Dogs and other pets

[WilliamPowell]

Two in six weeks - that would be devastating!
I’m getting Oscar cremated and I get a lovely tumbled river stone memorial from a company called Talking Stones. Also decided to do up a photo book as I have so many photos, some I had completely forgotten all about.

We were expecting Flame but not Nisha. yes it was devastating, we still have tough days

We've had all our fur kids cremated.

For Flsme & Nisha we used a company called Edenhills along with the their ashes in beautiful timber boxes we got included a paw print from each and a clipping of their fur which came in a card which we've framed. we have a special shelving unit for them

[WilliamPowell]

..We've had a horrible week with our 9 month old puppy needing emergency surgery.

She's home now and on the way to a full recovery. Our 5 year old boy has had a bloody rough week too, he's been so distressed on his own without his little sister.

The pic below taken a couple of weeks ago epitomises how close they are.

Love you both to the moon and back

[Assange Tiger 😎]

Glad she's recovering WP. Cuties.

Expensive are our little mates at times but well worth it

[Damo]

What was wrong with the pup WP?

[WilliamPowell]

What was wrong with the pup WP?

Blockage in her small intestine Damo.

Glad she's recovering WP. Cuties.

Expensive are our little mates at times but well worth it

Thanks AT

[Francois Jackson]

Nice breed WP.

Tough going for a young pup thats. Not cheap either. Anyone gone with pet insurance here?

we ditched it after 5 years and were very lucky till the end.

 

[Damo]

I used to whelp and rear pups.

With vet expenses, one thing I’ll say is that the difference between country and city pricing is unbelievable …

Sorry to hear WP, very very unlucky that ..

[WilliamPowell]

Nice breed WP.

Tough going for a young pup thats. Not cheap either. Anyone gone with pet insurance here?

we ditched it after 5 years and were very lucky till the end.

Thanks Frankie we love our Alaskan Malamutes 

We used to have Pet Insurance until last year but ditched it when the combined monthly premiums (3 dogs, 1 cat) became higher than our monthly private health insurance. And they were about to put up the Cats premium by 33% and our youngest dog's premium up by 25%. Neither our cat or our youngest had never been to the vet for anything other than their vaccinations.

So now we put away a set amount each month into a separate bank account for them

And yes it was very expensive but worth it

I used to whelp and rear pups.

With vet expenses, one thing I’ll say is that the difference between country and city pricing is unbelievable …

Sorry to hear WP, very very unlucky that ..

Yes very lucky indeed. Another 24 hours and things would be very different

Curious Damo, in your experience which is the more expensive country or city?

Earlier this year when we lost Nisha we were away on holidays in Bright and thing we found was there was no 24 hour vet care up that way. Albury had a 24 hospital run by nurses after 8pm, if you needed a vet they would call one in after a nurse assessed your case. Outside of that the nearest one is in Wagga. Hence why we had to make a dash back to Melbourne to try and save him

[Francois Jackson]

I used to whelp and rear pups.

With vet expenses, one thing I’ll say is that the difference between country and city pricing is unbelievable …

Sorry to hear WP, very very unlucky that ..

yep id say country is the cheaper option at a guess?

I also find most ethical, unlike many other trades like a dentist as an example. We have a ripper vet around my area who constantly said it was our decision in the end. Never once flogged us unneccessary meds which i respected.

[Damo]

I used to whelp and rear pups.

With vet expenses, one thing I’ll say is that the difference between country and city pricing is unbelievable …

Sorry to hear WP, very very unlucky that ..

yep id say country is the cheaper option at a guess?

I also find most ethical, unlike many other trades like a dentist as an example. We have a ripper vet around my area who constantly said it was our decision in the end. Never once flogged us unneccessary meds which i respected.

McIvor Rd vet in Bendigo is phenomenal and seriously cheaper than city vets.
Cragieburn Vet Clinic for a more “city” option.

The trick is name dropping some greyhound participants and requesting greyhound industry pricing and watch what happens to the costs.

Things ranging from blood test expenses, to medication itself.

I feel so bad when I hear what you guys pay for simple medication like amoxyclav. It’s criminal. Especially when you know what they can be purchased for.

Worming tablets is another. Do some research online for that and thank me later.

[WilliamPowell]

Thanks Damo & Frankie
 
Our GP vet clinic is brilliant. There's 3 vets. The owner of the practice I've known and he's treated our pets for over 40 years. We predominantly see just one of them and she's taken care of Groucho, Jonty, Flame, Nisha, Rogue and now Hope for their entire lives. I remember when Flame was struggling in her 12 last months she said to us we could run a battery of tests to determine definitively what was wrong but her view was why put Flame through that at 13, she said just let her enjoy her time with us and she'd help us manage things to make things as easy for Flame as possible. Just this week she phoned me as soon as she heard Hopecwas in hospital. She's a class act

Now just reading through the 9 page invoice for this week's hospital stay and surgery. Hope has come home with Amoxyclav 500 tablets, 8 days worth and they cost $66.20...one of the cheaper items on the account   

[julzqld]

But we do anything for our pets

[WilliamPowell]

But we do anything for our pets

We certainly do Julz

[Damo]

But we do anything for our pets

We certainly do Julz

I love animals
Rescue and treat azkals (street dogs) in the Philippines

I’m just very tight about it 

Been around the block when it comes to vets and dealing with them

I’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars over the years

Learnt lots of fantastic home remedies.. one great one I got taught by Sue Collins (one of the best and most well known vets in the state) .. If your dog ever gets a decent sized cut .. don’t run to the vet in a panic and pay for stitches and the cone of shame .. 1/2 peroxide, 1/2 colloidal silver .. spray the wound , watch it do it’s magic .. it will foam etc , but it’s normal

Another good one is Medi-pulv from chemist warehouse .. for smaller cuts etc .. fantastic

[Andyy]

Hi everyone,

It's been a tough week for me and yesterday morning in particular was really hard.

My loyal friend Mischa went downhill recently, stopped eating and kept trying to wander off into the yard while I confined her to a smaller space so I could keep an eye on her. I think she wanted to wander off and die away from me, which I've heard some dogs do deliberately. Unfortunately I had to take her to the vet to be euthanised because things were becoming so undignified. I did it myself - didn't want anyone else to do it for her. Her last meal was pan fried beef sausages and a few slices of ham, but otherwise I couldn't really get her to eat for the last 24hr. We had one last long cuddle on my couch by the fire and although it wasn't pretty she seemed to be comfortable and at peace at the end.

She was two weeks shy of her 17th birthday - an exceptional run for an English Staffy, especially since she started having seizures in 2019 and the vet told me it was probably an indication that she'd be looking at the lower end of the life expectancy, but she cranked out another six years for me.

I adopted her from a rescue foster carer in 2014 and spent 11 years with her. I've stayed in touch with the foster and given her updates every two years or so, which she really appreciated. I was younger then and naive enough to think I was the one saving her, but after all this time I really do wonder if she was the one keeping me going over the last 18m or so with the breakdown of my marriage, family court proceedings, spinal surgery etc. I think she wanted to see me through it but at least she got me probably 80-90% of the way there.


They really are man's best friend, the most loyal. I'm going to have her cremated and keep her ashes to be spread with mine one day.


Thanks for reading if you made it to the end of that.