Emergency Vet Bills for Skunk

Hello! Sasha and Stel here, guardians of Skunk, a 2-year-old boxer mix with the cutest underbite you ever saw! He is a spunky, engaged young adult who loves people, dogs, swimming, snuggling, and playing tug. He is our family, our best friend, our child, and our work in progress. We love him and want him to be healthy and safe, no matter the cost.

At the beginning of June, Stel had to rush Skunk to a pet urgent care because he wouldn’t stop choking, gagging, and snorting - he sounded like he was suffocating. The vet took blood tests and diagnosed him with reverse sneezing which is essentially harmless and common in boxers; no infection was found, and we were sent home with antihistamines. This set us back about $300 and we thought that was the end of it. But then, less than a week later, Skunk’s symptoms accelerated rapidly, then changed. He went from occasionally gagging to not being able to stop. Then, he became sick to his stomach and extremely lethargic. We considered taking him to get emergency care but were advised by veterinary staff to wait and see if things got worse. They did. Skunk became so lethargic he would not even walk outside to pee, and he began to breathe rapidly and laboriously. Stel literally had to carry him like a 55 pound baby to the emergency vet half a mile away because he couldn’t walk.

That night, Skunk was diagnosed with bronchopneumonia and a gastrointestinal issue. After x-ray and fecal testing, the vet put him on a plan of care involving overnight IV fluids, oxygen, and antibiotics. Skunk improved overnight and throughout the following morning and we were lucky to bring him home the following afternoon. He is doing well on his medications now and is gradually regaining his energy.

Emergency veterinary care is prohibitively expensive. SAGE, where Skunk was treated, has a monopoly on 24 hour emergency vet care in San Francisco and so is emboldened to charge incredibly high rates. We do have a primary vet clinic, but it had no availability for us when Skunk started showing symptoms, and when we had our emergency late at night, we obviously had to go to an after hours place. Skunk is also uninsured - he is ineligible for pet insurance because of a preexisting condition - having parvovirus as a puppy, which was due to a faulty vaccine. In short, we’re asking for help because $2,646 is unaffordable. We have to take him for a follow-up at his regular vet in two weeks, which will probably be several hundred more dollars. Stel and I work full-time at low-paying jobs. We are both taking on additional hours and assorted odd jobs to offset the cost. An unexpected emergency like this depletes our savings and makes our financial situation really precarious. We appreciate anything anyone can give, and understand if you are unable to. Please share this widely, and thank you for reading.