Argh (poorly dog content)

digitalscream

So...a bit of background...

One of our Chihuahuas, Dutch, likes to get up in the middle of the night and wander around. Our oldest dog, Mac (husky/collie cross) is mostly deaf, and doesn't react well to being startled awake. This caused a problem about three weeks ago, when he broke Dutch's jaw by snapping at him when Dutch brushed past him.

So...got that problem sorted, and his jaw's been healing nicely. However, we were woken up at 3am today with Dutch screaming again, lying on his back and unable to stand up. We gave him some Meloxidyl for the pain (we had some left over), and sat up with him all night...got him to the vet for 8am - he's got two puncture wounds (one on his leg, one near the shoulder). Looks like he might have a broken leg, possibly a hairline rib fracture and maybe internal damage (although he's breathing OK).

They've got him in for the day - they've started him on opioids, because he's very snappy when he's in pain (which, looking at the positives, probably means that his jaw's healed pretty well) and they need to be able to examine him properly.

Poor little bugger

Here he is in happier times:



Can't help feeling this is going to be expensive. He's not insured (nobody will insure him at any reasonable rate because of his age, he's 15 - the most annoying thing is that until the last couple of months, he'd only been to the vets once in the previous 11 years!), and the operation to fix his jaw maxed the credit cards (everything else had gone to buying the damn house). I'd sell my body, but let's face it...there's not much of a market for a pudgy, mostly-broken middle-aged male...

boogieman

15??!! Blimey that’s a great age for such a small dog. Hope he mends ok, poor little bugger, it’s such a worry when they’re poorly. 

octatonic

I'm sorry to hear this Lee.

digitalscream

boogieman said:

15??!! Blimey that’s a great age for such a small dog. Hope he mends ok, poor little bugger, it’s such a worry when they’re poorly. 

Actually, Chihuahuas often live to 18-19+, barring external problems. Smaller dogs often live longer, unless they're overbred (which is common, with the deluded and irresponsible obsession with "teacup" dogs).

This one had a particularly bad start in life - he was kept in a cage in the back garden by a "breeder", and their kid broke his front left leg and his tail, and they never took him to the vet so he's never been able to walk properly. They let his teeth rot too.

All the more reason to give him the best life we can, IMO.

boogieman

digitalscream said:

boogieman said:

15??!! Blimey that’s a great age for such a small dog. Hope he mends ok, poor little bugger, it’s such a worry when they’re poorly. 

Actually, Chihuahuas often live to 18-19+, barring external problems. Smaller dogs often live longer, unless they're overbred (which is common, with the deluded and irresponsible obsession with "teacup" dogs).

This one had a particularly bad start in life - he was kept in a cage in the back garden by a "breeder", and their kid broke his front left leg and his tail, and they never took him to the vet so he's never been able to walk properly. They let his teeth rot too.

All the more reason to give him the best life we can, IMO.

Poor thing, he definitely deserves a decent life after all that lot. 

I always thought it was bigger dogs that usually lived longer, shows his much I know! 

guitars4you

Sorry to hear - Know how you feel - My dog had an op 4/5 months ago - Throat punctured by a stick - All okay now but you just feel so sorry for them - Good luck and best wishes

spark240

Get well soon pooch ....

Bridgehouse

Lee, we’ve talked about this before mate..

What @digitalscream won’t say, because he’s not that kind of guy, is one of the reasons he’s struggling with the vet bills is that he pays a chunk of the fretboard costs out of his own pocket.

He won’t let us modmins help, and he won’t use fretboard donations because they have been made for a specific purpose. 

Not only that, but he’s planning on bankrolling the dev and hosting dev and all the other stuff for the new site till that’s up and running as well. 

What’s your PayPal address chap? I’ll chuck a gob of money your direction. I’m tempted to overrule you as boss and post another thread specifically asking folks to chip in a few quid if they can to cover the costs that you’ve borne on your own for the last 6 years. 

Like you, our dogs mean the world to us - I’d hate to think I couldn’t give them all the care they need. 

boogieman

Bridgehouse said:

I’m tempted to overrule you as boss and post another thread specifically asking folks to chip in a few quid if they can to cover the costs that you’ve borne on your own for the last 6 years. 

Do it, I’d happlily chuck in some dough to help out. This place is brilliant and Lee shouldn’t be shouldering the costs out of his own pockets. 

Bridgehouse

Done. @digitalscream - you have no choice - let us know your paypal address of choice

digitalscream

Okay...I wouldn't normally do this, but right now I'm not really in a position to pander to my own pride; my PP link is...

https://paypal.me/digitalscream

There's genuinely no obligation here, but an awful lot of appreciation from the wife and I (and the dogs!) if anybody feels like helping out. At this point, it looks like the vet bill for this one is going to significant, but it's anyone's guess right now. If it turns out to be less than any help you guys give, I'll put any extra into the forum pot. Does that sound fair?

gringopig

.

markslade07

@digitalscream I've popped a couple of quid in the pot for you. Huge appreciation for everything you do for this site and for us, so it's the very least I can do. Get well soon Dutch

darthed1981

Hope you get well soon Dutch

FazTheWookie

Donation sent.

MattBanshee

Donation sent. Best wishes to you all.

PolarityMan

Donation sent as well. Hate to hear about pets in distress. hope Dutch is back to health soon.

boogieman

Put some money in the pot too. 
@Bridgehouse might be worth starting a new thread for donations so that more people know about it? 

Bridgehouse

boogieman said:

Put some money in the pot too. 
@Bridgehouse might be worth starting a new thread for donations so that more people know about it? 

Already done - check out the modmin coup thread

boogieman

Bridgehouse said:

boogieman said:

Put some money in the pot too. 
@Bridgehouse might be worth starting a new thread for donations so that more people know about it? 

Already done - check out the modmin coup thread

Yeah sorry mate, I just spotted it. 

Bridgehouse

boogieman said:

Bridgehouse said:

boogieman said:

Put some money in the pot too. 
@Bridgehouse might be worth starting a new thread for donations so that more people know about it? 

Already done - check out the modmin coup thread

Yeah sorry mate, I just spotted it. 

I may have to edit the title to make it a bit more obvious