but I'm an internet moron. I might be able to get someone at work to build one for us, though. Please let me know if you'd like to do this.
I have some items I can auction on ebay and list Kyra's story as the beneficiary. This will help spread the word too.

Please try to keep a positive attitude...I know it's almost impossible, but it really does make a difference. We're here for you.

[Layla]

Awww Vicki, I'm sorry for Kyra. I would get Ky onto the kind of joint supplements that I use for Alf and then see where you are to be honest. I can help with that if you want (PM me) or I'm sure you can choose

I would also get her on the lighter side or her ideal weight. As you know, the slimmer the dog the better the prognosis for any degenerative joint issue. Personally, I would also take a good look at what you are feeding (but then, you knew I'd say that!) as it all effects the body.....

I would exercise her on a leash. Shorter duration, more frequency as this is far better for DJD. I would exercise her though, as the stronger their muscles are the more protection that offers the joints. I suspect this is why your vet suggested swimming.

Second opinion for SURE. Can you see a vet that does acupuncture / homeopathy to see if those routes have any impact for Ky? I was very close to taking Alf for acupuncture, but he has no need now. i have a friend local to me that takes her dysplasic chow for acupuncture and swears by it. I never believe any vet that says there is only one option.....

What are the pain pills the vet gave Ky? Are they NSAIDs? If so, be aware that they will only mask the pain, allow more activity & therefore potentinally cause a great problem. Of course, you don't want Ky to be in pain, but I just wanted to ensure that you are aware.... I used 'Dog gone Pain' with Alf to half the amount of NSAID's that he had & found it to be very very effective.

She will be stiffer now, due to the manipulations they did to perform the x-rays. It's normal and will fade.

Anything else, please let me know. Hugs to Ky.

[Red Dragon]

I got some really bad news about Kyra on Wed. and have typed this out several times and deleted it because it got way to long. Didn't want to post this until I understand EXACTLY what we're dealing with here, but since Wed. I have gotten more confused so I could use some help understanding it and some help on what to do about it as well. Not really looking for sympathy as I feel sorry enough for Kyra and our family already and I know everyone who knows Kyra will feel the same way....... I'm looking for answers for what is best for Kyra.
As most of you know Kyra is my rescue that I got thru this site when she was 11 weeks old. For the new members you can read her rescue story under the rescue section titled "Your Not Going to Believe This"
As I said in a couple of posts Kyra has been limping off and on for a few weeks, by this I mean every now and then she wasn't putting all of her weight down on her right leg. I thought she pulled something playing hard with Kearra & my daughters Boxer Lily. Tues. she was still doing this so I called and made a Vet appoint. to see what was wrong. I took her in Wed. and the Vet and her Assoicate tryed to manipulate her joints. It seemed to be her hock or the other joint in her leg bothering her or BOTH and the Vet could hear some popping, but her joints were so tight that they couldn't tell. They decided to sedate her and get xrays. They wanted to keep her overnight since her appointment was in the afternoon because of the sedation so after thinking about it after I left I called and they said she was awake and i could come and get her and bring her home.
The Vet said that it wasn't her hock but was her HIPS. She said even under sedation they had a hard time manipulating her joints and her paw wanted to rotate outward. Kyra has walked funny from the beginning and I have always thought it was her ummmm less than breed standard body build. I've told you many times that BAMA described her gait like John Wayne about to draw his guns LOL that was at Chow Fest and she has always walked this way.
DIAGNOSIS
SEVERE HIP DYSPLASIA to the right and MODERATE TO THE LEFT
I got very upset as this has come as a complete SHOCK to me because she has NEVER acted as though she was in pain and never has had ANY symptoms
Always just my happy go lucky girl
The Vet said that the ONLY thing that can be done is a TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT costing $5000-6000
At this point she kinda lost me as to why she can't have the HFO surgery I believe its called (removal the femoral head) which is ALOT cheaper $2000 -3000 I believe she quoted me when we discussed it about Kearra's HD not sure if its because of the shape her hips are in???
I told her I don't have $5000-6000 and that Kyra is a rescue she said, we will just have to keep her comfortable and gave me pain pills Etogesic 300mg once a day
Of course the more I thought about it, the more confused I have gotten and called on Friday and asked the Vet to return my call so I could ask her LOTS of questions......then I sat here about 4 hrs waiting thinking she would call any minute......I called the office back and their answering machine was on so here I sit for the weekend.....CONFUSED and UPSET and worried about Kyra YOu would think after ALL THE MONEY I have spent there she would call me back Yes, I'm going to make an appointment with the Ortho Specialist Mon.to get a second opinion and will be looking for another Vet now
SITUATION
My family has been in crisis, one thing after another since Dec.
My daughter is on her own now with 3 children and the baby is only 4mos old, her pregnancy was horrible, sooooo depressed I thought she was going to kill herself and now she has snapped out of it and realizes she made the worst mistake of her life...... BUT now has to work full time and I'm keeping the children because of the expense of day care for 1 infant and child care for 2 other children......I can't work because I have to help her to survive. Not to mention she can't afford school supples and uniforms for two and we are helping her with that also. She has NOBODY ELSE as she is my only daughter and we have no other family other than my dh's family and quite frankly when you have grandkids you just have to help them or is that just me?? Its that or section 8 housing which is HORRIBLE here.
My health crisis cost us a pretty penny because yes I have insurance but since I have never been sick dh decided to switch to the high deductable for me $2500 and we spent every bit of that and then the 80% after.....by the way I do have an anursym and its in my neck instead of my brain....so worth the CT Scan, MRI of the brain, MRA, and angiogram to know its there not to mention I'm on $100 a month B/P meds now, guess he should have paid the extra cost of the insurane that kept going up every month it seemed for no reason LOL!! Live and Learn....
Then if you take into account that we spent somewhere around $700 in Vet bills when Kearra & Kyra went to war
LOL!! Can't afford another loan or any more monthly bills right now.

QUESTIONS
When a Chow is walking and bearing most of her weight on a MODERATE hip because the other is SEVERE do they have before the other hip becomes SEVERE too????
Then what, do they become lame??
Anybody know of anyone that can help Kyra?? RESCUE< SUPPORT GROUP whatever that can help lower the cost of surgery???
HOW LONG before the surgery is the ONLY WAY??? Am I wrong in thinking this is something that has to be sooner vers later???
I NEED TIME to save for this!!!!

What kind of meds will help her......beside pain meds??? Anything to help her hips???She has been in pain since they xrayed her and has been limping more
WHAT???WHERE??? WHAT DOSAGE???
Kyra is such a SWEETHEART and doesn't complain about anything just doesn't understand WHY I won't let her go and play
The Vet recommended that I make her swim everyday for exercise so after 10days she will be the new swimmer in the family and we all know this is just going to make her one happy camper She may never speak to me again LOL!!!!

BROKEN HEARTED.....is when you have 2 Chows that you LOVE VERY MUCH and they BOTH have HD and one you only find out about it when its already severe.....at only a yr old and don't have the money for the VERY EXPENSIVE SURGERY to fix it.
BROKENHEARTED...... is when you have to choose between you families needs and you VERY MUCH LOVED Furkids
BROKEN HEARTED is when your DH says NO WAY, DON'T HAVE AND IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN
Now What???
You want to know my opinion of BAD Breeders THEY CASE HEARTACHE AND PAIN FOR THE CHOWS THEY BREED AND THE OWNERS THAT LOVE THEM
You should wait until they take their puppies to the pound because they can't SELL them and then go and rescue them but put them out of business by NOT BUYING PUPPIES FROM THEM
By the way Kyra's breeder is still breeding puppies and said she should have put Kyra to sleep like she PLANNED

See what the specialist says and go from there. You need to really think about the money part since you can't afford these expenses. You don't want to put yourself in a bad financial position trying to fix the hips on a dog you have rescued. You also have your other dog that may require surgery too, if you strap yourself financially with Kyra, where does that leave you with Kearra?

Just so everyone knows, Kyra came from Dawn Lentz in Delaware and Kyra was her first breeding, and there are no certifications on the parents. Kearra came from a backyard breeder in Alabama and there are no certifications on those parents either. I suggest people avoid these breeders in the future.

[Cara&Haley]

I'm so sorry... other than that I don't know what to say. BUT I do have faith that you'll get through this.

Regarding swimming, you can try walking her in a pool or lake with water to her tummy. It takes about 90% of their body weight off if I remember correctly, and lets the dog exercise without putting weight on its joints. I've seen videos of a treadmill submerged in water and the trainer puts peanut butter on the glass panel in front of the dog so it'll keep walking.
Goggle hydrotherapy for dogs and see what you come up with.

Fund raising is a good idea. You should set one up for her now, regardless of when she'll undergo surgery. And if you want to make a website like some suggested, I can help with that.

Hugs.

[Auddymay]

I know this news is upsetting. It is hard, when you have your better half not commited to spending that money. It is a hard thing to also see your sweet bubbies limping, and knowing that the only thing standing between them and comfort is a big chunk o' money. Second opinion on options? Definitely! Tape recorder and a list of questions? Yep. I know you probably are reluctant to put yourself out there and hold a fundraiser (or several) to aid the girls. Put those feelings aside. Since you are not working, you need to cover your girls butts, so to speak. Also, in the archives, I posted a news story in Health about stem cell therapy they are using on dogs. It is the dog's own cells that they harvest from the fat tissue. They do some technical voodoo, and waalaa, cells that go to work repairing the faulty area. It is not a complete and perfect solution, but it is only about $1500, and not invasive. The lab that does the cell spinning is in California, and they fed-ex the cells, so anyone in the contiguous US is eligible to try the therapy.

[Red Dragon]

I know someone who just did stem cell replacement on a Chow and it was $4500. The problem is that if she has no hip sockets there is nothing to replace or repair. The same reason the other vet said removal of the femoral head was not an option with her. They reconstruct a socket using existing bone by cutting and sectioning, then try to regrow cartalidge. Joints that are intact and well formed, but degenerated would be a candidate for stem cell.

[Jeff&Peks]

I know someone who just did stem cell replacement on a Chow and it was $4500. The problem is that if she has no hip sockets there is nothing to replace or repair. The same reason the other vet said removal of the femoral head was not an option with her. They reconstruct a socket using existing bone by cutting and sectioning, then try to regrow cartalidge. Joints that are intact and well formed, but degenerated would be a candidate for stem cell.

Was that $4500 plus taking the stem cells or $1500 for the cells then $4500 for the treatments?

[vicster605]

I guess I'm really panicking here, watching Kyra limping around since her xrays hasn't helped me at all since I have never seen her in pain really. Thank You for all for the support, the information and web sites Amanda) but I have to set the record straight. Awsome they have sites like those!!!! I didn't mean to lead anyone to believe that we aren't financially stable. My dh owns his own Welding Shop and makes an honest living, and we are comfortable. Alot of his business comes from the oil field and since gas prices have gone up the oil field has really slowed WAY DOWN. We are very responsible adults and have to be because my dh works for himself. We have good credit and could go out get a loan or put 6000 on a credit card today. BUT because he owns his own business and works for himself we don't run up alot of bills in case something goes wrong in the economy and work falls way off. We could loose everything in a short period of time if work slows and we have a ton of bills. We have your basic house note, car payments etc like everyone else. But we keep it down......where everyone else has the stability of working for someone else, working for yourself you have to be very responsible. My dh is the responsible one LOL!!! more so than me.
The dh and myself just had another talk about Kyra and he says I can save for her surgery. The problem I'm having I guess is with my Vet who I understood to say 5000-6000 SOON or comfort measures.......then me watching Kyra limping and thinking her hips won't last very long with her weight bearing on a Moderate hip because she does weigh 58#'s and me thinking I won't be able to save soon enough for her to have surgery and my dh doesn't want me putting this on a credit card. I go between being a responsible adult and wanting to go take out a loan or sell my first born to pay for her new hips NEXT WEEK lol.
I think your right I need to wait and see what the Ortho Specialist says....and I probably have TIME I hope and pray...I do anyway.....to save for both to have surgery.
I don't really understand HD and when the Vet said SEVERE it really freaked me out since I thought she pulled something. I'm trying to calm down and will definitely let everyone know what the Ortho guy says. I can take care of this but I need TIME to do it in and will always do my best to do whats Best for Kearra and Kyra so please say prayers that she has time for me to save so I don't have to get divorced....my dh is a good guy but is just responsible and concerned about our future and you have to love a guy for that right?? I do have a garage sale planned and will be doing the stash thing every chance I get So I'm sorry if I lead anyone to think I'm poor and can't help my furkids, I can I just don't have that kind of money laying around the house and have to have time to save for something that expensive probably for a good long while.
The stem cell stuff sounds fasinating!!!! Ill ask about it when I go to the Ortho guy and see what he says about her xrays.
Thanks again for the support and the info. I appreicate it for myself and for Kyra

[janet]

oh vicky i am so sorry to hear about kyras condition. everything will work out.try not to worry. give her big hugs from us.

[Red Dragon]

I know someone who just did stem cell replacement on a Chow and it was $4500. The problem is that if she has no hip sockets there is nothing to replace or repair. The same reason the other vet said removal of the femoral head was not an option with her. They reconstruct a socket using existing bone by cutting and sectioning, then try to regrow cartalidge. Joints that are intact and well formed, but degenerated would be a candidate for stem cell.

Was that $4500 plus taking the stem cells or $1500 for the cells then $4500 for the treatments?

I think the total bill was $4500. It may be that the lab charges $1500 to create the stem cells from the fatty tissue, can't remember for sure.

[fillyok]

Vicki, I didn't mean to insinuate you were in the poor house...I just know that average person doesn't have $5-6K laying around to throw down on a pet's surgery. A garage sale is a great idea! Don't get too down about this...it'll be okay.

[chowkidz]

Vicki, sorry to hear about Kyras hips. Try to stay positive. Hugs from the chowkidz gang.

[Dogdad]

Vicki, I am so sorry, I know we talked privately but is there any update?

David

[jacqui]

Vicki,I feel so bad for you all.its a very tough situation when both need surgery.I would be happy to send a donation.I think fundraising is a great idea
people will give what they can and maybe you can get Credit Care from the vet for the balance.I think its like a low interest loan you apply for at the vet.
Kai is froom the shelter and he has Elbow and Hip Dysplacia.the ortho said he needs hip replacements.he walks like a ballerina,which I thought was cute until I found out how severe his HD is.
please try not to worry too much,we are all here for you and you will get thru this some how.

[vicster605]

After all we have been thur with Kearra & Kyra I just never for one second thought that I would be sitting here after only 1 yr. aggonizing over Kyra. She is only a yr old. I never thought I would be thinking I would have to put my family in debt choose to save for a $5000=6000 (very expensive) surgery for Kyra OR helping my grandchildren, and other things our family needs. One of the websites WHICH IS REALLY AWSOME is for people who make less than 20,000 a yr.and that made me feel bad that I even mentioned all of this. I've been there raising a child on my own yrs ago. I guess God is teaching me another lesson here. Priorities ?? Whats most important?? How much are you willing to spend and how far are you willing to go for your very loved pet at the expense of your family??
What are you willing to give up, do without, put on the back burner, sell, to try and make a very loved pet not suffer in life??
I just have never had to make decissions like this one before.......I've had to make life and death decissions as a nurse.....never was this hard to think about. Just did what I had to do. This is totally different. Or is it?? Suffer or not suffer?? How much is too much????
TIME will answer my questions and of course some good information lol and hopefully I will get that today.
Fillyok you are such a sweetheart and your right that is the problem, most people don't have that much money to throw down on a pets surgery. I'm not sure if I'll have it when she needs it and agony is the only word I can come up with thinking about it. I'm sure others have been here with something like this before......guess I'm not handling it very well. TIME...... thats what I need here and if I don't have time I guess I'll have to answer ALL these questions for myself,Kearra & Kyra and my family. I do have Kearra to think about here too. Funny I waited 20 yrs until I wasn't working to get a Chow so I could spend time with them and not feel bad for them working shift work and having to leave them at home.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out today. Thanks for listening and trying to help

[VTCHOW]

Vicki, Keep calling around to College Vet Schools close to you. I know Mississippi has a vet school and Alabama. You may remember that Jake had severe hip dysplasia in both hips. We went through Virginia Tech Veterinary School and each surgery cost $2500.00. In the beginning they gave us an estimate of about $3500.00 so as you can see it ended up being cheaper. They also offered some sort of payment plan as well. If you choose to have the hip replacement feel free to pmail me with any questions you might have. The first surgery was the worse the second was a piece of cake probably because I knew what to expect. The total hip replacement was the best decision we ever made. Jake is happy, energetic, pain free and can run, jump and play with Sadie. I hope it works out for you best of luck.
Angie

[TJordan]

Vicki, as you know Butters also has hip displaysia. I was first told by my vet that I would have to go to Oklahoma City to have a total hip replacement. After he sent off the x-rays to the specialist I found out about the procedure you have mentioned. So we were able to do that at much less expense. I am not sure that every vet understands that other measures can be taken. I hope you get better news from the othro. today. I just starting noticing Butters other hip is bothering him, and I am scared of what is to come. I am not sure he can make it through that kind of surgery again. I am starting him on joint formula in hopes to ease his pain and see what happens. FYI- Butters didn't ever show pain and still really doens't with his hips. He went from being a happy puppy to a snappy angry pup really quick. Especially if someone tried to touch his hip. It was only after his surgery that I realized how much pain he had been in.

Please keep us posted. And try and keep your spirits up, it is easy to get run-down with all the worries you have!

[chowfrnd88]

Vicki, I'm sorry about Kyra. Hang in there, you'll hopefully get some more info from the ortho specialist. Hugs to you and the gals.