i got my first puppy (chance) an alaskan malemute, a few weeks ago. the beggining of last week he started to vomit and we bought his shots from a feed store and my friend who is experienced with giving puppy shots gave it to him but he continued to vomit. everyone i have talked to thinks he may have parvo but he doesnt have many of the symptoms related to parvo besides the vomiting, not wanting to eat and he looks like he feels bad.
i cant afford to take him to the vet since some jerk for no reason whatsoever decided to slash all four of the tires on my car. i had to use every cent i had in my account to get the car fixed and now i have nothing to help my poor little puppy. i have called almost every vet in my area and they all want money up front and will not accept payments. i have been caring for him at home feeding him small amounts of chicken flavored #2 babyfood and pedialite. the vet told me that was a good idea and to keep giving it to him. im very worried about him is there anything else i can do for him?? please help

I'm sorry, but I can't see any option but for you to take this dog to a vet. Is there a local animal charity you can contact who might pay for this for you? I take it you're in America - in the UK there is a charity for those who can't afford the vets bills. Maybe if you contacted a rehoming charity they might be able to advise you.

Hope someone can offer you something more practical.

Hope you manage to sort something out.

no there is nothing like that here it makes me so mad its like they dont even care about your pet all they want is money. im hoping i can get him through this because he doesnt act like hes dieing he just acts like he doesnt feel well.

I don't feel like I know enough to offer you any advice, although there are plenty on the board qualified to do so.

I just hope it works out OK for you. Please, please, keep us updated.

As a thought. Is there a breed rescue? They might be able to give you advice, or maybe even loan you the money for a visit to the vet? I'm sure if someone came to clumber spaniel rescue they wouldn't turn them away.

Or what about your puppy's breeder?

Malamute Rescue USA

If you contacted someone at a local rescue charity, they might be able to give you some breed specific advice.

thank you i will try that and will keep you updated

I don't have real knowledge, I'm certainly not a vet, but I would say you must keep this little puppy well hydrated. How about some powdered glucose added to previously boiled water. If he won't drink it, try using a syringe and get 10-20 ml down him at least every hour. If he's vomiting he'll be getting dehydrated and losing essential body salts, so keeping him hydrated may help to get him over the worst. Hope you manage to get some help.
Lorna

I've used glucose before on dogs who were vomiting and not drinking it did help.
Is the pedialite some kind of electrolytes that you add to his water?

Theresa

no pedialite is something we give to human babies when they have diarea and/or vomiting to prevent dehydration it does have electrolites in it and the vet told me it was a good idea to keep giving it to him. he has been drinking it on his own and eating the baby food so i hope that is a good sign *crosses fingers*

Is he peeing and pooing ok?

Theresa

he is peeing but i have not seen him poo all day but when he did yesterday morning it looked normal :/

Hi snowangel. Do hope he gets on OK, it sounds promising if he is eating a little. Can I suggest any water you give to him at this stage is pre boiled.?Also once he goes back on solid food, make sure it is something that will be gentle on his tummy, like white fish or chicken.

at the moment im only giving him pedialite (something we give to human babies when they have diarea or vomiting to help dehydrate them)
it says on the lable "quickly replaces fluid and electrolytes lost during diarrhea and vomiting to help prevent dehydration"
it seems to be the only thing he can keep down at the moment

by the way 9thM
thanks for the link to the malamute rescue they helped me find a vet that accepts care credit and i made an appointment for monday

Hi

Please let us know how you get on.

At the risk of being v.bossy english dog lady might I suggest putting a few dollars a week away into a separate savings account and then this could be your canine "insurance policy" in case something like this happens again?

9th

thats a good idea i never knew having a dog would cost so much i have had cats all my life and they never gave me any problems what so ever. :/

Money up front? Surely if you take your puppy to a vet, it will be clear to him that the pup is ill & must be treated. Doesn't the Veterinary ruling body in USA say that they have a duty to treat a sick animal? personally I would get to the vet, get the puppy treated at once and worry about the cost afterwards. Without wishing to sound unkind, surely you must have budgeted for the cost of rearing and keeping such a large breed, over & beyond the cost of a set of tyres?

like i said they want the money at the time of service and if you dont have the money to pay it all at that time, they will keep your animal untill you give them the money or they will put it to sleep. i dont want that to happen. also this is my first dog i had no idea something like this could happen or even that someone for no reason would cut my tires open and i would have to spend all the money i had in case of emergency to get them fixed i couldnt even take the pup to the vet even if i had the money because i had no working tires on the car. if that wouldnt have happened i would have had the money to treat him.

Sam, I have lived abroad, and once my son badly cut himself and was bleeding a lot. He was 7 at the time, I rushed him to the local hospital where they could see him bleeding, but I still had to queue up and pay before they would treat him. So I can understand that a vet would be the same.
Lorna

thank you for the suport i am currently working with someone through the alaskan malamute rescue in my area to find a vet that has a loan program or a payment program

Good luck snowangel,

hope you can get him to the vets, best be on the safe side

Theresa

yay he is doing a little better!! someone told me to try giving him some pepto bismal (its that pink stuff for humans who have upset stomaches and diarrhea) in case its not called that where you guys are from well anyway i gave him some and about an hour later he was up running around he drank some pedialite and ate a little baby food and nawed on a rawhide bone and he is keeping everything down yay!!

arrrrg!! i jinxed myself he just vomited again *crys* god this is so not fair !

Snowangel
I don't know much about these things but have had a major problem this week with my sick puppy and I would suggest that you don't give him things like rawhides or pigs ears or anything "chewable" until he's properly sorted out. Presumably, these things act like chewing gum to us humans and the chewing action will create stomach acid thinking there is food on the way and that is bound to make him vomit if he's not 100%. So I would presume that the rawhide did it !!! I would just concentrate on that liquid that you've been giving him so he doesn't get dehydrated and bland food if he is actually up to eating anything and keeping him calm for the rest of the time so he can digest properly.

Good Luck

Beth

oh thanks i didnt know that! ill make sure he stays away from the rawhide.

Hi snowangel

don't mean to pry, but could you not borrow the money from a family member??

Hope you little one is a bit better today...

Regards

Natasha

Hi Snowangel

I assume you meant puppy innoculation shots - whatever you do do not give you pup the second one whilst it is still showing the slightest signs of D+V as they should only be given to health pups

Good luck
Christine
CAE

im afraid not my mother is the only family member i have and she has enough bills to take care of as it is.

Snowangel,
Please do not give your pup Peptobismal again. It is not dog safe. If you want to give a medicine that acts similary then go with Kaopectate, which is safe for animals.
I live in the states too, I have much sympathy for you and hope your baby gets better.

Carissa

thank you for letting me know this i wont give that to him anymore

Snowangel,
I know some time has passed, but just to let you know ---- DO not give your dog Pepto Bismal!!!! It has asprin AND saccherine derivative in it. Sometimes the two cause a bad reaction for many people. Unfortunately, there are no warnings on the label concerning allergic reactions for asprin or saccherine. Puppies have a much more sensitive tummy and saccherine can cause serious discomfort. It also has mint to "soothe" but can also cause a reaction.
I hope your puppy is better.
toodles

Hi again.

You are probaby doing this already but could I suggest only giving your dog fluids (boiled water and glucose or whatever solution it is you are using) for 24 hours and then moving on to a little scrambled egg or chicken and rice after that. It really sounds like you need to get his stomach settled and stop the vomiting and diarrhoea as a matter of priority. It might seem cruel not to feed him, but it really does work.

Hope you manage to get something sorted with the rescue people.

9th

Hi,
I had a pedigree Boxer some years ago and the breeder told me in her diet sheet that if she was ever 'out of sorts' to give her crumbled weetabix with a little warm milk and sugar. This always did the trick and has done so for many friends that I have passed this tip on to.
Do hope you get the little chap sorted out soon, it is heart breaking when they are not well.
Good luck Wendy.

what about the mashed potato remedy . No salt or milk or butter just plain boiled potatos . It is supposed to settle upset tummy quickly.
Snow angel you have to find a vet that will allow you pay by the week . puppies dehydrate very quickly and can die just as quick
I hate to be the mesenger of doom but I think the puppy is sick one too many days
sorry Mari

I don't think vets here are any different, they treat your dog and then you pay but if you go in say I have no money then its the door for you. I found a posting on here with an emergancy and they said no, period.
What can I say, hope it goes well...sorry for you.

I thought if it was an emergency the RCVS said that they had to treat the animal?

If there is I never heard of it 9th.
I found a post on here from the past which described someone taking a dog to an emergancy vets and they refused as the person couldn't pay up front, or didnt have money or card on them.
I don't know where the post was though.

Wow, I must be hellishly lucky then, as over the years I have had to get emergency treatment from a vet other than my own on 3 occassions & every time, the bill has come in the post afterwards, no mention of "can you afford it". I just can't believe it!

I doubt if it is quite as simple as that. You couldn't, for instance, insist that an off duty vet come out to look at your animal. I would also imagine that emergency means just that - a real emergency. I don't think they would have to provide full treatment, just enough to keep the animal alive until you can contact your own vet and arrange for full treatment. If a dog was knocked down by a car I think the practice it was taken to would be expected to stabilise the dog and keep it out of pain. They would not be expected to do a full repair of any breaks or things like that.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Ive just tried to find that column again right back to No14 but I cant remember the heading. Can anyone remember a posting on a vet refusing to see an emergency, I cant remember the details.
Yes I have just rememembered some detail. It was not an individual vet it was a group of vets under the name M***vet, thats how they wrote it and I know which group it is.
Does anyone know of this post somewhere on here?

Did it also contain an e, a d, and an i?

I don't actualy remember that Philipa but that doesnt mean it didn't. I have looked through general and health past posts but the header might not have said 'vet'.

Doogdog,
There's been a couple of posts recently from people who needed vets urgently when their bitches were having pups and they were refused treatment without paying up front. I can't remember exactly where etc but one was from Lorraine1000 about Lady's pups. Hope that helps you find it.
Dot

Doogdog,
Found one !! Under Health/bad vets, posted 2/9/02. I'll see if I can find the other. It was earlier.
Dot

Also Health/Bad vets update, posted 31/8/02. Found the other one under Breeding/Can you help, posted 25/8/02.

I don't know where it is but yes there was a case recently that someone reported of a dog being rushed to an emergency vet in
the UK and them refusing to treat it because she didn't have a card on her. The dog subsequently died. I find it hard to believe
that any vet would stand by and let an animal die in front of them but that is what was reported in this case. Apparently the
senior partner in the practice was investigating. Haven't heard anything since.

Janet

Doogdog, that is not so in every case.

When exercising my bracco along a rivers edge, my dog ran past a tree stump on the bank. I saw him flinch and then stop and rub his eye frantically. When we got to him, there was blood running down his face and his eye was shut tight. We ran back to the car and got him to the nearest vets. My own vet was another 20 minute drive away. We hammered on the door as the vets were shut and were let in, explaining what had happened and that we had no money on us, and that our own vets was to far away. The nurse told us not to worry and we could sort it out later on.

The vet wasn't on the premises, he had just left for home. The nurse phoned the vet and told him what had happened. He came straight back and treated my dog. I said that I would go straight away and fetch the money, but they took my address and replied that "the next time you are passing will do". I expected to pay an 'emergency rate' at least, but the vet charged me only for the treatment.

My dad has also obtained veterinary treatment for his pervious spaniel on numerous occasions without having any money on him. He's terrible for going out without his wallet, never takes his phone either!!, and Bess would often be taken ill through her diabetes or with eye problems and needed emergency vet treatment.

After dad retired he'd drive 60 or so miles to find somewhere new to walk Bess, to try to stimulate her and add excitement to her life. Only once did the vet ask if my dad could call anyone for a credit card number - this was after treatment. My mum wasn't in so dad couldn't call anyone but the vets didn't object, they just asked for proof of dads address so they could send the bill on.

I think that those who've had problems with vets have just been very, very unlucky - all the vets I've dealt with have been lovely and cared a lot more about the animals than their bank balances.

Fiona
x x x

i have found a vet and made an apointment for monday i have been calling non stop all week to every vet i could find to see what they could do. the rescue center helped me locate a vet and i think he will be ok i have been giving the pup lots of fluid and he seems to be doing alot better today and has eaten and has not vomited all day

are you sure i should give him milk? i heard this will upset a dogs stomach and make them have diarrhea?

Snow angel, you are right, do not give him milk of any description at the moment.