The unconditional love dogs give to their owners is just one of the many reasons we consider them man’s best friend. However, just like people, there may come a time when your dog falls ill or gets injured and can’t enjoy your favorite bonding activities with you. Some of these cases can be as simple as a bruise or wound. However, serious cases might take more than simple first aid and may require surgery.
Scheduling your dog for surgery can be costly, especially if you don’t know what to expect. Since these types of procedures can be expensive, it’s best to weigh your options to give your dog the best care possible.
Reasons Why Your Dog Needs Surgery
Most cases of surgery for dogs are caused by a foreign object being lodged into the body. These objects can puncture or get stuck in vital body parts like the stomach or the intestines. These instances are common occurrences since dogs are naturally playful and curious. They’ll ingest anything they find interesting. Moreover, excessive playing can lead to accidents, such as muscle and bone injuries.
If left untreated, these circumstances can worsen into serious injuries, illnesses, or even permanent disability. Tackling them early, even with extensive surgery, will prevent many complications in the future, letting you lengthen and improve the quality of life of your pet. Always seek proper veterinary advice and assess the severity of the injury of your dog to decide what appropriate care it should get.
Average Costs of Common Dog Surgeries
Spay or Neuter Surgery
Neutering and spaying are common procedures to prevent unwanted pregnancies from dogs. These procedures involve the dissection, disconnection, and removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes in females and the sperm duct and testicles in males. These surgeries can also reduce excessive mating behaviors such as marking, humping, or roaming. They usually cost between $35 and $500, with laser spaying and neutering costing higher than traditional procedures.
ACL or CCL Surgery
The CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) in dogs is like the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in humans. The CCL stabilizes the knee joint by connecting the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). This ligament can rupture and retract if your dog suddenly applies excessive force. This can disable the flexible movement in dogs and lead to limping and lameness.
The most common and recommended CCL surgery is TPLO (tibia plateau leveling osteotomy). The procedure involves cutting and rotating the tibia to a more stable position. A TPLO surgery can cost between $3500 to $5000, depending on the severity of the affected ligament and necessary implants to be used.
Hip Dysplasia Surgery
Hip dysplasia is caused by the unusual and excessive growth on the hip socket and joint of dogs. This abnormal growth leads to hyperflexible joints that can result in joint disease, osteoarthritis, a dislocated hip, or a walking disability. Hip dysplasia surgery usually costs around $1700 but can scale up, depending on other health factors of your dog.
Cataract Surgery
Commonly occurring in older dogs, cataracts diminish the vision of dogs with a cloudy film on the eye’s lens. Cataracts can be hereditary or caused by inflammation and sugar diabetes. This condition can worsen over time if left untreated and lead to permanent blindness. The cost of cataract surgeries ranges from $1500 to $3000.
Oral or Dental Surgery
These surgeries deal with extracting diseased teeth, removing cysts and tumors, and reconstructing fractured jaws. Canine dental surgery can fetch you between $150 to $600, while extensive oral surgery on fractured jaws on dogs can cost at least $2000.
Intestinal Blockage Surgery
Dogs ingesting foreign objects by accident is a common occurrence. However, these objects can get stuck, obstruct the intestinal lining, cause digestion problems, uncomfortable digestive pressure, and vomiting. These objects can also cause internal bleeding when they cut delicate intestinal walls in some cases. Intestinal blockage surgery costs up to $7000, depending on several factors.
Gastropexy Surgery
Some dogs, especially larger breeds, suffer from excessive bloating. This can cause the stomach to flip and get painful due to the pressure. If left untreated, this illness can turn life-threatening and cause serious gastric and digestive problems. Costs begin at around $400 but can climb up around $5000, depending on the severity and number of complications.
Options to Pay for Dog Surgery
Thinking about how much your dog’s surgery will cost can be stressful. Luckily, there are lots of ways to cover your pet’s medical bill without breaking the bank. Here are a few of them:
Pet Health Insurance Plans
You may have heard of insurance plans when discussing payment with your vet and wonder if dog health insurance is right for you. These health insurance plans for dogs help you pay less for medical bills. These plans can cover the expenses for the health checkups and surgery of your dog. Always compare different insurance policies to see which is the most beneficial for you and your dog.
Payment plan with your vet
You can set up a payment plan with your vet as well. This can mean dividing the payment into installments. While most of these agreements are informal, they often have low interest rates, with some vet clinics even running promotions with 0% interest. This will help reduce the stress of paying large amounts upfront as you manage your other bills. You can also search for other clinics that offer affordable payment plans to owners having trouble paying the medical bills of their pets.
Emergency savings
Setting up an emergency fund to cover sudden and unexpected expenses such as trips to the hospital or veterinary care may be the best financial strategy you can do for your dog. Saving up for a rainy day will help ease your mind from stress, knowing that you’ll always be ready in case something happens to your pet.
Credit card
Certain credit card companies run promotions offering 0% APR (annual percentage rate). You can use this for your dog’s medical bills and pay monthly with an interest rate or pay before the due date to incur no interest charge at all. You can look into more options and compare the different credit card policies of various companies to see the best deal and benefits for you.
Personal loan
Personal loans tend not to be bound with assets and can be used to pay for various expenses, including your pet’s medical bills. These loans give you a fixed monthly payment plan for a set period, which can help you spread the payment of your dog’s health bills across a couple of years, which can help with your budget.
Dealing with the injury or illness of your pet will always include different expenses that can cost a lot of money. Thankfully, there are lots of ways and plans to help you settle your dog’s medical bills. For more information about surgeries for your dog and post-surgery care, visit the TPLOinfo blog today.
