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lucknow

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  1. Oh how awful. R.I.P. Kaisie Take care, this is an awful time..
  2. I agree with you regarding instruction for caring for dogs. My only point is that we already have a system in place the same as licencing for reptiles. Apply by mail, dont need to show any knowledge of husbandry requirements or ability/wish to meet these, pay an annual fee and off you go! I kept licenced snakes, lizards, birds and frogs for over 10 years with no checks whatsoever. Paid my fee and off i went. Rather like dog ownership.
  3. Bloody Pet Shops.. We had a 9 week old British Bulldog in at 3am the other day with a URTI. Owner had 'researched' aussie bulldogs for a year until daughter saw this (extremely cute) pup ina petshop and apparently this was 'the one'. Pup scanned to confirm microchip on sale and none was found, all paperwork was 'lost' but would be posted to her, oh and by the way, if when she took pup to a vet for vaccinations they couldnt find the chip 'just bill it to the shop'. Poor owner was stoked that she had found dog of her dreams, and white to boot (already had dermatitis on his face and she had no idea so research was obviously limited). Nothing sadly, was too out of the ordinary so far until vet told me papers showed sale price of $3000!!! For an unchipped (and given no chip when he supposedly done, and no paperwork, presumably unvaccinated) pup with a respiratory infection 2 days after purchase, I can only say OMG!.
  4. I believe the husband can't afford the rent? IT is hard to make good decisions when you're stressed. I suggest following PF's advice and sitting down with the ex and going through a plan. Maybe use a mediator/counsellor from Relationships Australia? You wouldn't be going to counselling to stay together, but to minimise the fall-out from the break-up. I know many people who have done this and it has really helped them come to a satisfactory arrangement for both parties. IF everything goes to sh*t, you can always contact PACERS (Steve on this forum, who is really a woman named Julie) to see if they can help you work something out. Good luck. Relationship breakdowns are hard enough with out all the crap that goes with them! Husband cannot afford the rent on his own but he can get someone in to share and help with the bills, same as has been suggested for the OP - which she said wouldnt work as she doesnt have time to for the dogs for various reasons. If there is a viable way to avoid rehoming them it is better than the alternative. I agree actually sitting down and discussing the situation (as unpalatable as that can be when in the midst of a breakup) preferably with a trained mediator would at least help to come to an arrangement. I'm not certain of the legalities for every situation but when I went through my marriage breakup we had to attend mediation prior to property settlement (it may have been different as children were involved but we weren't seeking parenting orders). No reason the family pets cant be included in the mediation process - they were in mine.
  5. I'm sorry for your situation but also a little conused. I understand you are worried about affording or even finding suitable accommodation for you and the dogs together and that you dont have the time available to care for them as they deserve. You're worried about the ability to rehome the older dog and the effect it would have on both of them if it were to happen, but you have also said you dont think your husband wants to leave either the house or the dogs. Surely if he wants to stay and keep the dogs and is capable of caring for them that would be the best thing for them? I know it is not something you want to do but isnt it better than rehoming them? Sometimes being a pet owner means making the hard choices for their sake rather than for ourselves.
  6. I cant comment on Medibank but I am with Pet Insurance Australia. Dog has been insured 1 year yesterday (it was his 1st birthday present). We have had almost $10,000 of claims and found them generally fantastic to deal with. After all these claims his premiums have gone up to just over $300 per year (with a high excess of $500 per condition per year as I elected when taking out the policy).
  7. that stump looks very bulbous, i would think it is excessive post operative swelling? Should reduce and neaten with time.
  8. Good luck! Fingers crossed that everything goes well and Nala enjoys lazing around during the cold winter months.
  9. I am a dog owner, former foster carer (and still have occasional 'private' foster dog or litter through work), veterinary nurse since 1996 with a special interest in emergency (the field I have been working in since 2006) and pregnancy/neonatal care.
  10. Afaik no problems with the legalities of euthanasing this way in Australia. We use it routinely on very small animals and bigger ones that for whatever reason we cant use the traditional intravenous method. Lay the animal on it's right side (so the left side chest with the closest access to the heart is up) and then simply palpate to feel the heart (so you are directly over it) slide the needle through the ribs to the heart which is usually not deep in the the littlies drawing back on the syringe until you get the rush of blood to show you are in the heart and inject. As it is an overdose of anaesthetic (and can be used as such, I know an older vet who has used it for cows in desperate cirsumstances in the past) it is instant. the only thing I dont like about it is that it can be painful as you put the needle in (some will struggle) which is why I often gas them down first. Every circumstance is different so what is appropriate for one animal wont be for another.
  11. Catheters can shift especially if the animal is moving a lot but it would be pretty rare if it were taped in place properly in the time frame for a euthanasia. Blockages would be rare also. a lot of vets still use needle and syringe and these obviously cause more problems. I think some are just lazy and sadly a few are so cheap the few cents they cost matter to them. We dont always use the extension tubing, it depends on the situation. When we do they cost us nothing as we can reuse old ones (dont need to be sterile in this case obviously). If your pet has a catheter in (and preferably extension tubing so they dont need to touch them again) you dont need the sedation from then on. sometimes it is helpful when a catheter is not already in.
  12. I believe our vets usually sedate the horses first (I dont go out on calls so knowledge is 2nd hand) but one of the vets had a hard time recently. She went out to euth a horse that was down and had been colicking much of the day. Skipped the sedation as she thought he had no chance of getting up but he did, and before he went down he took out a fence and almost her head. She said shes never skipping step 1 again!
  13. I like injecting directly into the heart too but unless they are unconscious I gas them down first.
  14. Unless we know an animal will get distressed we dont give a sedative initially. It drops the blood pressure and so getting a vein can be more difficult. If we need to we can stop and give a sedative, wait for it to take effect and then continue.
  15. Sometimes things go wrong. Veins collapse, needles move, blood pressure is too low to even find a vein, whatever. It is truly horrible when it happens in a pets final moments and something I find distressing as a staff member assisting - I would hate to face it as an owner. Happily it is fairly rare. Where possible we place a catheter away from the owner. They are easier (for me anyway) to get into reluctant veins, we dont have to worry about owners getting distressed if we have to try a few veins and it is easier especially on the patient as we can concentrate on just them without distractions. When it is safely taped in place we take the pet back to the owner and the vet can then perform the procedure without extra staff present so it is more quiet and relaxed. Often the smaller pets will be on their owners laps as they drift off. Some owners dont want to be separated from their pets at all and that is fine. We explain everything clearly before we start and as we go along and if at any time the pet gets distressed we stop and reassess out approach. If need be we sedate them and wait 10 minutes or so. Its a very long time since we had a bad euth in the clinic. We still have an occasional white faced vet coming back for a home procedure with hair raising stories. Honestly I wouldnt worry about it too much. If you are ever in that situation you can ask the vet to stop and take a new approach if things dont go smoothly. Sorry your friend had such a bad experience and her dogs last moments werent the peaceful painless ones s/he should have had.
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