Vet bills

Question
I saved at our local pound last month and have had medical issues ever since. She started coughing the night we took her home. I wondered if she had kennel cough and since we had to go to the vet the next day I was just going to get some meds then. Was given some antibiotics and tod no kennel cough it would be ok. Never got better went to different vet who said it was caused by sore throat and with cough syrup and different meds it would get better 2 weeks not better and now throwing up. We are going to the vet again today soooo. Any way my ? is. Is there anything the the pound could do to help us out. There was a things in the letter to call about them helping and they would if we called them first but we waited 34 days instead of 30... What should I do now?

Answer

Hi Claire,

Most cases of Kennel Cough clear up on it's own, without medical treatment. When more aggressive treatment is needed, antibiotics and cough syrups are often used. A kennel cough is a very distinct cough and sounds like your dog is clearing its throat. A dog with Kennel Cough will tend to cough when engaged in activity or exercise. If the cough is severe, your dog will cough for extended periods of time and may throw up food or mucus. The color of the mucus ranges from white to green (green means more serious).

Kennel cough can be helped by sitting with your puppy is a steamy bathroom for 20 minutes and vaporize with Vicks 2x a day. Do this for 4 to 5 days. If you see green mucus after 3 days, return to the Veterinarian.

So, your dog does need to see a vet. You're actually better off using a vet who's not associated with the animal shelter, or a pet store (such as Banfields).

If the adoption contract from the shelter says they will cover medical treatment for 30 days after adoption, and it's now at 34 days, they aren't under any obligation to provide your dog with treatment. You can try explaining that your dog developed this problem after you adopted him, but this is really their call.

Owning a dog means unexpected expenses. You would do yourself a big favor if you saved money every month for unexpected pet bills. Saving as little as $5 a week would end up being $240 for the year (more actually if you put it in an interest bearing savings account), which would really be helpful the next time your dog needed a doctor.

Best of luck,

Patti