was wondering if I could ask a question.
About my Shih tzu MeiLing:
MeiLing is not having symptoms. My question is related to lab values. She is 14 years old and just acts tired at times.

1. The paperwork shows that she is positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Her vet did not offer any treatment advise on this or even mention this to me during the visit. I happened to find it later when reviewing her lab work. I have never found a tick on her since I rescued her 9 years ago.

2. Other lab work:
BUN 41, had been 33 year prior, one month after that was 29;
ALT 227 was 134 year prior, one month later 117;
ALP 673 was 668 one year prior and 1040 one month after that;
MCV 59.3 was 61.1 year prior and one month after that was 59.8;
Platelets 504 was 542 year prior and 561 one month afterwards;
Plateletcrit 0.62 was 0.66 and 0.68 one month later.

Based on some of the labs in point 2 the vet started MeiLing on Hepato Tru Benefits which supports healthy liver function and is telling me that we should do an MRI.

I love my dog and would like very much to do whatever is necessary for her health. However, I am retired, living on social security and am not able to afford a monthly payment for health insurance for her much less $1000 or more for an MRI. So my question is, with these labs, considering she is having no symptoms, granted she is not as lively as she once was but she is 14 years old, in your opinion how necessary is it that she have an MRI? Also why would he have not even mentioned the Anaplasma phagocytophilum? Should I seek another opinion?

I don’t expect that I will be able to afford other treatments revealed by an MRI.

I know I am asking a lot here but if you could just help me with a little guidance I would deeply appreciate it.

Thanks for any info you can give me.

Rottweiler, female, 11 years old.

Vertically split nail; under vet care but I think we need to get more decisive.

The vet trimmed the nail half way with local (dog has bad reaction to sedation protocol, narcotics, etc). Still hurt and vet said it would cause undue pain. However, the nail continues on splitting.

How common of a procedure is cutting the nail off all the way to nail bed? How does that improve outcome? How much faster is the recovery?

By what percentage is anesthesia risk lower with such a short procedure? (Has to be anesthesia as explained above). Last time, after anesthetic procedure, she had heart rhythm problems and other problems; became critical and almost died. But was also full of drugs and had pancreatitis as complication of splenectomy. I’d assume the shorter the time under, the lower risk of complications?

I’m concerned about putting her under but I’m also concerned about dragging this out for weeks, taking valuable time from her, and having to do it that way anyway eventually.

I really don’t know what is the best thing to do for her. Hubby leaning toward waiting if it heals but I’m not seeing it healing any time soon if at all. (Photo of the present state of the nail attached.

I’m sad, depressed, concerned, and don’t know what I should decide for her.

This isn’t anything urgent but it’s been happening over time.. my dog frequently secretes fluid from her anus; she has had her anal glands expressed multiple times and uses the bathroom normally. She licks her anus afterwards and when I try to get close and/or disinfect the area she gets aggressive. So I just want to know the reasoning as to why she secretes fluid frequently if nothing is wrong with her?

Last night about 8pm my dog had lump around her eyes and her mouth was swollen, this morning they have gone down but now she has got some more on her head, they seem to not hurt her but they are very itchy for her.

My 2 year old female dog was neutered last week and the incision site is looking concerning. The only veterinary clinic close to us is closed today and I am worried about infection or other issues. The dog is an obssesive licker and I don’t know if the wound is healing ok.

My dog (beagle, 4yr) has been diagnosed with potential IVDD. Vet provided meds for 2 weeks to see if there is improvement.

She is still able to walk, eat and urinate/poop normally. However, when she gets spasms in her neck, you can see she is in pain and she cries.

Is there anything else I can do to release her pain? Massage? Ice pack? Heat pack?

Also, the Vet did not say that I needed to crate her. She is pretty much always laying down, getting up when she wants to go out to pee or to eat. Should I still crate her? She is not used to it so I’m afraid she will try to fight out.

7y/0 M golden retriever had mass removed near spine. Incision site was relatively large and is healing quite nicely . Since about day 5 post op he has had a sac of fluid underneath the skin (diagnosed by vet as seroma). After 2 fine needle aspirations, 2 rounds of anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic, the seroma has not gone down in size. He has been very minimally active (just goes out to use potty). Seroma has not reduced size and vet said it is ok to ease back into routine.

Any advice on how long this will last and if playing with buddies at park (he wrestles his one best friend) will delay healing? It seems no activity is not helping the swelling anyway.

Just want my pup to have a bit more fun during the day he’s been isolated for over one month!

My dog can’t walk I jut want you can say a second opinion my vet said he has Spine Osteochondromalacia and I can’t find on giogle something like that I’m afraid he was wrong diagnosed

I feel every time I need to see a veterinary, no matter how small a problem, I end up spending over $500. How do others afford to take care of their pets? I feel these costs have greatly gone up over the last many years. I understand this is a service that is hard for people to turn down, since our pets are our family. Just like healthcare, food and education. Necessary things in life seem to have the largest markup. Where is the rip off coming from? I read veterinarians are not rich. I understand. So what is the problem? Is it the ownership of the company by someone that is only in it for money and makes all the calls? Opaque costs? Lack of transparency? Why does a checkup to see if there is an ear infection cost $500 even if there is no issue and is just over concern from the parent? Why am I charged $80 for an “exam” that literally has nothing to do with the actual exam for the specific problem that brought me in the first place. Why isn’t it just called a visit fee which is exactly what it is. Is it the business owner? Is it the practice? Is it a field that is able to be exploited due to our love for our family pets? Constantly pissed the F*ck off that veterinaries that I used to frequent for years suddenly change and now cost a car payment or mortgage for every non emergency simple visit.