Health Question about my son's girlfriend's Golden Retriever

[Sandy]

So - a question about...not a doodle, but a half doodle - a retriever.  :)  The puppy was fixed at 6 months (it's a female).  Shortly after it started having health issues.  During the spay they found out that a kidney was attached to an ovary - they ovary was removed, the kidney stayed.  The dog is happy as a clam, but has been found to have high protein in its urine, is losing its hair at an alarming rate, the shaved hair from the spay is not growing back, she is always starving but really skinny.  She has also been found to be allergic to grass, and has trouble controlling her bladder.  The puppy is 10 months old and is just really skinny and quickly becoming hairless.  So sad.  :(  Any ideas?  There is apparently a high white blood cell count in her blood test, but they can't put their finger on where that is coming from.  Poor puppy.

[Carol Brand]

Renal issues at this age are almost guaranteed to be genetic or congenital.  I would think that the breeder should refund vet costs up to the purchase price.   

 

[Stella]

Oh Sandy, sorry to read this.  She is such a beautiful puppy.  I really would see if you can get her in at Guelph and get to the bottom of this.  If the breeder won't pay (pretty bad that she isn't prepared to stand behind her promise) and she doesn't have insurance, maybe as a family you guys could get together and offer to help her pay for a trip to Guelph up to a certain amount and call it her birthday/christmas gift for the next year/ two years or whatever??  I know my family has done this before for something big.  Hope she is feeling better soon... and maybe she should find a new vet anyway??

[Sandy]

She actually is home for the summer, and her family lives on the Guelph side of Cambridge, so it's really only a 30 minute drive for her.  She doesn't have insurance, and to get it now would mean none of this stuff would be covered anyway (pre-existing condition, right?).  Maybe, though, we could offer help with her bill..... She's a proud little thing though.  I doubt she'd accept that help.

 

Ironically, we switched Toby to that vet because Taylor was working there (she isn't now - it was a co-op thing).  Now I'm wondering if we should switch vets AGAIN.  

[Stella]

How about if it was a loan???  That way she could pay it back when she is working?  Of course, this is assuming that the costs wouldn't be too high!!

We used to go to Burgess vets on Glamis.   The prices were always good and we liked Ken Burgess, they often squeezed us in at the end of the day when we had an emergency!!

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Is she a student at U of Guelph? If so, the vet school might allow her to do a payment plan, if that makes it more affordable. The Vet School here at Texas A&M does something like that, and they offer a discount to students, faculty, and staff of the university. Even if she is student somewhere else, it never hurts to ask!

[Sandy]

She is a vet tech student, but not at Guelph.  She goes to school way up north in Haileybury.

 

Stella - I remember you had good things to say about Burgess.  If we switch that will be four different vets for Toby.  :)  We started at a little one that we ended up not liking, then switched to Brantford because they were 24 hour, then went to the one Taylor was at.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Amen, Carol!  You need a vet to document that & present it to the breeder.  I would think she would definitely have a case against them if it came to that.

[Angie, Hudson and Lily]

Just curious as to how the Golden Retriever is doing. Any answers to all of the health concerns?

[Sandy]

Thanks Angie. Shae seems to be a little better. She had a lot of food allergies, apparently. She was checked out at the U. of G., and doesn't seem to have any bladder or kidney issues. I guess she just has a woman's bladder. :) She has a bit of an ongoing belly rash, which the vet feels may be an allergy to grass. She is, however, probably the happiest puppy I've ever seen, so I think she'll be all right.

[F, Calla & Luca]

All in all good news.

[Sandy]

I would say so.