Question by pz: do you know anyone who has had worst luck with pets? do tell…?
i have had 6 pets in my adult life…30 years old, got started at 19.

cat 1: Poops~n~Bites : died of cancer at age 6 (after surgeries, cryogenics, chemo). She crapped on the carpet every day of her life UNTIL one month before she died. And although a lover she would bite you when she felt she was done being petted. We euthanized her, but probably waited too long because it was really hard to do.

cat 2: Trixie (followed 6 months later) died at age 6 also, from a heart attack from the vacuum-no joke!!

cat 3: Ninja (four years later) died AGAIN at age 6 from kidney failure (after lots of visits, home IV fluids, change if diet). it came on strong and from the time the symptoms were present we only had about 2 weeks with her. we had gotten her levels back to a good level from a few days stay at the vet ($ $ $ ) but she was in a LOT of pain a few days later and we put her down.

Cat 4 : Guadalupe “Lupe” 4 years old ALIVE!! However, Lupe was diagnosed with a heart murmur at age one: 1 or 2 on a scale 1-6, 6 being worst. a cardiogram showed half her heart was solid hard from heart disease at age 2, and also was rated 4-5 on scale. without meds she was given 6mos to live at age 2. we give her 2 pills a day and seems like she is great although we know her time is limited. we know a day will come that she will exhibit signs of suffocation (cardiac arrest) and we will immediately bring her in to be put down. they said it’s very painful (CA). also, they want us to give her cardiograms every 6 mos but they are $ 400+ and WE ARE BROKE. the only one in the house with health insurance is the DOG.

DOG 1: willis!!! the million dollar dog (insured!) status: ALIVE AND EXPENSIVE!!! (and i love him with allllllll of my heart, soul and credit cards)

YEAR ONE:
*multiple bladder infections
*lots of diarehea (changed diet)
*multiple eye infections
*massive loss of hair (related to allergies)
*severe allergies (food and insects)
*puppy strangles disease
*benign hystiocytoma #1
*extreme infection from absess from removal of 1st hystiocytoma. the vet wasn’t able to test it. he thought it may be a tumor & i tried to be pro-active, since it looked like Poops~N~Bites’ mass cell growths and i was told boxers are tumor factories. the result was a few days after surgery we ended up taking him to the vet 4x in 24hrs (was seen at reg. vet 2x & er vet 2x, both places by multiple vets). the last time we brought him in (to ER less than 2hrs after reg. vet visit) they told us he probably wouldn’t make it (infection had spread all over his body-he was FILLED w/ fluid and pus). they did an aggressive surgery and put lots of drainage tubes in and removed tons of gangreen skin. they weren’t able to tell me if he was going to make it for 2 days!! he wasn’t able to exercise or play for one month after that, but recovered.

YEAR TWO
*pneumonia
*got “the flu” or ate poison outside again (we live in the city)
*hystiocytoma #2 (left untouched since first was benign and it went away eventually)
*flu (or ate poison outside)
*ate a half of a CD, as well as dvd cases, hair brushes and mutliple ink pens….
*LOTS AND LOTS of yeast infections in ears and between toes resulting in many, many expensive shampoos, medicated pads, ear cleaners, epsom salt baths (5m 2x a day). did i mention my husband and i both work 1-2 FT jobs each and were in school FT??? (we had doggie day care and opposite schedules so he wasn’t neglected and we also walked him at the minimum 2hrs a day)
*funky stinky penis infection (mild, but disgusting)

YEAR THREE
*benign hystiocytoma (2 of them… one got gruesome, both went away)
*ate chocolate, raisins & a btl. of neosporin.
*Bloat
*Tumor (grade 2-1) we had removed.

DOG 2 : Shakey Jake
a one year old boxer we rescued 4 months ago. i found him on craigslist and adopted him because he was in a really tiny crate and he was 7months old. the owner told me he was in there 12-13 hrs a DAY!!! because of work and commute. it broke my heart, esp knowing how much exercise and socialization these dogs need. she promised me he was up to date on shots, totally healthy and mostly house broken. turns out, she lied. i brought him to the vet 12 hrs later…he had ear mites, worms, skin infections, broken tail in 2 parts and was malnourished. he didn’t respond to our voices (i thought he was deaf-no just ignored). he bit us (not maliciously just playing, but OUCH) and was totally crazy. it took 2 months to house train him. he’s still hyper but all of his health stuff got cleared up with shots, meds, bandages and love!!!

he had one $ 300 flu-like experience but besides that is seemingly healthy. he was fine after he got rehydrated.

about my boxer eating choc/raisins/neosporin/cds/pens/etc PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE ME!!!!!! all times were extreme accidents (or in part from them climbing on the counters that we thought they couldn’t reach). my husband cut off part of his thumb at work and left the neosporin on the table

Best answer:

Answer by Lynn B
My sister had a dog with a lot of the same problems (food allergies – hair falling out, skin rashes, absesses). She switched to RAW diet (raw uncooked meat, a balance of meat and organs) and the allergy problems are gone.. the dog has a beautiful coat of fur now. Turns out her back problems were also related to food allergies. Despite RAW diet costing more then kibble she has saved hundreds on vet bills.

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Question by Aly: How can you tell if what your dog has is a tumor?
My dog is 10 years old and has always been overweight. Recently, about a week ago, I found a small lump on him under the skin, on his left side just by the spine. We can’t really afford a vet, so if we take him I want to be sure that it is for something serious. Today the lump started bleeding, and so I put some peroxide on it and the bleeding stopped and the skin is closing over it. There was a hard yellow lump in the middle of it when it was bleeding, but it is gone so I wonder if it was the start of a scab. The lump is hard when you rub your hand over it, but when he sits down or lays down to where his back is stretched out, you can hardly feel it anymore. He is older and though his only health problems have been allergies, my friend’s dog Simba had tumors that began to bleed on her legs and she had to be put down. Should we take him to the vet or is this just a growth or fatty tumor that needs not be concerned about? It hasnt grown and it doesn’t cause him any pain. Anyone know what it is?
For those saying I should surrender him to a shelter, if he is sick I am not going to refuse him care. God, have a heart. We’ve had him all 10 years of his life, he lived through years of abuse with me and my brother and if we surrender him he WILL be put down because he has bitten someone before (thank my father). He’s not neglected. Never did I state that we wouldn’t take him to the vet, I said that I didn’t want to take him to the vet for nothing. It’s hard times for everyone, we can’t afford a doctor for our family either.
For everyone else, thank you for the advice. We made an appointment to take him to the vet on Monday.

Best answer:

Answer by Darby Crash
When you take him to the vet they will tell you.

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Question by Pack Leader <3 Prong collars!: Fun dog quiz!!!! Tell all!!?
How many dogs do you own?
What are their names?
What breeds are they?
How old are they?
what coat color are they?
Do they have any health problems?
If so what?
What color eyes do they have?
Do you walk your dogs?
If so how many days a week?
Is your dog a dominant,submissive, or middle of the road?
If your dog a high, low, or middle of the road energy?
Where did you acquire your dogs?
What food does your dogs eat?
Do they get dry, wet, or combo?
When was the last time your dog a had a bath?
How many commands and tricks does your dogs know?
Does your dog get along with cats?
Does your dog get along with small animals?
Does your dog like to swim?
What color is your dogs color that it is wearing right now?
Does your dog like children?

Have Fun!

My answers-
How many dogs do you own? 2
What are their names? Lady and Jake
What breeds are they? Long haired miniature Dachshund and Pomeranian
How old are they? 7 and 10
what coat color are they? Red and Sable
Do they have any health problems? yes
If so what? Lady suffers from seizures and allergies, Jake suffers from bladder stones and luxating patellas
What color eyes do they have? Lady has brown with a speck of blue and Jake has brown
Do you walk your dogs? of course
If so how many days a week? About 3 days a week for around a mile, They used to jog 2 miles 7 days a week but they have really slowed down due to age.
Is your dog a dominant,submissive, or middle of the road? Lady is middle of the road and Jake is submissive(but of course both are very submissive to me)
If your dog a high, low, or middle of the road energy? Lady is middle and Jake is low
Where did you acquire your dogs? Lady is from a puppy mill and Jake from a rep breeder
What food do your dogs eat? Blue Buffalo but TOTW in around a week
Do they get dry, wet, or combo? combo
When was the last time your dog a had a bath? Lady Monday and Jake Thursday
How many commands and tricks do your dogs know? Lady knows 96 and Jake knows 20
Does your dogs get along with cats? Yes extremely well
Does your dog get along with small animals? Yes, they will only chase something if given the command too
Does your dog like to swim? Lady doesn’t mind if it is hot she likes to and Jake doesn’t
What color is your dogs color that it is wearing right now? Lady is wearing a pink color with pink anchors and Jake is wearing a green color with tan stars
Does your dogs like children? LOVE children

Best answer:

Answer by ???Harlee Be a Sleddog ???^_^
How many dogs do you own? One
What are their names?
Harlee
What breeds are they?
Black Lab
How old are they?
5
what coat color are they?
black
Do they have any health problems?
nope
If so what?
none
What color eyes do they have?
pretty brown eyes =]
Do you walk your dogs?
he is walked lots and, we walk with our buddies
If so how many days a week?
Im very busy, but I try for at least 1 big walk(i usually get 3 big walks in, but im soo busy poor harlee might be a bit deprived of long walks while im in highschool)
Is your dog a dominant,submissive, or middle of the road? Middle of the road, but he lets a dog know if its bugging him
If your dog a high, low, or middle of the road energy?
high energy
Where did you acquire your dogs?
Breeder
What food does your dogs eat?
Nutro
Do they get dry, wet, or combo?
Dry
When was the last time your dog a had a bath?
I give him weekly baths in the summer, frontline is expensive, to keep him flea free
How many commands and tricks does your dogs know?
too many to count
Does your dog get along with cats?
i dont know
Does your dog get along with small animals?
not ducks!
Does your dog like to swim?
very much
What color is your dogs color that it is wearing right now? Silver Choke chain
Does your dog like children?
Yes

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Question by Rachel: How do I tell my mom about this?
All right, I did something behind my mom’s back. But it wasn’t anything bad. I took our dog to the vet and used my own money to pay for it. But I went while she was at work so she doesn’t know. But there was a reason I had to do this.

My mom was neglecting the dog and borderline abusing him. All because he licked and bit his feet and she thought he was annoying when he did it. She wouldn’t even acknowledge that he probably had an allergy and that was why he was doing it. She was only concerned about it being annoying so all she did was yell at him and smack him when he did it, which never made him stop. He has been licking/biting for FOUR years now and she couldn’t even figure out that obviously the yelling and hitting wasn’t doing anything to stop him. Plus, the dog would sometimes gnaw on his feet until they bled. His paws probably hurt and itch all the time and I can’t even imagine how much he’s been suffering for all these years because my mom won’t ask the vet about it. She’ll still take him to the vet for check-ups or if he gets an ear infection, but won’t even ask about the paws.

Anyway, I love my dog and I love all animals and I know it’s wrong to treat them this way and neglect them, and I finally decided I was going to take care of this myself since my mom wouldn’t. Yes, I did try to talk to her about it in a civil manner back when it first started. I just told her that he was probably doing this due to allergies and she should take him to the vet. I also got upset after she slapped him for licking and let her know this (but I still wasn’t disrespectful). But she didn’t listen to a thing I said. She acted offended that I thought she was mistreating him, and she also just insisted that the dog didn’t have an allergy and only licked because he was bored. I knew that wasn’t true because he wouldn’t make himself bleed and literally lick/bite for HOURS at a time if he was bored.

So, now that I’m old enough to drive and make my own money, I took the dog to the vet. I scheduled an appointment without her knowing and just took him today while she was at work. This was a different vet than the one he regularly goes to, so they didn’t know my mom and I told them part of the reason I was there and not my mom. I did spare the details about her hitting him, but I told them that my mom just wasn’t taking it seriously and wouldn’t seek medical attention. Anyway, they did an exam and they found that he most likely had food allergies, and found that he also had a skin infection, probably because bacteria have just been thriving down there in his paws for FOUR years while my mom did nothing for him. He also had yeast in his ears because of the allergies. So the vet prescribed some pills to help the dog, and luckily, though just barely, I was able to pay for everything. (I had a seasonal job over the holiday season which is why I had enough money, and I’m currently trying to find another job). But anyway, I didn’t want to tell my mom my plans to take the dog before because I was afraid she’d try to stop me. But now I’m going to have to tell her, because the vet wants to see him again next week to check and see how the medicine has been working. And my mom won’t be working a week from today so I’ll have to tell her why I’m taking him to the vet. I honestly have no idea how she’d react. I don’t know if she’d change her tune if she realized she was wrong all these years and he does have allergies. I don’t know if she’ll feel bad that I had to spend all my money, or if she’ll be mad that I got those pills for him without her knowing. So how do I tell her?

Best answer:

Answer by Miranda, the Anonymous sinner.
You cared and perhaps went about it wrong. But it sounds like the vet of your choice helped the dog out. Yes, tell your mother. She might get mad, but after she figures out that you helped the dog she might be forgiving. Just tell her you did this from concern.

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Question by Rachel: How do I tell my mom about this? Will she be mad or will she realize she was wrong?
Well, my mom usually takes care of our dog and is nice to him. But I will never understand why she did this one thing. The dog has allergies and constantly licks and bites his paws, sometimes to the point that they bleed. Yet all she was worried about was that she had to listen to him do it because she thought it was annoying. She also just insisted that the dog did it to entertain himself because he was bored. So she wouldn’t take him to the vet, and even when she took him for other things like checkups or ear infections, she didn’t even mention the paws thing to them. Also, her way of dealing with the dog being “annoying” was to yell at him, punish him by putting him in his crate, or hit him. I just got so sick of hearing “STOP IT!” *smack* practically every single day. Plus, the dog had been doing this for four years, so that’s how long his paws have been in pain and he’s been suffering, only to be yelled at and hit for having this problem. And you’d think that my mom should have been able to figure out that if the dog was still doing this four years later, her yelling at him and hitting him and putting him in the crate wasn’t doing anything to stop him. But no.

So, I really got fed up with her hitting the dog and also not seeking medical attention when he needed it. I had a job over the holiday season so I made some money, and I can drive now, so I took the dog to a vet by myself since my mom wasn’t willing to take care of it. Yes, I did try talking to my mom before doing something this drastic, but it didn’t work. A few years ago I kept tallies of how many times she hit him in a whole day (I think it ended up amounting to 12) thinking maybe she didn’t realize how much she was doing it, but all she did was roll her eyes when I showed her. I talked to her in a civil manner one day about taking the dog to the vet because he had allergies, but that was when she made the excuse that the dog was just bored and didn’t have allergies. So I did what I had to. I took care of the dog myself. I spent almost all the money that I have on this vet visit, but I had to. I am not going to let this dog suffer and be mistreated anymore. But anyway, I took him to the vet yesterday while my mom was tutoring (that’s her job) so she doesn’t know I went. They just did an exam on the dog and they did find that he had allergies, most likely food allergies. He also had a bacterial infection on the skin in his paws, and had yeast in his ears (also indicating allergies). They prescribed some pills for the dog and this morning I gave them to him for the first time. But I’m going to have to tell my mom. The vet wants to check up on him again next week, and when I have that appointment, my mom will be home. I really don’t know how she’ll react. I don’t know if she’ll see that she was wrong all this time, or if she’ll be mad that I gave the dog pills behind her back. But I did what I had to. I probably should have just told her I was going to the vet before I went, but I was afraid to, I guess because I was worried she’d try to stop me and insist he didn’t need to go. I also didn’t know that the vet was going to want to see the dog again, and I’m worried that will cost more to take him next week and I spent almost all of my money on the one visit. So that means I’d have to convince my mom to chip in…eeek. I also will have to admit that I skipped dance class to take him to the vet. Well, I have two classes and I missed the first class but I finished the appointment in time to make it to my second one. I wouldn’t have scheduled it on a day I had dance, but it was just the earliest appointment I could get that would also be while my mom wasn’t home.
That’s the crazy thing! She’s not even usually cruel to the dog. ONLY when he’s licking his paws. Other times, she’ll dote on him, pet him, take him on walks, and talk to him in baby talk. But if the dog dares to lick his paws, she turns into a different person.

Best answer:

Answer by woollysheep
You are in a really horrible situation. Whatever you do your mom will continue to be cruel to your poor dog. You are doing the right thing trying to look after him, but I would suggest you take it even further. Try to find the dog a good home where he won’t be abused. Either through people you know (but obviously your mom doesn’t know – or she will just go get him back) or some animal charities will guarantee to never put any dog down and to find all dogs a good home. If you can find one like that near where you live and explain the situation I am sure they will help.

One day you will have your own home and be able to make sure your pets are treated well.
Good luck!

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