My senior dog has diabetes. How can I find affordable vet care?

The fact that you are reaching out for help does show that you love your dogs, and it's the right thing to do. While you are correct that Pixie's symptoms could be due to diabetes, they could also be due to a UTI. A UTI would make her feel ill, and consequently cause her to want to sleep more. Should she have a UTI, then a course of antibiotics will cure it. The only way to know for sure what is going on with her, however, is to take her into the vet. A vet can do routine blood tests, and a urinalysis to see if she does have diabetes or a UTI, and can treat her accordingly. I would take her into the vet to diagnose what is causing her symptom because both can be treated. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com

I'm so sorry Abbey has a tumor on her stomach! I would speak to your vet to see if they will accept payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, see if the local RSPCA can help you, or you can apply for Vet Pay. I hope one of these resources helps you! https://www.vetpay.com.au

Sorry Buzz is having some issues again. Your options are to get a CareCredit card to pay for his expenses or to contact some of the organizations in the link below to see if someone can help you. ( https://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/ ) ( https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/having-trouble-affording-veterinary-care ) In the future, you may want to consider pet insurance for any new pets. It is well worth it and will cover things like this in most cases. Getting insurance now will not help as this is a pre-existing condition and at his age, most companies will not cover him. If he had been covered since he was a puppy they would. ( https://trupanion.com/ )

Poor Beignet and poor you! Having multiple seizures every day is extremely serious, and she needs veterinary treatment now for it. In a senior dog like her, it could be due to a tumor in the brain, liver disease, kidney failure, or low blood sugar among other causes. I can give you some resources that may help you afford a vet. You c an see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ God's Creatures Ministry helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help.
 The Onyx & Breezy Foundation has many programs including helping people with medical bills. They are a good resource for information.
 Brown Dog Foundation provides funding to families with a sick pet that would likely respond to treatment, but due to circumstances, there is not enough money immediately available to pay. IMOM is dedicated to insure that no companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is financially challenged.
 I hope one of these resources helps you afford a vet, please take Beignet into one immediately. If she seizures again before you can seek vet care: - Don't put your hands near her mouth - Keep some rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to spray on the pads of the feet for cooling - Monitor her at all times during the seizure to ensure that she cannot hurt herself by crashing into furniture, etc

Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Doc. It sounds like he may be suffering from fecal incontinence. This can be due to a lack of muscle tone or from a medical problem such as diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis, liver or kidney disease, or Cushing’s disease. He does need to see a vet to get this caused diagnosed so he can be treated. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. I'd also see if you can borrow money from family and friends. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ http://www.dogheirs.com/resources-affordable-veterinary-care/ I hope this helps!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Abel has diabetes! Abel will need to be started on insulin, which will need to come from your vet. If Abel has been lethargic and not eating much, my recommendation would be to have him hospitalized at the vet as soon as possible to get his blood sugar under control, so I'd call them right away and see how quickly he can be seen again - even if the vet isn't free to talk to you when you call, I'd recommend you ask the front desk how quickly Abel can be seen. Untreated diabetes can definitely make a pet become much more sick very quickly, so now that you know it's diabetes I would get Abel rechecked. That way when you bring Abel in, you can talk further about the diabetes diagnosis, and your vet can help you become comfortable with measuring and giving the insulin. When I diagnose new diabetic animals, I usually have the owner practice giving injections of saline to their pet in the hospital so we know they will be comfortable with drawing up the correct dose of insulin and giving injections at home. Your vet will also likely want you to start Abel on a prescription diet formulated to help maintain a more steady blood sugar. I hope this helps and he feels better soon!

Poor Brom! It sounds like there is a lot going on with him right now, and he really does need to see a vet as soon as possible. It's serious he's not eating, losing weight, yelping, and having trouble walking. I would see if you can borrow money from family and friends to afford a vet, and I can give you some resources as well. You can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ God's Creatures Ministry helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help.
 The Onyx & Breezy Foundation has many programs including helping people with medical bills. They are a good resource for information.
 Brown Dog Foundation provides funding to families with a sick pet that would likely respond to treatment, but due to circumstances, there is not enough money immediately available to pay. IMOM is dedicated to insure that no companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is financially challenged. I hope one of these resources helps you afford a vet. Please take him into one asap.