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skatarina t1_iy76t5x wrote

As much as I want to support local rescues: I brought my dog home seemingly fine and a day and a half later was at the emergency vet with him with what they diagnosed as pneumonia/kennel cough. My sheets were covered in green spots and he only stood up to go outside to pee. He was sneezing nonstop, lethargic, and he’d just flop when I picked him up. I had to put the visit on a friend’s credit card and couldn’t afford additional testing (chest x-ray) after already spending so much on his adoption fee and then his intake + appointment cost at the ER vet + antibiotics. I reached out to RAL about the cost of the emergency appointment and how sick he was so quickly after his adoption and they brushed me off.

Obviously I should’ve been more prepared emergencies as anyone should with a pet, and thankfully he’s healthy now, but I don’t know where else he could’ve gotten sick and I didn’t realize I’d have to spend close to $1,000 the same weekend I adopted a seemingly healthy dog.

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Zuzzbugg OP t1_iyb7dg0 wrote

thank you for letting me know. similar situation with my cat, when I called the spca they did not care at all. He had a bad case a Giardia a very spreadable parasite and Feline Herpes, on his first week home a worm literally came out of his nose like a Tim Burton Film. You would think they would want to make sure all the other cats in their care didn’t also suffer from his illnesses.

My first week as a pet owner was spent stuffing pills down my cats throat which wasn’t great for building trust. I cried and cried thinking my cat was going to die before I even got to love him. 100s of dollars in vet bills and almost two years later he looks like a completely different cat then the skinny dude I picked up at the SPCA. He should have been cared for better.

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skatarina t1_iybj8c5 wrote

A worm :( I’m so sorry you had to experience that, but I’m glad both of our animals made it through and ended up okay! I really do love the shelters in Richmond and I will always encourage rescuing instead of shopping, but I try to give everyone a heads up because these things do happen and sometimes shelters can’t afford to care, are too busy, or don’t want to!

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Zuzzbugg OP t1_iyb7lcm wrote

Im glad your pup is okay :) Im sad that Im not the only person this has happened too.

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