Why Is My Dog Almost Dead?

Wouldn’t it be great to find answers to all your pet’s problems on this website? No more vet bills, no more dog trainer visits, no more problems. Everything’s on this website for free and can be applied to your pet immediately. Even if your dog is almost dead, visiting a vet would not be necessary.

That’s nonsense.

Our local pet magazine has an “ask to vet” section where readers can send their problematic questions about their pet health, behavior or other problems. While it might be okay to ask whether you have to clean your dog’s teeth twice a day or should you allow your cat to sleep all day long, it feels kinda weird when people ask questions that only can have one possible answer:

“Take your pet to a vet immediately!”

I mean, it’s a magazine. It’s printed monthly, so the best scenario, you will still have a week or so before you get your answer. In most cases, it’s somewhat close to a month anyway.

Here’s a great example: “Our dog got in a fight with our neighbor’s dog. His hind leg is bleeding, and it looks like the dog is in pain. Is there a medication we could give him to relive his pain?”

Answer: “There is. Please take your dog to a vet, so he can examine your dog’s leg. Inappropriate healing of the wound can make a lot of trouble which can be avoided by visiting a vet as soon as possible.”

Oh yes, the damn, money sucking vet, could not prescribe medication for free. He asks for a visit, so he can collect in money. That’s what vets do. They don’t heal our dogs in a magazine, they don’t write blog posts about DIY sterilization at home, and don’t tell what’s wrong with our cat over phone. All they say is, go to a vet, so your pet may be examined and money may be collected for a visit. Damn!

There is not just one disease for one symptom

The sad truth is, most vets have plenty of work to do and they don’t need a responsibility answering questions over the phone without seeing a pet itself. There is no one disease for one symptom.

Let’s ask a question:  “My cat has been vomiting a lot lately.  What could it be?” That’s a good question. “The 5 minute veterinary consult” (a handbook for vets) lists over 30 diseases that may cause chronic vomiting. I said over 30 because I tried to count them, but I lost it and did not want to start over. Besides that, those were just some examples.

If a cat is taken to a vet with symptom vomiting, first thing a vet will do is checking his overall health. Condition of ears, eyes, fur and teeth. He will take his temperature, check behavior, response… a lot of things that may or may not be related to vomiting itself. If any suspect, a vet may assign additional tests and not even make a diagnosis on the same day.

How it could be done via phone or magazine? “Take your pet to a vet!” is the only possible answer in a situation.

Answering your question without actually seeing a pet may only give a general answer. It could be okay if you what to check your suspicions about a minor issue, but dealing serious medical or behavior problems a professionals consultation based on examination of specific pet is a must.

Same applies to websites (this one being a good example) giving advices on pet behavior, health and other issues. They are all general answers, and while we are trying our best to cover every aspect of every problem, there is still high chance to miss something. If you want a general answer to your question, you are welcome. But if you want to give the good attention to your pet’s problems – visiting a professional is more that just a good intention.

About Mario Monk

Hello, my name is Mario. I love to share what I've discovered while trying to become a better owner to my pets here on PET-happy.com. Currently I'm broadening my field of expertise in cat behavior, so probably you can expect more posts on the topic soon. Creation of most articles are co authored with a veterinarian Signe, who is also my wife. I'm also a bit active on twitter and would be pleased if you chose to follow me.