Sad story...

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sloulou

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Just wanted to post so that more people can read about poor Lulu:

http://www.simplesite.com/helpparalysedlulu

I have been trying to help fundraise, but the vet is saying she might have to be PTS tomorrow if they can't get the money upfront for the surgery. If she has the surgery there is a good prognosis for her apparently.

In case you are wondering about whether this is a genuine plea (understandably) - I know someone who is in regular contact with the family - who are distraught.

Hope no-one minds this post being put here.
 
Erm any idea how much they are trying to raise? and how much they have so far?

I don't mean to sound tight - but they could have made thousands - I'm not saying they aren't genuine... but where does the donating stop?

I think if people know the target (even an approx) then they may be more generous...

Also why can they not afford to pay for her treatment? Was she not insured?

Bless her - I'm afraid I am skint due to my poochies having his eye ops.. but I do hope she isn't PTS.. but it may be the kindest option if they are struggling to pay for treatment and can't have the treatment WHEN it's need rather than WHEN they can afford it!
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HUGS to all involved. xx
 
very sad and I am sure the owners are genuine and distraught.
poor doogy
but I'm sorry, this is what insurance is for, I might be classed as a miserable cow but using emotional blackmail in lieu of either funding it yourself or paying for insurance doesn't wash with me.
I do hope they can raise the money but I'd rather donate to a registered charity
 
Ok - I have directly copied this from the dogclub website - so you can see how much:

the situation is this

the outstanding bill is £4244 but lulu needs a pelvic repair and they have quoted another £2000 - they originally said if half could be paid they would do that op today but then they changed their minds - they are saying that if the bill is not paid then they will not operate and if they dont operate then she will become seriously ill with the fluid that is building up on her lungs due to being prone all the time - i am contacting the vet hospital to inform them of the fundraiser that is in action and Pat is going to the press - her own vet has said that though lulu may lose one leg then if she has this op and responds to the physio then she should have a good quality of life.

I do take everyones point about insurance - but I don't think they could afford it - they took the dog in as a stray and didn't know about the pdsa scheme. Of course they know now - but is still a sad situation for the dog.
 
It's really sad when a loved pet gets hurt and treatment is beyond the owners reach but it happens all the time.

Many years ago our cat was hit by a car and suffered a broken leg. It was going to be £40 to repair it (yes THAT many years ago!) and at the time we had NO money at all so told the vet we would have to have him pts instead. Part way through the day my mum and I realised we would rather sell our car than have him pts so phoned the vet to try and stop them going ahead, only to be told that they would have fixed him and rehomed him anyway! How bloody mean is that???

Surely the vet will not let the dog suffer and can go ahead with treatment with the agreement that the bill is paid by installments?

I earn very little but still pay £28 a month to insure my dogs as I figure it's the people with no money that need cover the most. I'm sorry, I really can't afford to help but I hope the poor dog gets the treatment it needs soon.
 
don't know why pdsa not an option now - maybe it has to be before treatment starts or something
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I agree about insurance - i have mine insured... I think this is more of a case of not really being fully aware of the costs of vet treatment. They weren't looking for a dog - but got her by chance - so perhaps they weren't as informed as they could have been? Not sure - am just speculating - which is never a good idea!

anyway - will let everyone know what the outcome is xx
 
Agree with Kjfit.......that is alot of money to raise.....If the What if the dog needs follow up treatment or complications arise.
Will they be asking people for more money?
This is part of responsible pet ownership....to see that a pet receives treatment when appropriate.

What ever the outcome.....I hope it comes soon for the dogs sake. (bless her)
 
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oh KJFIT - not sure how much so far - It says £50 on the website - but I expect they have more than that now.

[/ QUOTE ]Oh I didn't see a figure on their website.. goodness they have a long way to go if they only have £50!!!

I do hope the vets can arrange an installment option.

As I said hugs to all. xxx
 
I know - it does raise alot of questions - but I know they have been offered help with some of the follow up care.

Presumably now they will look at how they will fund future care. I don't know as I don't know them personally - I just hope everything works out for the doggie.
 
OK so they have now raised £115.50
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I'm afraid the outlook looks bleak for Lulu...
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I do hope they don't let her suffer
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If the people are living within the cachement area for a PDSA hospital and are on the correct benefits - ie in receipt of either housing benefit or council tax benefit then they could be referred to a PDSA hospital for treatment.
One of the Pack - while I think your vet should have discussed the rehoming issue properly with you at the time - repairing and rehoming your cat is slightly different, in that it carried a good prognosis - so if the vet donates their time and equipment free of charge and the cat makes an uneventful recovery then the chances of homing are really good. It still costs the practice money to do the surgery and keep the cat until a home is found so I do think their motives were good in this scenario. In this poor dogs case - I suspect the surgery will be much more complex and there may be a chance of it being unsucessful and therefore I can see why the vets may be unwilling to press ahead.....
Even if the owners manage to raise the cash there is sadly still a possibility of a sad outcome which they need to take into account.
 
It sounds as if the dog may be better off pts. quite frankly. Spinal injuries are just so hard for them to recover from.

Why didn't they insure her????

Either way, it is not difficult to raise £2,000 through a bank loan.

Sorry, that is a bit negative I know.
 
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One of the Pack - while I think your vet should have discussed the rehoming issue properly with you at the time - repairing and rehoming your cat is slightly different, in that it carried a good prognosis - so if the vet donates their time and equipment free of charge and the cat makes an uneventful recovery then the chances of homing are really good. It still costs the practice money to do the surgery and keep the cat until a home is found so I do think their motives were good in this scenario.

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I realise it was really good of them to fix him and rehome him free of charge, what we objected to was the fact that they knew we were in bits at the thought of having him pts as we agonised in tears at the vets for an hour but they let us think they were putting him down rather than offer us some way of paying the bill in stages
 
I know - I agree they should have discussed rehoming as an option with you at the time - it should have been your decision as to whether that was an option or not. As to whether they would allow you to pay in installments - its up to their own discretion I suppose. I've worked in places with a much more relaxed approach to credit than I do now. My bosses are very strict regarding this as we have so much that goes unpaid. Saying that I think if your vets were prepared to fix the cat FOC anyway then I'm surprised they couldn't have come to some sort of agreement with you as surely some sort of payment would be better than none and they wouldn't of had to of fed and watered the cat until it was homed afterwards - bit of an odd decision but at least it all turned out for the best in the end.
 
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Saying that I think if your vets were prepared to fix the cat FOC anyway then I'm surprised they couldn't have come to some sort of agreement with you

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That's why it got to us, we were devastated and they were going to fix him anyway! What happens in your practice if people can't or won't pay? It must be really tough when you do that job for the love of the animals and you have to put them down because of financial reasons. I know it's a business at the end of the day but what a predicament!

Maybe this is why Lulus owners can't make arrangements to pay by installments?
 
I think it is a total of around £6000 they need to pay. And they have managed to get a short term loan for some of it...

The vets have said that they will pts if no cash by lunchtime
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should just say again - the prognosis is good if the dog has the op and vets have said she will have a very good quality of life - although she may end up on just 3 legs. The thing that is stopping the op is the finances.

Anyway - will let you all know what the final outcome is. xx
 
I am extremely lucky to work with my head nurse (ahem.... CALA's mum.....) that if people can't/won't pay a lot of them can be sorted out and rehomed through her rescue. Some people won't agree to that as an option and insist on PTS which is sad and frustrating if I know the animal can be put right. My most recent experience was a 1yr old cat that had a wound on its paw. The client was quoted to suture the wound (not a massive amount) and she decided to have him PTS instead. After discussion with her, we decided not to PTS but sutured the wound partly using the money she left to cover the euthanasia and cremation and partly using money left to CALA's mums rescue. The cat is still with us and still needing regular dressing changes and antibiotics - he will recover fully and will make a nice friendly pet for someone.
At our main surgery we have something called the "Stray Fund" which relies on the donations of some of our clients and then if a stray comes in or a healthy animal for PTS we can use some of the stray fund money to put it right and home it.
For people on benefits we do a Pet Aid Scheme which runs in conjunction with the PDSA. It is for people who don't live close enough to a PDSA hospital but are eligible. They can only register 1 animal but basically get free treatment for that pet. They are supposed to leave a small donation for their treatment that goes back to the PDSA but most don't. We receive a small amount of money back from the PDSA in return. You have to register before receiving treatment though - so if you weren't registered and the animal was knocked down, you can apply for a peach form - basically the PDSA will fund up to £100 and then the owner has to cough up the remainder but then they are registered for the Pet Aid Scheme afterwards.
The people that I feel most sorry for are those that are working and not eligible for Pet Aid but not on a high enough income to cover large bills. We try to keep the costs down to a minimum if we can and if they are good and regular clients then will allow them extended credit. Sometimes its people we've never met before and then its hard to make a judgement on whether they're going to pay up or not! Most people are honest but its the others that have no intention of paying that stuff it up for everyone else.
At the end of the day we have an obligation to provide emergency care even if no money is forthcoming - which would basically mean fluids and pain relief for an RTA for example. After that a decision needs to be made whether we trust the client or not to carry on with more work up - x-rays etc. With experience you can usually tell which ones are genuine and which aren't, but I do often still get it wrong and get it in the neck from my bosses!
 
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that if people can't/won't pay a lot of them can be sorted out and rehomed through her rescue

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That seems a little ridiculous in the case of people who can't pay though - why can't the animal be treated and returned to them.

This is why I think that animals should be licsend - and insurance be compulsory.
 
I think Its more the problem of expecting others to pay your bills and then there maybe/certainly follow up bills......If the animal is treat via the rescue.....It can then be re-homed on to someone able to afford future vet fees if neccesary.
She also ends up taking these animals home to carry on their treatment i.e daily dressings/meds.......to take some of the strain of her rescue bill......she could not be expected to do this and hand it back to the owner, without a donation or part payment from the owner....It sort of relinquishes their responsibility as a responsible owner.

As ANNE-JEN mentioned Some of these people are offered installments/help via the rescue and are still adament they cant pay......there is only so much u can do.

As you rightly said this is why if we cant afford/have no means to pay for vet treatment then owners really should be insured.
 
You would be an idiot to pay up 6K for a dogs op - I dont care how much you loved it - esp they have only had it two minutes and how did it get out in the first place?

What will happen to the money that peeps have donated already if the dog is PTS?

And anyone who cant afford £8-£18 per month for dog insurance cant afford a damn dog - it really annoys me that people on benefits get free this free that , AMY MAY - you are right - BRING BACK LICENSE and INSURANCE COMPULSORY!!

me and my partner pay over 1000 a month is various taxes and dont see a damn penny!!!

I feel bad for the dog tho - If I won lotto Id take it off them and pay for its vets :-(
 
I must be an idiot then because I would definitely pay up to £6k for one of my dogs if it needed it - my previous dog had an MRI scan to reveal a tumour in her spine and an op to remove it which nearly came to that amount. And no she wasn't insured because I naively believed that any problems she had I would be able to sort out myself. Not everyone views their pets in the same way and have different value to different people, it doesn't make them idiots.
 
Ok - so that was a bit harsh of me - but I love my pets dearly but I wouldnt even consider getting a pet if I couldnt afford the insurance - because I am not battering my credit rating or going to bancrupt myself for anything like this - what if the next day you had a house fire or a death in the family or divorce and couldnt afford to pay for things because of funding your pets vet bills?

My pony had colic last year and bills came to 6k - thank god for insurance - plus by having insurance you can get ops done asap instead of waiting and making the pet suffer!!
 
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You would be an idiot to pay up 6K for a dogs op - I dont care how much you loved it - esp they have only had it two minutes and how did it get out in the first place?


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I must be an idiot too because I'd beg, steal and borrow to pay £6000 for an op that I knew would make my dog well again. It's not even the price of a decent car!
 
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That seems a little ridiculous in the case of people who can't pay though - why can't the animal be treated and returned to them.



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But the treatment still needs to be paid for. It would be very idealistic to say that we treat everything for nothing that came in with a problem that the owners couldn't afford and then just give them the pets back - what happens the next time it has a problem or if the problem is on going? By treating the animals through the rescue we can at least sort their immediate problems and find them a home where they can be looked after properly. In some cases they do go back to their original owners - it all depends on the circumstances in question. Not all of these owners want the pets back - sadly a lot of people view pets as a replacable commodity and if its broken they'll just go and get a new one!
All the pets that are homed via the rescue go neutered, chipped, vaccinated and have 6 wks free insurance which they are recommended to keep up - can't do much more than that.
 
Well I have to say your friend is a good person for looking after these poor animals that get cast off because people cant afford to pay for the bills - its just not fair that you have to work so hard to get these poor things back on track because people cant be arsed to take responsibility. I have to say - I would pay 6k to save my Pet IF I had it but I dont so thats why I pay insurance and if I had no insurance I wouldnt have a pet !!

All my pets have been cast off like this - pets that no one wants when they start costing money or getting old, its a disgrace!!!
 
Don't get me wrong - I wish everyone would get their pets insured too - the only reason my dog wasn't is because I am a vet and so it was fairly unlikely I was ever going to need it (so I thought).
Noone knows whats round the corner and insurance does help for those unpredictable things that prop up in life - although I think I'd be the unluckiest person alive if I had a seriously sick pet, a house fire and a divorce all in one go - LOL!
Unfortunately the situation is still that the majority of people don't have their pets insured - whether its because they can't afford to or think they won't need it or whatever and so it still leaves me dealing with situations on a daily basis of how to approach treating animals belonging to people who don't have the funds to pay.
Edited to add, I think CALA's mum basically just works to fund her rescue work and a lot of times the animals treatment is paid for out of her own pocket rather than the donations of the public. It is something that she is totally dedicated to and really her whole life revolves around it. We are very lucky to have people like her working for these animals or else a lot more would be PTS or just abandoned.
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I know, I know, My cat wasnt insured until last month, I kept thinking 'It will be fine he is so tough nothing will happen to him' but I was sat with him and giving him a stroke and was thinking about how distraught I would I be if I could not pay for his bills if he were to be ill? How could I live with myself if I had to PHTS over a bill? I would feel like a murderer for sure!!! Your job must be heartbreaking as I bet most of the stuff you see is human ignorance !! but for £8 per month which is a pack of ciggies and a pint of lager, or a DVD, you just cant accept that people cant afford it! I can see why people dont get it , its so easy to think 'it will never happen to me'.
P.S Fire, Divorce and Death were just examples of expensive things that could happen to someone - not all at the same time!!! LOL
 
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You would be an idiot to pay up 6K for a dogs op - I dont care how much you loved it - esp they have only had it two minutes and how did it get out in the first place?

What will happen to the money that peeps have donated already if the dog is PTS?

And anyone who cant afford £8-£18 per month for dog insurance cant afford a damn dog - it really annoys me that people on benefits get free this free that , AMY MAY - you are right - BRING BACK LICENSE and INSURANCE COMPULSORY!!

me and my partner pay over 1000 a month is various taxes and dont see a damn penny!!!

I feel bad for the dog tho - If I won lotto Id take it off them and pay for its vets :-(

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Have you read the website?
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Am guessing not... they haven't had the dog for two mins - they've had her a year... your post seems very harsh.

And why would you take it off them? They love their dog and are doing everything they can to save it
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As for what will happen to the money - I don't know because at the moment they are doing everything they can to save the dog they love, so am guessing they won't want to think about that option. But bear in mind there are the costs for the dog's treatment so far which will also need to be covered...

This post has made me feel really sad
 
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