So, the wife and I decided we would try to leave our girl Lucy out for the first time as we left. We have had her for 2yrs, and she is a good dog, but we've kept her crated when my wife goes to work at 2 till I get home at 5. So, 3hrs. Here lately, she's really been combating going into the cage. She's even damaged the cage somehow (she's 70lbs and SAF). So we decided to leave her out. 

We went to the store 12 miles away and my wife tried to watch her on the cameras in-transit and everything seemed ok. We shopped pretty quickly and came home to find out Lucy pulled my wifes purse off the desk which had Cough drops, antacid and white chocolate in it. Well, You can imagine what Lucy did with this contraband. She ate it. Including the wrappers (although she didn't eat the antacids from what I could tell).

I immediately started googling on the impact of such things our dog had ingested. It was horrible. We were in a panic. On both issues, I read it could be fatal and to call animal poison control right away. My wife picked up the phone, scared we were going to lose our baby. She called and the greeting message started off asking for $80 to be able to help your pet. It had to be paid before your call was taken. I told her to hang up.

I googled further and found a site where vet's had helped others with similar problems and found out our dog was not in danger at all. She might experience diarrhea and stomache discomfort, but that was it. It wasn't life threatening.

Shame on these MF'rs trying to take advantage of scared animal parents. They know the market is a good one because people love their pets. Why do people do this crap? Anyway, rant is over. Lucy is doing great and she hasnt even indicated she has any discomfort at all. Great learning experience. 

The site was petpoisonhelpline.com 

They must pay a lot to the search engines to be the first link to pop up. In a frantic moment, that's what your going to click. Marketing wise, it's brilliant. Ethically, it's scum of the earth type shit.

We had a similar panic recently with one of our cats, and it may have involved the outfit to which you're referring.

I had picked up a pizza and we had consumed what we wanted and were getting the leftovers squared away. I had left my plate on the dining room table for a moment, with nothing on it but a mushroom that had fallen off of a piece. When I returned to the dining room the cat was on the table, the mushroom was gone and he stood there licking his lips. I told the wife and we sprung into action, her on the phone and me Googling.

The interwebs revealed mixed messages, with results beside one another showing that mushrooms were definitely - and were definitely not - poisonous to cats. Further research showed it was raw mushrooms that were a problem, not cooked as ours had been. I came back in the room and she said that they were asking for payment, so we too hung up.

He was fine, no ill effects, not so much as a hiccup.

Also, Sick Animal Panic would be such an epic band name.

Veterinarians and dentists are the biggest extortionists around, right behind lawyers of course.

Glad that everything turned out alright, maybe time to just get set up with a trusted local vet?

(01-04-2024, 09:32 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Veterinarians and dentists are the biggest extortionists around, right behind lawyers of course.  

Glad that everything turned out alright, maybe time to just get set up with a trusted local vet?

This... Your local vet will often have an emergency number you can call to get ahold of them or someone that can assist you.

Im glad your puppy is okay.

(01-04-2024, 09:32 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Veterinarians and dentists are the biggest extortionists around, right behind lawyers of course.  

Glad that everything turned out alright, maybe time to just get set up with a trusted local vet?

(01-04-2024, 09:44 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: This... Your local vet will often have an emergency number you can call to get ahold of them or someone that can assist you.

Im glad your puppy is okay.

We have a local vet we've been using for several years and take our pets to regularly. Unfortunately, there is no after-hours contact. I don't think any of the vet's around here have after-hours numbers

(01-04-2024, 01:01 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: We have a local vet we've been using for several years and take our pets to regularly. Unfortunately, there is no after-hours contact. I don't think any of the vet's around here have after-hours numbers

Yeah, that's a bummer.  We were in a bad spot a few years back, when my wife's Yorkie got mauled by a pair of roaming strays, over the New Year's weekend.  We had to go to the emergency vet hospital in Raleigh, had to cough up at least $2K in order for them to accept him for treatment.

(01-04-2024, 01:21 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Yeah, that's a bummer.  We were in a bad spot a few years back, when my wife's Yorkie got mauled by a pair of roaming strays, over the New Year's weekend.  We had to go to the emergency vet hospital in Raleigh, had to cough up at least $2K in order for them to accept him for treatment.

2K? HFS! That's crazy. But, I guess most people don't have pet insurance and these places know it, so they want their cash upfront. So, if the animal is from a family that is not well off financially, then that pet is as good as dead because he ain't getting treated. Which sucks.

I have seen a few sites have payment plans for treatment, but still. I bet they tack a nice little 21% interest rate on top of that. 

(01-04-2024, 02:06 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: 2K? HFS! That's crazy. But, I guess most people don't have pet insurance and these places know it, so they want their cash upfront. So, if the animal is from a family that is not well off financially, then that pet is as good as dead because he ain't getting treated. Which sucks.

I have seen a few sites have payment plans for treatment, but still. I bet they tack a nice little 21% interest rate on top of that. 

The total after two operations at that hospital, and then 16 weeks of therapeutic treatments with our local vet, the total ticket was over $5,500.  He's still alive today, though he lost his sight about 9 months ago.

(01-04-2024, 02:13 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: The total after two operations at that hospital, and then 16 weeks of therapeutic treatments with our local vet, the total ticket was over $5,500.  He's still alive today, though he lost his sight about 9 months ago.

It's hard to put a value on an animal's life. My wife says since we have pets, it's our responsibility to make sure they get the care they need. However, when our cat was ill a few weeks ago and I took him to the vet, we feared the worse and I asked her if it was going to cost a lot of money should I have him put down. She said absolutely not. Then I said, what if it's $1500? She paused and then left the decision up to me. I can guarantee you if it was our dog and the bill would be $1500, she's getting what she needs.

(01-04-2024, 02:19 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: It's hard to put a value on an animal's life. My wife says since we have pets, it's our responsibility to make sure they get the care they need. However, when our cat was ill a few weeks ago and I took him to the vet, we feared the worse and I asked her if it was going to cost a lot of money should I have him put down. She said absolutely not. Then I said, what if it's $1500? She paused and then left the decision up to me. I can guarantee you if it was our dog and the bill would be $1500, she's getting what she needs.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder if it was worth spending that much.  The experience, along with the surgeries and ongoing treatments aged him greatly. I guess the reality is when you see your little friend suffering like that, sometimes you'll do whatever it takes to try to get him right again.

(01-04-2024, 02:27 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Looking back, I sometimes wonder if it was worth spending that much.  The experience, along with the surgeries and ongoing treatments aged him greatly. I guess the reality is when you see your little friend suffering like that, sometimes you'll do whatever it takes to try to get him right again.

Wy wife is a lifelong cat herder/whisperer and is friends with a cashier at a nearby Kroger.  Said cashier happened to mention to my wife that there was a stray cat frequenting her neighborhood that appeared to have an eye issue.  She couldn't trap him on her own and asked my wife for assistance.  So my wife reports for duty and they mange to trap the cat, which I then take to our vet for an exam, shots, etc.  $600 later we're told that he has some sort of neurological disorder that's causing his eye issue, but he's not in pain and there's no risk for further complications.  

We already have three cats and because of their situation we can't bring him inside, so my wife decides to stash him at a local pet hotel to the tune of $19 per day.  He's there until next week when has an intake interview at a no-kill shelter, where he will be adopted at some point.  So all told, by the time we surrender him, we'll be out something in the neighborhood of $1k.  And all for a cat that isn't even ours.  

(01-04-2024, 02:19 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: It's hard to put a value on an animal's life. My wife says since we have pets, it's our responsibility to make sure they get the care they need. However, when our cat was ill a few weeks ago and I took him to the vet, we feared the worse and I asked her if it was going to cost a lot of money should I have him put down. She said absolutely not. Then I said, what if it's $1500? She paused and then left the decision up to me. I can guarantee you if it was our dog and the bill would be $1500, she's getting what she needs.

When my dog was getting older she hurt her back legs and had issue walking.  I thought i was gonna have to put her down then.  But the vet wanted to try a few things first and we got another 2 years with her...    While im sure they were not the best 2 years for her especially the last (as we had to leave her home alone alot due to my wifes medical issues)  i am grateful for every minute i had with her.  imo its almost impossible to say goodbye early

(01-04-2024, 02:27 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Looking back, I sometimes wonder if it was worth spending that much.  The experience, along with the surgeries and ongoing treatments aged him greatly. I guess the reality is when you see your little friend suffering like that, sometimes you'll do whatever it takes to try to get him right again.

I get it. Trust me.

(01-04-2024, 04:11 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Wy wife is a lifelong cat herder/whisperer and is friends with a cashier at a nearby Kroger.  Said cashier happened to mention to my wife that there was a stray cat frequenting her neighborhood that appeared to have an eye issue.  She couldn't trap him on her own and asked my wife for assistance.  So my wife reports for duty and they mange to trap the cat, which I then take to our vet for an exam, shots, etc.  $600 later we're told that he has some sort of neurological disorder that's causing his eye issue, but he's not in pain and there's no risk for further complications.  

We already have three cats and because of their situation we can't bring him inside, so my wife decides to stash him at a local pet hotel to the tune of $19 per day.  He's there until next week when has an intake interview at a no-kill shelter, where he will be adopted at some point.  So all told, by the time we surrender him, we'll be out something in the neighborhood of $1k.  And all for a cat that isn't even ours.  

Holy crap. I would struggle with this. However, my wife always gets what she wants so I know where your heart is.

(01-04-2024, 04:57 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: When my dog was getting older she hurt her back legs and had issue walking.  I thought i was gonna have to put her down then.  But the vet wanted to try a few things first and we got another 2 years with her...    While im sure they were not the best 2 years for her especially the last (as we had to leave her home alone alot due to my wifes medical issues)  i am grateful for every minute i had with her.  imo its almost impossible to say goodbye early

I'm glad you got your time with her and your right, it is hard to say goodbye and wonder if it was too early. Every animal we have had euthanized we've beat ourselves up wondering if we did the right thing. You battle because you see them struggling and living a miserable life, but you don't want to let go. I'm talking our situations and not yours so please take no offense in what I just said. There are times I think we selfishly held on too long and some we acted too quickly. Our vet is a good vet and if he doesn't think the animal needs to put down he will let you know and also try to make sure you know what it takes to get them right again. So because of that, I'm comfortable with the decisions we've made.

This is just one of the several reasons why I no longer have pets of any kind. I get way to attached to them and I outlive them every time. I've never had an elephant or tortoise, just animals that MIGHT live 20 years if I'm lucky.  Last pet I had was a cat, but it lost its indoor manners and started pissing on the bed so she became a shop cat till she died.. I'm not big on grieving over critters that can't talk about what's bothering them. Now there's a cat that's been living in our crawl space under the house for a few years, but won't come towards people. I feed her once in awhile in the winter,  but she seems to keep the mice population down and is a pretty good fishercat on the edge of the lake out back.. Years ago in Dayton I lived close to the river. We had a big old tomcat ..tough as nails and every few years caught a big ass carp and crows and tried to drag them in the house flopping all over the damn place..lol

(01-04-2024, 08:49 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Holy crap. I would struggle with this. However, my wife always gets what she wants so I know where your heart is.

I do have to bite my tongue on occasion.  But, I'm retired now and she's still working and bringing in all the dough until later when I start drawing on my retirement, so I feel like if she wans to spend some of that money to save a cat, what can I say?  At least she's not doing really silly things with it like betting against the Grambling State women's basketball team