I want to say before anyone reads this: THIS IS **NOT** A REQUEST FOR MONEY....

Hi everyone. As you can see, my nic is Duchess. That's the name of our 9 y/o Dalmatian. She has been with us since a pup and she is our son's best buddy. But right now something is wrong with her. I won't go into too much detail, because I realize you guys aren't vets, but she is having a hard time walking, and just yesterday her tail went limp. We have had her to the vet once, and she took X-rays, and gave us some meds for pain. Told us to wait 2 weeks for the "expert" radiologist to come into town and read them. But she didn't see any major issues.

Now, we spent more money than we had that day, had to make arrangements on the rest of it. The problem is, she isn't getting any better. She's actually worse now because the tail thing. She is doing fine otherwise, eating, drinking using the bathroom outside and acting normally, just can't walk too good or she falls a lot. I honestly think there is something wrong with the nerves in her spine, but I am not a doc. I have had spinal issues for years, though.

Ok, the problem of course, is money. We have all of 2 cents (literally) in the bank and hubby doesn't get paid til next week, and that's already spent on stupid bills. This is killing me. If I thought it would do any good at all, I would go down and beg on my hands and knees, offer to clean the cages, anything I had to do to get them to do something for her. I would be willing to make arrangements on the amount it costs, I just cannot pay anything up front. We have nothing to sell, no way to get a loan, no family/friends with enough money to help. They are having their own financial issues.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any programs that helped people pay for things like this. I don't want any handouts. I am going to pay the total for this whatever the costs, just can't come up with much right at this second. And before anyone says anything, my internet is $15/mo and like I said, we have no money at this second. We are living check to check like a lot of folks right now. I am not saying we are destitute, just completely broke right now and she needs help right now. I had someone on Yahoo! answers tell me to surrender her so she could get "the care she deserves". And then what? She is left in a shelter where no one is adopting animals right now because they can't afford them either, then she is put down for being a burden to them and being there too long. No one there knows her, they don't know how wonderful she is, her love of her "daddy" or "brother", how she goes absolutely crazy when they pull in the driveway, how she would crawl if she had to to be where they are. She would die in there before they killed her.

Also, I am NOT, repeat NOT in NO WAY asking for donations or anything like that. I am asking if anyone here knows of a way I can get her taken care of on a payment plan, or something, anything. I can't do "doggy insurance" because they, like human insurance, have pre-existing condition clauses. I plan on calling the vet today as soon as they open and begging. I don't think it will do too much good as they are are big corporation vet clinic.

Again, I want to reiterate, I am NOT ASKING NOR WANTING MONEY FROM ANYONE HERE. Sorry, I just don't want my post being misunderstood. I don't know if I can deal with flaming right now. I have been crying for the past two weeks over her and I am exhausted. So forgive my rambling and repitition.

Aww. That is so hard. I'm a dog lover and have had many issues over the years. I'm sorry that I don't know of any program like that, but I hope somebody does. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Have you tried "care credit"? It is a medical only credit card of sorts. We have a dog with an auto immune disorder, and getting her diagnosed was quite costly. You can get a 3 months, no interest deal, too.

Has the dog been diagnosed with anything yet???

I know when my dog was having issues, I googled her symptoms and read absolutely everything I could get my hands on. We finally had to get a biopsy done to get a true diagnosis.

Good luck. Here's the link to care credit. Let us know how it goes.
CareCredit® Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures

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I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. It almost sounds neurological in nature from what you describe. Maybe a pinched nerve? I am no expert though.

There are organizations out there that will help with vet bills. I don't have the names in front of me but if you google "Help with vet bills" it should produce something. Just be forwarned that a lot of agencies are out of money because of the economy. And all shelters are running at capacity so there likely isn't much money to go around.

Another option you can try is a breed specific rescue, in your case Dalmation rescues. Sometimes they are willing to help breed owners when they can't pay for medical costs or they know vets in your area who may help. Also they are familiar with issues from that breed and maybe able to tell you that your dogs problem is a common issue and you need to do this....

You can google Dalmation forums and find breed specific boards with people who can point you in the right direction of a good breed rescue that maybe able to help you.

I do a lot of animal rescue work. I mainly work with cats but I know dogs have the same networking system we do. Someone in one of the circles will be able to advise you better.

Be aware that yes a lot will suggest you surrender the animal. Most shelters are not authorized to care for animals unless the animal has been surrenedered. That is normal. Sometimes it doesn't make sense as to why they would ask you to do that but in the long run if they paid the medical care for other peoples animals they would have no money for the animals they have in the shelter. A lot of shelters work off of grant money from the state and donations when that money runs out it is gone.

Good Luck, I hope you are able to help your baby.

This list is from the Humane Society. It lists State by State options for pet care. You might have to scroll down.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/wh...cific_Programs

I know that when our dog was battling salmon poisoning, a community member had given money to the vet to take care of animals that were in need of costly diagnosis or care. I don't know if you will have this in your area, but I would imagine a lot of vets do have money like this. It was not expected that you pay it back...but we have. We have paid it back and done a little extra as we have had extra (like $10.00 here and there).

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The SPCA will know what type of financial assistance is available in your area. Also, there are breed specific organizations which offer assistance. But, I would think that your SPCA would know about those too.

Good luck.

I agree check with the SPCA and the specific resuce group. I pray that you can find a way to get her taken care of.

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You guys are the best. Thank you all so much for your caring words and advice. Now, on to the bad news...

We took her to the vet today. I called and begged and she said she would see her and we could make arrangements. It cost over $300. just for today, but we have to do this. Ok, she said her blood work showed elevated calcium, which is one sign of a certain type of cancer called multiple myloma. I can't spell it because I haven't looked it up yet...but she said that was malignant. She said it could also be some type of anal gland tumor, and if so, that is fixable with surgery. So, pretty much not good news at all. We are praying the prednisone works and she is ok.

If you guys don't mind, I know people usually ask for prayers for people, but please keep her and us in your prayers. And again..thank you for your kind words.

Please keep us posted as to her progress. Your family (humans & dog) are in my prayers

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My prayers are with you that Duchess will be ok

I'll keep you in my prayers. I know how hard it is to go through a rough time with such a good friend.

Prayers for you and Duchess.

Before I came along, my Mom had a dog named Duchess - they called her Dutchie.

If you have triple AAA for your cars, they have a discount card that covers pet medicines. It is a discount on the medicine if you buy it at many of the retail store pharmacies, like Target, Walmart, Walgreens etc. I had a dalmatian that died of CHF, and we used the card for his medicine before he died.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog being sick. Prayers being said for Dutchess...hope she will be feeling better soon. ~Lisa

I am very sorry to hear of Duchess' diagnosis. It's a vitulent cancer. I hope that it's something else.

What does vitulent mean?

And, thank you everyone for your prayers. I have spent most of today crying and will probably do some more. We have an appointment with the emergency clinic here on the 28th to have a myleogram done. Or a CT, whichever they are doing. Apparently they decide when they see her for some reason. It will cost over $1,000, but we have made arrangements with them to pay monthly. They are awesome people and as one poster said, they love the animals, not the money. I will be sure to post back when we have a diagnosis.

I'm sorry about your dog. Sometimes, animal rescue organizations will contribute a little toward the vet bill. It won't be much (50 or 100 dollars) but it helps a little and some of them also work with vets who will accept a lower fee for medical maintenance for the pet. It's worth looking into because that's what some of the donations were meant for and it can ease your financial burden. Good luck to you and Duchess!

!

Our vet is a wonderful lady. She has been Duchess' vet for close to 5 years. She called me this afternoon to tell me she is looking into just what you were talking about. Apparently because she is a vet, she has access to certain programs and organizations that we don't. Or perhaps she knows about them, but either way, she said she would be calling some of them and would let me know what she could come up with.

I am so sorry about your dog but glad to see that your Vet is so caring. You will all be in my thoughts.

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Also, I called that 'care credit" thing alinaugust mentioned and luckily the emergency vet that does the CT scans takes it. Now I just have to apply/get approved

And the vet called this morning and said she had the radiologist go over the xrays again and he said he did see a "slightly suspicious disc", so not sure if that's good news or not. She also said that he did say that coupled with the other symptoms however that it was probably not just a bad disc. She said it could possibly be like a degenerative disc issue, but she is not hopeful of that.

Note to Duchess, the Dalmation:
Awww, poor doggie, I know you you feel! Duchess, you must have hurt your back, sweet baby. Because lately I too have had back problems. DISC problems you see. The doctor said I have a couple of herniated and bulging discs and they have ruptered, meaning some of the squishy gel in them has squished out. It is in my lowest part of my back, near the tailbone. The doctor told me that if I suddenly lost control of my bladder, or bowels, that it meant that the bulge had begun to press very hard upon a bundle of nerves down there. Duchess, when you were chasing your ball, or scratching your ear, perhaps you made a disc bulge and this is what has happened to you. Sweet doggie, I know you are hurting. A simple operation can fix this problem, a matter of simply moving that bundle of nerves over and removing part of the bulging disc. Duchess, hang in there, girl! I pray your mommy and daddy can find a way to get you some help. I am sure that kind Dr. Vet, the nice doctor who takes care of you, can help you out and put your human mommy on some kind of payment plan. No doggie doctor would want you to suffer anyways! Take care, Duchess, and stay still. Rest. No chasing the ball for a few weeks, okay! And be a sweet girl, as I know you are. ;-)


Note to the OP, Duchess: Duchess your post has left me feeling so sad........ I read the bottom post and saw you've had some tests done, it sure does look like a disc problem. I have to have a spinal fusion surgery---a DOUBLE spinal fusion, ugh!----- so I know what your 4 legged loved one is going through. I'm glad your vet is helping-- awesome! My doctor tells me to take it easy! No lifting, no yard work, no sudden movements, haha, but for a dog, they have a whole different life....... I guess, for Duchess, she needs to just be calm, not move a lot. Let the inflammation of the bulging disc go down. Duchess, maybe steroids would help---they helped me a lot at one time before my problem got BAD---please ask your vet about that. They will reduce the inflammation. A spinal block is maybe also something you could ask about? I guess they could do that for a dog, right? I've had it done a couple of times, blocked the pain for months.... good luck to you guys!

Well the vet did put her on prednisone when we had our second visit, so that should help. She said to stop the duramax, and wait a few days and start the steroids. She said if it is just a disc issue, they should do some good. If nothing else, it should help with pain.

She does seem to be walking a little bit better today. But poor thing..when she came home from the xrays, you know they have to put them under to do them.. well she peed on the seat of the car, then she peed on her tail at home. And then she peed on her bed sometime last night. I feel so bad for her. I wish I could take it all for her I would in a heartbeat no questions.

Blackberry, thank you so much for the sweet post. It made me smile, and I sure needed that today. I can tell you care deeply about animals. I hope your back starts feeling better soon, sweetie

Duchess, I'm certainly no expert, and I don't know if dogs are built the same way we are, but it certainly sounds like the bulge is pressing on the nerves that control bladder and bowels. She can't help it if she pee's, poor thing; she must be upset about doing a 'naughty' on the car seat when she knows she is not supposed to. I know you are not mad at her for it. I hope she gets to feeling better. Gosh, stories like this just break my heart.

Get better, Duchess!

Well the pee thing is from them sedating her to take the xrays. I know because they told me it would happen and she did the same thing last time (a week ago). Especially the car one. She was still half asleep from the sedative and fell asleep with her head and one paw on the armrest between the front seats. I wish I could have gotten a pic because it was the most ADORABLE thing I have ever seen!

And trust me, I know to watch for the accidents and when/if she starts that, I don't care if we have no money, I am taking her back in and they WILL do something for her.

Just thought I would post a pic of Duchess so you all could see what she looks like:

She's adorable! She looks like she's a very happy dog...must be because she has such a loving owner!

Thank you

I suggest to do a search and join dog or dalmation groups. I had a cat stop eating this past spring. I ended up spending just over $2000.00 and she's back to normal now. I knew of 2 cat groups that I had used several years before when a different cat had developed kidney problems.

I rejoined one group that gave me the name of another cat group that specifically worked with assisted feline feeding. Those 2 groups saved me TONS of money as I was able to research and speak knowledgebly when I went to the many vet visits. I had to syringe feed my cat 4 times a day for over 6 weeks but she made it!!

My groups were on Yahoo. I know there are knowledgeble dog groups on Yahoo and I'm sure there are more around. It really did help our family, our cat and our finances.

Good luck!!!

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Donna

Aw, Duchess is beautiful! She looks like she's smiling in that photo.

It's supposed to be virulent.

Yea she's a ham That pic was actually taken yesterday. I cannot figure out how to change the date on my camera lol.

Ah ok gotcha

We applied and were approved for the carecredit thank God. She has an appointment on the 28th for either a CT scan or an MRI, not sure which because the vet said this place does both. I guess they will decide when they see her which is best. The prednisone is already helping a lot. She's not as "drunk" as she was and isn't falling down so much. We put some throw rugs down so the floor isn't as slippery, so that helps. I can't believe how quickly that medicine worked for her. The vet said it can work that fast (24hrs) but it does not mean it isn't a tumor, just that the med helped whatever inflammation was going on at the time. I was so hoping she would say that it meant that it was more a disc or pinched nerve issue. That can be fixed. Even the anal tumor can be removed.

She is in good spirits. Wants to play and run out the door when hubby pulls up. She did that every day for 8 years so it's hard to stop her now. She just sits there and looks at me like "Mommy, why aren't you opening the door so I can go greet Daddy?" It breaks my heart, but it's better than her running and falling hurting herself more. We are spoiling her rotten. Gave her a nice warm bath last night to help with the pain in her back. She almost fell asleep in the tub. Hubby had to get in with her and we put towels down on the bottom of the tub so she wouldn't slip. That seems to have helped her today as well.

I am trying to keep her laying down or being still. I am not sure if movement will make whatever is wrong with her worse or not, but I know that if it is a disc issue it sure can. If it is the myeloma, I don't know. I am so grateful to have you guys to talk to about this. I can't talk to my hubby or son because hubby doesn't want to talk about it and I don't want to upset my son. He knows what is going on, but he is so hopeful. His birthday is tomorrow he will be 21. And I don't want him to remember his 21st as the day he found out his dog was dying.

Ok, I am going to stop now because I am starting to get upset all over again. Seems like a long wait until the 28th..

Update:

Well, poor baby :*( As you all know they put her on Prednisone to see if what was wrong was possibly a spinal injury and to give her some relief just in case while we wait for the appointment with the emergency vet so they can do a scan (ugh! $1,000 at least...THANK GOD for CareCredit).

Anyway...apparently the vet and her techs neglected to tell us about one important side effect...PEEING EVERYWHERE. She is 9 years old and hasn't ever had an accident in the house since she was potty trained as a pup. She hates to pee/poop in the house more than we hate it..LOL. Now, not 5 minutes after hubby let her out this am, I stepped in a HUGE puddle on the carpet. I could tell she was embarrassed because she wouldn't even look at me when I got up this morning. I thought she was hurting or something else was wrong with her until I walked in to the living room and found it.

I really wish the vet would have warned us about this. I know she had to be holding that in even though it was only like 5 minutes since she had went out. Like I said, she absolutely hates peeing in the house. When the puppy (our son's dog) did it, she ran away from it LOL. We could have let her out more or for longer. She is drinking like a huge amount also. I know NOW that it's the meds, but again, if I had known to expect it, I wouldn't have worried so much that something else was wrong with her. Especially the peeing. That's a sign of major spinal cord injury, am I right?

Anyway, now that I know I will watch her more closely and when she even starts to look like she has to go, I am going to let her out LOL. And, she is doing SOO much better, just on this prednisone. I just got a call from the vet as I was typing this, and she wants to wait and see how she does now that the dose is being titrated down. If she gets bad again, it means that there is swelling in her spine still. So this "doing better" could just be a mirage and because of the higher dose of the prednisone. Yay... NOT. I was getting my hopes up I guess.

Ok, enough rambling. I just wanted to give you all an update on her. Again, she goes on the 28th for her scan so please please keep praying for a good outcome

Thank you all SOO much. You have no idea how much your support and kind words have helped me through these past days.

YOU ARE THE BEST!!

My dog is frequently on prednisone for an ongoing condition she has. When on prednisone, their thirst is almost insatiable, so they drink a lot and pee a lot.

Hope things work out for the best. Glad the Care Credit worked out for you, too.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I know that "look" - my pup does the same thing if she does something she knows she's not supposed to. It's rare - she's a great pup, but if something does happen, she keeps turning her head, she won't look me in the eye. She'll shake a bit too. She looks very much like a beagle, but we think she has dalmation in her.

When you know they can't help it, it's heartbreaking to see their reaction!

I hope your pup does better soon.

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Poor puppy! And poor you!


My female beagle had an issue in the past with her disks. Invertebral Disk Disease. She was x-rayed, put on medication, and eventually it healed on it's own. If it happens again, we may need to have surgery, at the cost of $5,000. (Time to pawn everything, LOL) Out vet mentioned the Care Credit thing to us too. We noticed an issue when she could not even walk without yipping - every step she took, the disk would pinch a nerve in her back.
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/interve...rea/page1.aspx

You and puppy are in my thoughts. I hope she gets better, and maybe can heal on her own too?

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Sorry, that link is asking me to register before I can even view it

But thank you very much for the kind words. We both appreciate it So glad to hear your puppy is doing better!

I just clicked "close window" on the popup and I read the article with no issues. Hmmm...

Anyhoo, the article was on "Invertebral Disk Disease".

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Ok she went to the vet again last night for her calcium to get checked and to get her meds for her thyroid. I think I said this already, but the vet called the other day and said that her bloodwork came back and her thyroid levels were low. This is a side issue from what is going on with her otherwise, and now she has to be on that for her life.

She is doing better still. A little more wobbly since we decreased the prednisone, but the vet said to expect that. Our appointment for the scan is 28th at 2PM. I am so nervous. I keep praying she will say "Dog's fine" and this will all be a bad dream. I think because she is acting so much better it has my hopes up. I know the vet said not to get my hopes up, but she is her old self almost so it's easy to think she's better now.

We are giving her all of our attention and treating her like a queen. She is eating it up, too. She sleeps with us at night, and has a blanket on the floor at my feet in the livingroom. She makes me move it everytime I come to the computer so she can be with me there too..LOL. I am constantly turning to her and rubbing her back, scratching her ears, and talking sweet to her. We are taking her to the park again this weekend so she can walk around and play for a little while.

Yeah, my shih tzu, Reba, had to have back surgery a few years ago to the tune of $5,000

And they couldn't guarantee that even with the surgery that she would ever be able to walk again.

Well, praise God, the surgery was successful and she can even run again

It was a very tough surgery but worth every penny since it not only saved her life but enabled her to walk and run again.

My continued prayers for Duchess.

Duchess I am sooo sorry I came into this thread so late I feel sooooo bad for you as a huge huge animal lover and mommy to many, I feel your pain and I sincerely again am sorry that I am answering your thread so late and I sincerely hope and pray all goes well for your baby, she is soooo beautiful much continued healthy wishes and prayers for her.. Peace. Catherine

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Just wondering what you found out at the vet. Thinking of sweet Duchess!

Nicole

JUst coming to ask too!!! Have been waiting since 8/28 to see something! Worried about the puppy-dog!

Sorry guys. I've just been so distracted between worrying about her and the financial issues we are having...

So far no word back from the vet. She had to take the blood work to another hospital out of town, so it will probably be a while for that. We are supposed to hear back about the scan sometime either today or tomorrow. The vet there said she thinks it has something to do with a spill she took a few months ago...in July. She thinks there is either a disc problem or nerve damage, or both. I am actually hoping for that because the other is just too awful to even get my mind around. I just don't think I could deal with it.

Thank you everyone for your concern and for the kind words. We both appreciate them more than you know, and I will pass along your love to her. Please do keep us in your thoughts. I will post as soon as I hear something, I promise

Ok, just got a call from the vet about the bloodwork we had done a few weeks ago when we were supposed to do the CT scan. She said she had 2 spikes in something. I can't remember the exact terminology, but she said one was calcium, which by itself would suggest cancer. But..she had another spike somewhere else, which actually ruled OUT the cancer! She said since there were those two, it points more twards some type of inflammation or disease like spotted fever, what you get from ticks. We have not found any on her, she is an inside dog that only goes out long enough to pee, which I know they can jump on you that fast, but we do check her periodically and have not found any. I mean, one could have gotten past us of course. She said the treatment for that is antibiotics which we will pick up later today.

She also wanted to get a spinal tap done on her, to try to get a definitive diagnosis. I am all for that, as long as it is not extremely expensive. That CT scan was almost $1,000!! And with us going through bankruptcy right now we really can't afford it. She is an awesome vet though, as she has already made arrangements with us for the first visits, so I am sure there will be no problems adding this to the account. We got lucky and found her as she is very kind and obviously loves animals. She has called me 3 times since we saw her just to check on us and Duchess.

Thank you all for keeping up with her and us and keep praying. We are not out of the woods yet with this mess.

I've been thinking about Duchess and wondering how she was doing.
So glad to hear you've gotten some good news!

check with an organization called United Animal Nations United Animal Nations I know they have grants for animal care, but I'm not sure if that is only for rescues. Worth to check out. Good luck to your family, 2 and 4 legged.

By the way, uan.org is a wonderful resource for information for all animal owners and lovers.