Whelping Problem! - Page 4

True, Jenni, true. And I would never try to breed unless I had deep enough pockets to cover an emergency like this.

Well, given she waited (as near as I can tell) approximately 12 hours before heading to the ER, she got very very lucky: NINE live, healthy pups, born naturally (okay, with the help of the vet and some oxytocin) and only the one dead one, a huge female that weighed 19.8 oz!!

They have somehow managed to come up with all but $450 of the vet bill, which was $1600.

My heart is saying 'yes', but my common sense is saying 'no'...

They can't bring her home until the bill is paid in full.

Ditto what Jen said ^^.

Can't bring her home til the bill is paid in full?

Yep! They are very lucky the clinic didn't demand the full amount up front before they even looked at the bitch! That USED to be their policy!

BTW, current temp here is  -16 F!!   (-27 C for those of you who only know the metric scale!)

The wind chill is dropping that to -40, which is where the misery index is the same on both scales. [shivers]

Gotta go look after some dogs...

Well I worked for a vet and while I understand the need to have the bill paid in full, I also have to question the ethics of any vet who would not allow a bitch with puppies to go home to familar surroundings instead of holding her and her pups as ransom. They could take a post dated check or a credit card number for a future payment. I know that's not going to help now, but if I were them and after I pay this outrageous bill, I'd contact the local vet association and make a complaint. I assume vets belong to local associations in CA? If not they should contact the school from which he or she graduated, they should have an ethics board of review.

First do no harm also applies to the veterinary world. This is a terrible way to run a veterinary medicine business. I truly hope these people never breed another litter until they have set aside a dog fund to cover any more emergency situations. No one can breed dogs on a shoestring budget; it's time they figured that out.

ITA, Blitzen, as I said in my previous post...  :(

Pictures!!

Absolutely heartbreaking to think that bitch and those dear little pups have to stay at the vets where there are sick dogs and no one to care about her or her pups. Are they eligible for a Care Credit card or don't they accept them in CA?  It's a blatant expample of the vet's caring more about money that the animal's welfare. Isn't there any organization, local kennel club, GSD club, humane society, etc in CA that can help pay this bill or lend them the money so they can take her home? 

Whate does "ITA" mean?

SS, if the vet will accept Care Credit card or another credit card from the US, contact me privately. 

I Totally Agree, Blitzen.

They are HOME! Kellie somehow managed to come up with the  money...won't tell me how, but I am guessing she crowd-sourced some of it on FB.

Blitzen, I have heard of animals being PTS because the ER vet's policy was payment up front, or they won't even touch the animal...  One of the most heartbreaking cases I'm aware of involved the service dog for a disable veteran. The dog (a Shiloh shepherd) bloated during the night, and when the owner couldn't fund the surgery up front, it was euthanized.

The pups are all fairly even in size. There is one small one, but it isn't REALLY small, as happened with the Shiloh litter I helped whelp back in 2007, where the largest was 22 oz. and the smallest 8.5.

There are more pictures up on K.'s FB page. There's also a link in case you want to help out with the veterinary expenses.

K. posted a picture of the estimate for a C-section. Those of you who are knowledgeable about C-sections might want to take a look at it. How they can get away with charging so much is beyond me!!

I'll bet an awful lot of people who can't afford this lose both their bitches AND the pups!

Of course, those of us who are crazy about our dogs find a way to afford it, but not everyone feels that way, when they are struggling to put groceries on the table! :

https://www.facebook.com/NWGSK?fref=photo