I need dog advise please my dog may need an expensive operation : (

[darkday]

John,
Unfortunately you have adopted a dog that is prone to sickness and multiple trips to the vet per year. English bull dogs are not generally healthy by genetics. For years they have bred these dogs to be as short fat and compact as possible, with no concern to the adverse heath effects to the dog. There has been considerable talk in the breeding comunity over the past couple of yrs about discontinuing the breed all together. I doubt that will ever happen.
Bull dogs are a huge responsibility, and do not come cheap. Hind sight being 20/20 you really should have researched the breed a little better. I say that only because I was toght the very same lesson about 6 yrs ago, when we got Otis, our english bull. I research the breed, and the eventual breeder for a solid 2 yrs, and thought I knew, and was prepared for everything......this was not so.

Sorry to hear about your luck John, it's heart breaking. The only advice I could give you, is go to the local SPCA and tell them of your situation. Go IN PERSON. Let them know that you are left with no choice other than to give the dog up, as you can not afford his care. Those people have huge hearts, and you might get lucky........they will not want you to give the dog up for adoption.

x2, bulldogs are expensive and very prone to problems. no amount of research will tell you about their allergy problems, intestinal problems, eye problems, skin problems and tail socket problems. we researched the breed as well and thought that a bulldog would be perfect for us. to make a long story short we bought one a year old from our daughter's friend and a year later two operations and numerous trips to the vet we could not afford to keep him. spent around 4 thousand and the next thing was allergy testing.
we could not sell him to some other unsuspecting person, would not be fair to the people or the dog that we had grown to love. we found a non profit group called the alberta bulldog rescue that has vets that volunteer their time to help care for the bulldogs expensive medical needs. They also have volunteers and fosters and will place your bulldog upon surrendering him in his "forever home". you can search them on facebook or if u can't find them i will post their number.
I also think they should ban the breeding of these dogs, they are wonderful loving dogs but to many owner's can not afford them and the dog is left to suffer with their many medical problems. These dogs are literally in their own private hell.

 

[john s]

Well we just got back from the specialist and its good and bad news he does not need an operartionbut but he has no sight in his eye. I feel let down and lied to by a reputable breeder of 30 years who said with the eye drops provided it would clear up in two weeks i was stupid and trusted him. I love the dog and he is a part of our family and will not give him up im in it for his life even though there will be more to come.

 

[~Rowdy~]

I had a friend set up a fundraising event for her dogs operation. They raised $3,000 in less than a week. They did it all through facebook and had friends of friends invite people to the event. They set up a PayPal account so that people could make automatic donations. Maybe look into something like that!?

Hope that helps.

 

[ZRrrr]

Well I tell you....I'm a city boy who was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time on the relatives farms. It sure is different out in the country and I learned a lot. I'm not talking about the 10 cent fix to a sick dog or cat, but that there are many, many things vets will charge you BIG bucks for that a farmer knows how to fix quick and cheap. I have been told over and over that out of city vets are your best bet for lower costs and likely more honest care. My current vet and I have an understanding. He tells me the city way, I tell him the farm way and we find a middle ground. Many vets are now part of vet "groups" that are more or less designed like investment groups. They are set up as profit centres. Many of these groups build the "emergency clinics" which are pure profit centres. Test after test after test, expensive surgeries, long stays and higher costs for emergency or after hours care.

Local vet told me my old dog needed a tooth pulled. $1500! Called a farm vet $400. Local vet for euthanasia $300+. Farm vet $83. Just as examples. There have been many things my vet said my dogs needed that i chose not to do. 12 years later they are just starting to show signs of old age. Pet ownership is emotional, especially when there are kids involved. I try not to let it get the best of me and make informed decisions. A good lesson for the kids too.

Your dog does not care about the day to day changes in it's life. Dogs only live in the moment and are tough as all heck when it comes to pain or discomfort. A huge survival instinct and ability to adapt to anything. He will be fine with the loss of vision and will adapt well, especially in a loving and caring environment. I find my dogs teach me lots about life, as is yours is now doing.

Glad it turned out to be a better than expected situation.