We have two service dogs for hearing assist...husband and I have different needs, thus two dogs, each trained by us....for our individual needs.

My male broke his leg before Thanksgiving, the bill has been in excess of $2500 but we are trying to pay it off as we can, some months just making the minimum payment, other months able to add a bit more.

Is there anyplace we can get assistance with paying these massive vet bills? We are both on fixed, limited incomes...and the dogs were both home schooled, or owner trained....and this seems to be the problem, no one wants to help with an animal that wasn't professionally trained. Bear understands some hand signals, he alerts me to sirens when I drive, and he lets me know when hubby's oxygen machine shuts off at night....he also alerts to the alarm clock, stove timer, dryer buzzer and smoke detector.

I didn't know if there was some kind of a grant program that could help us or what. Just thought I would check here. My injured dog is also the one in my avatar....he's really been a life saver...now we're trying to help him.

Crystal, how was BearBear's last vet visit?? we were in chat that day you were due to take him in......

Hope to see you again soon in chat also....

He goes back in at 3:00 today, he had surgery on his leg a couple weeks ago...about two weeks after the initial surgery....hopefully now all is in the healing process, he's such a fragile dog but he's got a lot on the ball as a service dog and being my ears for me. I guess I am thinking fragile right now because of the leg....because he really is quite healthy.

I'm just concerned about getting his vet bills paid....just paid aother $58 on the Care Gredit card but it's getting close to the limit we can use it for....the ceiling on it was $3,000 and I hink its aound $2,200 right now. And if the leg doesn't heal THIS time, they wll remove it...how many 100's will that run???

I got another small order, the crystal clock sold, and I have 221 items posted so far....more will go on later in the day....and its all going to his bills.

Wish us luck today that there is no more bad news!

CrystalSword,

i remember talking with you in another chatroom last spring... if you remember me... i was asking questions because i wasn't used to the english terminology for 'service' and 'assistance' and 'guide' dogs... because in french they all say 'guide' dogs for such and such disability...

i'll have special thoughts for your adorable little critter to heal asap...

please give him a little scratch behind the ears for me

No, I'm sorry, the name doesn't look familiar but then I've had a lot happening in the last few months. We lived in Arizona for almost 15 years and we decided to vacation up here for a whole month....that is all it took for us to go "home" and sell everything we could and the trailer and lot and move up here.....to Washington.

Bearbear saw the vet today, he goes back again thursday and gets some stitches out and another exam on his leg around the brace and pins....to make sure its stable and the pins are tight. He has about 13 weeks to go in the brace....he's been a very good boy through it all, hardly a whimper and he still has puppy kisses for everyone, even at the vet's office. The girls there carry him around like he is their's! Of course, he laps it all up and has a fit if smeone puts him down to go tend to someone else!

We were there a little longer than usual today and he was ready to leave because there was a lot to sadness in the air at the vet's....two people had brought older dogs in that had to be put down, one could no longer walk, and the other was very old and in pain. My heart went out to those people.

I scratched his ears for you, thank you for the well wishes for him, he hs a long ways to go before he's healed. I even gave him a treat for you, he's such a good boy.