[Anela]

O.K. First let me note that I have rescued 4 dogs over the past 16 years. They were all at deaths door, two more than the others, and I literally took them from a desperate situation to a life of luxury where they want for nothing. I currently have three that for all practical purposes, are my children with fur. That said.

Two of the dogs that I rescued have developed serious health issues I have noticed others who have dogs simply don't have, and I do know lots of people with dogs. I know it's not the fault of the dog and I never regret money or time spent dealing with their issues, although, I do have limits ingrained that are not easily altered (surgery being one of them). I spend tons of time investigating their issues to make sure I am comfortable with what I am doing to help them.

I currently have a 18 month old dog that has: Spaying Incontinence, which requires she take Proin for the rest of her life. She has anxiety, and has been on Doxipin for two months, and may need to be on it for more. She is just being cured for her third urinary infection in less than a nine months, which is causing concern and consideration of surgery to correct her inverted vulva. Just two days ago, I had to rush her to the emergency clinic because she vomited blood (hopefully this issue is cured).

Again I'm not complaining here, I will always rescue dogs because I truly believe in saving a life. Some have said that I have once again been sent this creature because I'm good at dealing with this type of thing.

I guess I am curious if others out there who have rescued dogs are having the same things to deal with. When I got the dog, she was four months old, and she filled the void left when we lost a dog that we had for 14 years, also with numerous very serious health issues (worse than this).

Thanks for the vent,

Anela

[tsorcus]

You're wonderful for what you're doing for your dogs.

I've been lucky so far, I got Jasper at six months and he had a lump under his eye, which the vet thought was caused by a dog bite and would go down in time, but then it turned out that his tooth was also cracked and had to be removed. He also had a pretty ugly looking mole about half an inch across, which got badly infected and they were going to operate to remove it as soon as he'd recovered from his neutering operation but, after driving him mad for a month, it started to heal and then disappeared of its own accord - I put it down to better nutrition.

So I've not had too much to deal with and only spent a reasonable amount so far, hopefully this will continue!

Good luck with your dog and I hope that she improves.

[Lightwingcreations]

The adult dog that I rescued, Cowboy, came to me as skin and bones. He was also prone to ear infections and anal gland impactions (not really bad impactions, just too thick to pass on his own), and skin problems. He's also had bladder stones diagnosed once, which were small (no surgery, just SD food). It's been six years since I adopted him and his ears stopped getting infected around 4 years ago, so maybe hygiene and diet cured that. I haven't had to express his anal glands in about a year, again maybe diet. He's not had any more problems with his bladder that I can see either. Now his skin has started improving some since I switched him to a raw diet, it no longer flakes. He still has oily skin, which leads to acne, and I'm not sure that will ever change. He has an umbilical hernia that isn't very bad, nothing poking through. And, I just switched vets and she found on her physical (very thorough ) that he had a slight luxating patell in his left leg which I had never been aware of, it's very mild.
Not the healthiest rescue, but definately nothing terrible. He also has termperment issues that I always have to work around, so he's not always the easiest dog, but I still think he's great! The saving grace is that he is very predictable, which I'll take any day over unpredictable.

[Anela]

Thanks for the replies!

For all of the issues my dogs have had, I do consider myself blessed that I have them. I really enjoy watching them develop their own personalities after nurturing.

Making the decisions about their health and doing all of the research etc. is something that I realize comes with the territory. I have a wonderful vet, and two others that I trust immensely that I consult with.

After I do all of my homework, I take comfort in knowing I made the right decision, it's just getting to the decision that is so much of a strain.

Thanks again!

Anela