My sister has been advised (by her vet) her dog has cancer. She will get the full results soon and will need to decide what to do.

She has been told, live saving surgery will cost $5000 and wants to do whatever she can to get the money.

I saw the tears in her eyes, when one of my parents dogs died last week. I've been told her dog is part of the 'family'.

Should we put pets above people - and spend $5000? Should she accept her dog is dying and move on? I have thought of helping her to raise money, but I'm not sure if it's any of my business to get involved.

It's about perspective, has your sister ever scraped together $5000 to send to any of the starving children's funds?

If so fantastic, if not her perspective is tilted.

Dear NathanJ.,

Yes I would pay.

I would do it for my sister.

Family members are supposed to be there for
each other. I would do it for my sister's
peace of mind!

Our son had drainage problems in his front yard
and he and his wife needed $5,000 to fix it.
We gave them the money.
It's what you do for family.

NathanJ,

It is certain that the animal will be put through the most fearful processes (despite what assurances may have been given) and the chances of a complete recovery, are very dubious indeed.

Cancer is one of the more usual causes of death of dogs. Now or in a year after causing the animal huge suffering is the question.

The animal must be suffering. If it was my dog I would ask the veterinarian to move quickly to bring its life to a merciful end.

Support your sister by listening and by being there. Both are hard to do and are usually in short supply.

At the end of the day, its a dog!

I had a customer once who spent the best part of $100K on his dog over a span of a few years. It was born with a twisted spine and when I said why didn't you hit it on the head he was horrified.

As has been said, its all about prospective.

NathanJ, I would ask your sister and vet exactly what the $5000 payment will be used for.
I would go with her to the vet to give her support and to have a more unemotional view on the situation. You can then go away and decide what to do.
If the dog is going to have to go through painful procedures and medications, and there are no guarantees the cancer won't kill it anyway, I would encourage her to put the dog down.

I went through the same situation with my daughter last year. Her 4 year old cat became sick and aggressive suddenly. She took the cat to the vet and they did many tests and X-rays etc....costing her $1000. She was distraught to find out the cat had kidney cancer with possible spreading into surrounding tissues. They discussed chemotherapy and radiation with her, with huge costs involved.

I went with her to the vets and asked what were the cat's chances if she was put through all this trauma. The vet said she couldn't be sure it would even prolong her life, yet alone cure her. I suggested (after long discussion with my daughter) it might be more humane to put her down, and they did this soon after.
I don't regret that decision, as that cat was not a happy cat at all.

Retchub.. At the end of the day, its a dog!

Its not just A dog, its HIS dog!
You must be a fool if you don't get that.
Just because its not important to you doesn't mean it isn't important to someone else.

I had to put down my old stallion recently. He had a visible cancer that was not worrying him, [you can see from their actions], for about 9 months, then started losing condition very rapidly.

In deference to my daughter who competed on him for years, I called in the vet, rather than shoot him.

If ever you have to put an animal down, & chose lethal injection, insist the animal is anesthetized first. I have no idea if my stallion was aware & in pain, but the thrashing around as he died was dreadful to see. No one in future will be able to convince me that a quick shot to the brain is not much kinder.

After 28 years I really miss the old boys nicker when I walk out the back door. He may have been only wanting a carrot, but I like to think it was a bit more than that.

I have since had to put down my youngest daughter's 18 year old cat. I think may have been clipped by a car. One quick shot, & the cat did not even move. I know it was instantaneous, & painless.

One of the unfortunate aspects of pet ownership is, unless its a Galapagos tortoise, they tend to die before you do.

In NathanJ sisters case, if she has the money and really wants to do it, why not. It is not only important for the dog, but it will help the owner as well to know she has done the best she can for an animal she loves. Its only money.

Paul1405, "It is not only important for the dog"

A good life is good for the dog and easy to see. Being traumatised by the treatments for optimistically delaying the inevitable with cancer is not.

I wonder how many here have seen the ravages of courageous veterinary intervention on a dog. It is not with you but mainly in a strange environment suffering enormous pain as one treatment after another, usually cutting away flesh and bone, is performed. Cancer of the nose for instance is common in dogs for instance and always results in death. They keep on cutting and the wretched animal donates the bone of its skull to put dollars towards those new profit centres the entrepreneurial veterinary practice has invested in at the encouragement of some sales rep.

Amazing how many fleas there are in the shabby business of spruiking new ways to get more dollars from the public. It is everywhere, from Real Estate Property Managers diversifying fees and creating new essentials, "We always get a professional photographer (and get a $$ kick back)" to veterinarians taking unethically taking advantage of vulnerable owners, "We have a new Oncology Unit" instead of being forthright, practical and kind to the suffering pet and owner.

It is so easy from the script, "This is a lovely dog/cat/pigeon/whatever and I can see s/he is a loved member of the family, what we can do is this...".

Hasbeen,
There is no way that green dream with anaesthesia first is an improvement upon the veterinarian's or owner's use of a well placed .22 instead.

oh dear Arm Chair, any wonder the world's in such a mess.

Dear Hasbeen,

Our old mare lasted 34 years before we had her put down. It was the vet who said go the bullet rather than injection and I was bloody glad of it. She was dead before she had dropped an inch. Not that there hadn't been plenty of close shaves before that. Seemed every couple of years she would collapse, a bit of blood would come from her nose, we would call the vet who would say it didn't look good and by the afternoon she would be back on her feet as good as rain.

It was miserable going for us after she went though, and it took months before I stopped looking for her out the back.

Last week I had to euthanase my kids pet rabbit. He had copped some mixo (shocking way to go). It had taken me a while to warm to the little blighter but he was a real character and seemed to take a shine to me, always coming straight to my room whenever he was let inside. He would do laps around the lounge and take flying leaps over my legs. Just a top fella.

I've put plenty of rabbits and other things out of their misery but I will admit this cut me up.

Foxy,

I'm not sure, if spending $5000 is worth the cost, as let's say her dog was to live only another 5 years - that's $1000 per year - and that's a lot of money. I've thought I could help by having a large garage sale, as I have a large amount of items in my garage.

At the moment she is under a lot of stress, and I am wondering why as one person has suggested (on this page) some people in Australia don't want to pay for example $5000 to "starving children's funds".

At the end of the day, it will be tough, as she has been advised she may only have a few weeks to make a final decision, if she is told her dog has full cancer conditions and will have to face surgery to live.

The question also for me is, where will she get all of this $5000 from, for one dog and his life saving surgery? I'm not sure.

One problem I have SteeleRedux, when doing these things is the wind.

It always must be blowing at these times making my eyes water. I have to wait for them to stop, so I can do what I must, with completely clear vision.

It is very hard to step up close and give the animal thanks for its life, comfort and a final blessed quick release from its suffering.

Much harder on the horse if it must wait and be restrained for a veterinarian, but if s/he is already in attendance, so be it. There is a difference between older vets, country vets and many of the recent over-produce from universities. Over-supply -> over-servicing. Small animal practice was always different, but many (like dentists) now seem to be charging what the market will stand, while setting up additional services that must also make a profit.

Of course city veterinarians must deal with city types who have been imbued with a Disney view of animals. That in itself presents difficulties.

Next thing would be funeral directors for pets?

Having had dogs, the advice I got from our vet was that as liver cancer is predominantly in older dogs, surgery was painful, expensive and generally unsuccessful.

I would seriously recommend considering the dogs quality of life and whether one is lettings one's own grief override the welfare of the dog.

I would pay $5000 to get rid of a certain member of my family and consider it would be a good investment so cheap.