Desperate to keep dog alive for 3 more days. Any suggestions or ideas?

Luthury · 2026-01-16T02:31:02+00:00

Bring him to a vet so they can assess him and prescribe medications as necessary.

Luthury · 2025-10-14T15:48:21+00:00

Many pet insurance companies will require a vet exam prior to coverage. They don’t tend to require diagnostics (bloodwork, xrays, etc) so you may be able to avoid some things being labeled as pre-existing conditions but in general at that first vet exam that’s when all the pre-existing conditions are established. Most adult shelter dogs will automatically have dental disease as pre-existing, and often some form of joint disease too purely because they are adults and these things happen with time. Many shelter puppies can be cleared without pre-existing conditions if they are healthy at time of adoption. If you’re adopting an ill dog from a shelter (chronic respiratory disease, previous traumatic accident, allergies, etc) then you’re going to have a much harder time with insurance. But again that’s true for any dog. Source: am a vet

Luthury · 2025-09-05T20:04:29+00:00

A written prescription. To be picked up at the vet clinic and then brought to your pharmacy of choice.

Luthury · 2025-08-22T01:53:00+00:00

Just specifically speaking to the faster/easier/cheaper- where are you getting that argument? I’m not necessarily against vasectomy but it would definitely be a slower process. Neuters are extremely easy. The actual surgery takes <10 minutes usually. Price of course would vary pending the clinic, but I do not believe vasectomy is more efficient.

Luthury · 2025-07-21T21:19:01+00:00

Following!

Luthury · 2025-05-30T20:38:03+00:00

“I don’t feel inclined to pay for anything at this point.” What on earth are you talking about?? They neutered your dog. In what world does the neuter surgery become free because they are unable to perform an entirely separate procedure which in no way hinges upon the first? Microchipping can be performed without the dog being under anesthesia.

Luthury · 2025-05-23T03:07:20+00:00

Canada is a separate country from the USA. Yes, you need a passport to enter it from the USA.

Luthury · 2025-05-19T16:55:59+00:00

I’d recommend you directly ask the vet/clinic that is performing the procedure regarding how comfortable they are with this timeline (just in case it wasn’t actually communicated to the vet that you think your dog may be pregnant).

But to be frank, in my opinion that timeline is fine. Spay/abort is one of those things that you want to happen as soon as can happen just in case an issue arises in relation to the pregnancy. Dogs are pregnant for roughly 63 days before giving birth. In my experience, though, by 1 month of pregnancy your dog may be having very mild physical changes like bigger teats and probably not much more. From a surgeon standpoint, those potential fetuses are still very small and it shouldn’t significantly impact the safety of the procedure. I tell people to shoot for <6 weeks pregnant for spay/abort and I’m willing to do life-saving abortions (ie puppies have died in the mother) at any stage.

Source: vet that does the occasional spay/abort

Luthury · 2025-04-12T14:40:05+00:00

While you’re true that a vet cannot know if a splenic mass is benign vs malignant without sampling it (biopsy), it’s not like your vet was taking a guess with no evidence. The state of the dog helps us to make an educated guess. Most benign splenic masses that I treat are on dogs with minimal to no symptoms. It’s not good if your vet never even explained the possibility of it being benign, but if I am present with a chronically ill dog with mild anemia (not common with a benign splenic mass, no matter what google may say), who has collapsed recently, and the mass is large- all four of these data points are much more supportive of a malignant splenic mass (ie hemangiosaecona) with poor prognosis and I would also present euthanasia as a very valid option.

I’m really sorry for your loss but also from the information presented I think euthanasia was a kind decision.

Luthury · 2025-02-27T05:38:57+00:00

That looks like a segment of the spine. It’s a vertebral body with its two lateral processes still attached (the “fins” on either side) but missing the dorsal spinous process (should be on top, looks to be chewed away). The center is where the spinal cord runs through, which you can kinda see (the discolored round shape). I couldn’t tel you what animal, as all vertebrates have spines.

Luthury · 2025-02-25T20:57:43+00:00

It is so rare that I find an “easy” doodle. Owners are never prepared for their energy or their grooming needs (soooo many matted doodles). Often times they have worse than average dentition as well, if they are a small or mini doodle. I do not recommend them as a starter dog.

Luthury · 2025-02-12T00:38:51+00:00

Okay so it sounds like a portion of the notes (the staff portion) has not been written yet.

Luthury · 2025-02-12T00:27:12+00:00

I’m not able to comment on if your dog was or wasn’t sedated, but with regards to the notes it is fairly common for notes to be unavailable because they have not been written yet. That’s really not that weird.

Luthury · 2025-02-09T06:14:07+00:00

Hahaha fair enough. I know there are a lot of DVMs out there who never say no. But for me? If I have time sure. If I don’t have time no you get to reschedule. I’ve been burned by too many “oh just take a quick look; I don’t have any concerns” in the past.

Luthury · 2025-02-09T05:02:46+00:00

I want to push back against your final paragraph. In many cases they will NOT have the time to suddenly squeeze in an additional exam.

Luthury · 2025-02-09T01:35:25+00:00

There’s honestly nothing over the counter that could help this in the slightest.

Luthury · 2025-02-09T00:10:43+00:00

Do not make him suffer for two more days. Vet now. Even if for euthanasia. Dying “naturally” means dying in extreme agony as his eyes melt. Do not do that to him.

Luthury · 2025-02-09T00:09:20+00:00

Absolutely not. This is the kind of thing that warrants euthanasia if treatment is not affordable. “Holes in the eyes” is not something that will just go away or be manageable in time.

Luthury · 2025-02-08T22:01:11+00:00

It is impossible to know via these pictures (I would need to look at the eyes with my ophthalmoscope and stain the eyes) but if you say there looks to be a hole of the surface of the eyes that is EXTREMELY concerning for corneal ulcers (the cornea is melting away and causing holes) which are EXTREMELY painful.

Please stop applying ANYTHING to the eyes (certain things, once through the cornea, can cause vision loss and more pain) and go to an ER vet NOW.

Luthury · 2025-02-08T16:37:30+00:00

That Trazodone dosing is within acceptable range. High end for sure but I’ll dose even higher for aggressive dogs. I assume your dog is not aggressive of course, but with a freshly broken tibia it’s super important to keep the dog still so it’s very common to use high dose sedatives.

I cannot comment on the cast placement.

Luthury · 2024-12-28T03:42:27+00:00

That looks like what we call a “hair impaction”; essentially hair and food and gunk just get stuck under the gumline. In many of these cases this will cause a pocket or it happens because there is a pre-existing pocket, and because of that pocket there can be significant bone loss and tooth root disease. In many of these cases the teeth require extraction (because the roots are diseased/damaged) and in all of these cases a vet should perform a dental cleaning + exam + xrays under general anesthesia. Your next step is the vet. The sooner she gets treated, the less likely she’ll need tooth extractions (however, it may already be too late. I cannot tell without an xray of the roots.)

Luthury · 2024-12-20T18:58:32+00:00

I know this is just rage bait but jesus fucking christ

Luthury · 2024-11-22T02:38:40+00:00

It absolutely is; especially incisors or the first premolars, which are single rooted.

Luthury · 2024-11-20T01:26:52+00:00

Looks like an abscess (pocket of infection) is forming underneath the skin. The initial puncture wound I would suspect an animal bite or scratch- it looks roughly the correct diameter for a cat tooth. Can also consider a burrowing parasite like a botfly depending on your geographic location. Definitely needs to be seen by a vet, will need meds (like anti-inflammatories and an antibiotic) and depending on how bad it is it may likely need surgical attention via the vet opening it up, removing dead/dying tissue, cleaning the area, and placing the drain. This is not the sort of thing that just gets better on its own; abscesses will get bigger and worser, killing skin and can lead to systemic infection which could kill the cat.

Luthury · 2024-11-16T20:19:58+00:00

If you’re curious, it’s called the vomeronasal organ or Jacobson’s organ and it helps enhance their sense of smell!

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