herbs

Question
We recently rescued a poodle mix. We had her about 2 weeks when she started a heat cycle, we were still unsure if we were going to keep her so we did not have her fixed right away. There is a chance she got pregnant because the neighbors dogs broke threw the fence and we found them in our yard. We are not sure when it happened. We have been very careful with her and only let her in the back when no one is home. We have never had an unfixed animal before so we are not familiar with heat cycles. I have read about the mismate shot but fear we are to late for that option. I have also read about a mixture of penny royal and blue cohosh given daily for 2 weeks I am wondering if this is safe. We don't know how old she is and are unable to bear the cost of  a pregnant spay. I have spoke to many vet and all charge a min. of 80.00 for a regular spay, which is fine, but then an additional min. charge of 75.00 and up for a pregnant spay plus they all want current vac administered by a vet which adds even more. We want to keep this dog but can not possibly afford to do everything at once. If the herbs are safe I would like to do that. If I do it how long will I need to wait before getting her spayed? Please help

Answer
Pennyroyal oil has been associated with cases of severe liver and kidney damage. In large doses, pennyroyal has been reported to cause abortion. Fatalities have resulted from the doses of oil required to exert an abortifacient effect. This info came from this website: http://health.yahoo.com/topic/digestive/medications/drug/healthwise/d04479a1 As for the blue cohosh, I really don't know how safe it is. This is something that you need to talk to your vet about. I know a lot of people are comfortable with using herbs and such, but you have to remember that just because it's natural, doesn't mean that it can't have some serious side affects. You need to talk to either your vet about this, or someone who is very familiar with these herbs. I know how expensive a vet can be. Sometimes, it seems that all you do is give your money to the vet. But you have to ask yourself....can I afford to raise a litter of puppies? Trust me, it's a lot more expensive then having a dog spayed, and you don't even know if the dog is really pregnant yet, or not. You just have to decide of which one you can afford: the spaying or the possible puppies. You can also talk to some vets and explain the situation. Some vets will be more than happy to work with you on the cost, either with a payment plan, or lowering the cost. I wish you the best of luck with your girl, and if I can help you in any way, let me know.