ib4 >>>/vet/ She's already been to the vet and

>>2253417
Maybe get pet insurance? You usually have to pay up front for the costs but if you can afford to do that they reimburse you (minus the deductible I'm sure)

>>2253446
Will pet insurance cover preexisting or congenital conditions?? Vet has already said there's something obviously abnormal with her urination patterns. Not a diagnosis per se, though I'm sure she'd put down urinary incontinence.

Okay insurance is an interesting thought but it's looking unlikely. I did some checking and, as anticipated, insurance that will cover preexisting conditions is very uncommon. One plan I found would only cover stuff that happens after 180 days after the plan started. And the coverage limit for the hereditary disorder endorsement was WAY lower than the $4K the work-up is going to take.

Of course, insurance tends to negotiate things down, at least with human doctors. Part of what's pissing me off so much is that they're charging that much for a CT. The same study in a human? Insurance is unlikely to pay more than $500. And that is even though the malpractice risk is WAY bigger with a human patient. Dog you can just put down, and you don't get pain and suffering; you fuck a human up your career is over.

I'm just so freaked out. I've never had a dog have a serious problem like this before. Everything else has been, you know, they ate something nasty, rolled in something nasty.

Get second opinions. Go to other vets, get their thoughts on what might be going wrong.

If worse comes to worse, look into securing care credit or some other credit line to help.

If you have actual friends and family and coworkers, you also could make her a crowdfunding page to cover some costs as well.

>>2253417
Honestly I would talk to your vet about using puppy diapers till you can afford to get the surgery done. It's going to be a pain in the ass to change her and wipe her hair down when she dribbles but there aren't many options. I feel as though the diapers even though a temp fix will help at least kee furniture, floor, clothing clean. I had a dog who dribbled because of bladder stones but I was in school and my father doesn't take care of his pets. I have her one of my blankets that I didn't mind her dribbling on because I didn't want her to suffer for something she couldn't control ya know.

Ask your vet about payment options. I had a couple scares with my dog (that turned out to be nothing, thank god), and they gave me some information and recommended a pet insurance.

You have to really do your research on the insurance, and will likely be paying higher for pre-existing conditions, and the obvious surgeries to come, but it may help. From there I would look into getting a credit card, and if the vet will let you make chunk payments (say of 500 bucks or so), then the credit card would come in handy and probably be easier to pay off.

with the uti testing, did they test for cancer as well? an ultrasound or an xray might reveal the problem. each of those should only cost a couple hundred dollars.

call around to other vets and get some estimates.

i doubt insurance is a viable option for you. ask friends and family for loans, sell some stuff you don't need, stop getting starbucks every day.

>>2253498
They just did a urinalysis. Gram staining, specific gravity, I assume the kind of stuff that would find stones. I don't think they did bloodwork, which in retrospect is probably going to be necessary.

Someone suggested I try to get her in at Purdue University's vet med clinic, which is supposed to be tops in canine urology. For some reason it was suggested that a university vet med program might be less costly. It's only a couple hours drive for me and I have family in the area. So it's a maybe.

I've also heard some vets will let people work some shit off. Oddly I am about to get my law license. Maybe I can get the work done by a vet that needs some debt collected. I damn near cried last night. Grown-ass man. Ugh.

>>2253498
>an ultrasound or an xray might reveal the problem. each of those should only cost a couple hundred dollars.

This just registered in my head. I've been reading stuff on Google Scholar and in the Merck Vet Manual on this. The old standard for this disorder is actually plain film x-rays with dye contrast, but of course it's not as precise as a CT with dye. US is not preferred but it's possible to establish a tentative diagnosis with it.

The place we had called was suggested by our primary vet, but they said they didn't do the plain film dye studies, and they didn't even have a urologist on staff. So maybe they're just a clip joint. I'm going to call Purdue on Monday and try to get her into the vet urologist. Obviously a university isn't going to let me work anything off, but if the imaging is much more reasonable then we can figure stuff out.

I'm also curious if anyone knows what the surgery should cost. The approach shouldn't be any more complex than a spaying, though the procedure would be somewhat more involved. Even if she has to grow a little (she's ~7 lbs right now) we can manage with that until she gets bigger.

>>2253467
Insurance is not gonna work. Everything that covers preexisting and congenital has a waiting period where anything that flares up during the first 6 months of the plan is not covered unless it goes away without treatment for 6 months. So anything related to her incontinence is never going to be covered.

>>2253464
That's roughly what we're doing. We haven't gone diapers yet but we're keeping her on blankets/towels that we don't mind getting wet.

So much ignorance in this thread it's hilarious.

Yes op this is going to cost a lot and that is not strange. Yes op it is a more difficult surgery than a spay. No op a human getting a CT scan does not just cost $500.

Personally I would say for now you should use dog diapers and keeping her clean while saving up the money for the surgery she needs.

>>2253449
Pet insurance is piss simple desu. Go look at some. If you have car or house insurance, you may get discounts for your existing insurance and your pet insurance if you go with the same company. Depending on the condition, your animal may not be eligible or it may rise. I did one for progresive and said my dog had FIV (hue) and I was still eligible, paying $10 a month and 10k a year coverage. If you find that most insurance companies won't let your dog in with it's issues, you can lie and when you bring him in for treatment, bring him to a new vet and NOT have the information transferred (you will have to tell your vet this is the first time you are brining him to a vet, unless you have records from another vet that did not diagnose this condition). However, this could be more expensive in the long run. You'll have to figure out the math in your head, doing all the tests and vaccines she already had done vs what the insurance would cover.

>>2254097
Actually, your dog isn't diagnosed yet, right? That's why you have to pay an absurd amount of money. It's only educated guesses, so you can use that to your advantage. I would say get insurance and also call around for other opinions too. Many insurances have a waiting period, so you may have to wait a few weeks before bringing her to a vet to actually get checked out.

>>2254077
>No op a human getting a CT scan does not just cost $500.
Actually it's somewhat less. $500 is what insurance pays for an MRI. No, that's not your deductible. And no, that's not HMO or PPO. I'm talking worker's compensation, where you pick your own doctor, and what the doctor's office receives from the insurance company in total payment for the service. And I'm talking Texas and California, where shit is actually expensive.

Source: I've worked in insurance for a decade, and my father's a MD who routinely deals in billing disputes. There is no reason why a veterinary imaging should cost EIGHT TIMES what it does for a human fucking being.

>>2254106
She's already been in once. I get what you're going for, but the waiting period on everything I've seen is six months, and the per-incident and lifetime coverage limits would get eaten up.

>>2254190
check out progressive then. They only have a 2 week waiting period, and allow per-exsisting conditions.

>>2254190
As opposed to humans animals have to be under anesthesia for the scan. I know you think that should cost no more than an extra $4.50 but sadly it does.

Also vet hospitals get no monetary help from the government like all human hospitals do. Again, sadly, to pay the staff, keep the lights on, and buy supplies things have to cost money.

I deal with this ignorance every day and you eventually get to the point where it's just funny. Yeah we're totally over charging and just want to steal your money! As I live paycheck to paycheck and vets won't ever be able to pay off their student loans.

>>2254201
>Also vet hospitals get no monetary help from the government like all human hospitals do. Again, sadly, to pay the staff, keep the lights on, and buy supplies things have to cost money.
I'm not talking about hospitals. I'm talking about clinics. Do you actually think those "Open MRI" clinics get the funding level that hospitals do? Do you actually think any work comp patients actually go to a hospital for their imaging rather than use the scanner their interventional pain management owns a stake of?

>As opposed to humans animals have to be under anesthesia for the scan. I know you think that should cost no more than an extra $4.50 but sadly it does.
I rarely see an MRI or CT scan request these days that does not involve sedation. Which, by the way, is all the animal would need. Not full-blown being whacked out and intubated. Don't play a bunch of bullshit.

>>2254199
Thank you anon! I'll take a look!

>>2253526
Damn near cried? I am a grown ass adult and I bawl when my pets get sick...

>>2254199
In my state the sample policy specifically excludes congenital conditions. Even if they were included, hereditary (and ectopic ureter is believed to be hereditary) are subject to strict, low lifetime limits.

I mean, I'm looking at the policy language and picking out arguments I could later make in court if I tried to fight... but ugh. I'm going to see if I can get someone to do it as a plain film study and without a bunch of unnecessary bull.

>>2254211
Ok sure. You know more than me. You've won. I'm glad you're so smart and know all vets sleep on beds of cash.. Enjoy your back yard bred dog you stupidly adopted.

>>2254254
Wow. I think it's a shame that you're so angry about your career choice you've got nothing better to do than argue about things you have no knowledge of on the internet with someone facing a major moral and monetary dilemma.

>>2253417
>dog diapers
>clean that shit everyday so she doesn't catch anything
Save some money every month and you'll be able to afford the stuff she needs in no time.

>>2254211
>Do you actually think those "Open MRI" clinics get the funding level that hospitals do?
No but they get funding, which is more than vet clinics do. Low cost clinics work solely on people's donations, and often have to close down or merge when they don't get enough.

Really strong dogs or dogs that have bite history we put under anesthesia for the purpose of safety, because if they bite we would need to hold the animal for 10 days with little human contact. Right after the procedure, we reverse it and give the animal back to their owners while they begin to wake up.

All that aside, I also agree with getting a second opinion.